Self guided itinerary Switzerland in September
JCH58 is planning a nine-day trip to Switzerland in early September for themselves and another couple. They want to tour mountaintops, sightsee, and hike moderately, and are looking for additional insights into their travel plans, which include stops in Basel, Luzern, Lauterbrunnen, Zermatt, Lugano, and Chur before heading to Germany. Any tips on their itinerary and travel logistics would be appreciated.
- Consider skipping your stay in Basel and head straight to Luzern to minimize hotel changes and enjoy the scenery.
- Look into getting an 8-day Swiss Travel Pass to make train travel easier; it's great for accessing various sights and offers discounts on certain trips.
- Book accommodation for the Jungfrau and Zermatt regions early, but for the rest of your trip, early September usually has fewer crowds so late bookings can work.
- Check for e-bike rentals, as Switzerland has many well-marked bike trails, but be aware that biking may be limited in steep terrain.
AI-generated summary-
I am planning a nine day itinerary for my husband and myself and another couple early September 2019. We are all about 60 and plan on mountaintop touring, sightseeing and some moderate hiking. I have most of it planned, just looking for any additional helpful insight. We will fly into Basel from the states and spend our first night there. Then two nights in Luzern (Mt.pilatus), two nights in Lauterbrunnen (Jungfrau), two nights in Zermatt (Gornergrat), one night in Lugano (regional trains Zermatt to Andermatt then Gotthard Panoramic Express Andermatt to Lugano), last night in Chur (Bernina Express Lugano to Chur). We are then going on to Germany for a week. Thanks for any input.
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Hello JCH and Welcome to MySwissAlps,
Looks like a plan.
I would skip Basel stay and high-tail it straight to Luzern. Cut down on hotel swaps. Depends of course what time of day you get in.
Hi JCH –
You said:
<<“plan on mountaintop touring, sightseeing and some moderate hiking.”>>
Rockoyster said:
<<“I would skip Basel stay and high-tail it straight to Luzern. Cut down on hotel swaps. Depends of course what time of day you get in.”>>
Rockoyster and I agree, unless the plethora of museums in Basel appeals, or considerations of jet-lag are involved. But, that does not seem to be a preference in your wish list.
After you are at the Basel main station, it is only an hour to Luzern. The Basel main station is not at the airport and you’ll take a shuttle bus. The Beyeler in Basel is hard to beat. Also, the Tingueley water sculpture. But, the Altstadt in Luzern is nicer, and there are also some superb museums, such as the Rosengart Collection, and the lake and also the nearby mountains trump Basel’s sights.
Nice moderate hiking near Luzern:
http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/the-swiss-path-and-southern-lake-lucerne
At that time of year, almost everywhere in Switzerland usually has superlative weather. I did, from September 4 through 20 this year.
Since that weather quality is so desirable for the alpine vistas and is harder to get in the high Alps at other times, and is less critical to enjoyment at lower altitudes, I’d watch the weather carefully, but would emphasize the high Alps in your plan in September. To put it more bluntly, and showing my biases, why waste your time in Basel, when you can be in the unique high Alps? 😉
There are reasons, of course:
http://www.myswissalps.com/hi king/basel
http://www.myswissalps.com/ba sel
Still…there is nothing like the Jungfrau Region:
http://www.myswissalps.com/ju ngfrauregion
Zermatt or the Jungfrau region is a toss up. My own biased and very personal preference would be to spend the whole Alpine time in the Jungfrau Region, but there are many good reasons to ignore my biases. 😉
There is a lot more to the Jungfrau region than to Zermatt, but there are some famous views in Zermatt.
This is a special walk in the Jungfrau region:
http://www.myswissalps.com/hi king/maennlichen-kleinescheidegg
One good way to get up there is on the cableway from Wengen.
This timetable is great for working out schedules:
http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable
This is one of many useful maps:
map.search.ch/?pos=708480,220288&z=2
Zoom in to zoom level 32 and the train lines pop up.
map.search.ch/?pos=614784,267504&z=32
Slowpoke
Thanks to everyone for the great tips so far! This is our first European trip. We are excited to see and do a little bit of everything.
Hi JCH58,
If you are traveling via train, cable car, bus etc during your stay in Switzerland, be sure to look at a Swiss rail pass: http://www.myswissalps.com/sw issrailpasses
An 8 day Swiss Travel Pass would be a good option for each of your group I think: http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass.
It is also very convenient to buy the Swiss Travel Pass online (http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass/price). It can be emailed to you and printed at home (saving you time at the airport train station and giving you a copy to print out again in case you lose your pass).
Hi JCH58,
Your plan sounds like one that will give you some great times in some very scenic places. We do not enjoy unpacking and moving from hotel to hotel every few days, so when we travel to Switzerland, we pick a hub city like Zurich, and plan our itineraries using the Swiss Travel Pass. The STP is so versatile it enables days like this:
Train from Zurich to Lucerne, ferry from Lucerne to Weggis, amazing gondola up to Rigi Kaltbad, cogwheel railway to Rigi Kulm, take in the splendor all along the way, and cogwheel railway back down to Vitznau, ferry back to Lucerne, or further on the lake to Fluelen, and back by train to Lucerne and Zurich. This is all covered by the STP. Quite extraordinary. Note that Mount Pilatus trip offers discount with STP, but not included.
We also have taken part of the Golden Pass line to Montreux from Zurich (I thinks it is about 4 hours or so, but quite a stunning ride – the Golden Pass part we pick up in Zweisimmen), then once in Montreux hop the ferry to Chateau de Chillon and tour the castle since the STP also admits its bearer for free as entrance to about 500 museums is all covered by the STP. It’s a long day, the more direct trip back to Zurich is about 2 hours 45 minutes. Unlimited choices of what to see. Just a little bit different way to see the sights. One advantage to moving your base around is that you will spend less time in trains as you enjoy regional sites and things near your hotel. Remember too that the STP gives you access to the Post Buses that connect places the train doesn’t. I use the SBB site and ap for times, train changes, and durations between cities.
fahrplan.sbb.ch/bin/qu ery.exe/en?
And Myswissalps.com has excellent moderators and information provided. Planning these adventures is part of the fun of anticipation and exploration! Hope you have a great and amazing trip.
Mike J
Yes! I have already gained so much great info from this site! It’s what gave me the confidence to plan everything as self-guided. We are going to get the 8 day Swiss rail pass. We’ll start making all of our reservations right after the new year. Does anyone have any info regarding renting regular or e-bikes somewhere? Not sure that’s something we would want to do but a couple hour easy ride might be fun.
Hi JCH58-
<<“We’ll start making all of our reservations right after the new year. “>>
In early September the tourist crowds have greatly diminished, because the European School systems have started up, and many European companies give August vacations.
So, for room reservations, you don’t have o book so early. Spring or even early Summer is more than good enough.
The exception….sort of…is that in the Jungfrau and Zermatt regions, it wise to book in the early Spring or perhaps earlier….but mostly if you were to travel in August.
What is the disadvantage of early bookings? Simply that many places in the popular Alpine resorts have some kind of restrictive cancellation policies. Keep an eye out for those details.
Train bookings-
By now you have surely figured out that regular train rides do not require reservations inside Switzerland. Except the special panoramic routes. You indicated an interest in some of those. They do require reservations. If you search for each of those special trains on this website, you can learn more about that. If I recall correctly, they cannot be reserved more than 90 days in advance, but I don’t use them, so you’d better check that point.
http://www.myswissalps.com/ac tivities/scenictrips/t rain
( If I want to travel those routes, I take regularly scheduled trains on the same tracks, perhaps requiring more changes of trains. But, I’ve seen those sights before.)
<<” Does anyone have any info regarding renting regular or e-bikes
somewhere? Not sure that’s something we would want to do but a couple
hour easy ride might be fun.”>>
Here is a start:
http://www.myswitzerland.com/ en-us/e-bike.html
They can be rented in many places, and batteries can be exchanged, as well.
Do a Google search on e-Bikes in Switzerland. You’ll get some good links.
Switzerland has an extensive network of well-marked bike trails, in addition to the hiking trails:
http://www.schweizmobil.ch/en /summer.html
http://www.schweizmobil.ch/en /cycling-in-switzerland.html
However, your itinerary is heavily oriented toward alpine regions. Biking, though not impossible, is likely to be limited by the steep terrain.
Have fun with your planning.
Slowpoke
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