7 day packed Swiss itinerary in late October
A couple, Maverick2011, is planning a 7-8 day trip to Switzerland in the last week of October, focusing on nature and outdoor activities. They have a busy itinerary that includes major attractions like Mount Pilatus, Jungfrau, and Zermatt and are looking for advice on feasibility, must-see places, and which mountains to prioritize based on weather conditions.
- Check weather conditions a day ahead for peak visits to ensure clear views.
- Choose one mountain from Mount Titlis, Pilatus, or Rigi to avoid rushing on Day 2.
- Use the Swiss Travel Pass for discounts on most mountain trips, especially those in Lucerne.
- Consider the Golden Pass route to Montreux for its scenic views, even if it takes longer.
- Wengen and Grindelwald are better for outdoors while Interlaken feels more urban.
AI-generated summary-
Hi, we are a young couple planning a 7/8 day trip to Switzerland in the last week of October. We have done a bit of research online and come up with the following Itinerary.
We are generally not much into Museums and prefer nature & outdoors. Since we have limited time, we have intentionally created an itinerary that might seem rushed for some, but we are trying to cover as much as we can in our limited time. We plan to use the Swiss Rail pass for going around.
Day 1: Arrive Zurich in afternoon
Local sightseeing / Rhine Falls
Overnight stay in LucerneDay 2: Trip to Mount Pilatus / Titlis / Rigi
Local sightseeing + Lake Lucerne cruise in evening
Overnight stay in Lucerne
Day 3: Early morning travel to Grindelwald / Interlaken / Wengen (check-in to hotel)
Trip to Jungfrau
Overnight stay in Grindelwald / Interlaken / Wengen
Day 4: Local sightseeing – Interlaken area
Overnight stay in Grindewald / Interlaken / Wengen
Day 5: Early morning travel to Montreux (check-in to hotel)
Local sightseeing
Overnight stay in Montreux
Day 6: Day trip to Zermatt including Matterhorn
Overnight stay in Montreux
Day 7: Day trip to Gstaad
Overnight stay in Montreux
Day 8: Depart for Zurich / Geneva in morning
Geneva/Zurich sightseeing in 1st half (if time permits)
Fly home
1) Your 1st views on the itinerary, is this feasible, even if rushed? Any places we should remove and add some place else based on the season (Oct end)?
2) What place would you recommend in Lucerne – Mt. Titlis, Pilatus or Rigi, if we had to choose one?
3) What are the must see places in Lucerne & Interlaken area, if we have a day each there?
4) Which is a better place to stay – Interlaken or Grindelwald or Wengen based on our itinerary & preferences?Thanks in advance for your help.
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Welcome Maverick2011!
1) It is feasible, taking your goal into account. Do keep in mind that visiting peaks is weather dependent. Peaks can be covered in clouds, meaning you will only see fog. So do think about alternatives, as you have little time in each place and can’t wait for the weather improving.
Another thing to consider is to take the Golden Pass route on your way to Montreux. Highly recommended even if it takes a bit longer than the quickest route. You will pass Gstaad on that route, so you can have a look around there en route instead of allocating a whole day for it.
2) Those excursions are all really worth it – if the weather is good. So I would first check 1 or 2 days ahead if the weather in one place is better than the other. Apart from that you can check our Titlis, Pilatus and Rigi pages to see if there’s one you prefer.
3) Please see our Lucerne and Interlaken pages for tips.
4) Interlaken is a town but feel like a city in the center of town. If you prefer the outdoors Grindelwald and Wengen are better, but it will be pretty quiet there considering you are there off-season. Wengen is car free.
Does this help you out?
This is really helpful, I’ll write back in case of any further questions.
Hi, my wife and me are planning our honeymoon to Switzerland from the 9th Oct – 15th October. We are generally trying to spend some times together, understand each other better and at the same time spend time visiting nature and mountains. We did a bit of homework and we have our itinerary listed as below. We are planning to use the public transport for all our travels, thus I need some suggestion on which pass should we purchase.
9th Oct (Day 1) : Arrive Zurich in the morning. Travel to Lucerne by train.
Trip to Mt Rigi / Lake Lucerne cruise (Something more relaxing after the long travel. Please advise. )
Overnight stay in Lucerne
10th Oct (Day 2): Trip to Mount Titlis
Overnight stay in Lucerne
11th Oct (Day 3) : Travel to Interlaken/ Murren / Lauterbrunnen (Which is a better option as we plan a trip to Staubbach Fall and Jungfrau?)
We want to spend some time visiting Staubbach Fall.
Overnight stay in Interlaken/ Murren / Lauterbrunnen
12th Oct (Day 4) : Trip to Jungfrau
Overnight stay in Interlaken / Murren / Lauterbrunnen
13th Oct (Day 5): Travel to Zermatt in the morning
Visit the Matterhorn
Overnight stay in Zermatt
14th Oct (Day 6) : Gorner gorge / Any other recommendation
Overnight stay in Zermatt
15th Oct (Day 7) : Travel from Zermatt to Geneva
Fly home from Geneva
Hi Sathia19 and welcome to MySwissAlps!
This thread is for Maverick2011 and their trip planning. Can you copy and paste your post onto a new thread here for us? We will be more than happy to reply to you there.
Thanks!
LucasPS. The first thing you should do to decide on the best rail pass is to plan out all your trips and do the math. We have a page to help you here – how to choose the best rail pass.
Hi,
I have just returned from a 16 day packed itinerary trip of Switzerland and i believe some days, you have too much planned and is not feasible. I will outline them below. You should be aware that it is very tiring having a packed itinerary and will need to be very disciplined in terms of timing as some trains runs only every hour. Also, you have not factored in bad weather days to have back up plans. My other advice is to always check weather forecast the day before and also in the morning before heading out and most importantly the live webcams. Even then, as anyone who has experience in the mountains can tell you that weather can change very quickly and nothing is guaranteed.
Day 1: Assuming you arrive noon or 1pm in Zurich , then yes, Day 1 is feasible but rushed. Not sure how much luggage you will have too. But possible to store them at the train station lockers. Rhinefalls is 1 hour away each way and factor in 1 hour to explore the falls. Lucerne is also 1 hour by train.
Day 2: Is not feasible to do all 3 Mt Titlis, Pilatus & Rigi. You have to choose only 2 and that is also rushed. Mt Titlis is out of Lucerne, at least an hour by train from Lucerne. Pilatus and Rigi is much closer. I did both Pilatus and Rigi but on separate days. It is possible to do both Pilatus and Rigi in one day. I did Pilatus early morning, catching the train from Lucerne to Alpnachstad, to take the cogwheel train up to Pilatus Kulm. I was done with sightseeing by 11 am at the top and back in Lucerne at 12. The cable car was closed due to strong winds, so had to go back down the same route with the cogwheel train.
Rigi would involve a boat cruise on Lake Lucerne, so you don’t need to do the cruise in the evening. I was on Rigi and it was a very nice sunny day, but i could see that Pilatus peak was covered in clouds but below it was totally clear. So, those who went up to Pilatus could only see clouds.
Mt Titlis is unique as it has a 360 degree rotating cable car but as mentioned it is much further out of Lucerne. And assuming you have a Swiss Travel Pass, you get a 50% discount while for Pilatus and Rigi, both are completely free.
Day 3 & 4:
Trip to Jungfraujoch is a whole day affair and only to be done on a good weather day.
It takes just over 1.5 hours for the Lucerne – Interlaken express and another 35 minutes into Grindelwald. Wengen is on the other side of the mountain which you could go up to Maanlichen and down to Wengen from Grindelwald or go into Lauterbrunnen and up to Wengen which is free with the STP.
I would highly recommend the gondola to First and a short 40 min hike to Bachalpsee. If you have time, perhaps consider continuing to Faulhorn (2681m) another 1 to 1.5 hours, which i did.
Day 5: As suggested by Arno, check out the Golden pass line between Zweisimmen and Montreux, which has amazing views but takes longer than if you were to take the quickest route. Chillon castle would be the main goal in Montreux.
Hi,
We extended our trip by a day and also made few changes to itinerary based on suggestions .
Day 1 Arrive into Zurich – local sightseeing + Rhine falls | Overnight in Zurich
Check-in to Lucerne in morning
Day 2 Bern day trip + Lucerne local sightseeing (Lake Lucerne, Viznau)
Day 3 Lugano day trip from Lucerne
Day 4 Pilatus+Rigi
Check-in to Murren in morning
Day 5 Murren local, Gimmelwald, Lautebrunner valley, Trummelbach falls
Day 6 Jungfrau, Grindelwald, Wengen
Check-in to Montreux in morning
Day 7 Montreux local, Chateau de Chillon
Day 8 Zermatt day trip + Matterhorn
Check-in to Geneva in Day 8 evening
Day 9 Depart for home in the morning
Few questions:
1) Would you want to add/ remove anything from the itinerary? We have skipped Titlis, hope that’s not a major miss
2) If we have to make a day trip from Zurich – which one would you recommend – Lugano or St Moritz
From your itinerary, looks like you are trying to cover as much tourist attractions as possible.
Few comments :
1) Any reason for Day 3 trip to Lugano ? It is on the other side , on the border with Italy. return travel on the train is 4 hours assuming you take the fast train and not the Gotthard Panorama Express which is much longer. Why not Interlaken? It has 2 lakes (Brienz and Thun).
2) With regards to Mt. Titlis, only you can decide if it is a major miss for you or not. No one else can make that determination.
3) I suggest you check the train travel times (if you haven’t) so that you know how long the train journey is.
4) I’ve not been to either Lugano or St Moritz, so can’t help.
Hi Maverick2011,
I think seeing two of the three major mountains in the Lucerne area is fine. I do feel that Mt. Pilatus and Mt. Rigi offer similar views (you are looking across to one another essentially).
I’d be tempted to skip Lugano and simple do one mountain (Pilatus) on day 3 and another (Titlis?) on day 4. Two mountains in one day is can be fine but why rush it? 🙂
1) Thanks for your inputs Lucas, we thought Lugano might add something different to our itinerary, since all other days are revolving around the Alps.
2) Besides this, any other thoughts on the Itinerary?
3) Is Murren a good place to stay, alternatively we can stay in Interlaken or Grindenwald or Wengen.
1) Thanks for your inputs Ben, we thought Lugano might add something different to our itinerary, since all other days are revolving around the Alps.
2) Besides this, any other thoughts on the Itinerary?
3) Is Murren a good place to stay, alternatively we can stay in Interlaken or Grindenwald or Wengen.
4) Can you share your itinerary?
Hi Maverick2011,
- I think you will enjoy Montreux as a different option and not need to squeeze in Lugano.
- No otherwise things look fine. We have town web pages (click where to go at the top of the page) and there are lots of ideas of what to do around each town for you to review.
- Yes, Mürren is quite popular, as are the other towns you mention. Interlaken is bigger and not as scenic as Murren, Wengen, Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen. Wengen may be the most popular.
1) We are quite confused about which mountains to go to – Titlis, Jungfrau, Schilthorn, Matterhorn (not free), Pilatus & Rigi are free. We are Ok to spend the money if it’s worth it? Also, taking the weather into consideration (end Oct), which ones would you recommend?
2) If we remove Lugano, they where do you recommend we spend this day?
Almost everything in Switzerland is worth it. The question is what is your criteria ? You have named the mountains and know which are included within the STP. So you have done some kind of research. I have been to Titlis and Jungfrau (15 years ago, in mid-Dec) and Pilatus and Rigi just this September. Each are unique in their own way.
Below is a short summary of the highlights of each mountain, off the top of my head from my extensive research i did for my 16 day trip.
Titlis – 360 degree rotating cable car + Titlis cliff walk (suspension bridge)
Jungfrau – highest train station in Europe, amazing on a good weather day (sunny and cloudless) and definitely a must do. I daresay this is the number 1 tourist attraction in Bernese Oberland or entire Switzerland.
Schilthorn – Famous for James Bond and panoramic view of the great Bernese Oberland peaks. This was a possibility for me , but weather didn’t co-operate as i planned to hike from Murren.
Matterhorn – is a mountain in Zermatt area. I don’t think you can set foot on Matterhorn itself unless you plan on climbing it.
Pilatus and Rigi are Lucerne’s local mountains, relatively lower in altitude and as Lucas mentioned they are opposite each other.
Regardless of what you plan, you are at the mercy of the weather. So i suggest you read up further on each mountain from the wealth of information available online and then decide. I note that weather can be very different from one valley to another. So if its raining in one place, the next valley could be sunny.
Hi Maverick-
Skip the Rhine Falls.
Just my opinion.
Slowpoke
Hi MAverick,
I would choose the mountain with the best looking weather when you are in the area. IE when in Luzern check the weather in the morning for each mountain and choose the one that looks most promising (Rigi or Pilatus).
Again when you are in Murren pick Schilthorn or Jungfraujoch based on weather. If both look bad I wouldn’t bother going. If both look good….well I can’t tell you which is the better mountain…Jungfraujoch is more popular and more expensive!
You won’t be disappointed with any mountain I don’t think. Some mountains offer more things to do when you are there (The Cliff Walk at Titlis for example) whereas other mountains have mostly just the views and some light or heavy hiking (Mt. Pilatus).
For some people the mode of transport to the top makes their decision for them – sometimes it is a cable car, sometimes it even rotates or is “open-air”, sometimes you get a cogwheel train, etc.
Hi Lucas –
<<“You won’t be disappointed with any mountain I don’t think. Some mountains offer more things to do when you are there (The Cliff Walk at Titlis for example) whereas other mountains have mostly just the views and some light or heavy hiking (Mt. Pilatus)”>>
Heavy indeed if you want to climb all the way up! 😉
Look at the trails visible in these two images. In the old one, look at the mountainside in the background.
Pilatus Kulm is at 2119 meters above sea level.
Slowpoke
Yes, I was just there last week and was surprised at how many people we saw hiking up!
Waiting in line at Alpnachstad and watching all these people start that hike makes one feel inadequate! haha.
I don’t know if they planned on going all the way to the top or not but I also saw quite a few people on the trail as the cogwheel ran along side them for a time. I felt happy about my choice!
Those trails are definitely very hard on the knees. Hiking poles strongly recommended (two!).
Hi Maverick-
<<“3) Is Murren a good place to stay, alternatively we can stay in Interlaken or Grindenwald or Wengen.”>>
This is a useful guide for a lot of things in the vicinity of Wengen:
http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/tips-about-wengen-and-the-jungfrau-region-by-kim
Slowpoke
Thanks all for your inputs, we have made some changes in the Itinerary based on your recommendations:
Day 1 Arrive into Zurich | Day trip to Lugano (Monte Salvatore, boat to Mount Bree, Gandria)
Day 2: Morning Lucerne check-in > Mt Titlis
Day 3: Rigi (incl boat cruise) > Pilatus (if time permits)
Day 4: Morning Lautebrunner check-in > Roam around Murren, Lautebrunner, Schilthorn, Trummelbach falls
Day 5: Day trip to Jungfrau, Eiger trail, Grindelwald, Wengen
Day 6: Day trop to Adelboden, Kandersteg, Oeschinensee Lake
Day 7: Lautebrunner to Montreux > Chateau de Chillon, Chaplins Museum, Lavaux (Vineyards), Gruyeres (cheese)
Day 8: Day trip to Zermatt > Gornergrat, Klein Matterhorn (optional) > Depart to Geneva in PM
Day 9: Depart for home
QQs:
1) Thoughts on this itinerary, anything we can skip / include / optimize?
2) Where should we stay in Bernese Highlands – Murren / Wengen / Lautebrunner / Grindelwald, given that we are making day trip to Jungfrau & Adelboden, and also based on the season?
3) How is Gstaad + Glacier 3000, we have an option between Zermatt & Gstaad?
Regards,
Ankit
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