Switzerland Itinerary Help

"Jungfraujoch (is Schilthorn a better choice?)". They're similar enough. If you stay in Murren, it makes more sense to ascend the Schilthorn.

One point further- what time of year are you traveling? This can make a large difference on what activities are available and what's open.

Looks good, I would skip Basel and add that extra day in the Berner Oblerland area. This way you could do both the Schiltorn and the Jungfrau. It also gives you some insurance in case you get a rainy day. Make sure you get a Swiss Pass, for this trip it will save you a bundle on the trains, cable cars, and museums.

I agree with Michael. Add an extra day in the Berner Oberland. We had 3 nights and 2 full days when we went last summer. We planned to do both the Schilthorn and the Jungfraujoch. The day of the Schilthorn it was very cloudy (we went anyways as we wanted to go up). If that had been our only full day we would have missed the next day up to Jungfraujoch and it was a spectacular day! You could do one or the other, or both. If you get the Swiss Pass you save a ton of money so why not do both? :-)

If you want to do both, I'd suggest staying in Lauterbrunnen for convenience of going up both sides of the valley. If you're just going to do the Schilthorn, then like Tom said, probably staying in Murren would be easiest. We did the hike from Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg on the day we went up to Jungfraujoch and it was spectacular!

Jed

So, I do have a fairly dumb question I guess. I'm a pretty fit person, a hobby runner, do some weight training, etc. When we are talking about hiking, what's the best place to figure out just how challenging some hikes are? I don't mind it being a little challenging, but I am not a real hiker, per se, and don't want to try something way out of my league.

And thanks for the advice...I was thinking we'd need two nights out that way, but wasn't sure. And Basel gets such nice write-ups from tourists.

In you're in fairly decent shape, you shouldn't have much trouble on the marked trails. Gives you a good workout, but won't kill you.

The main factors that make a hiking trail more or less strenuous are:starting elevation above sea level (2000 ft above sea level at Lauterbrunnen, or 5000 ft at Mürren?)the total elevation gain of the train (from 5000 ft to 6000 ft, or 5000 ft to 10,000 ft)the length/distance of the trailthe heat or humidity Joggers who normally jog at low altitudes notice this when they do the same jog in Denver (at 5000 ft). For hiking instead of jogging, many people start noticing a big difference once they get over about 7000 ft above sea level. If you take the train up to the Jungfraujoch at 11,000 ft and walk around even a little on flat ground, you'll notice this.

There is nothing particularly wrong with Basel, it just doesn't really have any unique must-see, one of a kind attractions (same could be said about Bern and Zurich). Switzerland's magic is in its natural beauty. When hiking, keep in mind that the times written on the trail signs are measured by local senior citizens:)

Hiking in the Berner Oberland area is different from say hiking in colorado.

Most of the hiking is on very well marked and mostly very well groomed trails. Also you can ride up and hike down so it's almost more of a workout on your knees than a cardio workout.