How to plan a 4 days trip from Geneva ?
A traveler is planning a 4-day trip to Switzerland with their 60-year-old parents, flying from London to Geneva. They want advice on whether to stick to Geneva or choose multiple bases for day trips to the mountains, as well as recommendations for activities, transportation, and halal-friendly food options.
- Stick to 1 or 2 bases for easier travel with parents, like Lucerne and Interlaken.
- Consider purchasing a Swiss Travel Pass for convenient and discounted train travel, especially for visiting attractions.
- Check the coverage of the Swiss Travel Pass for mountain excursions and museum entries to maximize your visit.
AI-generated summary-
Hello all! I have a few queries and I hope you can help me answer them. Apologies if they’ve been asked before. Please redirect me to the existing posts if so, thank you! 🙂
Flight: Would it be better to opt for multi-city flights or should I stick to one city? I will be flying from London to Geneva for 4 days and I plan to make a few days trips from Geneva to the mountains. Should I have 2 bases instead of staying in Geneva alone?
Railway tickets: For day trips, what is the cheapest mode of transportation? Should I consider taking buses or are the railway passes the cheapest? Preferably, we would want to visit only one place each day, unless otherwise advised. Recommendations are welcomed!
Activities: I do not plan to go skiing but would like to visit the mountains for the scenery. Other activities that I am looking out for are – toboggan and ice fishing. Are there any activities I should consider and which are the best places offering these? For reference, I will be traveling with my 60 y/o parents.
Apart from winter activities, are there any museums or quaint villages etc worth visiting?
Halal-friendly: Which are the most halal-friendly cities in terms of food?
Thank you so much for reading, any help will be greatly appreciated!
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Hello Somedaize,
Welcome to MySwissAlps!
What are the dates you will be in Switzerland with your parents? I will attach links about how to get started:
I think it is best to stick with 1 to 2 places for your travel base. I personally find 2 places to be ambitious especially when traveling with parents. I find Lucerne and Interlaken two great places for travel bases. Lucerne is central Switzerland and from there you can go to Mount Titlis or Mount Pilatus.
Lucerne:
Interlaken is the gateway and travel hub for the Jungfrau region. It is also a strategic base town for anyone who wishes to see a lot of the Bernese Oberland. I will attach some links for you to read:
Interlaken:
- http://www.myswissalps.com/in terlaken
- http://www.myswissalps.com/in terlaken/activities
- http://www.myswissalps.com/ju ngfrauregion
I would suggest looking into rail transportation when you are in Switzerland. The Swiss public transportation system is among the best in the world:
Here are some links to help you decide which train pass would suit your travel needs:
- http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses
- http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses/prac tical/chooserailpass
I have also attach some links about activities such as tobogganing and other winter activities that would interest you. From that link, you can see other subheadings such as culture, culinary, etc, to get some inspiration in your planning.
Depending on when you will be in Switzerland, there is the Christmas markets that is wonderful to experience:
I personally found Interlaken to be halal-friendly in terms of food. I will attach a link for you:
I have been to Layaly Beirut a few times and I find the food great, authentic and the service friendly.
I hope all this helps you get started!
Best regards,
Suzanne
Hi Somedaize,
If using public transport it is always by train in Switzerland unless you are visiting smaller/remote areas where trains don’t operate – then you take the bus. It is either one or the other. Suzanne gave you all the links you need I think to figure out your travel plans.
I would not stay in Geneva if the mountains are your main focus. Fly in, then train to Interlaken and make your day trips out from there I think. Use the Swiss railways timetable to plan out all trips: http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable
a 4 day Swiss Travel Pass would probably suit you best: http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass – buy it online and have it emailed to you to print at home – that you you hit the ground running when you arrive in Geneva, just hop on a train and go. 🙂
Hi Lucas-
It is nice to see that you are still finding a few minutes to add your experience to the advice on the Forum. I hope that things are going well for you in Berlin.
I’d like to refine your comment:
<<“If using public transport it is always by train in Switzerland unless
you are visiting smaller/remote areas where trains don’t operate – then
you take the bus. It is either one or the other.”>>
Cableways are public transportation in many parts of Switzerland, as are the hybrid version ( funiculars).
It is true that in the German-speaking regions, they are included in the generic word for train (die Bahn). So, I suppose you could call them trains.
I’m thinking about the cableways from Stechelberg to Mürren, and from Lauterbrunnen to Grütschalp. The funicular from Ligerz to Prêles:
Vinifuni – funicular Ligerz – Prêles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hj2GK1KKtls
and in Locarno to get up to the level of the Madonna del Sasso church at Orselina are both public transport.
http://www.myswissalps.com/ma donnadelsasso
Note that that particular link describes an additional official mode of public transport – walking.
Also-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfbX7D6LWDM
In the larger cities, trams are common as well as buses.
Finally, I’ve attached a photo of a less common form of taxi, in the Emmental:
Slowpoke
Attachments:
Wow, thank you so much for all the help! Sorry for the late reply, I’ve only gotten around with planning my trip now.
After some research, I think I’ll fly from London to Zurich instead of Geneva since it is much cheaper. I’ve also decided to purchase the Swiss Travel Pass. I’d like to maximise the pass, hence would prefer to visit places that are free (though I understand some trains will charge a reservation fee which is fine) unless there are places that are worth the extra money to visit. Are the places offered for free good enough? Or will I be missing out on a lot?
Would it be wise to have a base or should I book hotels at different locations since I will be taking the train to different cities? Will it be too much of a hassle to travel by train with luggages? I’m a little worried as I’ll be traveling with my parents as mentioned.
For reference, I will be there from 7-11 January. Thanks for the help! 🙂
Also, @slowpoke I really do hope to see those ‘less common form of taxi’, they’re so dreamy!
<<“Also, @slowpoke I really do hope to see those ‘less common form of taxi’, they’re so dreamy! “>>
Not likely in January. ;-(
Slowpoke
<” Are the places offered for free good enough? Or will I be missing out on a lot? “>>
Yes, no and maybe.
Yes, you will be missing a lot, even if you go to the places that cost extra. There is enough variety of places that are better than “good enough” to spend a couple of months visiting them. You can’t see everything in four days. 🙂 On the other hand, there is such nice scenery even in the non-famous areas, and just riding the trains, that you will almost always see something nice, no matter where you are.
Within the range of interests that you list, some will be free, and some will only have a discount….such as travel to some/up some of the famous scenic mountains. So, your interests are the key to answering that question. Only you can determine what is “good enough,” and since you have three people in your party, you can have some discussions and take a vote. Lots of information about things to do and see on this website. Use the search box. It works pretty well.
Or, look at links under “Where to Go” and “What to Do” on the homepage.
For example if you choose a particular scenic mountain from this link which is under “What to Do,” you can look at the tab for “tickets” which will explain special costs:
http://www.myswissalps.com/ac tivities/naturalsites
For example:
http://www.myswissalps.com/ju ngfraujoch/tickets
Scroll down.
Slowpoke
Hi Somedaize,
I recommend you to take a look at the Swiss Travel Pass validity page (http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass/validity) to see the list of mountains that are covered by the pass. Most of them will give you up to 50% discounts on tickets, only Schilthorn, Rigi and Stanserhorn currently are free.
- Rigi: http://www.myswissalps.com/ri gi
- Schilthorn: http://www.myswissalps.com/sc hilthorn
- Stanserhorn: http://www.myswissalps.com/st anserhorn (closed in January)
(You can check the opening times by clicking on the ‘route’ tab)
The Swiss Travel Pass also works like a museum pass. You get free entry to almost 500 museums all across Switzerland, including a few ‘Chocolate museums’ such as the Chocolate Frey Visitor Centre in Buchs and the Maison Cailler (Broc). Other notable ones: the National Museum and the FIFA World Football Museum (Zurich), Glacier Garden Lucerne and Transport Museum Lucerne (50% discount). You can find the extensive list on this page: http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass/details
Based on the duration and purpose of your travel, I would say picking out 2 bases would be the maximum. If you are focused on seeing mountains, I suggest picking a base in the Bernese Oberland and then just do day trips from there.
For information about travelling with luggage please see this link: http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/practical/luggage
Be sure to download the SBB timetable app from here: http://www.myswissalps.com/ab outswitzerland/practic al/websites, it will make travelling much easier
For your information, there are quite a few halal restaurants and shops selling kosher and halal products in the bigger cities such as Zurich, Bern, Lucerne and Interlaken. Most of the bigger Migros and Coop supermarkets also offer a wide choice of vegetarian options. You can find most of them in the chiller section.
A few more useful links for your trip:
- Zurich: http://www.myswissalps.com/zu rich
- Bernese Oberland: http://www.myswissalps.com/be rneseoberland
- Hotel search: http://www.myswissalps.com/ho tels
Best regards,
Anna
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