Switzerland tips - itinerary, reservations, hiking, swiss pass

I'd would NOT spend so much time in Bern no matter how free the rent is. And YES get a rail pass. I would extend your following schedule however to: Lauterbrunnen - stay in Wengen or Murren
Lucern day trip

My only comment is that from Wengen or Murren, you can take the Golden Pass train from Interlaken to Lucerne thereby eliminating the need to return to Bern.

One Swiss card that you might consider is the Swiss 1/2-fare card. It costs 99CHF and is good for 30 days. It does what it says - 1/2 fare on all transportation including mountain tops.

Poles are a benefit after several hours of hiking on steep terrain. Unless you're planning a multi-day hike or you really want to walk some of the toughest trails, you won't need them.

Hi Kimberly,
Here are my thoughts: I wouldn't spend your first night in Zurich as it's very easy to get on a train at the airport to go to your first destination.

For a change of pace and hiking trails, consider spending a couple of nights in Interlaken.

Have a great trip!

Thanks all. We have been considered making it an overnight in Gruyeres and then on to Montreux, so we aren't doing so much returning to Bern. I know Bern isn't the most beautiful city in Europe (I can almost bet it is far more attractive than Tampa though!) but the benefit of a free room is a plus.

We were also thinking about returning to Bern on 9/10, heading to Lucerne on 9/11, overnight in Lucerne and then back to Zurich, since Lucerne gets such good reviews.

Is Lausanne worth visiting?

I've not planned so much time away before, so this gets hard. I want to see so many things in Switzerland. Well, at least I'm not trying to do 6 countries in 13 days I guess!

Hi Sharon, I think you itinerary is good, Bern is a nice city and the train is very efficient. I too think you should go straight to Bern after you flight, you can relax and get over the jetlag. The 15 days pass might not be a bad idea even if you don't use 2 of the days. you can get a swiss saver pass since there is 2 of you, it will save lot of money. (free entry at chateau de chillon, gruyères museum, gruyères cheese factory, all transports, 50% off high peaks in Lauterbrunnen Valley, and more.) If you don't have a early flight back I would not spend the last night in Zurich (unless you want to visit it) it is about an hour from both Lucerne and Bern. Have fun!

Hi Kimberly, my wife and I visited Switzerland and Austria for the first time last September. We flew into Zurich and spent the first week in Switzerland. We rented a car since we were staying in Torgon, near Aigle, which is in the French Swiss countryside. The car gave us more flexibility. The rental cost was only $688 for two weeks and that included the additional drop off fee in Munich.

We were very please with our itinerary (most from Rick's guidebook). We visited Lausanne (recommended - nice smaller city, Rick's suggested walking tour was well worth it), Lake Geneva, Montreaux, Gruyeres, Lazern, Lauterbrunnen (two days), Junfrauoch and the Shilthorn, including all the villages in between, like Murren, Wengen, etc. This is absolutely a fantastic area for hiking.

We are returning September of 2010 for two weeks this time. Spending one week in Murren. Simply awesome!

Enjoy.

A great and pretty easy hike in the Lauterbrunnen Valley would be from Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg on the Wengen side of the valley. It is outlined in detail in Rick's Switzerland book and includes a lovely hike to this lookout point that gives you a panoramic view of the entire area and all the peaks. My wife and I don't hike much and we did it no problem on the day we went up to Jungfraujoch. Was one of the highlights of the trip. You wouldn't need any hiking poles for this one.

Hi Kimberley
Consider staying in Luzern when you arrive ZRH. Its eay to get to from ZRH. I have stayed many times in the Bernese Oberland. Lauterbrunned (from Interlaken) is very central and the cable car up to Murren a marvelous experience, you can then walk from Gruslap into Murren if you prefer, easy and very scenic. You can come back from Gimmelwald on the cable car if you want a round trip
Wengen is also fun, you have either option for hikes from there.
Enjoy your trip.

We did a similar trip, but were actually based in a self-catering place in Einigen (near Spiez and Interlaken). We used our 15 day saver pass (it's worth it even if you don't use a few days) - rode the train (and some boats) everywhere - it was such fun and so, so beautiful. If you haven't bought air tickets, consider flying home from Geneva after visiting Lausanne (30 minute train trip direct to the airport) rather than going back to Zurich. Bern is an ok central spot (price is right) and with the pass you can really go all over. The best hike was the one from Mannlichen (above Wengen - mentioned before) - no poles needed for that or some hiking around Murren/Gimmelwald. Staying a couple of days in the valley where you can easily access Murren and Wengen would be a great option - we spent too much time getting to and changing trains in Interlaken. This year we're getting out of Rick's book - a bit of church history in Zurich (and biking into the countryside) - then Bodensee and down the Rhine (mostly by bike and a little train).

I met a couple in Murren last summer who swore by their hiking poles, which had shock-absorbing tips. They said it was so much easier on knees, hips, etc.

A quick comment on your Thun day trip: St Beatus cave is WELL-WORTH the effort !!! In addition to the walk-thru,, there is a beautiful, small cafe at the end of the cave tour. Wonderful vistas of the Alps and the lake to the south. Be forwarned,if you start from the dock where the lake boat lands,, its a stiff 60* walk up the cliff to the lakeshore roadway. Then a second walk uphill to the cave entrance. An alternative approach is to take the bus from Thun along the lake north shore to the "Beatushohlen" stop. Then, after the cave, walk Downhill to the roadway and Downhill to the lake dock and take the boat back to Thun. All-in-all this is a Wonderful trip !!

My husband and I use poles here at home, but they are not worth the hassle of trying to get them on planes and then carrying them around your whole trip. We leave them at home (and we do the all day "difficult" hikes)

I always hike with my hiking poles now. That being said, if this trip is only going to include a few hikes, and the purpose of the trip is not just hiking, then leave them home. You cannot take them on board the plane, they have to be checked, you will have to have a bag that they will fit in.

I've hiked the Kandersteg valley, it was beautiful. there are easy hikes, and harder ones, lots of options. We hiked for 5 days, stayed in just one hotel, and each day was different. We did take a day trip to Lauterbrunnen and hiked there too.

Are you still checking this discussion, Kimberly? I have a couple of suggestions. Your original plan has you spending 7 nights for free in Bern and 5 nights elsewhere. If you would consider rearranging things a bit and spending 6 nights out of Bern, I think you would have a nicer trip without so much back-and-forth to Bern. Here's how:

Go directly to Bern from the Zürich airport instead of spending the night in Zürich. The train stops right in the airport and it is very easy (and quick). Spend that night and the next 4 there, doing your daytrips to Thun, Murten, boat trips, etc.

Then take the train to Montreux and spend the night there 9or in nearby Vevey, a small charming town on the lake toward Chateau de Chillon. After that, train to Lauterbrunnen (or Wengen) for 3 nights, and then to Luzern for the last 2 night. You can easily reach the Zürich airport from Luzern unless your flight is very early in the morning.

At your age and for easy hikes, I would not bother with hiking poles.

As for the type of pass--compare prices for the 15-day Swiss pass to a Flex Pass for the number of days you would be doing long-ish trips. (I count 3: Bern to Montreux, Montreux to Wengen, Wengen to Luzern. Add a day to start your pass (airport to Bern) and you can use the half-fare option on the Flex Pass for your remaining days. The 4-day pass Flex pass is $223 versus $335 for a 15-day Swiss Pass. But you would have to add the half-fare cost for the remaining trips, plus full fare for the last day (Luzern to the airport) so it might be a wash. And the convenience of the Swiss Pass (just get on the train, boat, etc. without stopping to buy tickets) is worth something too.

I am still checking this. My itinerary has changed up some to allow a quick trip down to Venice (one busy day in Venice...but other posters in the boot section said it was doable and enjoyable in an overnight visit). We had gone back and forth some on whether to fit it in, but we decided it was worth it. We didn't cut out any of our time in Lauterbrunnen by doing it, which was our big draw; we cut time out of Bern for the trip to Venice.

I've gotten some great tips on hikes and other sights from this, so thanks to everyone for that!