Solo Travel to Switzerland (first time for both)

May is an interesting month in the Lauterbrunnen Valley (where you catch the train to the Jungfraujoch). In early May, some of the hotels could be closed for "shoulder season" which is the time they close to change over from ski season to summer season. Check with the hotels on your list to see if they are open. By late May, most everybody is open. Villages like Gimmelwald and Murren are just beginning to get their early summer tourists. We were there in very early June. As for your desire for height. You catch the 3-rail cog train out of Lauterbrunnen to get to the Jungfraujoch which is the highest train station in Europe. It does indeed go right through the Eiger. At the Jungfraujoch, there are facilities that will accommodate 700 people. It's really quite large. 2 restaurants, shops, etc. For additional height, you need to take the elevator up to the Sphinx. As I recall, this is getting close to 11,700 feet. Note that the train ride up will take 2hrs. It's 2hrs back down again. The fare is about $186 for a R/T ticket without any type of Swiss pass or card.

I agree with Jungfrau area, also consider Lucerne which has water and Mt Polatus (and is a great little town to wander through)

The Alpincenter in Interlaken(www.alpincenter.ch) can set you up for zorbing, skydiving, paragliding, bungee, or any other adventure you want. You might contact them to make sure it is all on offer May. And for getting up high, the Schilthorn, although not as high as the Jungfraujoch, is a much more interesting and exciting trip, and less expensive.

"I also plan on keeping it pretty cheap" "Cheap" and "Switzerland" rarely go together in the same sentence without the word "not". If you really want to see the Alps but keep not destroy your bank account, you may want to consider some of the neighboring countries, like Italy, France or Germany (Austria is pretty expensive too).

Hi David, Several years ago I went to Switzerland solo and it was perfect! My base was a smaller village near St. Moritz called Pontresina. There are tons of hiking trails that radiate from the village. You can even take the chair lift up to higher elevations to hike. One of the best parts was stopping at a hut/restaurant along the way for pastries and beer. I had a Swiss rail pass (don't know if that's a good deal today) but I could hike a distance and take the train back to the village if I got tired. I took day trips to other smaller towns nearby. It's a short train ride into northern Italy from there. I'd check out that region as an option to see if it has what you want.

David, I would definitely do Interlaken. I would say that all of Switzerland is beautiful, but we were especially impressed with Interlaken. I'm a hiker myself and the scenery is breathtaking. And they have all kinds of adventure activities. A couple years ago I did the Alpin Raft Stockhorn bungee jump and loved it. Its offerend May through October, but the dates are somewhat limited in May. I'd also recommend staying at the Backpackers Hostel. Cheap, clean, friendly staff, young crowd, good location. We also went to Lucerne and did the Mount Pilatus trip (boat to the base of the mountain, cogwheel up the mountain, and gondola ride down). It may have been around 80 or 100 Euro, but it was well worth it.