[ranjeetpatil]

4 May 2023 at 19:52:53 #829765

Hi Everyone

I travelled to Switzerland month of March 2023 with my wife and Kids. MySwissAlps.com has been like a treasure chest for planning and executing this trip.This Trip report is a video based series where I had created and uploaded multiple Videos on Youtube from our recent trip to Switzerland and Italy. I believe they would be there for a prolonged period and easily watchable and enjoyed by our family and friends by few soft touches on mobile otr Smart TVs. As MySwissAlps has been so helpful I decided to share the links so that other travelers on this platform can be helped for better planning of the trip. I would be happy to answer any questions and queries once you go though the links. I am not a professional photographer or a Youtuber so excuse my Video skills. All the Videos were shot using mobile phones. As we were travelling with the baby our aim was to have a good family time with well-being and enjoyment of our kids. We had capped our vertical height of our trip to around 2000 metres so could not visit high peaks. But we enjoyed a lot and it was like a dream come true trips especially with our kids with us.

We flew in to Milan, Italy as we got a great deal on return flights to India by Oman Air. We stayed and explored Milan for two days and headed unto MySwissAlps. Our first Video link for Italian part of our Journey which ended in Tirano where we boarded Bernina Express:

youtu.be/hmwHgcfNLnI

In second part of our Journey we travel through Alps into the Engadin region and stay in Pontresina for a night. This was the most beautiful journey of our lives where the Red Bernina Express traversed the snowy Alps in isolation. Our son had a great time in in the snowy region where he experienced his first snow fall. Our video link for first part of our Swiss Alps adventure:

youtu.be/O3AM8L5d2Kg

In second part of our Swiss Alpine adventure we travelled from Pontrsina to Lucerne. The part the journey was by Glacier express up to Chur. We crossed the famous Landwasser Viaduct on the way to Chur and crossed the Albula tunnels. Then we travelled by Aare LInth train up to Thalwil from where we reached Lucerne by a train from Zurich. Here is the Link for this leg our journey:

youtu.be/JUCyIreK8c8

We stayed in Lucerne for five days at the Holiday Inn Express Lucerne Kriens. It was exactly four minutes by train from Lucerne Station. We also had a amazing view of Mount Pilatus from our room. We kept our plans flexible and getting a clear weather forecast we headed out to Jungfrau region next day. We were lucky to take a bus crossing Brunig Pass as there was some scheduled work near Merringen on Lucerne Interlaken train line. We visited Lauterbrunen and Murren in this beautiful region. Here is our video for this leg of our trip:

youtu.be/uAkAhZBEkyo

On the next day our son had a blast in the Swiss Museum of transport while our baby rested after the tiresome Junfrau Journey. She had slept in Stechelberg station and 2 bus and three train rides later she got up at Kriens Mattenhof station. The journey was so smooth and silent that she was not disturbed even during transfers. Later in the next day, we visited Mount Rigi and did a round trip ascending from Arth Goldau and descending at Vitznau. We took the Voralpen express from Lucerne up to the Goldau station. And reached back to Lucerne by Gotthard boat which can be considered as part of Gothard Panorama Express. Here is the next video of our Travel:

youtu.be/2W76ge4Y2OU

In the last part of our family trip we visited Titlis and a hidden gem in Lucerne the SIdhale Kriens stop by bus. As we were capped at 2000 metre we only travelled up to Trubsee where our kids had a blast in parks. It stared raining soon so we enjoyed our lunch in restaurant in the gondola station and headed back. We had seen snow in all parts of our trip but we also wanted to enjoy spring and the grass. When we looked at Pilatus from our hotel room we exactly found what we were looking for. We chalked out the bus route and reached Sidhale stop in Kriens which is at the foothills of Pilatus. We enjoyed our stroll in the green grass as we had dreamt. Next day the weather in Pilatus was rainy so skipped the mountain and instead had a late check out from hotel. We travelled from Gothard Base tunnel to Lugano in Ticino. It was raining in Lugano and had a short connection there, so boarded a earlier wrong train few minutes before our one to Malpensa Airport. Realized we also did what Roger Federer did but got down on a small station called Paradiso near the Italian border. Took the correct train to Malpensa which arrived just two minutes later. We headed back to India where our dream vacation concluded. Here is the link to last video:

youtu.be/l2bZVT4tcEk

I hope you enjoy the video and it is helpful for anyone for planning a perfect Swiss Alps trip especially with small children or babies.

Namaste & Thank you.

[sanjeev]

5 May 2023 at 9:57:49 #954084

Wow, what a Trip Report – fantastic. I thought that I have good information about Switzerland – till I read your post.

I had few queries.

Great deal on return flights to India by Oman Air : Your flight was from India to Milan. return flight from?

We had capped our vertical height of our trip to around 2000 metres so could not visit high peaks. This is something new to to me. You capped means? What pass did you take?

Holiday Inn Express Lucerne Kriens.: Is it comfortable for travelling to Lucerne / other parts of Switzerland? And normally travelers divide between Lucerne and Interlaken/ Grindenwald area . any reason for 5 nights stay at same place? and how much you paid for 5 nights?

SIdhale Kriens stop : I could not get this, maybe the spelling is wrong.

I loved reading every sentence and also subscribed to your YouTube channel too .

Thanks again.

[ranjeetpatil]

5 May 2023 at 14:51:40 #954085

Hi Sanjeev

Thanks for your reply and appreciation

Our Flight was Mumbai-Muscat-Milan and return.

Malpensa Airport was just an hour ride from Ticino area Swiss border.

It cost us around INR35000 as a Supersaver ticket per adult. (Luggage additional)

Checkout our route map in attachment to get a clear picture.

We were travelling with our baby which is less than 2 years old. Medically it is not advisable to take them above the height of around 2000 meter’s as it may cause breathing difficulties or mountain sickness.

We had two small kids and wanted to keep our plans flexible. Depending on weather, webcams and our children’s health we planned each of our five days without prebooking just a day prior. That is why we chose only one base for our entire trip. We had Swiss Travel Pass for 6 days which also helped a lot of our flexible trip plans. We booked a room with Kitchenette, Sofa bed for our kids and Mountain view. We purchased and paid by IHG Points with 100% bonus points offer which resulted in a daily room charges of around INR 10000. If our children were older and we had travelled in summer season we definitely would have loved to stay two nights in Interlaken too!

Spelling mistake, it is actually Sidhalde.(Mods can kindly rectify)

Here is the location link:

goo.gl/maps/rCcwPb48eFEVJm9N9

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[hockeyfan]

6 May 2023 at 13:52:14 #954086

Your videos are wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing.

[Annika]

6 May 2023 at 13:53:35 #954087

Hi ranjeetpatil,

Thanks for your kind words and for your fantastic trip report. I’m happy to hear that you and you family enjoyed your stay in the Swiss Alps that much. Your videos will be great memories for you, and surely inspiring for other travelers :-).

[ranjeetpatil]

12 May 2023 at 19:08:19 #954088

Thank you @Annika & @hockeyfan four your kind words and appreciation.