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Hello ,
I am planning a 5 day trip to Switzerland in July – August time. Given below is my draft itinerary.I would like to cover as much varieties as possible keeping repetitions to the minimum. Like, would like to include some Alpine trips but not all mountain trips, one Panoramic train trip, some city sightseeing trips , checking out some historic building etc and would like to have all of them at a leisurely pace as possible.We are travelling as family with a 4 yr old child.
I hope the experienced travellers and admins can help in fine tuning this itinerary. We are not comfortable with heights and therefore have ruled out Titlis & Jungfrau trips. However, think we can manage the smaller mountain trips.
////// MY SWISS ITINERARY //////
1. Reach Zurich Airport by 13:20 pm on 31st July
2. Proceed to Lucerne to check in at Hotel
3. Spend rest of the day in Lucerne city tour to cover attractions like Chapel Bridge , Jesuit Church , Hofkirche Church etc
4. Rest for night in the hotel ( 31st July night )
5. Have Breakfast and proceed for Lake Lucerne cruise + Mt . Rigi trip ( 01st August morning )
6. In the evening, if time permits, go for city trips to see attractions like Swiss Transport Museum, Dying Lion Monument, Glacier Garden etc.
7. Rest for night ( 01 st August night )
8. Have Breakfast and proceed to Mt. Pilatus tour ( 02 nd August morning )
9. Rest for night ( 02nd August night )
10. Have Breakfast and proceed to Interlaken ( 03rd August morning )
11. Drop bags in Hotel reception lockers ( assuming will reach Interlaken before standard Check IN time )
and proceed to Lake Thun cruise.
12. After cruise, proceed for Check In at the hotel and go for a Paragliding trip if time permits.
13. Rest for the night ( 03rd August night )
14. Have Breakfast and proceed for Schilthorn trip ( 04th August morning )
15. Spend night in Interlaken for a city tour, if time permits.
16. Rest for night ( 04th August night )
17. Have Breakfast and proceed to Montreaux by the Golden Pass Panorama Classic Train ( 05th August morning )
18. Leave bags in Montreaux station lockers and proceed for tour of Chillion Castle, Lavaux vineyard , Lake Promenade , Chocolate Train etc.
19. Come back to Montreaux station, pick bags and proceed to Geneva Airport to reach by 18:30 pm
I have tried to cram in as much varieties ( for all members of the family as possible including child ) & tried to make the evenings free for leisurely activities / rest.
Kindly review and advise if this is doable or seems to be a disorganized / hurried one.
Any suggestions / criticisms for improvement welcome.
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Hi firstswiss, thanks for joining us!
You’ve definitely managed to create a very diverse itinerary, and I wouldn’t recommend any major changes. It may be a bit full at some points, but if you and your family are comfortable with that, it’s all fine. Here are some things to consider:
- August 1 is Switzerland’s National Holiday. There’ll be festivities and special events in Lucerne. Tourist attractions such as boat rides and the train up to Rigi may be more crowded than usual, as many Swiss residents will want to enjoy the outdoors too. But don’t worry, you’ll be able to do the tour you described. Both the Glacier Garden and the Museum of Transport are closed by 18h00 in summer months and can’t be visited in the evening. As far as I can see, there’s no exception for the evening of August 1. You may manage to visit either the glacier garden or the museum in the afternoon, after returning from Rigi;
- you mentioned you’re not comfortable with heights. Is this due to altitude sickness or rather to fear of heights and/or specific modes of traveling? In the latter case, you may want to carefully consider the trip to Pilatus. You can choose from a cog train ride from Alpnachstad, which is quite steep at some points, or a cable car ride from Kriens. It’s all described here. Likewise, the cable car to the Schilthorn may be a bit of a challenge. You’ll be able to avoid the steepest section by not traveling up from Stechelberg, but rather via Lauterbrunnen-Grütschalp-Mürren. Please find details here;
- note that paragliding trips often require reservations in advance. You may want to take a look at the options listed here, or contact Interlaken Tourism for details;
- Interlaken itself isn’t that interesting and you may prefer another activity (e.g. a visit to the Trümmelbach Falls down in the Lauterbrunnen valley, and/or a train ride up to Kleine Scheidegg and down to Grindelwald) rather than a city tour for the afternoon of August 4;
- you won’t be able to do all activities you’ve listed for your day in Montreux. The Chocolate Train takes nearly a full day. The promenade, the Chillon castle and the Lavaux area can be combined though. You could visit the castle first, then head for Geneva, and break this journey to get out in one of the villages in the Lavaux area and do a short hike there.
A 4 day Swiss Travel Pass for August 1-4, plus regular tickets for July 31, may bevconvenient in your case. Alternatively, you can consider a Swiss Half Fare Card. Here‘s to find out which pass suits your plans best.
Hi Annika,
Thanks for all your inputs.
1. From what you have suggested , I feel that it would be better not to plan anything specific on 01 st August on account of Swiss National Day . I could check out and get immersed in the activities of the day being in Lucerne.
Regarding not being comfortable with heights , often I feel sick ( nausea ) while travelling from lower altitudes to higher ones and vice versa. Which is why I had ruled out Titlis & Jungfrau trips as I have read in some forums that they were among the tallest compared to Pilatus , Schilthorn etc. However , I would not be doing justice by not trying out any of the mountain trips since these trips are the highlight of Swiss tourist trips. So , I am still planning to do Mt Rigi and Pilatus.
Montreux trip was planned to get a chance to be in the scenic trip of the Golden Pass from Interlaken to Montreux and to see the French part of Switzerland. If this is done during night , I would miss out on the wonderful sceneries. I had also wanted to talk a walk in the vineyards for Lavaux as it would be a different experience . Chocolate train was in included for the enjoyment of our child ( and for us..!! hehehe ). From your suggestions regarding Interlaken , I believe it would be best to leave the Interlaken stop altogether and proceed to Montreux. This would enable to enjoy Montreux activities to be taken at a slower pace for enjoyment. Anyways , a river cruise & ample mountain trips will be available while in Lucerne, feel it to be a repetition to do the same things in Interlaken area.
2. As suggested I will be taking the Swiss travel Pass. Could you advise if the same passes can be used in the Montreux area or is there some special passes for Montreux area ??
Again , thanks for all your valuable inputs.
Annika,
Need one more advise.
3. Which would be a better base to cover Montreux area , Lausanne or Montreux itself. Any hotel suggestion which would fall in the mid range in terms of cost??
Hi firstswiss,
1. There is no need to not do your activities that day. Annika just meant to say it’s a bit more crowded as everyone has a day off.
2. Sure, the Swiss Travel Pass covers all of Switzerland. Please download the map for details. You will get a free Montreux Riviera Card for traveling in and around Montreux. It covers a limited area, so it depends on your plans whether that card alone is sufficient. Please see myswissalps.com/ montreux/ hotels.
3. The previous link shows our suggestions for hotels in all price ranges.
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