Stay in Interlaken or elsewhere?
-
Removed userParticipant72625 posts28 March 2018 at 12:48:02 #815014
My wife and I are visiting Switzerland for 12 nights, from August 3. With the help of this brilliant forum we have arrived at the following itinerary
Day 1 Arrive in Geneva – sleep in Geneva two nights
Day 3 Geneva to Zermatt sleep in Zermatt 2 nights
Day 5 Glacier Express to St Moritz sleep one night
Day 6 St Moritz to Lucerne sleep in Lucerne 2 nights
Day 8 Golden Express to Interlaken sleep four nights
Day 12 Golden Express to Montreux stay one night
Day 13 Train to Geneva airport flight to Edinburgh
Two questions which I would like your help with please. Are there better alternatives to staying in Interlaken (e.g Wengen or Murren) and Montreux (eg Vevey or Lausanne)
and secondly can we get a train from St. Moritz to Lucerne without having to go to Zurich.
All help appreciated.
-
Removed userParticipant72625 posts28 March 2018 at 14:32:15 #880199
Hi Edinburgh2 and welcome to MySwissAlps!
- I would stay somewhere other than Interlaken, Yes. Wengen is the favourite for most members. Mürren, Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen are all nicer options as well (I think).
- I would stay in Montreux – very nice and central
- Yes, you can get a train anywhere really/almost – it just depends on how much time you have. 🙂
A nice option would be St. Moritz to Chur to St. Gallen and take the Voralpen Express to Lucerne. But it does take 6 hours roughly (via Zurich is 4 hours). Use the timetable and enter St. Gallen and Arth-Goldau as the “VIA” stations.
Removed userParticipant72625 posts28 March 2018 at 17:56:13 #880200hi there
firstly it is matter of interest
I am going to Switzerland second time in end July for two weeks.
since I love nature and mountains, I prefer to make Interlaken as my base so that I can visit wengen, grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, Zermatt, lake Thun and Brienz, Schynige Platte, Jungfrau all in day’s trips on different days. There are very convenient train connections to these places from Interlaken. I shall also do Golden express from Interlaken.
Hope this helps
regards
PeterliParticipant1206 posts29 March 2018 at 3:36:58 #880201Hej ! Edinburgh2,
Right off the top, what kind of pass are you planing to use ?
I think you may be rushing a bit much in at least one stage of your proposed itinerary. More particularly, I think you will be a bit rushed on Days 5 and 6 and therefore wonder what you actually plan to do in St. Moritz. If your main objective is to soak in the scenery along the train segments, then go for it.
I like Lucas’ idea for going via St. Gallen on Day 6, but again that adds to travel time. How early are you prepared to leave St. Moritz in the AM ?
I would consider spending one more night in Lucerne (3 instead of 2) and one less night (3 instead of 4) in Interlaken (or somewhere up one of the valleys, either Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen, which I prefer). As things stand now, you aren’t giving yourself much time in the Lucerne area, especially since Day 6 could be a long travel day. I hope you can fit in a ride on one of the boats that go out from Lucerne (the docks are right there in front of the train station).
You aren’t giving yourself much time along Lake Geneva, which is too bad. Any place along there is great for an overnight, including, as Lucas has stated, Montreux.
By the way, on the day you take the train from Geneva to Zermatt, sit on the right side of the train to get the most amazing views all along the Léman (Lake Geneva). Maybe the train won’t be too crowded and so you can go back and forth once you hit the Rhone valley.
You are not fitting any of the Italian part of Switzerland (Ticino) nor much of the French part (Romandie) into your itinerary. I hope you will get to see more of these areas in your next visit.
Removed userParticipant72625 posts29 March 2018 at 5:32:44 #880202Hello,
We are a couple travelling from India. We will be coming in from Austria on May 9th evening. Our stay in Switzerland is from May 9-17 /2018.
2 nights Interlaken- 9th and 10th May , proceed to Lucerne on 11th
2 nights Lucerne- 11-12 May , 2 nights in Lucerne , 13th proceed to Zermatt
13-14h May , 2 nights in Zermatt ,15th proceed to Zurich.
15-16th 2 nights in Zurich , 17th flying back to India.
I have booked my Stay for the travel period.
My Questions.
1. Kindly suggest me the Must see attractions at the above cities/towns.
2. Is buying individual route tickets economical or a 8 day Swiss rail pass or any other , kindly suggest.
3. I have 1 and a half days in Zurich , I would like to do City tour , Rhine falls , Day trip to Black forest – Drubba , is this doable ? And if yes kindly suggest me the best tour operator , agency to do the booking.
Thankyou
Warm Regards
Jugal Vira
Removed userParticipant72625 postsRemoved userParticipant72625 posts5 April 2018 at 15:26:36 #880204Thanks to everyone for the replies. We have taken your advice and now booked to stay in Wengen. I should have mentioned that we have First Class Interrail passes.
So, one last question. Having spent the previous day with 8 hours on the Glacier Express we would like to get from St Moritz to Lucerne as quickly as possible to give us as much time there as possible. There seems to be various different routes to take. Can you advise on the most suitable please?
Removed userParticipant72625 postsSlowpokeParticipant7567 posts5 April 2018 at 17:53:37 #880206Hi Edinburgh2 –
I’m one of the forum members who likes Wengen.
So does Kim:
http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/tips-about-wengen-and-the-jungfrau-region-by-kim
With regard to Peterli’s suggestion about Luzen and Interlaken, I’d suggest that either one is good for a lot more time.
Part of the decision will be based on your preferences for what to do?
Will you be hiking? Photography? Walking trough Old Towns? Museums?Lake boat rides?
August can be hot, and Luzern typically will be hotter than the Berner Oberland.
Both will be full of tourists, but there is more room for them to spread out in the Jungfrau Region.
Slowpoke
SlowpokeParticipant7567 posts5 April 2018 at 22:44:08 #880207Hi tejinderbedi
Interlaken certainly has good connections, and is a good place to stay, especially if you plan to travel outside the Jungfrau Region to places such as Zermatt, Bern, or the rest of Switzerland.
However, if you are concentrating on the Jungfrau Region itself, you can get to all of those places easily, with good connections , from Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen. Wengen adds another few minutes. The compensating feature is that you are immersed in the Alpine experience, constantly surrounded by beautiful scenery, with easy access to most of the Jungfrau region. Personally, once I am there, I do not want to spend traveling time visiting a lot of different places. I like to immerse myself in that environment with minimal travel.
So, staying at the towns in the valley offers a totally different experience compared to staying in Interlaken.
Each has his own needs and preferences. Some do not need to visit so many places, and may have a shorter time than 2 weeks to enjoy their stay.
Slowpoke
- The thread ‘Stay in Interlaken or elsewhere?’ is closed to new replies.