8-night itinerary Oct New York-Geneva-Zurich
A traveler is planning a special 10th Anniversary trip to Switzerland for 8 nights in October. They need advice on their itinerary, which includes stops in Geneva, Montreux, Zermatt, and Lucerne, and are looking to maximize their experience with mountain adventures and cultural sites while minimizing train travel. They seek suggestions on whether to adjust their itinerary or add must-see sights.
- Consider skipping an overnight stay in Geneva to reduce hotel changes and travel stress while still enjoying its sights in a day trip.
- Using the Swiss Travel Pass can provide excellent value, especially for free entry to many attractions listed in your itinerary.
- Staying in Zermatt for the first base allows for easier access to mountain experiences and day trips without excessive travel time.
AI-generated summary-
So as the title suggests I’m here looking for some help, suggestions and past experiences for a very special 10th Anniversary trip to Switzerland later this year (Oct. 2019). First time for us, and only second time traveling to Europe in general (AMS was our first in 2010) so mass transit, logistics and Swiss destination experts will be GREATLY appreciated.
Things have started off pretty good so far, as I was able to snag direct flights in Swiss Business Class for my wife and I, booked with United miles from JFK to GVA, and returning ZRH to JFK. I redeemed 280K miles for the flights which are currently pricing out at about $5800! As with all reward travel, piecing together a solid set of flights, non-stop AND in business class is not usually an easy task for anything besides last minute travel, and it took a few hours of rial, error and calendar surfing for sure!
Now onto the next challenge….an itinerary to make the best of our 8-nights in a foreign land.
So to start, I’ve put in more than a few hours (probably pushing 12+) reading comments, itineraries, travel blogs and watching YouTube videos of attractions while compiling our own “must-see” Swiss list. We are leaning towards a diverse experience full of mountain adventures, quaint Swiss villages, castles, lakes and culture, while trying to eliminate excessive train travel, route backtracking, typical tourist traps or out of the way sights (like Chamonix via Geneva ). I’m also starting to favor an extended base in Zermatt over splitting our time between Zermatt and the Jungfraujoch region…. because, well…. if you are going to see mountains go big or go home right?
Draft Base/Train Itinerary:
- First Day: Arrive Geneva (GVA) Airport (~9am) – Stay 1-Night in Geneva to relax, explore the city, museums, and Lake Geneva area.
- Base 1: Depart Geneva for Montreux – Stay 2-Nights – Explore with day trips to the Chateau de Chillon, Castle of Gruyeres, La Maison du Gruyere, Maison Cailler Chocolaterie
- Base 2: Depart Montreux for Zermatt – Stay 3-Nights – Explore the village with day trips to the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise and Mt. Gornergrat (extra buffer time in case of bad weather)
- Base 3: Depart Montreux for Lucerne (via partial Golden Pass Line) – Stay 2-Nights – Explore with day trips to Mount Pilatus OR Mt Rigi, Chapel Bridge, Swiss Museum of Transport, Lake Lucerne area.
- Last Day: Depart Lucerne for Zurich (ZRH) Airport early AM (~1pm flight back home).
Current Itinerary Questions:
- Is it worth giving up the first night in Geneva for an extra one in another base listed or on the way?
- Should the Montreux/Zermatt “home base” order be switched to accommodate a full Golden Pass trip from Montreux to Lucerne or not missing much?
- Any “Must-See” Swiss sights that would help round out our trip?
- How am I doing? I feel like I’m getting somewhere…just not sure if it’s good or bad yet, but I’m kinda OCD so this will continue for some time I’m sure haha
Always open to comments/suggestions….. Thank You all in advance!
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Hi Tony and welcome to MySwissAlps!
Excellent choice to make Switzerland the destination for your 10th wedding anniversary! You have done quite a lot of research already into what you would like to see (and good job on the miles and business class flights too, sounds idyllic!).
I also love you have Gruyeres on your list, it is such a romantic location, specially with all the autumn colours.
If I could suggest something would be to explore Geneva in one day and then change your base to maybe Nyon or Lausanne which are in between allowing you access to both and also have the lake cruises (which in my view are better than the lake cruises in Geneva). The advantage of doing it that way would be to not have to change hotels too often which is always a pain. I would only stay in Geneva overnight if you really want to spend time in more than 1 museum, for example the Red Cross & Red Crescent society museum is excellent and maybe the UN quarter visit.
I’ve not done the Golden pass trip so I’ll let others comment.
I would also factor in the jetlag – I travel to Canada at least once a year and I always find the first two days quite tough, so easy activities are good.
Hope this helps! And here are a few links to the places you have mentioned for further reading:
- http://www.myswissalps.com/ge neva
- http://www.myswissalps.com/la usanne
- http://www.myswissalps.com/mo ntreux
- http://www.myswissalps.com/ze rmatt
- http://www.myswissalps.com/lu cerne
- http://www.myswissalps.com/pi latus
- http://www.myswissalps.com/ri gi
- http://www.myswissalps.com/go ldenpass
All the best for the trip!
Maria.
Thanks so much for the greeting and response Maria!
Currently this trip is also a SURPRIZE to my wife, but it won’t be for too much longer. We typically travel to the Caribbean, Mexico and have done Hawaii as well, so her expectations will be something along those lines… I think cross-country trip in the Swiss Alps may earn me some bonus points. 😉
By the way, there is a typo between my Base 2/3 routes, but per my question, I think it may be better based on some others advice to do this in reverse anyway to get the most out of the Golden Pass route. So Base 1 would be Zermatt and Base 2: Montreux, Base 3: Lucern.
Golden Pass: Montreux to Zweisimmen to Interlaken Ost to Luzern.
So your recommendation for Day-1 would not be to not to skip Geneva entirely, but rather to eliminate the overnight there. How might we handle our luggage, getting changed and freshening up after our overnight flight in this situation without a room?
I do agree that the less hotel changes the better, both for logistics and our sanity. My other concerns would be the added difficulty of moving to our night-1 base once the sun goes down or making the longer trek to Base 1: Zermatt so late in the day.
Hi Tony. I read your post with interest and would like to make some suggestions.
First I want to explain that I am a Tour Manager and I take small groups on vacation to Switzerland. I have just been putting together a possible new tour and it has certain similarities to your itinerary. Personally, I would skip Geneva. It is a big city and it will be hard to do it justice when you are tired after the flight.
I would suggest the following itinerary. 2 nights Montreux, 2 in Zermatt, 2 in Lauterbrunnen, 2 in Lucerne. It only takes 1 hour to reach Montreux by train so you will probably arrive your hotel before noon. If you can’t check in right away, leave your bags in storage at reception and visit the lake front to see the Freddie Mercury statue and the Casino to visit the Queen Mountain Records Studio museum (free of charge, donations accepted for AidsResearch. http://www.mercuryphoenixtrus t.com/studioexperience /.
Spend rest of day planning your visit to Cailler in Broc (opens at 10.00 am). Visit takes about 1 hour and is very good. From there it is only 15 minutes to Gruyeres. Allow a good two hours and make sure you have Swiss cheese fondue for lunch. A really nice place is Fleur de Lys and if it is a nice day, ask for a table in the back garden overlooking the walls and church. Then travel to Chillon. I really recommend a guided tour to get the very most out of it. They take 50 minutes. After your visit it is just 10 minutes by bus back to Montreux (or you can walk).
Next day take train Montreux-Zermatt. You can be there before noon. That means you can go up the Gornergrat and explore the summit, perhaps have lunch. On the way down, get off at first stop and walk to the lake to get the Matterhorn reflected. Hike down one more stop (allow 1 hr) and catch the next train down to Zermatt. The following morning you can do the Matterhorn Glacier experience (allow 5 hours) and just chill out in Zermatt in the afternoon. If the weather is great I can highly recommend a 20 minute Helicopter flight around the Matterhorn with Air Zermatt.
Following day take train from Zermatt to Lauterbrunnen via Interlaken. Allow about 2.5 hrs travel time. Find a quaint hotel in Lauterbrunnen and be sure to visit Trummelbach Falls. If you couldn’t do a heli ride in Zermatt, take one from Lauterbrunnen (Air Glaciers). I did it once and it is an life changing experience to fly right up the North Face of the Eiger. The following day is a hard one to call: The Top of Europe Jungfraujoch, or Schilthorn and Piz Gloria via Murren. Both will be incredible experiences. You could stay a week in this area and not run out of things to do.
The things on your list in Lucerne seem just right. If you take the train Lauterbrunnen-Luzern you can be in Luzern early enough to visit the Lion Monument, and perhaps take a miniature train tour of the city plus do lots of individual exploring. Try to stay in the old town. Hotel Wilden Mann is great if you can live without aircon which is no problem in October. At least 400 years old, filled with antiques and one of the best restaurants in town. Big advantage: 5 minute walk to/from the train station. Or Monopol and Metropole, across the street from RR Station. The following morning do either Rigi or Pilatus….both are fab trips. I love the boat ride from Luzern to Vitznau– try to book the dampschift paddle steamer– the cog-wheel train up to Rigi-Kulm on Europe’s oldest mountain train, the cable-car down from Rigi Kaltbad to Weggis and the boat or local bus back to Lucerne. You could get off the boat (or bus) at Werkerhshaus to visit the Swiss Transport Museum en route back to Luzern.
For your last night in Switzerland, I suggest dining at the Stadtkeller. The food is excellent (huge selection), they make their own beer!, and they put on a hilarious and very entertaining Swiss Folklore show. It is a bit touristy, but so what. You are tourists and I guarantee you will get a lot of laughs and enjoyment out of the evening. Then wander home through the quaint alleyways of the old city with its wall paintings, fountains, and covered bridges.
Next day you fly home from Zurich. The train stops right at the airport and trains are very frequent.
I hope this has been of some use to you. I love Switzerland and the Swiss people are very helpful and friendly. The most important thing is to have a wonderful time and travel light. All decent hotels have hair-dryers so no need to pack them.
Kind regards,Dennis
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Hi again Tony!
What a lovely idea, would love to hear how your wife reacts when she learns of the plans!
Some good advice from DAldridge for you to consider too 🙂
My advice would not be to skip Geneva entirely but rather to not make it a base… There is a lot to see and do in Geneva of course, but I wouldn’t give it more than a day to take in the sights (Jet d’eau, old town etc. maybe a museum) and it would be something nice to do on your ‘severe jet lag’ day. All those things are within walking distance from the main train station (Cornavin) and maybe a nice way to stretch your legs upon arrival!
As for showers – there are some available in the baggage hall at the airport when you arrive (you’ll need some cash). If not, there are some available also at the main train station, where you can also deposit your luggage for the day: http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/practical/luggage
Alternatively you can also go directly to Zermatt – with the added advantage that the train journey there has only one connection and takes 4 hours, which would allow you to sleep on the train!
You can still visit Geneva during your Montreux stay, it is only over an hour to get there, and a good day out, with the advantage that you can change your plans at short notice.
To make your choice even more difficult – you could even visit Geneva for a few hours and then still travel to Zermatt as the last train leaves around 8pm. Probably not the best choice though since that would be a very long day 😉
When you arrive in Zermatt, there are little electric taxis that can take you to your hotel from the station. I’ve arrived late at night and have never had an issue – you would just need to check your hotel policy. There are frequent connections from Geneva airport so I wouldn’t worry about that so much.
Food for thought! Once you finalise your itinerary, or even if you don’t quite, it’s worth thinking about rail pass options: http://www.myswissalps.com/sw issrailpasses
The Swiss Travel Pass will probably provide you with the most flexibility for your itinerary, with the added advantage of ticketless travel: http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass
Remember to use our timetable tool for times and train connections: http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable
Hope this helps, I’m so excited for you!!
Maria.
Thanks for the very detailed and informative response Dennis. A lot to think about in here for sure….
I do realize we could probably spend a week in the Interlaken/Jungfrau region and thus why I think I’m settling on leaving it out, hopefully for a “next time” trip.
Would a day trip to Chamonix be possible or advisable from anywhere BESIDES Geneva? That was my other sticking point to our Night-1 stay, the option of that excursion in particular just for the varied culture of the area.
Love the helicopter options as well… I’m thinking maybe in place of an extra night or manual peak trek in Zermatt… We have done similar in Maui and Las Vegas (Red Rock) and for sure it’s an extreme and rewarding vantage point available no other way!
Hello again as well Maria 😉
Yes, I’ll be sure to fill the thread in on her response…I THINK it will go over well haha
About Geneva, I like your direct to Zermatt and stop back via Montreux ideas IF there is no major benefit to staying there. A possible day trip to Chamonix was one of those reason as mentioned in my above reply…any other way to make that one work from another location or too far?
And yes, been looking at the rail options and timetables as well. I’m guessing the 8-Day STP will be most helpful with our connections and day trips, if not very least not dealing with a ticket for each. Been looking into the MOB Panoramic route from Montreux to Lucerne as well, maybe into the cool forward VIP seats.
7-Months to the day until touchdown at GVA 😛
Hi TeslaTony23,
You can head to Chamonix from Montreux as well if you like. Use the timetable from Maria to plan out trips to Chamonix from various towns to see what the connections are like and if they work for you.
The VIP seats on the Golden Pass (http://www.myswissalps.com/go ldenpass) are currently out of service for renovation/revision but may be back by the time you travel (no current ETA that I am aware of, but they were taken out of service in September and probably back this summer season – hard to know).
Update #1
- First, due to a few of the longer train rides proposed, (per route update below) I’m now leaning towards only 3 overnight/base locations to make hotel switches less stressful as well as adding the extra night saved in Geneva to our time in Lucerne (or nearby) to explore in more depth.
- Next, proposing the Montreux stay between Zermatt and Lucerne to break up the mountain adventures and also because it would be the starting point of the planned full GP route to Lucern.
- Lastly, cutting Chamonix from this trip due to location, time of year/closures and forum recommendations.
Base/Train Itinerary:
- Base/Day 1: Depart Geneva (GVA) Airport approx. 9am for Zermatt – Stay 3-Nights – Relax & Unwind, explore the village with day trips to the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise and Mt. Gornergrat + possible Helicopter Tour.
- Base 2: Depart Zermatt for Montreux – Stay 2-Nights – Explore with day trips to the Chateau de Chillon, Castle of Gruyeres, La Maison du Gruyere, Maison Cailler Chocolaterie + possible Geneva sights.
- Base 3: Depart Montreux via MOB Full Golden Pass Line route for Lucerne – Stay 3-Nights – Explore Mt. Pilatus via round-trip route (Alpnachstad>Pilatus>Kriens) , Mt. Rigi via round trip (Vitznau>Rigi Kulm>Arth Goldau), possible mountain trail hikes, Chapel Bridge, Swiss Museum of Transport, Swiss Knife Valley, Fort Vitznau.
- Last Day: Depart Lucerne for Zurich (ZRH) Airport approx. 9am for our 1pm flight back home.
HELP w/ Train Passes: So just surfing the SBB train timetables and costs, I don’t see how our proposed trips could ever add up to near the cost of the STP 8-Day. With the super-saver option on some of these routes I’m not even adding up to half the STP.
Am I missing something here?
Could the 50% off the mountain passes/trams be that valuable?
I do understand that not needing a ticket for each trip is convenient with the STP, but at twice the cost?
Can anyone advise based on our proposed itinerary would would work best?
Note that the price you see first displayed on the SBB timetable is the Swiss Half Fare Card price. You need to double it for the regular fare (in case you didn’t realize that).
Also, yes the mountain transport tickets are quite expensive and you must include those prices to do a proper comparison.
If you haven’t found our page on how to choose the best rail pass go here: http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses/prac tical/chooserailpass – a handy spreadsheet to help with the math awaits you. 🙂
Awesome Spreadsheet! I love me a good spreadsheet haha
And, now that you mention it…. no, I didn’t realize that about the ticket price quotes, but I see the note to the right that states, “1× Individual Tickets, Half-Fare travelcard”.
Using the example #1 from the spreadsheet on the SBB site; Zürich Flughafen>Luzern gives me a price of 15 CHF meaning a Full Price/non-discounted ticket would be 30 CHF as show in the example, MATCH!, OK got it now.
Well, there goes the rest of my morning….. 🙂
Why is Half-Fare assumed on every route anyway? I think that’s weird, but maybe it’s normal…I don’t even use mass transit in NYC when I do go in so what do I know.
The SBB website is geared for Swiss residents and most have the Swiss Half Fare Card (annually it is about 165chf only).
Plus i suppose it is that simple sales phrase of a “starting from price” although I wish they would state that more clearly 😉
DAldridge
Such a strange coincidence that my itinerary almost matches with yours, I should admit I was pleasantly surprised as you are a tour manager & I had planned my trip almost 5 months back.
Cheers!!
I have to say after MANY more hours of researching, attractions, routes and hotels this weekend I had kinda overhauled my itinerary once again and now looking back, it’s very much like what DAldridge had presented to me last week with just a few of my own personal tweeks.
My new found “Update #2” goes like this….
GVA > Zermatt (2-Nights) > Montreux (2-Nights) > Lauterbrunnen (2-Nights) > Lucerne (2-Nights) > ZRH
Basically just swapping Base 1 & 2 in DAldridge’s itinerary due to a few personal Pros and Cons:
Pros:
- A break between our mountain destinations/colder weather.
- Access to Gruyeres & Broc to-do sights.
- Golden Pass route between Montreux>Lauterbrunnen.
Cons:
- Much longer Day-1 travel.
- Backtracking/Overlap travel between Visp>Montreux.
- Later start to Day-1 adventures.
From Montreux on, ADDING in Lauterbrunnen as our #3 Base cuts down the longer travel to Lucerne while opening up a whole new region to explore. I have Trummelbach Falls and of course Jungfrau to the list of top options here. Only downside I see is having to pull the extra days from Zermatt and Lucerne, but adding to the overall diversity and options of the trip…IMO at least.
Plus, like everyone keeps saying about the weather…. if let’s say the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise doesn’t work out due to weather in Zermatt, we have at least a similar experience option in Lauterbrunnen at the Jungfrau Top of Europe, but an expensive one at that. Daylight and weather will basically dictate our options ultimately, so I’m going to try to focus less on individual sights and more on the regional option backup plans.
I also realized over the weekend that to make the most of each base we’ll really have to get a decently early start to our days, especially on base transfers, even if it means turning in early the second night at each location.
Hotels at each base at the top of my list:
- Hotel Bellerive – Zermatt
- Eurotel – Montreux
- Hotel Silberhorn – Lauterbrunnen
- Hotel Central – Luzern
Any feedback on any of these hotels by locals or recent guests? Trying to focus on location, style(modern/chic) and comfort over price. Would like the transfers between train and hotel to be as quick and easy as possible.
Thanks All… the journey continues! 🙂
On other fronts, I now see now how valuable a STP can be after filling in my own travel plans and excursion costs vs. the Half-Fare card or Full Fare rates. This is especially true if you are planning a handful of museum or cultural sites as listed below.
Sights of particular value in my itinerary WITH the STP include:
- Murren @ Schilthorn Swiss Skyline – 100% FREE – SAVE $52.50 CHF p/p vs. Half-Fare
Vitznau @ Mt. Rigi – 100% FREE – SAVE $25 CHF p/p vs. Half-Fare
Montreux @ Chateau de Chillon – 100% FREE
Gruyères @ HR Giger Museum/Gruyères Castle/La Maison du Gruyère – All 100% FREE
Broc @ Maison Cailler Chocolaterie – 100% FREE
Zermatt @ Zermatlantis (Matterhorn Museum) – 100% FREE
Lucerne @ Verkehrshaus (Swiss Museum of Transport) – 50% OFF – SAVE $16 CHF vs. Half-Fare
The 8-Day STP now comes out ahead in my 2019 calculations, but realize some of these discounts are new and if they were to change in 2020 the advantage may swing the other way quickly.
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Hi TeslaTony23,
You are a very detailed planner, congratulations, I’m convinced your trip will be marvellous. 🙂
Regarding the changes in product range and validity of the Swiss Travel Pass, find detailed information here: http://www.mystsnet.com/en/ne ws/product-range-and-area-of-validity-2019/
If you look at the changes in the past (archive), they have practically always been in favour of the travellers, meaning, services have been added resp. improved and not removed or anything.
I would say the worst you would have to calculate with is a rise in price, as also stated on the page above. But if you buy it before the price rises, then perfect!
Hope this helps your further planning.
Best,
Steph
Thanks for the response and link. So in this case it seems 50% discount was lost at Schilthorn for 2019? Not sure about all the past changes, but seems that many mountain passes that used to be included 100% are now 50% or less.
The Schilthorn website (linked below) still shows “This route is fully covered by the Swiss Travel Pass (Flex) and GA travelcard.” So this is incorrect?
What did you mean by, “But if you buy it before the price rises, then perfect!” ? Aren’t 2019 prices already in effect for the full calendar year? Our trip is planned for Oct. 2019.
Hi,
Well then forget about the comment of buying it ahead of time. I understood you might want to buy the Swiss Travel Pass for the following year.
In any case, regarding the validity of the Swiss Travel Pass for the Schilthorn in 2019 I am also a little confused, as the I find contradicting information on the internet, too. See attachment vs. above link.
Will try and find out.
Best,
Steph
Hi!
Swiss Travel Pass offers free trips to the Schilthorn in 2019:
- http://www.myswissalps.com/sc hilthorn/tickets
- http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/overview-of-the-swiss-travel-system-passes-in-2019
It looked like it was going to be 50% off for a while, so old information on the internet might cause confusion.
Enjoy your trips!
Very helpful Arno… I guess that clears it up matching the PDF notice info Steph attached above.
Hopefully the other websites catch up soon to avoid TONS of foreign visitor confusion…I mean it is March already 😉
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