10 day vacation in Switzerland in June 2016

We are coming to Switzerland in last week of June 2016 for 10 days (9 Nights and 10 days). We are 6 adults and 5 children. We will be landing in Zurich and have already booked for our Stay in Oberwil im Simmental a village near Zeisimmen. This is our first visit to Switzerland and we will be coming from India. We would be buying Swiss Rail Pass for our stay in Switzerland.

Kindly guide us in our itinerary so that we can have a pleasurable stay. We would like to cover as much as possible in these 9 days. We plan to go to Mountains, Lakes, City attractions, falls and relax. We have tried to make some plans which are as follows. Kindly give your expert opinion and valuable guidance.

• Day 1: Reach in morning at Zurich Airport. Take a train to Oberwil im Simmental. Check into the house. Than leave for Spiez. Take a boat from Spiez to Thun Boating and back by train to Spiez. Buy food from Coop or migros at Spiez.
• Day2: Interlaken Area: Visit to Jungfraujoch via Grindelwald (or wengen). Which is better? How much time it take to go and come back to Interlaken. OR we go to Schilthorn ?
• Day 3: Go to Luzern. Visit to Luzern , Visit Swiss museum of Transport. Take Boat to Wiggis. Than Cogwheel train to Riggi. Can all this be done in One Day?
• Day 4: Go to Luzern. Than To Alpnachstad by Boat than toPilatus by Cable car OR Visit Mount Titlis from Engerlberg OR Visit Stanserhorn from Stans. Sir please tell which one is better/ more scenic and enjoyable? Do we need to give one more day to visit any two ?
• Day 5: Montreux Area: Take Golden Pass line from Zeisimmen to Montreux. IS THIS TRAIN FREE IN SWISS RAIL PASS or do we need to pay for seat reservation? Take a boat ride to Vevey and visit Chillon Castle. Can we go and come back from Rochers de Naye on the same day and reach Oberwil im Simmental on same day? OR Can we go to Geneva by Boat and come back on same day to Oberwil im Simmental?
• Day 6: Is it possible to go to Chamonix Mont Blanc (FRANCE) and come back on same day? Is the train ride to Chamonix Mont Blanc FREE in SWISS Rail Pass?
• Day 7: Go TO Zermatt from Oberwil im Simmental (VIA Spiez and Visp). Sir please tell if train from SPIEZ to VISP is free in SWISS RAILPASS? On reaching Zermatt we plan to go either to Klein Matterhorn or Gornergrat. Which mountain has a better view of Mount Matterhorn?
• Day 8: Zurich: Visit City, Go shopping, Take a boat from Zurich to Rapperswil (< 2hr) and than train to Zurich. Take a train to Schaffhausen visit Rhine fall. Can we do all this and come back to Oberwil im Simmental on same day?
• Day 9: FREE
• Day 10: Leave for Flight from Zurich Flughfen.

SIR PLEASE GUIDE ME IN MAKING THIS A PLEASURABLE VISIT. Also please tell me if this plan is too hectic. ALSO CAN YOU GUIDE US WHERE TO GET HEALTHY AND CHEAP FOOD IN SWITZERLAND. WE PLAN TO DO MOST OF COOKING IN THE HOUSE WE HAVE RENTED. IT HAS GOT A FULLY EQUIPPED KITCHEN. Can we get some packed food and cooking oil from India.

Hi vishuladawat, welcome to MySwissAlps!

You've prepared very well, as you have a detailed itinerary and even know the names of the supermarkets. Well done! You have planned a lot of traveling, so you're right that a Swiss Travel Pass is a good choice. Please see here for where to best buy one, and here for what's included.

As for your plans: I'd recommended to check the traveling times of your trips in the timetable. Add sightseeing time to determine if your plans are doable. Visit our attraction pages to estimate how much time to spend at each site. Oberwil im Simmental in a wonderful place, but not very centrally located for all of your plans, so traveling times might be long.

One more tip: You've booked accommodation in a wonderful typical Swiss valley, but you don't seem to spend any time in the immediate area. I would recommend to do so. Consider some (easy) hiking; it's the best way to see Switzerland. There's a trail along beautiful Swiss farmhouses, for example. The local tourist office will have more information. Also you can visit the nearby Stockhorn, and do the easy walk around the lake from the middle cable car station. The cable car departs from nearby Erlenbach, only 15 minutes by train from Oberwil.

The supermarkets you mentioned have plenty of food. No need to bring oil or anything else from home. If you do, please check with your airline about what's allowed, but I would recommend to just enjoy the local food. Vegetarian food is no problem either. Please see here for more information.

The above links will help you refine your plans, or so I hope.

Please do not use unnecessary capitals in your next post. It makes the post hard to read and it's therefor not allowed according to our forum r​ules.

What a great trip! And, you will be in a beautiful area in the countryside, in the Simmental. Most first time tourists do not have that privilege.

One thought about your itinerary.

Winter does not end near the Jungfrau until about June 1 (+/- a week or two) depending on the snowfall and temperatures in May. June 15th is the usual start date for the Summer Season. After April 15 and before that many hotels will be closed, and cableways may offer no service or limited service.

This link will tell you a lot about the area:

www.myswissalps.com/be rneseoberland

and, in more detail -

www.myswissalps.com/ju ngfrauregion

I'd suggest that - if possible - you move your trip(s) to the Jungfrau region to the latter part of your trip, for the reasons noted.

For perspective, many of the high Alpine mountain pass roads do not open until early June because they are still deep in snow until then. The Jungfrau is at a similar or higher altltude (colder) and even Kleine Scheidegg or Männlichen at 2000 to 2300 meters will likely have a good deal of snow on the trails. That will not prevent you from enjoying a trip there, but may limit the choices amongst the many possible activities.

Slowpoke

Thanks for the detailed reply. We certainly would like to go around local places near oberwil. Walking trails near Erlenbach and Stockhorn is a great idea. We will certainly keep one day for that. Also going to jungfraujoch in later part of the trip is great idea. We never thought of that. SBB application on train time table could answer most of the questions I had regarding time. I can see that it takes one full day if you plan to go to any mountain - jungfraujoch or pilatus or matterhorn.

Sir I had few more queries: do we need to buy seat reservation for golden pass line from zweismann to Montreux (we would be travelling with Swiss rail pass)

train from spiez to visp in map shows red dotted line. Do we need separate ticket for this journey.

We would be travelling from 21St June to 30th June 2016. Do we require lot of warm clothes. Also is it necessary to get waterproof warm shoes.

Hello vishuladawat,

It's a good idea to watch the weather forecast every night and base your plans for the next day on that. As for seat reservations, please see myswissalps.com/ goldenpass/tickets. The dotted line is just a tunnel (see here); no need for a ticket.

You don't need lots of warm clothes. A few thinner layers work just fine to adapt to the varying temperatures. Please see myswissalps.com/ weather. Late June should be Summer like. It can be pretty warm in the valleys, but if it rains it can be chilly as well. Waterproof shoes are definitely useful.

Thanks for all the useful information.