[Removed user]

2 October 2016 at 17:15:01 #810181

Hi everyone!

I’m a costa rican who is traveling for the first time to Europe, I only have 3 weeks the first week I’ll be in Spain for work and after I’m considering going to Switzerland for 4 nights followed by Paris and London.

I’m interested to see nature and nice landscapes in Switzerland, but considering I only have 4 nights what places do you suggest me to go at this time of the year end october?

Any other suggestion will be highly appreciated.

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[Slowpoke]

2 October 2016 at 19:43:37 #856363

Hi Harry-

Check the getting started pages and all the links from there to get a good perspective on traveling in Switzerland.

http://www.myswissalps.com/ge ttingstarted

Late October can still be autumn at lower elevations, but it is too soon for skiing and to late for hiking in the high Alps. High Alpine resorts are not completely shut down, but many facilities for tourists are “between seasons.”

Altitude governs weather.

See Kim’s comments here, well down the thread:

http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/visiting-bernese-oberland-with-young-kids

Do you have specific interests…..hiking, museums, mountains, trains…….?

Here are two useful tools:

http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable

Check the instructions page, and be prepared to dig down several layers for many details in the complex menus.

A good map-

map.search.ch/

First time travelers often find Luzern a good starting place:

http://www.myswissalps.com/lu cerne

( I use the German spelling, since Luzern is in a German-speaking canton.)

Zoom in for the train lines. Try out the menus under “Points of Interest.”

Slowpoke

[Removed user]

4 October 2016 at 3:56:06 #856364

Thanks a lot Slowpoke!

My main interest of traveling to Swiss is to be able to appreciate the scenic views of nature…

Since, I’m not a good travel planner and this is my first travel to Europe I’m seriously considering paying a package with everything included, would it be possible that you guys tell me your thoughts on this package? http://www.magicswitzerland.c om/tours/3-white-peaks-rail-adventure-tour.htm

Cheers

[Slowpoke]

4 October 2016 at 7:22:40 #856365

Hi Harry –

<<“would it be possible that you guys tell me your thoughts on this package?”>>

I know nothing about tours…I have done it myself in Switzerland since 1980. I enjoy the process, and Switzerland makes it easy for tourists.

Perhaps others can jump in.

That said, the contents look good, it has a lot of mountains, which certainly fall within your definition of scenery, it is longer than you said you wanted to spend, and the cost seems to me to be not unreasonable for transport and hotels, which usually include breakfast in Switzerland.

With your chosen time limits, it matches the times I would allocate to the two chosen towns…Luzern and somewhere in the Jungfrau region, such as Interlaken. Interlaken, per se, is a better transfer point than tourist destination. I’d stay at Grindelwald or Wengen, if I were doing that trip. But, as note below, if th weather is bad, Interlaken is closer to contingencies, with good train connections to the rest of Switzerland.

Arno and Annika are the experts on the rail passes, and can comment on what the Swiss Travel Pass Combi would cost, and what it covers. Not sure the travel pass combi matches your number of days exactly, but that probably does not matter.

http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpassflex/pric e

Also, they probably know a lot more about relative cost vs. do it yourself, and may know about that specific tour.

As far as i can tel, the tour does not include a guide. Forgive me if i don’t understand that point.

If it is true, you could do the same trip on your own, by buying the appropriate rail pass, and picking hotels from the information available on this website. The cost of the package vs. do it yourself may well be worth the convenience for you, but you’ll find that English works well, and that you can get around easily on the superb train system.

Items to consider-

1.- Late October has a break point in travel facilities in the high Alps. You plan to have a few days in the Jungfrau region. A trip to the Jungfrau region is mentioned. That is expensive, even with any kind of discounted travel with any of various rail travel passes. Is it included in the cost? Or, do you have to buy the discounted ticket for that in addition?

After October 23, the cable way to scenic heights stop running until mid December, when the ski season starts. Early October still has good hiking at higher altitudes, but winter is coming in fast. The cograil train to Jungfraujoch runs all year, and will not be crowded in late October. Many hotels are shut for autumn break…maintenance, repairs, vacations. Many are still open, however.

2.- Weather –

You have a few days in Interlaken. That is a good base if the weather does not cooperate at high altitude. The mountains around and up to the top of the Jungfrau are stunningly beautiful, if you can see them. If you can’t, you have paid a lot to look at the inside of one or more clouds. The weather changes frequently, and it comes in layers with different altitudes.

Local sources can keep you informed; you may want to switch days around, and perhaps, skip the trip to Gstaad, At that time of year, the hotels are not usually full, and if you are on your own, you would very likely be able to switch dates. If the tour has fixed dates for hotel reservations, you might have no flexibility.

Sunset will be at around 6 Pm or 5PM in late October with the change to Winter time on the 30th.

dateandtime.info/citys unrisesunset.php?id=2660253

Slowpoke

[Arno]

4 October 2016 at 8:30:50 #856366

Hi Harryvr,

Just wanted to point out that if you prefer a package over planning yourself, Magic Switzerland is a company we work with and trust, so they’re a good choice. You can pick one of their standard packages; but they can also customize trips. For example, they can change the package you mentioned and include Grindelwald or Wengen like Slowpoke suggested. Or they can create an entirely new itinerary. You can fill out this form if you’re interested. To plan yourself, you can use the “getting started” link Slowpoke gave you.

[Slowpoke]

4 October 2016 at 15:16:18 #856367

Hi Harry –

<<“My main interest of traveling to Swiss”>>

Forgot to mention…”Swiss” is an adjective. In Ehnglish, the name of the country is Switzerland.

It is confusing because the Spanish name is Suiza, and several other languages use a one-syllable name.

Slowpoke