[Anonymous]

4 February 2022 at 2:53:20 #826470

Hi,

We are 2 families planning a ~2-week trip in the 2nd half of July. The adults are a mix of avid and occasional hikers. We joke that some of us will hike up the mountain while the others will take the cable car and we’ll all meet at the top for lunch. The kids are pre-/early teens: 12, 13, and 14 and active.

A few key points:

• We’re looking to spend most of our time in the mountains vs in cities.
• We prefer stay longer in a few places versus moving to a different place each day. (Where sensible, anyway).
• We’ll be traveling by train.

That said, here’s my first go at an itinerary. I’d appreciate your feedback! (Especially the end of the trip, from the Glacier Express to Zurich.)

Day Location

1. Arrive Geneva (at night). Spend night in Geneva.
2. Tour Geneva, take boat cruise to Montreux. Spend night in Montreux.
3. Chocolate train (or equivalent)* and Chilon Castle (if time permits). Spend night in Montreux.
4. Train to Wengen or Murren (haven’t decided where, yet). Spend 4 nights.
5. Hiking/exploring Bernese-Oberland. ( Schlithorn, Kleine Sheidegg, Jungfraujoch, etc)
6. Hiking/exploring Bernese-Oberland. ( Schlithorn, Kleine Sheidegg, Jungfraujoch, etc)
7. Hiking/exploring Bernese-Oberland. ( Schlithorn, Kleine Sheidegg, Jungfraujoch, etc)
8. Train to Zermatt. Spend 3 nights in Zermatt.
9. Hiking/exploring area.
10. Hiking/exploring area.
11. Glacier express to St. Moritz. Spend night in St Moritz? (or is somewhere else recommended?)
12. Train to Lucerne. Tour Lucerne. Spend night in Lucerne ???
13. Arrive Zurich and fly home.

* Our kids want to see how cheese and chocolate are made. The chocolate train seems to tick the boxes but open to other/better ideas on how to accomplish this during the trip.

Thanks so much!

Jonathan

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[Anna]

Reply 1 of 9 • 4 February 2022 at 11:31:31 #938417

Hi Jonathan,

Welcome to MySwissAlps.

This is a good itinerary to begin with. Here are some of my suggestions.

If your flight arrives before 10pm, I think you might as well just spend the first night of your trip in Montreux. There is a direct train from Geneva Airport that can get you to Montreux in 1 hour. You can find train schedules here: http://www.myswissalps.com/timetable

Taking the chocolate train is definitely a good idea for the kids. But if you need alternatives, you can can check out he Funky Chocolate Club in Interlaken whilst you are in the Bernese Oberland.

The Glacier Express from Zermatt to St Moritz will take you about 8 hours. After a long journey I personally think spending a night in St Moritz would be a good thing. You can also stay in Pontresina or Samedan, which are easily accessible from St Moritz and have more hotel options.

And lastly, Lucerne is a good base to spend your last few nights. There is a direct train from Lucerne to Zurich Airport that takes about 1 hour.

Hope this gets you going. If you need more info to refine your itinerary, let us know.

Regards,

Anna

[bbeerbower]

Reply 2 of 9 • 5 February 2022 at 3:01:35 #938418

Hi, you can’t decide whether to stay in Murren or Wengen? both are carless and have beautiful views overlooking the Lauterbrunnen Valley. Have you thought about staying in Lauterbrunnen Valley between the 2 towns. It was a great base for my family which included an 11yr and an 8 yr old boy. It offers both train to Murren and cable car/train to Murren which will save you time. Lauterbrunnen is a beautiful glacier valley with lovely trails; scenic water falls, and lies between both the Schilthorn (Murren;Brig;Gimmelwald) and Jungfraujoch (Wengen;Manlichen) Mountains which makes it a good base for visiting both mountains. It is on the main Swiss train line which you will have to go through to get to both Murren & Wengen. It has (2) grocery stores; cable cars and or train to both towns and bus service to Trummelbach Falls or on to Stechelberg where you can take the cable car up to Schilthorn etc. If I were choosing between Murren & Wengen, I personally liked Murren best because of the easy trails around it. you can take the cable car up to Gutschalp then the cogwheel train to Murren. then easy walk to Gimmelwald then get on cable car and go up to Schilthorn or down to Stechelberg. there is also a cable car up to Allmendhubel (seasonal gardens with restaurant). In Wengen you can take a cable car up to Mannlichen which is also nice. Both have nice hotels & restaurants. One of the thrills in Murren is watching the base jumpers float down into the valley. Be sure to check out the family Swiss railpass when you buy your Swiss Pass as kids travel free. Jungfraujoch is run by a different company so you will need extra tickets to get there. It is somewhat cheaper to go early, but still very expensive so be sure to check visibilty before going to top of these mts.

We stayed @ Horner Pub Apts next to the Staubbach falls. These apts were well stocked and larger than most. when we stayed there they also had a washer & dryer. we saved money and time as we could cook some of our meals. kids loved it and location is excellent with Staubbach Waterfalls outside our door. and the only Pub across the street (Horner Pub) which had pretty good food. we also had a car so Lauterbrunnen was a great place for us to stay. Enjoy your trip.

[Annika]

Reply 3 of 9 • 5 February 2022 at 7:52:12 #938419

Hi Jonathan!

If you’re interested in chocolate experiences, this page may help: http://www.myswissalps.com/activities/culinary/chocolate.

Another tip: don’t forget to look into rail passes and find out which option helps you to save most money: http://www.myswissalps.com/train/ticketspasses/practical/chooserailpass.

[User]

Reply 4 of 9 • 5 February 2022 at 22:59:05 #938420

Thank you all so much!

[User]

Reply 5 of 9 • 6 February 2022 at 1:54:37 #938421

I would suggest you drop the idea of the Glacier Express (GEX) from your already busy itinerary. It is a long trip and all the way you are in sealed window coaches with large windows – which is not to everyone’s taste. Younger people might find the journey all on that type of train a bit tedious.

Here’s a few ‘candid’ facts about the GEX that are not always mentioned in the sometime hyperbolic GEX ‘marketing blurb’ (take from my over 50 years of travel industry expertise and detailed knowledge of Swiss railways):

The modern day Glacier Express brand is extremely well marketed, but masks some facts which for some people make it questionable value:

1. the most important one being that it runs East – West across the southern extremity of Switzerland, so does not fit in to all Swiss holiday itineraries.
2. There are plenty of similar views available from other train services and routes within the Swiss alps and Switzerland in general. Most people will have already seen, or will subsequently see, similar mountain views from other trips they are doing as part of their holiday
3. You don’t actually see any glaciers from the train during the whole 8 hour journey
4. You are stuck in the same carriages most of the day, with few opportunities to experience the mountain air that you have travelled to Switzerland to sample!
5. Despite its ‘express’ title it is actually no faster than the local/regional trains along the same lines

The Glacier Express trains are special trains on the Rhaetische Bahn (RhB) and Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn (MGB) railway company lines which run in addition to normal ordinary service trains. The ‘panoramic’ coaches on these trains require a reservation or supplementary fare to be paid in addition to the normal fare. In all cases ordinary trains can be used on the RhB/MGB network without paying any additional fees.

In all cases if you choose (or find yourself on) an ordinary train you won’t miss the scenery as all Swiss train carriages on these lines have large windows giving good views.

[User]

Reply 6 of 9 • 6 February 2022 at 2:00:54 #938422

Moderators here seem to have a dislike for Geneva!

Why encourage the OP to go straight to Montreux? They might want to see Geneva – the lake where it ends and becomes the Rhone river, Pont du Mont Blanc, the quaysides, Geneve Plage, Jardin Anglais, Place de Neuve, Reformation monument, old town and catherdral, Musee Ariana, UN, Jet d’Eau, old Carouge … … etc etc

[Arno]

Reply 7 of 9 • 6 February 2022 at 8:14:17 #938423

Here’s a good short walk around Geneva to consider for your morning of day 2: http://www.myswissalps.com/hiking/geneva.

[User]

Reply 8 of 9 • 12 February 2022 at 13:03:08 #938424

Hi! We are also travelling this summer with our sons- 18 and 20 and spending 8 nights. So far we have this planned-

Fly into Zurich- spend 1 night

Then Lauterbrunnen- spending 3 nights Airbnb

I need help deciding what town would be a good 2nd homebase- Lucerne? Zermatt?

Should we extend our time in Lauterbrunnen by a night?

Also, wondering about renting a car vs. trying to do it all by rail.

Any and all information would be greatly appreciated!!

[Anna]

Reply 9 of 9 • 12 February 2022 at 18:26:16 #938425

Hi Mmnafletcher,

Welcome to MySwissAlps.

Spending 3 nights in Lauterbrunnen is a great way to explore the Jungfrau region. There’s lot of things to see and do in the area, and if you can add additional nights, that’s always good in my opinion. What are your plans after Lauterbrunnen? If you want to explore Central Switzerland, Lucerne would be a good base. If you wish to see the famous Matterhorn, you should spend a few days in Zermatt. It’s fairly simple to plan day trips from Lucerne and Zermatt as both have good train connections to other parts of Switzerland. You can use the SBB timetable to plan your journeys.

If you are thinking about driving, you can find some useful information here: http://www.myswissalps.com/car

For your information, some destinations like Zermatt are inaccessible by car (car-free) and the only way to travel is by public transport.

If you have more questions to ask about your itinerary, kindly post them on a new thread here: http://www.myswissalps.com/forum/miscellaneous

Regards,

Anna