[Anonymous]

17 January 2020 at 18:41:47 #824922

Hello, we are 2 families (4 adults and 4 kids ages 10 to 15) planning Trip to Austria and Switzerland. Flying from USA to Zurich on March 13th (spending 3-4 days in Austria for skiing and remaining days in Switzerland) and flying back to USA from Zurich on March 21st. Interested to visit places in Switzerland are Zermatt /Matterhorn, Interlaken-Jungfraujoch, Lucerne-Mt. Titlis, Bern, Vevey. My questions are –

1. should we make Zurich as base and plan day trips to above places? OR

2. Should we rent a car and drive through the places and book the hotel accordingly (what will be driving conditions during March 18-21) ? OR

3. Should we consider a Train and create an itinerary?

Thank you

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[Anna]

Reply 1 of 10 • 17 January 2020 at 20:27:15 #928197

Hi Patel,

Welcome to MySwissAlps.

I would pick No. 3, take the train! Swiss trains are comfortable, safe and efficient. It’s also eco-friendly. If you’re planning to drive, be sure to read this first: http://www.myswissalps.com/carversustrain

Having said that, you do need to plan an itinerary. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you with that: http://www.myswissalps.com/plantrip/doityourself

Based on your interest, I suggest staying in Lucerne or Bern instead of Zurich. Lucerne and Bern are both more centrally-located for day trips to Interlaken and Vevey. Zermatt is a bit further away (abt 2.5 hours one way from Bern) but still not impossible to make a day trip. Please use the SBB timetable to plan your journeys. Links below:

• SBB timetable: http://www.myswissalps.com/timetable
• Lucerne: http://www.myswissalps.com/lucerne
• Titlis: http://www.myswissalps.com/titlis
• Zurich: http://www.myswissalps.com/zurich
• Bern: http://www.myswissalps.com/bern
• Interlaken: http://www.myswissalps.com/interlaken
• Jungfraujoch: http://www.myswissalps.com/jungfraujoch
• Zermatt: http://www.myswissalps.com/zermatt

Once you’re all set with your plan, you might want to consider getting one of the railpasses. The various railpass options are explained in detail here: http://www.myswissalps.com/swissrailpasses

Kids under 16 travel free with the Swiss Family card: http://www.myswissalps.com/swissfamilycard

For details about tickets from Austria to Switzerland, have a look here: http://www.myswissalps.com/traintickets/austria

Feel free to post again in this thread if you have further questions.

Regards,

Anna

[rockoyster]

Reply 2 of 10 • 17 January 2020 at 20:32:28 #928198

What attracts you to Vevey in winter? Seems a little out of keeping with the other places you are interested in visiting.

You might also consider Interlaken as a base.

[User]

Reply 3 of 10 • 17 January 2020 at 22:47:26 #928199

Anna,

Thank you very much for your response and great suggestions. As we are first time visitors and based upon quick research I came up these places to visit -Zermatt /Matterhorn, Interlaken-Jungfraujoch, Lucerne-Mt. Titlis, Bern, Vevey. Its very difficult to cover entire Switzerland in 3-4 days but do you think you can suggest places we should add or remove from my list so we can cover Switzerland’s beautiful must see mountains, lakes and cities.

Thanks

[User]

Reply 4 of 10 • 17 January 2020 at 22:53:54 #928200

Thank you for your response and great suggestions. I thought Vevey may little less cold than other places we are planning to visit. I would like to cover different part of Switzerland and visit mountain areas, lakes and cities. Would you recommend the places considered as must see?

[rockoyster]

Reply 5 of 10 • 18 January 2020 at 0:52:29 #928201

Quite honestly with just 3 – 4 days to play with I would focus on Luzern and the Jungfrau Region. You won’t really have much time to see further afield unless you want to spend each day riding trains.

I strongly recommend using the SBB Mobile app (bit.ly/2ICIUHi) for checking train, bus, boat and cable way timetables, finding fares* and buying tickets on-line if required. In the unlikely event you don’t have a device capable of running the app then you can use the timetable on the SBB website (bit.ly/2HH1U7B). If you are not familiar with using the SBB timetable it is worth first reading the instructions at http://www.myswissalps.com/timetable.

* The SBB website shows half-fare prices by default, the mobile app allows you to nominate whether to show full or half-fares (by editing the passenger details in settings) and is also smart enough to offer you the Saver Day Pass (http://www.myswissalps.com/saverdaypass) if that offers the best fare. The app can also display a platform map (at least at the larger stations) to help you make connections. You can also easily filter modes of transport (eg bus or ship).

That way you will get an appreciation of how much travel is involved. I doubt Vevey would be substantially warmer than Interlaken in March.

[Anna]

Reply 6 of 10 • 18 January 2020 at 8:01:29 #928202

Hi Patel,

Yes, 3 to 4 days is pretty short to explore all of Switzerland. On the other hand, the country is small enough you could travel to most places in 1 day, thanks to the efficient public transport network.

If you’re interested in mountains and lakes, I suggest go to Bernese Oberland. It’s a popular region with a very diversified landscape with lakes, snow capped mountains, little mountain villages, cogwheel trains, hiking trails and much, much more. It’s where Bern and Interlaken are located so it’s already part of your plan anyway. Have a look at this: http://www.myswissalps.com/berneseoberland If you click on the ‘what to do’ tab, you’ll see a list of sightseeing and day trip ideas for your itinerary.

Hope that helps!

Anna

[User]

Reply 7 of 10 • 20 January 2020 at 20:46:52 #928203

Hello Rockoyster, Anna,

Thank you very much for your responses. We are focusing on Luzern and Interaken area as we have only 3 days to explore. Considering the cold weather as we will be there from March 17-March 21 (flight from Zurich in morning on 21st) and we will be using trains – Should we stay in Luzern or Interlaken or small villages around Interlaken?

Thanks

[rockoyster]

Reply 8 of 10 • 20 January 2020 at 21:11:00 #928204

I would be tempted to choose Luzern as a single base for your 4-night stay. It offers more choice of activities if the weather is not favourable. Do day trips from there.

But someone else might prefer to work it differently. I prefer to minimise swapping hotels. You will want to be not too far from Zurich on the night of the 20th as you have a morning flight the next day. Luzern is 1 hour by direct train.
http://www.myswissalps.com/airports/zurich

It boils down to personal preference.

[User]

Reply 9 of 10 • 24 January 2020 at 23:35:22 #928205

Hello Rockoyster,

Thank you for your response. Considering your advise Luzern offers more choice of activities if bad weather, looking for a hotels in Luzern. I came across two stations- Lucerne Station and Werftestrasse Luzern Station. As we are planning to visit Lucerne-Mt. Titlis and Interlaken-Jungfraujoch area, my hotel should be closer to what station? We will be in this area from March 17 to March 21st as its still winter and prefer minimum walk to train station.

Thanks

[rockoyster]

Reply 10 of 10 • 25 January 2020 at 2:22:54 #928206

There is only one main station Luzern HB or HauptBahnhof. Entrance is off Bahnhofplatz. Look up Luzern Bahnhof on google maps and get a hotel close to there. It is the station where yo will arrive from Zürich. I can recommend the Hotel Continental Park – less than 50 meters from the side entrance to the station yet remarkably quiet area.