MySwissAlps.com features ads, commercial and non-commercial 21 days in Sept by car throughout Switzerland
-
We will spend 21 days in Switzerland by car this Sept ’22. Looking for advice as we’ve never been there. Will do some smaller hikes. Don’t feel the need to see every mountain top but will go up several along the way, so looking for the best of the bunch with easiest access.
Zurich-2 nights-explorer city
Lucerne-3 nights-explorer city. Pilatus? or Mt Rigi?? any other suggestions?
Chur-3 nights-visit St Moritz. Guarda? Bernina Express
Ascona/Locarno-3 nights-explorer towns. Lavertezzo/Sonogno. Lugano
Zermatt-2 nights-Gornergrat train??
Montreux-2 nights-Verbier. Gruyeres. Gstaad
Spiez-1 night-explorer lake area- St Beatus Caves
Wengen-1 nght-Schynige Platte or ?
Grindelwald-3 nghts-Best mountain trip?
Zurich 1 nght-relax-fly home
I’m sure I’ll be on here many times before Sept.
Thanks for all the help.
-
And your reason for using a car…?
I like the freedom to go wherever i want to go, whenever I want to go.
Hi Explorer21!
That’s an impressive itinerary. You’ll get to see man different parts of Switzerland. Mind that mountain trips and hikes are weather dependent (https://www.myswissalps.com/weather. So you may want to cut down on the number of base towns a bit, to have more days in each area with better chances of good weather. Grindelwald (http://www.myswissalps.com/grindelwald) and Wengen (https://www.myswissalps.com/wengen) are close to one another. It might be easier to spend more nights in just one of these towns.
Wengen and Zermatt are car-free. Please refer to https://www.myswissalps.com/wengen/travel and https://www.myswissalps.com/zermatt/travel. A general comparison between car and train traveling is available at http://www.myswissalps.com/carversustrain.
As for some of your specific questions:
- You can compare mountain tops and other activities near Lucerne at http://www.myswissalps.com/lucerne/activities. Pilatus is closest to Lucerne: https://www.myswissalps.com/pilatus.
- Gornergrat offers one of the best views of the Matterhorn: https://www.myswissalps.com/gornergrat. More suggestions are available at https://www.myswissalps.com/zermatt/activities.
- Männlichen is the mountain right above Wengen, so it makes sense to visit it if you stay there: https://www.myswissalps.com/mannlichen. All activities in the Jungfrau region can be found at https://www.myswissalps.com/jungfrauregion/activities.
Near Lucerne Mount Titlis is also a good option
My strong recommendation for Swiss public transport. It is frequent, very clean, convenient and very efficient. Train journeys in Bernes Oberland are specially very scenic
Swiss Half fare card will be useful
Cheers
If you had to do only one from Lucerne would you do Pilatus, Mt Rigi or mt Titlis? Also which 2 would you do from the Grindelwald/Wengen area? Thank you for your help!!!
“I like the freedom to go wherever i want to go, whenever I want to go.”
I don’t mean to belabor the point, it’s just that I don’t know how familiar you are with driving in Switzerland. There are times when a car would be an advantage (e.g. number of people involved, and where you want to go). But in case you are new to exploring the many pages of information at MySwissAlps in order to work out a trip plan… Be aware that many places in the Alps are not open to cars, so you can’t go wherever you want to go. Using the great public transportation in Switzerland offers many things you won’t get with just a car. For example, a trip to Pilatus from Lucerne might involve a beautiful boat trip going to and back, or… here’s what one page at this site says:
You can also start your round trip from Lucerne in the district of Kriens or in the town of Alpnachstad.
* Kriens can be reached by car or by bus from the rail station in Lucerne. [This is very easy by bus]
* Alpnachstad can be reached by train, boat or by car. The funicular leaves very close to the rail station and boat dock of Alpnachstad. [You won’t believe how the Swiss have designed transportation to make things very easy. I have taken the “round trip” [Lucerne->Kriens->Pilatus->boat landing->Lucerne.]
I also loved the trip to Mt. Rigi. Lucerne, by boat to Vitznau, then the cog train from Vitznau to Rigi Kulm. Then coming back down cable car from Rigi to Weggis, and a final boat trip back to Lucerne. Aside from the mountain views the trips themselves are part of the adventure, and what views you see via boat and cog train and cable car.
Many of the areas you want to see are so much better without a car (and many can’t be done by car). Just thoughts you might think about.
From what everyone says and what I’ve read the rail system in Switzerland is fantastic. I know there are places I can’t go by car so I will use the other options to those areas. We just enjoy going at our pace and stop to see areas that we may not get to see from the train. Such as the Appenzel area, St Moritz/Guarda area, drive to Sonogno and Lugano while in Ascona, and other day trips from Montreux and Spiez. I appeciate your info and will put it to use. Do I read that Mt Rigi would be the best mountain to go while in Lucerne? Will probably do 2 mountain trips from Grindelwald/Wengen. Your two suggestions? Thank you for your help and attention!
Hi Explorer21,
There are various mountain destination options close to Lucerne. If you’re travelling with a car, I recommend driving to Vitznau and taking the train up to Rigi. There is limited parking at the Vitznau station but there is a covered parking a little bit further up. Or if you don’t mind a longer drive, plan a trip to the village of Engelberg where Mt Titlis is located. There are ample parking near the valley station.
For your stay in Grindelwald, I suggest taking the cable car to First. A visit to Männlichen is also a good idea. Both destinations offer options to do short hikes at the top.
Regards,
- The thread ‘21 days in Sept by car throughout Switzerland’ is closed to new replies.
