[Anonymous]

24 March 2019 at 21:26:14 #820582

Hi Everyone,

Hope you are all well. My wife and I want to plan a trip to Switzerland in May 2019. Planned dates were between the 18th of May- 30th 2019.

Firstly I would like to know if May is a a Good month to visit Switzerland?

It will be our first time visiting the country so we plan to Spend 2 nights in Zurich , then head over to Lucerne , then spend most of our time in the Jungfrau region- Interlaken, Lauterbrunnen, Wengen and head up to Jaunfraujoch. Lastly we plan to visit Zermatt for about 3 days or so.

During May is this a ‘muddy month’ ?as I’ve seen this stated on the website as we plan to do abit of ebiking in Lauterbrunnen area and do a little bit of hiking ( we are not professional hikers) and outdoor activities. We want to see most of the country side and the higher lying mountain areas.

Secondly, are most of the high lying mountain areas open during this time?

I was actually hoping to plan a 2-3 night stay in on of the higher mountain areas such as Zermatt but most hotels are fully booked ? Or closed? When I went to a few hotel websites they have dates for either April or 2nd week in June but in May it’s completely blocked out, not sure if this was just a coincidence or if hotels actually are closed.

Please can someone assist me by suggesting a few hotels that’s higher lying and that is surrounded by mountainous areas.

Lastly, We would be staying in Switzerland for a total of 13 days so I would have to get the Swiss Travel Pass for two for 15 days correct? Or should I get the 8 day pass and pay for the remainder tickets at the stations? Please advise.

Looking forward to your responses and Thank you in advance

Kaseran M.

South Africa

💡 Save time and get daily forum questions & answers by e-mail

[User]

Reply 1 of 6 • 25 March 2019 at 2:25:02 #907519

Hi Kasey –

You have a good understanding about May. And, you figured out that Zermatt is pretty much shut down.

It is probably the worst month of the year to visit the high Alps. Muddy trails at lower altitudes, , trails above about 1500meters closed ( although it is warmer this year). Cableways to higher scenic places tend to start up in the latter part of May. Snow good enough for skiing has pretty much melted away.

My favorite trail above Wengen (at Männlichen) opens, on average, for its full length all the way to Kleine Scheidegg, at about June 15th, on average. It runs from about 2230 meters to 2060 meters altitude. Some years it opens earlier, some later.

http://www.myswissalps.com/hi king/maennlichen-kleinescheidegg

One of the nicer hotels in Wengen (the Schönegg) usually closes for the Winter season early in April and reopens about the 2nd week in June.

I regularly visit Switzerland at the end of May. This year, due the need to attend some graduations, it will slip into June. At lower elevations, Spring has come along nicely, the tourists have not yet sprouted, and I stick to those lower elevations. If I want to visit the high Alps for hiking or walking, sightseeing, and usually the best weather, I go in September.

Actually, it is completely correct to say that you can have a really nice trip to Switzerland on your dates in late May. Not so much in the high Alps, however. And , the Alps are not actually hopeless then. You certainly can see the scenery…Jungfraujoch and Schilthorn are accessible. The mountain (cogwheel) railroad between Lauterbrunnen, Kleine Scheidegg and Grindelwald with branch to Jungfraujoch runs all year.

These two links will tell you about Jungfraujoch and Schilthorn. And, will tell you the time of the Spring maintenance shutdown of service to Schiltorn. I recall that it is in April. So, if that is what you want to do, no problem. Its the outdoors stuff that is lacking, and it keeps both skiers and hikers away.

http://www.myswissalps.com/ju ngfraujoch

http://www.myswissalps.com/sc hilthorn

Check all the tabs on those pages. One of them will tell you about hours and days of operation.

Slowpoke

[User]

Reply 2 of 6 • 25 March 2019 at 6:49:32 #907520

Hello Kaseran M,

Each season has it’s own pros and cons, and said late May can be a bit muddy but also it’s normally not a overloaded time either, which is nice.

To find out about the area and available activities and hikes use these links, in addition to the mountain destination already provided.
– http://www.myswissalps.com/la uterbrunnen/activities
– http://www.myswissalps.com/we ngen/activities
– http://www.myswissalps.com/in terlaken/activities
– http://www.myswissalps.com/ju ngfrauregion/activitie s

I assume the hotels you mention in Zermatt are rather closed than booked but I have found available option in the ones listed here:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/ze rmatt/hotels

To get an idea of the best rail pass you first need to settle your itinerary and then you can calculate details using the spreadsheet provided in the first of the links below:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses/prac tical/chooserailpass
– http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass
– http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses/

And last but not least the link to our timetable, an invaluable tool for planning journeys in Switzerland:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable

Kind regards,
Steph

Also check:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/be sttimetovisit

[User]

Reply 3 of 6 • 25 March 2019 at 19:02:58 #907521

Dear Slowpoke and Steph

Thank you both for the very informative info. Really appreciate the help this forum assists everyone with. I will definitely look at the links in the next few minutes and thank you once again. If I have any more enquiries I will definitely post it up here. have a great night and week ahead.

Kind regards

Kaseran Munian

[User]

Reply 4 of 6 • 25 March 2019 at 19:05:14 #907522

Dear Steph

Thank you for all the help, I will look into those links provided and plan my trip accordingly. Cant wait to see this beautiful country.

[User]

Reply 5 of 6 • 25 March 2019 at 21:07:33 #907523

Hi Kaseran,

We’re here to support you so please contact us for any upcoming questions.

Have a good week.

Kind regards,
Steph

[JohnYorks]

Reply 6 of 6 • 29 March 2019 at 8:37:00 #907524

Hi Kasey

Just to say that I stayed in various locations in Switzerland in the last fortnight of May last year, and while nobody would expect weather to be identical from year to year, these were my experiences, though my holiday was much more about general Swiss travel than mountain peaks, skilifts, etc.

I had checked the weather forecasts online (from UK) regularly at the beginning of May in anticipation. The ‘Beast from the East’ had been in full force shortly before, and things appeared pretty cold still, with some heavy snowfall in Kandersteg and Zermatt at least. Things got much milder though from the time of my visit, 18th May onwards.

In the third week of May I stayed at Chur and Kandersteg. Sunny intervals were the norm. From Chur, I had a beautiful morning walking near Arosa. A good waymarked path was dry; a little drizzle came in the afternoon, but the day finished warm and dry. The next day was a Bernina Express trip all the way to Poschiavo. Sunny and dry. From the train at the Alp Grüm summit the surroundings had some snow, but there was little in the valleys and wild flower meadows were spectacular. The trip from Chur to Kandersteg via the Glacier Express was similar, a little snow on the peaks but mainly lush, green and sunny.

At Kandersteg, I had rail trips to Zermatt, Domodossola, Murren and Wengen and took the cable car to Ochsensee. Perfect weather for lower mountain paths, and again sunny intervals, light cloud and dry.

In my second week – the last week of May – I based myself in Appenzell in the north east and Tirano, just inside Italy, at the foot of the Bernina line, so that I could explore both areas by local trains. There was just one wet morning, but the weather was now edging towards very warm (daytime temperature in Milan was 32 degrees C at the time) and I had some lovely walks at intermediate heights and along the valley floor in the Poschiavo – Miralago area. Ice cream weather!

The first week of June, incidentally, conformed to a general pattern in the Interlaken and Gstaad areas – hot and sunny by day, thunderstorms in late afternoon, beautiful evenings.

I can’t claim that this is what you will find, but I’m sure it’s not untypical. I didn’t find paths muddy at all at my rail-served intermediate heights, and walked through no snow. Village and town facilities were generally open, though that may not be the case with ski resorts and lifts.

I know you’ll love your trip!

John