July family trip Switzerland and Northern Italy
A traveler is planning a family trip to Switzerland in late July, flying in and out of Geneva. They have a busy itinerary that includes Interlaken, Lucerne, Lugano, Lake Como, and Montreux, seeking advice on the feasibility of their planned activities and transportation options. They intend to purchase a Swiss Travel Pass to cover their first five days amidst concerns about travel times and accommodations.
- Three days in the Jungfrau region is plenty, so you can explore without feeling rushed.
- Pilatus and Rigi can be done in one day, but choosing one for a more relaxed visit is advisable.
- Use Lugano as a base for day trips to Lake Como and explore the nearby towns for a taste of Italy without leaving Switzerland.
- If only five days are covered by your Swiss Travel Pass, consider upgrading to an 8-day pass to save costs on future travel.
- Renting a place with a kitchen is a great option for vegetarians, especially if hotels are pricier at this stage.
AI-generated summary-
Hello
I think finally We are coming close to deciding the itinerary. This is website and forum is very useful!!
We are family of 4 ( children age 18 & 11) flying in and out of Geneva during end of July from US. We enjoy some hiking & sightseeing. Here is what we have come up so far. Please feel free to let me know if this is not practical or should have done another way.
We land at Geneva airport in the evening so planning to stay there at a nearby hotel and start next day morning as below:
Day 1,2 & 3 – Stay in Interlaken area. Visit Jungfrau region and probably Bern. Top of Europe, Boat tours, couple of short hikes. (Is 3 full days alot?)
Day 4 – Travel to Lucerne by Train. Spend the day at Mount Pilatus, Mount Rigi. (Can both of these be done in one day?)
Day 5 – Around noon check out and go to Lugano – enjoy the lake etc there. stay overnight Lugano.
Day 6 & 7 – Checkout from Lugano and go to Lake Como and Milan. Not sure which area to stay for those 2 nights. Also, Is it best to visit Lake como from Lugano? Or is there any other option?
Day 8 – Leave for Montreux and then flight out of Geneva to come back. This looks like a long train ride!
I am planning to get the STP next week during the promotion for 4 days + 1 additional day. Which will cover my first 5 days in Switzerland. Is there any other option to travel from Swiss side to Italy side and vice versa which is less time consuming and price effective?
All your help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!!
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Your itinerary is reasonably practical for a ‘general’ tour .
The most important thing missing is exact detail for ‘day 8’ since you cannot travel Lugano – Montreux – Geneva and fly out all in one day!
My other comments as follows:
- 3 days is enough for the Jungfrau region, given that the whole area is smaller than most large US cities!
- Yes Pilatus and Rigi can be done in 1 day but it is better to choose one. I would choose Rigi plus longer lake steamer ride on Lake Luzern
- in contrast to Jungfrau comment above, 1 day is not long enough for the Luzern area which in my personal view is the best single tourist area in Switzerland for its variety
- Do not check out of Lugano. Use Lugano as your base for Lake Como (most tourists seem fixated with visiting an Italian lake although I don’t see the attraction myself – preferring Swiss efficiency and lakes!) . The Ticino canton gives you a flavour of Italy without leaving Switzerland.
- To see lake Como take a train Lugano to Como and a bus from there, or use Italian bus route C12 Lugano – Menaggio to reach Lake Como further north: http://www.asfautolinee.it/orari_pdf/invernale/C12.pdf
- Visit Milano as a day trip from Lugano
- Personally I think Locarno is nicer town than Lugano to stay in.
Thank you so much for taking your time out and explaining in detail!! I really appreciate your help. I am sure Lake Como is probably overrated but my teenage daughter is really looking forward to that. Let’s see if she changes her mind. But until then here is how I have changed my itinerary.
Day 1 & 2 – base- Interlaken
Day 3 &4 – base – Luzern
Day 5 & 6 – base – Lugano or Locarno and then travel one day trips from there.
Day 7 – checkout and go to Montreux stay there over night
Day 8 – Fly out of Geneva – Our flight is in late afternoon. Is this doable?
Thanks in advance
Hi Aaru21!
Nice that you’re starting to finalize your travel plans! Some thoughts:
Day 1-2-3?
3 days in the Jungfrau region certainly aren’t too much. I’ve spent weeks there and I never got bored one second :-). Please find our tips at https://www.myswissalps.com/jungfrauregion and https://www.myswissalps.com/berneseoberland.
Day 3-4
Pilatus and Rigi can be visited in one day. You could make a trip to Pilatus first, then head to Vitznau or Weggis by boat to visit Rigi. The below pages will help you plan your exact route:
- https://www.myswissalps.com/pilatus/gettingthere
- https://www.myswissalps.com/rigi/gettingthere
- https://www.myswissalps.com/timetable
More tips for the Lucerne area are at https://www.myswissalps.com/lucerne.
Day 5-6
When heading for the Ticino, do you plan to use the Gotthard mountain route? It’s a great scenic ride. If you prefer to spend more time in and around your base times, the quicker Gotthard Base Tunnel connection would be better though. Please see https://www.myswissalps.com/gotthardpanoramaexpress for details.
Both Locarno and Lugano are perfect base towns. Our suggestions for day trips and accommodation are at at https://www.myswissalps.com/locarno and https://www.myswissalps.com/lugano.
Day 7-8
A nice route from Lugano/Locarno to Montreux would be by Centovalli train via Domodossola: https://www.myswissalps.com/centovalli. Yes, you’ll have enough time to reach Geneva Airport from Montreux for a late-afternoon flight: https://www.myswissalps.com/timetable.
Swiss Travel Pass
If only your first 5 days are covered, you’ll need additional tickets for all 3 remaining days. These could be regular tickets, Saver Day Passes or (if available) Supersaver tickets. Overall, these costs might be more than the price difference between a 4- and 8-day Swiss Travel Pass. The below pages can help you decide if an 8-day Swiss Travel Pass is better:
Thanks Arno … all these link really helps. Will look into it and will reach out again if I need help 🙂
Another question – We are vegetarians so was thinking to rent Airbnb/ VRBO or something with kitchen. So we can probably cook in a few times here and there. Are there any pros-cons of renting Airbnb vs. the hotels. We are a little late in the game of booking the hotels and I see whatever is left near the train stations in each town are little high priced.
My wife and I usually stay in rental chalets or apartments as self catering is fun
Montreux – Geneve is a short journey – very easy for a pm flight from GVA
Sounds good!!
What is the best way to go to Milan from Lugano? and back?
Hello Aaru21,
Here is our accommodation link, it will give you a good overview of hotels, rentals, campsites and more. Should you stay in a hotel, you will probably find most do offer vegetarian options too.
For your trip to Milan, from Lugano, you can plan and view your options via the timetable link here: https://www.myswissalps.com/timetable, quickest route would be via train.
Kind regards,
Yolanda
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