[Anonymous]

3 May 2022 at 20:24:19 #827067

Hello!

I’m planning a trip to visit Switzerland with my mother early this May, May 10-17. I’m struggling creating a strong itinerary that allows us to see strong points of interest during our short visit. My mother is in decent shape, but unfortunately not the strong hiker that I am. As much as I’d love to hike more on this trip, we plan to site see more via train.

I was looking for some help with my below rough draft itinerary and to see if anyone had any recommendations or logistical concerns. I’m also worried that many of the funiculars will be closed during the shoulder season that we’re arriving during. Please note, I’ve purchased a Flex Swiss rail pass, so I figured I could hop on ferry’s in Lucerne and Interlaken to tour the area via water on Day 1 and Day 5.

Day 1 – Land in Zurich and take train to Lucerne – Visit old town, Bridge Kapellbrücke, Dying Lion and Boat Cruise/Ferry

* Questions: is this all possible in 1 day. If so, is there anything else in specific I should try and squeeze in?

Day 2 – Wake up in Lucerne and tour Mt Pilatus – ride on the Rodelbahn (Coaster)

* Questions: Is touring Mt Titlas and the suspensions bridge better than Mt Pilatus. Though, I would really love to ride a mountain coaster!

Day 3 – Take a train from Lucerne to Lauterbrunnen – Tour the Jungfrau Region: Grindelwald

Day 4 – Wake up in Lauterbrunnen – Tour the Schilthorn + Murren

Day 5 – Take train from Lauterbrunnen to Interlaken – Take boat trip on Thun then Sightsee in Interlaken and take the tram to dinner at Harder Kulm. Sleep in Lauterbrunnen

Day 6 – Wake up in Lauterbrunnen – Tour the Jungfrau Region: Europes Highest railway station. Return/descend via Wengen to Interlaken.

Day 7 – Wake up in Interlaken and take train to Zermatt – Tour the Matterhorn + Gornergrat

I’m finding that there’s just so much to do that 7 days is clearly not enough, but hopefully can give us a good taste until we can return again. Any tips and or recommendations are greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Alex 🙂

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[Anna]

Reply 1 of 6 • 3 May 2022 at 21:13:28 #941399

Hi Alex,

Welcome to MySwissAlps.

I think your current itinerary is reasonably doable. Just a few short feedbacks.

Day 1 – Activities on Day 1 definitely possible in 1 day.

Day 2 – Pilatus is a great choice if you want to try out the summer toboggan. And it’s also closer to Lucerne so you can either spend the whole day on Pilatus or combine this with an excursion to a nearby destination. Options here: http://www.myswissalps.com/lucerne/activities

Swiss Travel Pass – You might want to consider getting an 6 or 8-day Swiss Travel Pass for your trip. You can find useful tips on how to choose the best railpass here: http://www.myswissalps.com/train/ticketspasses/practical/chooserailpass

Hope this helps.

regards,

Anna

[Annika]

Reply 2 of 6 • 4 May 2022 at 7:40:49 #941400

Hi Alex,

I agree with Anna that it’s worth looking into a regular Swiss Travel Pass (https://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass). The Swiss Travel Pass Flex (https://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpassflex) will leave you with a few days of non-covered traveling, but you’ll be traveling each day and costs for non-discounted tickets add up quickly. You can calculate your options here: https://www.myswissalps.com/train/ticketspasses/practical/chooserailpass.

You can check traveling times for each day trip with the aid of the timetable (https://www.myswissalps.com/timetable) and the “Route” sections of each of our activity pages (http://www.myswissalps.com/activities). An example is https://www.myswissalps.com/jungfraujoch/gettingthere.

[User]

Reply 3 of 6 • 4 May 2022 at 16:08:29 #941401

Hello Anna,

Thanks for your reply! I really appreciate the tips.

Opps, I meant to say I purchased the 8 day Swiss Travel pass, not the ‘Flex” so I should be set!

Quick follow up question, I broke up our 4 days in the Bernese Oberland area by first staying in Lauterbrunnen then heading back towards Interlaken so we can continue on via train to Zermatt. Was this a smart choice? Will it be more difficult to plan the below desired day trips if we start in a different region. I figured it would be easier for some of these since we’re already higher and deeper into the Jungfrau Region which is where I’d ideally like to be. Perhaps, I’m making this more difficult than necessary haha, there’s just so much ground to cover. Do you have any tips and or reccomendations on my below day trips, specifically days 3, 4, 5 & 6 ?

Day 3 – Take a train from Lucerne to Lauterbrunnen – Tour the Jungfrau Region: Grindelwald

Day 4 – Wake up in Lauterbrunnen – Tour the Schilthorn + Murren

Day 5 – Take train from Lauterbrunnen to Interlaken – Take boat trip on Thun then Sightsee in Interlaken and take the tram to dinner at Harder Kulm. Sleep in Lauterbrunnen

Day 6 – Wake up in Lauterbrunnen – Tour the Jungfrau Region: Europes Highest railway station. Return/descend via Wengen to Interlaken.

Thanks so much,

Alex

[User]

Reply 4 of 6 • 4 May 2022 at 16:12:29 #941402

Hello Annika,

Thank you for your reply as well. It means a lot!

I misspoke, I meant to say I purchased the 8 day Swiss Travel pass, not the ‘Flex” so I should be set!

From my understanding, I can just wake up, check the train times ahead of time using ‘Omio’ app, then I can just book a ticket directly at the train station before I depart. I do not need to reserve this ahead of time, correct

Additionally, it seems like a lot of the trains in the Bernese Oberland region will not be covered by the Swiss rail pass and I will have to purchase separate tickets, is this also true?

Thanks again for your reply and help!

Alex

[Annika]

Reply 5 of 6 • 4 May 2022 at 17:50:33 #941403

Hi Alex,

Lauterbrunnen is close to Interlaken. So yes, you will get to Zermatt quicker from Interlaken, but it’s not that big of a difference (see https://www.myswissalps.com/timetable). If you rather not switch hotels, you can just stay in Lauterbrunnen (https://www.myswissalps.com/lauterbrunnen/hotels) and leave for Zermatt a bit earlier.

Your plans look good to me! I think they’re well-paced and doable.

The Swiss Travel Pass coverage is pretty good for the Bernese Oberland! All trains, buses and boats are for free. Mountain trips are discounted. All details are at https://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass/validity. This page explains how to get your additional discounted mountain tickets: https://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpassflex/howtouse. You’ll also find them in the “Tickets” section of our activity pages, e.g. https://www.myswissalps.com/schilthorn/tickets and https://www.myswissalps.com/jungfraujoch/tickets, often including purchase options with the right amount of Swiss Travel Pass discount.

You don’t need reservations for the trips you’ve listed: https://www.myswissalps.com/train/reservations.

[User]

Reply 6 of 6 • 4 May 2022 at 23:31:58 #941404

Quick follow up question, I broke up our 4 days in the Bernese Oberland area by first staying in Lauterbrunnen then heading back towards Interlaken so we can continue on via train to Zermatt. Was this a smart choice? Will it be more difficult to plan the below desired day trips if we start in a different region. I figured it would be easier for some of these since we’re already higher and deeper into the Jungfrau Region which is where I’d ideally like to be.

There is very little point in moving accomodation from Lauterbrunnen to Interlaken for one night, since Lauterbrunnen – Interlaken only takes 20 minutes on the train. Do remember that The Jungfrau region is a small part of a small country and is no larger than, for example a metropolis like Greater New York .

Although still not that much further from Lauterbrunnen, you could consider moving for one night to Spiez. Spiez has some nice hotels overlooking the lake and castle and at Spiez station you would be straight on to the train that you need to catch to travel to Zermatt.