End December and New Years in Switzerland: itinerary check
A traveler named Cheryl is planning a family holiday trip to Switzerland from December 28 to January 3, spending time in Montreux and Interlaken. She wants advice on her itinerary, which includes visits to attractions like Glacier 3000 and Jungfraujoch, and is unsure if it’s manageable and cost-effective. Cheryl has two teenage children and seeks recommendations for traveling within Switzerland during this busy holiday period.
- Check if the factory tours operate during the holiday season as many attractions may be closed.
- Consider purchasing the Swiss Travel Pass for unlimited travel on public transport and discounts on mountain excursions.
- Make reservations for accommodations and popular sites as you’ll be traveling during peak season.
- Verify operation dates for seasonal activities like the Les Pleiades Lantern Trail, which may not be available during your stay.
AI-generated summary-
Hello,
I’m new here & I’m planning a family vacation for the holiday this year. The first part of the trip are spent in Germany & Austria. We will be spending 12/28-1/3 in Switzerland and would love opinions on my itinerary if these are good choices.
12/28 flight from Vienna to Geneva and train to Montreux. Stay for 3 nights
watch factory tour, chocolate tour, glacier 3000 and maybe lantern trail of les Pleiades. Take the Golden Pass to Interlaken on the 31st and spend new years celebrations there.
junfraujoch trip / eiger gondola hopefully on 1/2
train back to Zurich either the 2nd in evening or 3rd early morning and fly back to Miami on the 3rd.
is this doable? It is going to cost me a fortune lol? My travel agent originally had us just flying to Zurich with a lot of day trips but I feel like we would miss out on the beauty of the smaller towns. Any advice is welcome and greatly appreciated. PS my children are 19 and 15 so not young. We love to adventure and explore.
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Hello Cheryl
Welcome to MySwissAlps
Thank you for sharing your travel ideas with us. Your plans are certainly ‘doable’, but note that the Glacier 3000 (https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/glacier-3000/ ) and Bernese Oberland (https://www.myswissalps.com/region/bernese-oberland/) areas will be extremely busy with skiers. I do not know whether the factory tours will operate in this peak holiday period for factory workers. Note that January 2nd (as well as the 1st) is a public holiday in Switzerland.
I am British, and I have been taking vacations in Switzerland most years since 1971. For the last twenty years I have always based myself in Zurich (https://www.myswissalps.com/town/zurich/) and gone out on ‘Day Excursions’ from there. Ever since its introduction in 1972 under another name, I have always bought the fabulous Swiss Travel Pass (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-travel-pass/) valid on all Swiss Public Transport running to inhabited locations. The STP also gives discounts on lines which simply ‘go up mountains’.
(Note that Interlaken dates from the nineteenth century. It is a modern tourist-orientated town.)
Except for the far south-east of the country, you can get from Zurich to anywhere in Switzerland in at most about three-and-a-half hours. I have been to numerous beautiful smaller towns and villages from Zurich. Every town and larger village gets (at least) an hourly bus or train service 365-days-a-year, All public transport services (including the boats on the lakes) are timed to interconnect.
Note that full daylight will be from about 8 30 in the morning to about 4 30 in the afternoon.
I am no expert on New Year Celebrations, but I do know that in both Zurich and Lucerne (https://www.myswissalps.com/town/lucerne/) there are big celebrations centred on the city’s lake.
I am sure that other members of this forum will have a lot to say, especially about the two teenage children.
Kind regards
Roger
Hello Cheryl
I am rather disappointed that no one else his joined this discussion. I can say something about your two teenage children.
The Nineteen Year Old
An eight-day second class Swiss Travel Pass costs for you 419 CHF. For the older child you should get the equivalent Youth Swiss Travel Pass costing 297 CHF
The Fifteen Year Old
I have some great news. You should acquire a Swiss Family Card: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel/tickets/discount/ . That costs nothing. With this card any child of yours under 16 travels free if they are travelling with you. You obviously must have a valid ticket/pass. But any type of ticket will do.
You are travelling in the New Year holiday period. A lot of your fellow travellers will be local Swiss families using their Family Cards!
Best wishes
Roger
Hi Cheryl,
Your plans are definitely doable. However I would double check the Les Pleaides Lantern Trail – I think it will only be open from 5 Jan, if I’m not mistaken. Your dates coincide with the school holidays so I would definitely plan ahead and secure your accommodation as soon as possible if you’re planning to stay overnights in winter resorts such as Zermatt and Interlaken.
Please have a look at our winter guide here for possible activities for your Dec trip: https://www.myswissalps.com/activities/seasons/winter/
regards,
Anna
Thank you everyone. Especially the information about the Swiss Family Card for my youngest, which will be nice for saving some extra money. I’m still really trying to decide on our final itinerary if we will have a home base or travel between cities, but I do have another question, not particularly about Switzerland but trains. Since we will be taking them in Germany, Austria, and then Switzerland, should I get instead a Global Eurail pass or would the Swiss Travel Pass and buy tickets for our other train travel?
Hello again Cheryl
If you are doing a lot of train travelling in Germany and Austria then I would get a Global Eurail Pass. If you are visiting Berlin and Vienna, there will be a lot of travelling. Both capitals are at the far eastern end of their respective countries. For example, it is 450 miles from Vienna to the Swiss frontier! (But only 40 miles to the Slovakian capital of Bratislava, 75 miles to Brno the second city of the Czech republic!)
As I type this, I am beginning to think, perhaps Cheryl should get a Global Eurail for the period she is in Germany and Austria, and a six or eight-day Swiss Travel Pass (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-travel-pass/) for the period she is in Switzerland, with just one day (the 28th) as an overlap.
The Advantage of the STP As a generalisation, the Eurail Pass is usually confined to trains. But public transport in Europe (especially in Switzerland) is ‘Not Just Trains’. There are lots of buses (and in cities) streetcars. And on three big Swiss lakes (Geneva, Lucerne and Zurich) the boats run all-year around. With my STP I have been on a Zurich boat on Christmas Day and on a Lucerne boat on New Year’s day!
One other comment, and it relates to trains in Germany and Austria in the Christmas period. Long distance ‘Inter-City’ trains are going to be very, very busy. Reservations will be essential.
I have given you a lot to think about.
Kind regards
Roger
Hi Cheryl,
I recommend getting a Eurail Global Pass to cover your rail travel in Germany and Austria. You can find links to further information here: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/eurail-global-pass/
I think the Swiss Travel Pass would still be practical for your trip in Switzerland.
Regards,
Anna
Thank you Roger and Anna. That seems to make the most sense. We will be taking the trains to Munich, Fussen and Vienna and then a flight on the 28th to Geneva with train to Montreux so that would work out fine. I could even stay a night in Geneva and take the train the next morning. You have been most helpful on this part of my travel planning!! Anna, I will check out the link of things to do while we are there. My next steps will be reservations for all the things including some of the sites we are visiting. I may be back to ask about making the reservations on all my trains but I’m going to check the site and blogs to see if I can find my answers/tutorials there first.
Hi Cheryl,
If you wanted to be extra sure of the best rail pass for your trip, it’s best to carry out some maths. We have a dedicated section on the website. There is also a downloadable spreadsheet that you can use.
Thereon based on daily activities for the duration of your trip, the best rail pass is displayed.
Here’s the link:
Yes, feel free to reach out again if there are any questions 🙂
Kind regards,
Yolanda
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