MySwissAlps.com features ads, commercial and non-commercial Itinerary 10 days in Lucerne, Interlaken, Zermatt
-
Great, good to know. Thx will check those out.
Great, will check them. Always nice to get recommendations from this forum.
Hi Everyone, I am getting ready to book my tickets for Switzerland. I know that weather is unpredictable and so are crowds. Anyone see any significant difference in booking between Sept 16 for 9 days vs. Sept 23 for 9 days. I know this is a very lame question, but just have to ask in case i miss something i should be aware of with regards to train schedules, crowds, weather etc. I am thinking weather should be similar either week i choose. Thanks for your help in advance. Love this forum.
Hi UKGirl,
Glad to know you found this forum useful. September is a good time to visit and I don’t think it would make much difference if you arrive a week early or later. It’s too soon to predict the weather anyways 🙂
To get you ready for your trip, might be useful to install the SBB timetable and weather apps on your smart device. These and other practical details can be found on this page:
Practical travelling info: http://www.myswissalps.com/ab outswitzerland/practic alCheers,
Anna
Hi UKGirl –
<<Anyone see any significant difference in booking between Sept 16 for 9
days vs. Sept 23 for 9 days. I know this is a very lame question, but
just have to ask in case i miss something i should be aware of with
regards to train schedules, crowds, weather etc.”>>
Good idea to ask. Better to ask than be disappointed. 😉 No question is inappropriate.
I don’t think it makes much difference, but, I’d have a slight tendency to take the earlier dates. Not sure exactly why….maybe a faint feeling about weather. I’m not aware of any schedule changes, but, I’d double check the lake boats for the latter part of September if that matters to you. Crowds drop off a lot after September 1, and so that factor is not too significant.
Just avoid marathon weekend, which is September 12th, 2020. The residue doesn’t last for more than about 1 day.
The attached pictures were taken on approximately September 25th, 2009..maybe the 22nd…I’d have to look up the date. We were pleased and surprised to have such a clear day, as the ones before and after were a bit hazy.
Slowpoke
Thanks Slowpoke and Anna for your prompt responses. Finally booked our flights for full 9 days in Switzerland mid September. Now I am working on setting a tentative itinerary. We are flying in and out Zurich. This is what I have so far.
Day 1 – arrive at Zurich in evening and go straight to Lucerne.
Day 2 – Mt Pilatus and/or Mt Rigi, with some leisurely trails.
Day 3 – Mt Titlis and Lucerne – 1/2 day each one.
Day 4 – Travel to Lauterbrunnen on the Interlaken Express, if time go to Harder Klum
Day 5 – Schilthorn and Trummelbach Falls
Day 6 – Walk Mannlichen to Klein Scheidegg Trail and maybe First to Bachalpsee.
Day 7 – go to Schynige Platt via Wilderswil and do 1/2 day Bern.
Day 8 – Travel to Zermatt and wander in Zermatt
Day 9 – Gornergrat Bahn to view Matterhorn and maybe do 5 Lakes Hike.
Day 10 – Travel back to Zurich. fly out next day.
Now here are the Questions for the forum : thanks in advance for your input…
1.) Does this itinerary seem doable if weather is in our favor?
2.) and If we had to pick between the First and Bachalpsee walk vs the Panorama Trail at Schynieg Platt , which one would be better with regards to views considering we will do the Mannlichen to Klein Scheidegg for sure. Hoping not to double up on similar landscape as i do want to squeeze in half day for Bern for sure.
3.) for the last day from Zermatt, rather than going straight to Zurich and walk around in Zurich, we can maybe do the Glacier Express from Zermatt to Chur and then Chur to Zurich as i have read that there are great views from Andermatt to Chur. However, given we are already walking and seeing great landscapes hopefully prior to last day, will we see any different landscapes than days 2 through 9. Hope that question makes sense.
Thanks a bunch again. This site is absolutely amazing.
Hello UKGirl,
Nice to see you’ve received helpful support here on the forum and have managed to set up a nice itinerary. It looks absolutely do-able, for detailed travelling times and connections for your trip, please use the timetable provided below:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable and also read
– http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/practical/howtotra velIf you’re hiking in the Alps, which you will be, you will be surrounded by alpine mountain scenery, wherever you hike. As I don’t know all of the hikes personally I cannot give any more detailed input, maybe a forum member or other moderator have some personal experience of all the hikes.
Taking the Glacier Express via Chur is a nice idea to head back to Zurich. But also Zurich is worth exploring a little (as you won’t have done that before, right?). See below links for inspiration:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/gl acierexpress
– http://www.myswissalps.com/zu richBest and get back to us any time for further input.
Steph
Also see:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/ai rports/zurich
– http://www.myswissalps.com/hi king
HI UKGIRL-
<<“1.) Does this itinerary seem doable if weather is in our favor? “>>
You did not state explicitly, but I guess that you are staying in Lauterbrunnen when in the Jungfrau region? Arriving Zürich on the 16th, more or less?
The itinerary is doable. Definitely. It is mostly set at a very comfortable pace. Day 7 will have the events defined by the time available between an early train out of Lauterbrunnen and how late you are willing to return to Lauterbrunnen. It could feel a bit rushed, so you need to look carefully at the timetable and work out how much time you want to spend in Bern, and how late you’ll be willing to return to Lauterbrunnen. You’ll need an early start from Lauterbrunnen.
<<“2.) and If we had to pick between the First and Bachalpsee walk vs the Panorama Trail at Schynieg Platt [Schynige Platte] , which one would be better with regards to views considering we will do the Mannlichen to Klein Scheidegg for sure. Hoping not to double up on similar landscape as i do want to squeeze in half day for Bern for sure.”>>
If forced to, I’d choose Schynige Platte. The diversity of views up there is really nice, because you look down on Interlaken/lakes as well as seein5 the Jungfrau Massif.
<<” 3.) for the last day from Zermatt, rather than going straight to Zurich and walk around in Zurich, we can maybe do the Glacier Express from Zermatt to Chur and then Chur to Zurich as i have read that there are great views from Andermatt to Chur. However, given we are already walking and seeing great landscapes hopefully prior to last day, will we see any different landscapes than days 2 through 9. Hope that question makes sense.”>>
All a matter of personal choice. The GEX route that you describe will make for a long day (about 8 hours) on the trains. Some people say that after the 20th mountain, all the scenery is the same. Other find great variety as they make those kinds of journeys. You could also change at Andermatt and go directly to Zürich through Schwyz. Just over 6 hours.
On balance, considering your total itinerary, you might enjoy a couple of hours to look around Zürich. Steph made a thoughtful suggestion . It is a nice city, as you can tell from the link given by Steph. The reason that we don’t normally suggest it as a destination is that it is not in the Alps. You will have seen a lot of Alps by your last day.
Slowpoke
Thank you Steph and Slowpoke.
and @ Slowpoke, yes after Luceren , we will be staying in Lauterbrunnen.
I think I will change Day 6 to Mannlichen to Klein Scheidegg Trail & and then go to Schynige Platt and do maybe the Panaroma Trail.
Day 7 – we will just do Bern and enjoy that area. That way things are not rushed.
And I am leaning to just go straight to Zurich from Zermatt.
Hi UKGIRL –
<<“I think I will change Day 6 to Mannlichen to Klein Scheidegg Trail &
and then go to Schynige Platt and do maybe the Panaroma Trail.”>>
That can work. The trail at Schynige Platte offers some amazing views, different because of the lakes. It is worth the effort.
Keep an eye on the times for the last train down from each.
You can look at the timetable as well as I can…I recall that you can get a train down from Kleine Scheidegg later than the last one down from Schynige Platte. So, after you work that out, you might end up with the L->KS in the afternoon.
It is true that clouds tend to gather on the mountain peaks near the Jungfrau in the afternoon, but it is more of a concern if you are up at Jungfraujoch trying to look down and out. If they show up, they’ll not usually spoil the walk.
Slowpoke
Attachments:Regarding Zermatt – Zurich, I would use the day to ‘wind down’ if I were you. Zürich has plenty to offer, including its own ‘mountain railways’ within and just outside the city limits. It is highly debatable that ‘cramming in’ the Glacier Express route ‘just because it’s famous’ is worth it. You already have most of the ‘classic’ high Swiss Alps destinations in your itinerary, so I suggest you ‘leave something for next time’, especially as you will see more glaciers at Zermatt itself than you will anywhere on the Glacier Express route.
My standard info about the Glacier Express will put the above into more context.
Many people make the mistake (having heard of or seen the hyperbolic publicity for the Glacier Express) that it is the only scenic train in Switzerland. This is to underestimate the scenery of the rest of Switzerland. If it doesn’t fit your itinerary it is not really necessary to do it. Ordinary trains runs on all the same lines. Just about every railway line in Switzerland is scenic to some degree. And in fact some sections of the Glacier Express route are less scenic than many other lines in Switzerland.
It is worth taking a moment to understand the Glacier Express and its history:
It was created (as one train each way daily) with the notion that well-healed travellers taking long holidays in Switzerland in the ‘Belle Epoque’ era (1930s) would stay in Zermatt and then also go and stay in the other fashionable resort of the time, St Moritz. The train was named (mainly) after the Rhone Glacier which has now melted so much that you don’t see it from the train and in any case the train runs under the Rhone Glacier in a base tunnel which replaced the Furka mountain section in 1982.
<<“Luceren , we will be staying in Lauterbrunnen.I think I will change Day 6 to Mannlichen to Klein Scheidegg”>>
If you use the German spelling that the inhabitants use you will avoid the common misspelling – Lucerene in stead of Lucerne. Go for Luzern. 😉
And, since Scheidegg is a feminine noun in the complex German grammar, you’ll do better to spell it as “kleine Scheidegg.”
Slowpoke
Thank you Slowpoke for the correction and the information. will make note of that.
@1960 man – yes agreed. I think i was thinking that but just wanted to get some feedback for fear of missing out. will head straight to Zurich.
The feedback on this forum is amazing. so glad i stumbled upon it.
Hi UKGIRL-
<<“just wanted to get some feedback for fear of missing out.”>>
Any one of us can give you a list a mile long (or are you now on kilometers in the UK?) of things that you should not be missing out. No matter what you choose, you will be missing out on not just one, but three or four “must do” items.
So, stop worrying and enjoy a very nice itinerary that you have put together. You have made it “loose” enough that , generally, you can fit in local details that help make the trip more than a train ride.
Slowpoke
- The thread ‘Itinerary 10 days in Lucerne, Interlaken, Zermatt’ is closed to new replies.
