Hiking village to village Swiss Alps 3 days July
A traveler is planning a long weekend trip to Switzerland over the 4th of July with their husband. They are wondering whether to fly into Basel or Zurich, if a rail pass is worthwhile for their short stay, and whether to base themselves in Wengen for hiking or do a village-to-village trip. They want to enjoy beautiful views and local food while staying active during their trip.
- Fly into Zurich for easier access to Wengen when traveling by train.
- Consider getting a rail pass if you'll primarily use public transport and plan to travel for more than three days.
- Staying in Wengen is recommended for a more immersive village experience, with plenty of hiking options available.
- Plan hikes from Wengen to nearby villages like Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen for beautiful scenic views.
AI-generated summary-
Hi everyone. First time poster here. My husband and I are Americans living in Italy and I’d like to take a long weekend trip to Switzerland over 4th of July weekend. Looking at Thursday-Tuesday or Friday-Tuesday. I’ve read (and loved) Kim’s BO PDF and have studied it extensively, however since it is from 2015 and because things may have changed, I have a few questions:
-Is it better to fly into Basel or Zurich (both have direct flights from our Italy airport)? Planning to take trains to Wengen depending on your answers to the subsequent questions.
-Are the discount rail passes (HFCs) the best option, even for this short amount of time?
-Do you recommend home-basing out of Wengen or similar and then doing day hikes, or do a village-to-village trip over 3-4 days?
Background: traveling with just a backpack. Fit and in-shape hikers (I just ran two marathons and husband and I climbed Kilimanjaro a few months ago), however, I’d like village life/food/accommodations more than a hut from what I’ve read. We like good food, beautiful views, small villages.
Thoughts/recommendations? I’m basically looking for a good route if doing village-to-village and then follow Kim’s recommendations from there, if applicable. Thanks!
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I would definitely stay in Wengen for a 3-4 days stay. Hiking options are plentiful and Wengen is a beautiful village. Even if you want to explore places around Wengen, the transport options are there to quickly bring you everywhere (yes a train pass is essential and will open unplanned discoveries and spur of the moment changes in your itinerary). Kim’s excellent report was written based on all of her stays in Wengen, which tells you, among other things, how easy it is to go around. I also believe that it is nice to stay longer in a village as you get a better feeling on the life of a town. Regarding travelling, I would arrive in Zurich as your route to Wengen might be quicker and easier (I will let the myswissalp team comment on that). One thing is sure, regardless of your travel route, you will be amazed!
Hi Aschollmb.
Welcome to MySwissAlps. We all loved Kim’s useful trip report. Most of the details are still very much relevant.
To answer your questions:
1. My personal preference would be to fly into Zurich as I could simply walk to the train station and board my connection to Wengen. If you’re flying into Basel, you need to travel on the bus to get to the Basel SBB station. From my experience however you can find really good flight deals if you’re flying into Basel so the answer to this question depends mainly on your preferences and priorities.
2. Getting a railpass usually makes sense if you’re travelling for more than 3 days and mainly with public transport. Once you’ve determined your itinerary, you can use this step-by-step guide to choose the best railpass for your trip: http://www.myswissalps.com/train/ticketspasses/practical/chooserailpass
3. Wengen is good base to explore the Jungfrau region. You can definitely hike from village-to-village here, such as Wengen to Grindelwald and Wengen to Lauterbrunnen. You can find hiking options and information here: http://www.myswissalps.com/wengen/activities In addition, you can use Schweiz Mobility to find and plan more hiking routes.
Hope this will give you a good start.
Regards,
Anna
Thank you both! This is helpful and I appreciate your responses!
Allyson
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