Switzerland itinerary help for November

kathleen, As you want a "mix" of city and spectacular scenery, I'd probably still try to include a short visit to the Berner Oberland. The one caveat is that the weather in early November could be gray and dreary. If Lauterbrunnen is "closed for the season", I'm assuming that Mürren and Gimmelwald will also be winding down at that time of year. Did you also check accommodations there? A good alternative might be to use Interlaken for a home base, and just make day trips into the valley. It's only about a 20-minute train ride from Interlaken Ost to Lauterbrunnen, and another 20-minutes or so on the Post Bus to Stechelberg and the base of the Schilthornbahn. The first leg of the Schilthornbahn is steep and spectacular, and I'm sure your group will enjoy that! Interlaken Hotels tend to be a bit on the "pricey" side, but there may be some "deals" in the off season. There are also some inexpensive and reliable Hotels listed in the Switzerland Guidebook. Happy travels!

Do you have RS Switzerland Guide Book yet? If so, good.
If not I would suggest you get it as soon as you can as it has lots of good information that we used when we visited there last month.

I travelled to Switzerland during November a number of years ago. I went to Interlaken, but due to the wet weather I did not go further up, and instead travelled to Montreux to visit Chateau de Chillon, and from there travelled on to Geneva. Due to the weather, the trip was not what I had originally planned. One plus was that I was there when the tree leaves were changing colour so the scenery in the lower areas was actually very nice. So I think you need to be flexible, and have wet weather and dry weather plans just in case.

Hi all, Thank you for your responses. I've read numerous travel books and am picking up the RS Switzerland book tomorrow. I have the full Europe one which, in my rush out of the library, mistook for the Switzerland one. I just feel so wrong not getting to the BO since one of our main desires in the trip is going to the mountains. We've talked it up with the kids a ton and they are excited for that. And honestly that's what I've focused on for the past month so it's hard to change my mind that easily. But you make a great point about the weather - I've read over and over that the mountain top excursions are only really spectacular and worth it when you can actually see on a clear day! And we want to be where we can still have things to do and a great Swiss cultural experience if it's not the best weather and not necessarily stuck in a "ghost town". And as mentioned, many of the mountain excursions are closed or closing during our visit for "auditing" and "revisions" according to the Lucerne and Lauterbrunnen tourism boards. Hopefully we can squeeze one in on a day trip, but I guess I shouldn't hold my breathe. I like that you say we can see some fall colors. We don't get much of that in Southern CA, but my kids have absolutely loved the Midwest falls we've gotten to see. Does anyone have any great Swiss food recommendations in Lucerne or nearby? We leave 2 weeks from yesterday! Wow it's coming up fast and I feel so behind!

I like Rick, and I like his books. But having returned from Zurich/Lucerne/Basel (only) yesterday, I want to suggest that if you are going to adjust your schedule to bad weather, you should also buy Lonely Planet, or another book that covers attractions with a shotgun. Rick uses a rifle, more in the Switzerland book than in some others. I don't mean this in a nasty way. For less than two weeks, and in good weather, I think his book is great. But if you really look at ten summit-webcams to decide where to go on one day, his book may not have enough detail. (We had brilliant sun on Rigi's summit, as well as an inch of snow, but could not see any lake in any direction, in a sea of clouds!) Something else - if you're up where we were and need bad weather destinations, consider these: Aarau, nice medieval town, Stein Am Rhine, ditto, Augusta Rurica, respectable Roman site, if not as good as Spain and Italy. If you go to Basel for museums, consider the Vitra Design Museum just over the German border - really almost a softball's throw, in Weil Am Rhein. Take plenty of money. I paid 5 SF for a bottle of water inside airport security. (Can't fit an empty bottle under most airport sink faucets!) It may not help you, but we found that September-October William Tell Passes were two-for-one. (Caution-not everyone needs or wants this pass.)

Tim, thank you for that information!! Very much appreciated! I will grab another book as well so we are covered. With our kids with us, we want to make sure we are prepared. We're putting the last minute details together now so a few questions. - Did you exchange any currency ahead of time? Where is the best exchange? I've read to not exchange until you get there, but having a little bit in your pocket ahead of time is certainly a good thing. - What is the best in terms of train passes? A rail pass, Swiss half fare card, or just city cards for the cities and individual tickets? From what I can gather, it seems the individual route makes the most sense, but perhaps I'm missing something. We are 2 adults and 2 kids age 5 so they travel free. Our itinerary looks like this: Th arrive early AM in Zurich, explore city Fr Zurich, head to Uetliberg in Zurich for lunch / hike Sa train to Zurich to Lucerne and explore Su mountain excursion - Rigi, Pilatus, or Titlis or if really adventurous the OB - Jungfrau or Schilthorn for the day Mo Lucerne or mountain if didn't do Sunday excursion
Tu Lucerne to Zurich airport Thanks!

"I just feel so wrong not getting to the BO since one of our main desires in the trip is going to the mountains." The Berner Oberland is without a doubt one of the more scenic corners of Europe... but I'm afraid it's another example of Mr. Steves somewhat overselling one particular location while underselling or not mentioning many other good natives. The Alps are fantastic everywhere, don't think that you're settling for less if you go elsewhere. Here is the main advice I can offer for Alpine excursions in November... be as flexible as possible with your itinerary. Mountain businesses go on hiatus during this month because it's usually too cloudy, wet and cold to enjoy hiking but not enough snow yet to ski. Allot as many days as possible for the Alps and pounce on the first opportunity the weather gives you. Here's a quote from Mr. Steves' current blog post: "I also learned a lesson when booking a sea view seat in the ship's fanciest restaurant: A window seat after dark on a cruise ship has you sitting next to a big, glassy, black wall with nothing to see but your reflection." I think we can make a good analogy with the Alps. On a cloudy day, the view is no more interesting from 2,000 m as it is from 2 m. Here's a good website with more-or-less live webcams (the feeds stop updating once the sun goes down) from throughout Europe, many of them located in the Swiss Alps. A great way to monitor snow conditions or scenic views from your hotel room (although you can usually see the same cams from certain TV stations): http://www.feratel.com/en/home.html

Currency: People worry too much about this. ATMs are everywhere. A (four digit) PIN, gets money from your default (probably Checking) account. You might pay two banks $3 to $5 fees, plus a reasonable interbank exchange rate-much less than you will pay a bank in the US or Travelex. Get more Francs than you think you'll need: You can use them, with your credit card to pay the last hotel bill, thus avoiding a money-losing exchange back. (Does not apply to a cash-only little B&B, if that's where you're staying.) Passes: I can't answer this because it's so personal. Make a list of what you are certain or likely to do, and add up the amounts. We (car rental) added up two people-Rigi & a round-trip boat ride at retail, and easily decided to get two-for-one William Tell Passes for 180 (gasp!) Francs that. I suspect you want a Swisspass. Read Rick's book and you'll learn that some of the paid attractions in Lucerne are missable, like the Alpinium. He also gives a computation like I did above about the city cards. We didn't go to the Rosengart Collection, but Rick implies that only the Swiss Pass covers it - I don't know the facts, except that the Tell Passes DON'T. We decided that the Golden Round-Trip was too rushed for us, but that's a very personal decision. Kids are always welcome in Europe, but remember that they are going to slow you down. I would note that a boat trip isn't as much fun in cold or bad weather. (The Lake Lucerne boats are slick and beautiful and warm inside.) The high season ended on October 23, so make sure you are looking only at timetables that start on Oct 24, 2011. Lucerne is not far from Zurich, but I presume you can check in for your flight in good time? There will be lines.