Lugano, Lucerne, Interlaken, Zurich in May
Samir and his family of 4 are planning a 12-day trip to Switzerland in mid-May and have booked a 15-day Swiss Travel Pass. He’s looking for feedback on his itinerary, which includes stops in Lugano, Lucerne, Interlaken, and Zurich, with special attention to activities like visiting Jungfraujoch and Zermatt, ensuring a relaxed travel schedule.
- You don’t need to reserve a seat on the EC, IC, or IR trains between Zurich and Lugano; your Swiss Travel Pass allows you to board directly.
- The funicular to Mt. Bre is 50% off with your Swiss Travel Pass, making it a more affordable option.
- Consider using Interlaken as your base for activities planned on Days 8, 9, and 11 to reduce travel time.
- Combine sightseeing in Lucerne with a walking tour for a more organized day and check local transport options for convenience.
AI-generated summary-
Dear Experts
Season’s Greetings!
Our family of 4 (me + wife + child 14 yrs + mother 60 yrs) are planning to come in Mid may for 12 days. Will opt for 15 days STP. We lost a big amount of money in 2020 due to covid. Hope this year we would be able to complete our dream trip.
I’ve designed this itinerary based on this forum review from others. It would be great if any experts could review and approve this itinerary so that I can happily roam around with family with no hectic schedule (hotel booking would be like Lugano 2 – Luzern 3 – Interlaken 6 – Zurich 1 day)
Day 1 Paris Gare De Lyon to Zurich via TGV -> Lugano via IC – visit Hotel take rest (question – Do I need to prebook reservation for IC train from Zurich to Lugano?)
Day 2 Explore Lugano (Mont Bre via Furnicular, Lugano Cruise + Lugano Park) (question – whether furnicular is included with STP?)
Day 3 Lugano – Tirano via Bernina PE 2.24 pm Chur -> Luzern
Day 4 Zurich – Luzern (Luzern Cruise + Museum + Luzern Local)
Day 5 Explore Mt.Titlis and Local
Day 6 Luzern – Bern (Explore Bern – keep luggage at Bern station locker) – > move to Interlaken and visit Harder Kulm during sunset
Day 7 Take Golden Pass PE 9.08 am Montreux 12.20 pm (explore Chillon Castle, Lake Geneva)
Day 8 Visit Jungfrau + Lauterbrunnen (check weather)
Day 9 Explore Lusanne , Murren, Grimmelwald
Day 10 Zermatt – Gornergrat
Day 11 Enjoy cruise ride (Lake Thun and Brienz)
Day 12 Move to Zurich via Golden Pass PE (visit hotel – see Rhine Falls – Zurich Cruise – old town)
Day 13 Move to Zurich Flughafen airport
Regards, Samir
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Hi Samir,
Thanks for sharing your itinerary. To make the most of your trip and minimise backtracking, I recommend the following route:
Lugano – Tirano via Bernina Express – Chur – Lucerne – Interlaken – Montreux via Golden Pass – Zermatt – Zurich Flughafen
Interlaken would be a better base for activities you have planned on Days 8, 9 and 11.
Based on your plans, the 15-day Swiss Travel Pass provides the best deal in my opinion.
regards,
Anna
Dear Anna
Thanks for your help.
I purposely chose Interlaken on Day 6 to Day 11 to observe weather forecast for Zermatt/matterhorn and Jungfrao hence kept 6 days before I move to Zurich. These 2 peaks are top priority and accordingly I will revise the internal activities in Interlaken. Please suggest if am doing something stupid.
Similarly I kept buffer days for Luzern to ensure Mt. Titlis weather (accordingly Luzern local will change)
In Short, My key priorities for this Swiss sectors are (2 PE i.e Golden Pass to Montreux, Bernina Exp, 3 peaks i.e Matterhorn, Jungfrao, Titlis, Explore Lugano for 2 days, Zurich Rhine Falls + Zurich local)
PLEASE HELP TO get some knowledge about Day 1 and Day 2 question
Thank you once again
Regards, Samir
1. You don’t need to reserve a seat on the EC, IC, or IR trains between Zurich & Lugano, just walk on with your STP. The EC & IC trains are direct, the IR trains require a change in Arth Goldau.
2. The funicular to Mt. Bre is discounted 50% with your STP.
Thank you so much CabinJon for this note about EC, IC, or IR
Happy to know about Mt. Bre. STP discount.
Team,
We are planning a full day Luzern itinerary and interest areas are as follows :
1.Jesuit-church -> 2. Swiss museum of transport (max 2 hrs) -> 3. Steepest furnicular Stoosbahn -> 4. take bus 1 Glacier museum ie felsenwelt -> 5. mirror maze -> 6 Swiss chalet ie Schweizerhaus museum -> 7. Lion monuments -> 8. Chappel bridge -> 9. Roam around old town
1. Please help the to understand whether its do-able to explore point 1 – 6 if we will start from morning 9 am on 29th May (I guess all are opening time 10 am – 6 pm). From pt 7 to 9 we can utilise the daylight
2. What would be the order of visiting from Luzern station as base and we’ll be staying near by station.
3. Whether all are included with STP
Thank you for the support.
Regards, Samir
Hi Samir,
You can easily explore Lucerne city on foot as detailed here: http://www.myswissalps.com/hiking/lucerne, and visit famous tourist landmarks such as the Chapel Bridge, Jesuit Church, the Lion Monuments and the old town. You can download a free walking tour app here: http://www.luzern.com/en/things-to-do/guided-city-tours/official-audio-tour-lucerne/
You can combine this walking tour with a visit to the Swiss Museum of Transport on the same day, travelling by boat or bus from Lucerne train station. Further details here: https://www.myswissalps.com/museumoftransport/gettingthere
It takes about 1 hour by train to travel from Lucerne to Stoos (funicular station), so depending on your sightseeing activities, you might have time to do this on the same day.
I hope this helps you in your trip planning.
Regards,
Anna
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