Lucerne, Lauterbrunnen or Wengen for a trip in May

  • Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    31 January 2017 at 11:43:59 #810699

    Hi

    I truly loved and love this forum as had so many answers of the questions raised in mind after I’ve booked travel ticket to Switzerland to travel in the middle of May.

    Only confused about where to stay as a base . Lucerne or lauterbrunnen or wengen ? I would love to stay in wengen but will it be difficult to travel around from there? also the weather bit !! its a 4 days trip to cover titlis, pilatus, rhine falls and lake geneva.

    I am flying from London to Geneva and flying back from zurich to London.

    please help.

  • Effortlessly learn from the questions and answers in the forum. Receive a daily e-mail with new discussions.

    Arno
    Moderator
    15471 posts
    1 February 2017 at 10:20:50 #858579

    Hi Shaah,

    Welcome! I’m glad to hear you love our website! Lauterbrunnen and Wengen are not near any of the places on you wish list. From Lucerne, it would be easy to make day trips to Pilatus, Titlis and the Rhine Falls.

    As you land in Geneva you can start with Lake Geneva, then take the Golden Pass line from Montreux to Lucerne to be based there for the rest of your stay.

    Slowpoke
    Participant
    7567 posts
    1 February 2017 at 15:59:41 #858580

    H Shaah-

    These tools will help plan those trips:

    map.search.ch/

    Zoom in and you can see the rail lines.

    The timetable is full of information, buried down in multiple layers:

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

    Please read the instruction page, and be aware that the default routing is the fastest route. If you wish to chose a slower, scenic route, you will need to enter a “via” or “connection” station. Between Montreux and Interlaken, that is Zweisimmen; between Interlaken and Lucerne, that is Meiringen.

    Don’t be surprised to see the German spelling “Luzern” because Luzern is in a German-speaking region.

    The link to the Golden Pass lines that Arno linked can help with that routing. Not all trains on those routes are actual Golden Pass panoramic trains; some are “regular” trains on the same tracks.

    Slowpoke

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    8 February 2017 at 5:01:51 #858581

    Hi Shaah,

    I’m kinda have same itinerary like you in the end of May. Fly to Geneva from Rome and then continue the journey to Zurich and the go back to my country.

    In forums I searched, people say it’s nice to take the boat/train from Geneva to lausanne and montreux then straight to Luzern. Or instead stop and stay in Berner Oberland for 2 days.

    I havent made up my mind and my itin is still a mess. Cause the question for me is still,

    1. Where to stay for those approx.3-4 days?

    2. How to manage our luggage effectively? Lets say i’ll be landing in geneva 11.30 am and lets say i’m doing the journey to montreux. And then the next day I want to visit the Oeschinensee to ride rodelbahn and the next day i want to see Lucern. The thing is the journey is up to the north and it’s somehow confusing.

    Sorry for interfering your forum, really need advise so badly!

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    8 February 2017 at 10:41:15 #858582

    Hi Maureenm and Welcome to MySwissAlps!

    Please ask your question in your own post in this forum as this is for Shaah only. The more posts the better so don’t worry about starting your own! 🙂 It will also be easier for you to have your own thread.

    Lucas

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    13 February 2017 at 22:57:41 #858583

    First of all Thanks a million to myswissalps, Arno and Slowpoke. You guys are amazing.

    As per my previous post I’ve planned to fly Switzerland in May. I literally researched through and prepared a rough itinerary for my trip. Please and kindly have a look and suggest if you think something else might be better and wiser. I think i went a bit crazy but its just to see as much as possible in 4 days believing on our strength of full of energy.

    I’ve arranged my hotel in Luzern just 10 min from the station and will use this as a base for the entire journey.

    Will buy 4 days Swiss Travel Pass in advance .

    Day 1: Will reach Geneva from London at 9am. Planned to see UN building for an hour then boat tour from Geneva to Lausanne. Lausanne to bern by train will walk around bern for 3 hours as its a capital city dont wanna miss a glance, then to luzern to see chapel bridge and finally to hotel.

    Day 2: Leave hotel early to go to Mt Titlis and will try to go to mt pilatus on our way back to luzern. ( Do you think its possible in a day ?) it will be like :- Luzern to Engelberg to Titlis to Engelberg to Pilatus to Luzern. Only concern is as far as I’ve seen last train from Pilatus to Luzern depart at 17:45 . ( right ?)

    Day 3: Take golden pass line from luzern to Interlaken to do Jungfrau region in one day tour as per Myswissalps guide. we will walk in between instead of train ofcourse.

    Day 4: Say good bye to bed and the hotel early to do boat tour in lake luzern. get off at vitznau to go to Mt rigi then we will head towards Rhine falls to enjoy the short view and will go to Zurich airport at around 7 pm to fly back to london.

    Hope its a realistic plan I made. Please feel free to chop around if needed. Thanks again guys for your generous help and direction.

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    13 February 2017 at 23:05:24 #858584

    Hi Maureen

    Nice to hear you travelling in May. I’ve just posted my itineary above please have a look and any suggessions are really welcome as I believe you’ve done your research throug to make your trip on the top.

    In relates to bag as you said, Me and my wife decided not to carry any luggage with us. We will just carry a back pack below 10 kg as we alway do during travel. So it will be easy for us to carry to start hitting our journey as soon as we touch geneva .

    Regards

    Shah

    Slowpoke
    Participant
    7567 posts
    14 February 2017 at 23:36:50 #858585

    Hi Shaah-

    You might find this service of value. It has worked for me for years:

    http://www.sbb.ch/en/station-services/services/lugg age-and-flight-luggage.html

    gives an overview.

    I have used the over 2 nights service a lot:

    http://www.sbb.ch/en/station-services/services/lugg age-and-flight-luggage/luggage.html

    Very reliable. It may not match your schedule.

    Slowpoke

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    16 February 2017 at 5:07:34 #858586

    Hi Shaah,

    I have a similar itenary to yours and will be basing my 4 days stay in Luzern as well. Hope you don’t mind me asking but which hotel did you pick in Luzern? I have organised all my itenary but am at a loss with regards to which hotel to choose. Totally confused.

    Thanks.

    KamalS

    Arno
    Moderator
    15471 posts
    16 February 2017 at 9:25:08 #858587

    Hi KamalS,

    The page myswissalps.com/lucern e/hotels lists handpicked hotels. Might be helpful to narrow down your options.

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    16 February 2017 at 10:02:37 #858588

    Hi Arno,

    Yes. I did have a look at the list. Unfortunately quite a few had been fully booked already or some didn’t allow kids. So, back to square one. That’s why i thought i would like to just find out what the rest were looking at. Thanks.

    Cheers! KamalS

    Arno
    Moderator
    15471 posts
    17 February 2017 at 14:22:50 #858589

    I see. If you need more help feel free to post some details to the Accommodation forum as explained here.

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    18 February 2017 at 1:56:13 #858590

    Could someone please review my itinerary below and advice if this is ok and possible ? or should i change something !! specially the days i planned to visit few landmark in one day.. Sorry for posting again as i didn’t hear any suggestions from the Experts.. I am a bit concern as never been to Switzerland before.

    As per my previous post I’ve planned to fly Switzerland in May. I literally researched through and prepared a rough itinerary for my trip. Please and kindly have a look and suggest if you think something else might be better and wiser. I think i went a bit crazy but its just to see as much as possible in 4 days believing on our strength of full of energy.

    I’ve arranged my hotel in Luzern just 10 min from the station and will use this as a base for the entire journey.

    Will buy 4 days Swiss Travel Pass in advance .

    Day 1: Will reach Geneva from London at 9am. Planned to see UN building for an hour then boat tour from Geneva to Lausanne. Lausanne to bern by train will walk around bern for 3 hours as its a capital city dont wanna miss a glance, then to luzern to see chapel bridge and finally to hotel.

    Day 2: Leave hotel early to go to Mt Titlis and will try to go to mt pilatus on our way back to luzern. ( Do you think its possible in a day ?) it will be like :- Luzern to Engelberg to Titlis to Engelberg to Pilatus to Luzern. Only concern is as far as I’ve seen last train from Pilatus to Luzern depart at 17:45 . ( right ?)

    Day 3: Take golden pass line from luzern to Interlaken to do Jungfrau region in one day tour as per Myswissalps guide. we will walk in between instead of train ofcourse.

    Day 4: Say good bye to bed and the hotel early to do boat tour in lake luzern. get off at vitznau to go to Mt rigi then we will head towards Rhine falls to enjoy the short view and will go to Zurich airport at around 7 pm to fly back to london.

    Hope its a realistic plan I made. Please feel free to chop around if needed. Thanks again guys for your generous help and direction.

    Annika
    Moderator
    7103 posts
    18 February 2017 at 16:27:37 #858591

    Hi Shaah!

    Well, that’s quite an ambitious travel scheme indeed. I’m afraid some of your days are too full and you may have to skip a couple of sites. Here are some thoughts:

    • day 1: I’d visit either Geneva or Lausanne, not both. You won’t be able to see more than a glimpse of both towns if you also want to take your time in Bern and even Lucerne the same evening. A little sightseeing in Lucerne may also be doable on day 2, instead of day 1;
    • day 2: it can be done if you leave early and don’t spend hours at the top. Please consult the timetable and our Titlis and Pilatus pages for details;
    • day 3: the one day Jungfraujoch tour is especially suitable for those staying in the Jungfrau region and being able to start off early in the day. Getting there from Lucerne requires some traveling time, so you’d have to leave really early. Alternatively, you could skip some parts and just visit those sites that interest you most (for example: just get to Schynige Platte, as that’s for free with your Swiss Travel Pass, and do one of the shorter hikes).
    • day 4: personally I’d do either Rigi (recommended in clear weather) or the Rhine Falls, not both. That allows you to arrive in Zurich well in time for your flight. You may explore Zurich a bit if you like before heading to the airport.

    Please find purchase options for your Swiss Travel Pass here.

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    21 February 2017 at 4:02:56 #858592

    Hi Kamals

    sorry for late reply. I’ve booked hotel Palace Luzern . Its a 5* .Booked Based on few good reviews. Don’t know how it gonna be!!

    Slowpoke
    Participant
    7567 posts
    21 February 2017 at 5:38:44 #858593

    Hi Shaah –

    <<“hotel Palace Luzern .”>>

    That might be the best hotel in Luzern. If not, it comes close.

    Slowpoke

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    21 February 2017 at 8:40:39 #858594

    Hi Shaah

    “Hotel Palace Luzern” – That is something we can’t afford…but by the looks of it, it looks lovely. Have a great time. I have put up my question on the accomodation forum and hopefully someone will help me out.

    Cheers.

    KamalS.

  • The thread ‘Lucerne, Lauterbrunnen or Wengen for a trip in May’ is closed to new replies.

About MySwissAlps

We’re passionate tourists and locals. We share tips about how to plan a trip to Switzerland. MySwissAlps was founded in 2002.

Get a free account for a worry-free trip

  • Join our 10730 members and ask us questions in the forum
  • Access to member-only promotions
  • Detailed maps and weather forecasts

Planning your first Switzerland adventure?

Get a jump-start with Annika’s 20-minute e-mail course, “Switzerland for beginners”. Subscribe to our newsletter to unlock the course.