10 Days trip to Switzerland with senior

Hi Annika /Friends,

I am planning for 10 days trip to. My plan will look like below. Need your comments on this w.r.t:

• is duration on each location OK or i am staying over/under at any location?
• Weather in July?
• We are 3 adults (including a senior on wheel chair) and 1 baby (21 months). Is the itinerary below suitable for our group (due to wheel chair and baby stroller). All transportation is by rail. Please note senior is NOT handicap but can walk for short distance.
• Any other comment on this plan

17-Jul Arrival in Milan

18-Jul Transfer from Milan – Lucerne. Overnight in Lucerne

19-Jul Excursion to Mount Titlis Overnight in Lucerne

20-Jul Wilhelm Tell Express Journey from Lucerne to Lugano via Flüelen & Bellinzona. Overnight in Lugano

21-Jul Bernina Express Overnight in St. Moritz.

22-Jul Glacier Express Overnight in Zermatt

23-Jul By Zermatt Bergbahnen AG to the highest cable car station.Overnight in Zermatt.

24-Jul Rail journey to Montreux. Overnight in Montreux

25-Jul GoldenPassLine train. Overnight in Interlaken

26-Jul The journey to the Jungfraujoch. Overnight in Interlaken

27-Jul Travel to Zürich via train,overnight in Zurich

28-Jul Transfer from Zurich hotel to Zurich airport

Thanks,

Nauman

Hi Naumann-

I have not yet put your itinerary to the "Timetable Test" but it looks like you could do it.

It is well thought out, generally logical, and mostly well organized.

Not clear when you will be going and it could make a difference in the alpine regions.

And, although you could do it all, even with a few multiple night stays, my feeling is that you are trying to touch too many bases....go to too many places ...mot spend enough time in any one place (mostly) with heavy travel in between on a frequent basis.

There is one part that is not well organized.

You travel from Milano to Luzern, then turn around and go back part way to Milano with a trip to Lugano. Why not go from Milano to Lugano and start your Swiss journey there? Assuming that you are traveling when there are no winter constraints on the higher routes, of course.

Also, your plans for the Jungfrau region make no allowance for cloudy weather. Most travelers allow a few days in the region...depending on time of year .. to raise the chances of some good weather for a clear day up on the Jungfrau. Starting for the Jungfraujoch from Luzern means you will go up in the afternoon. Clouds often come in in the afternoon; much better to go up early in the day.

Slowpoke

Slowpoke,

Thanks for the reply. As mentioned i will start my journey between July 17-20.

Do you think i should stay 3 nights in Interlaken for weather allowance to Jungfrau?

I am visiting Zurich in the end just to catch flight. Can i avoid one night there and go directly from interlaken to Zurich Airport to catch afternoon flight?

Will you please comment on my concern on having Senior member with me on Wheel chair.

Regards,

Nauman

Hi Nauman,

I think your plans are doable, if you don't mind switching hotels often and traveling a lot. You'd best check the timetable and discuss traveling times with your travel party. It's really a matter of personal preference. As mentioned by Slowpoke, the order or your plans could be improved by using the Wilhelm Tell Express as an entrance to Lucerne.

Narrowing down your base towns to just two or three at the most (e.g. Lucerne, Interlaken or a nearby town, maybe Montreux or Zermatt too) won't allow you do everything that's on your list, but you can still reach quite some destinations as day trips. For example: you could still do part of the Glacier Express. Please review the recommendations under "Don't have time to do the full route?" here. In all, I think it will result in a more relaxed trip with more flexibility and chances of good weather for your mountain top visits.

If the senior can walk short distances, train transfer shouldn't pose problems, especially if you pick connections with enough time (10-15 minutes) to change trains. The SBB website offers further information.

A rail pass will help you save money. You'll probably be doing quite some traveling, even if you decide to adapt your itinerary. In that case Swiss Travel Passes will be by far the most convenient solution as they allow free ticketless traveling.

<<" I am visiting Zurich in the end just to catch flight. Can i avoid one night there and go directly from interlaken to Zurich Airport to catch afternoon flight?">>

Sorry about missing your dates. I was traveling and hurrying to get a start on answers. No problem in the higher regions on those dates.

Please check the timetable. You know how far in advance of your flight you must be at the airport.

I have attached a screen grab showing arrival before noon.

<<" Do you think i should stay 3 nights in Interlaken for weather allowance to Jungfrau?">>

I think it would be a good idea. Please note Annika's comments.

Slowpoke

Hi Annika / Slowpoke,

Thanks for the reply. I am confused now. We dont have any issue with switching hotels but from your comments it looks that it is doable but difficult due to alot of travelling involved.

Problem is i want to see all these place but have only these dates. Is there easy way to know travelling involved on each day above (in terms of hours) so that i can make up my mind...

Regards,

Nauman

Hi Nauman,

Slowpoke and Annika suggested to check your plans in the timetable, and that's really the only way to verify whether your plans suit your expectations. It's up to you now. What may help also is that all of our attraction pages also explain how to reach that specific location.

Hi Naumann -

Adding to what Arno and Annika have said, there is a difference between "seeing" the places and "enjoying" the places. Any of the destinations is worth a few days. Luzern has a wider range of different activities, but the Jungfrau region has the most spectacular mountains and scenery, over a wide area.

I might add that I sometimes make a joke with my American friends about travel in Switzerland. In this country, it is a common bad habit to get in a car and drive even very short distances. I say to friends planning a trip -

"Walking is a legitimate form of public transportation in Switzerland." At first they look puzzled, then they understand what I mean.

So, travel information usually has that implicit assumption.

Particularly, considering the makeup of your party, multiple train journeys and train changes should be planned to allow more time, so that you are not trying top operate on the type of schedule of people traveling as individuals with light luggage. The timetable can help you plan routes with as few chnages as possible.

Specifically, the the time table will give you times for change of trains.

To the left of each journey in the example that I posted, you will see a small "+" sign. Click on it and that journey will open up and show you changes of trains. I have attached a screen grab.

In Switzerland, the trains run on very tight schedules. Normal time allowed for change of trains is 4 minutes. Traveling with luggage and a person who walks slowly may make that difficult. However, there are frequent trains, and, if you miss one, there will be another one along soon....typically once per hour, often more frequent on major routes. The goal of the SBB is fast trains every 30 minutes between major cities.

Also, the expanded journey entry shows the track numbers for arriving and departing trains of a connection. Many stations have only a few tracks, and for common travel patterns, where possible, incoming and outgoing trains are on the two sides of one platform. Just walk across the platform. That often (but not always) happens at Spiez. Unfortunately, in large stations such as Zürich and Bern, that is not quite so easy to do, and you may have a longer connection if the tracks are far apart and you cannot walk quickly.

If you wish to get more detail, it is possible to find station maps of major stations on the SBB website.

www.sbb.ch/en/station-services/am-bahnhof/railway-stations/trafimage-maps-station-plans.html

These links may be useful:

www.myswitzerland.com/ en-us/behinderung.html

www.swissinfo.ch/eng/t ravelling-with-disabilities/29292634

www.disabledtravelersg uide.com/travel/travel _disabled_switzerland. htm

Slowpoke

Thanks for such a nice guidance!

Now, if i say we are coming to see only Alpines & scenic areas of Switzerland. Out of below which of 3 are worth doing (3 days on each station as base area and will roam around)

• Lucerne
• Lugano
• St Mortiz
• Zermatt
• Interlaken

Regards,

Nauman

Hi Naumann-

tough choices.

Personally, i'd pick Luzern, Interlaken and agonize over the decision bewtween St. Moritz and Zermatt. I think St. Moritz would win for me, because of the wider area and range of activities, and in spite of the fact that it is a long ride to get there.

I would definitely not put Lugano on my personal list, even though it has a lot to do and see, and I love the train ride over the Gotthard Pass. But, I like Lake Lucerne better than the lake at Lugano. Definitely a personal perspective. Look at the time table and think about travel times and distances.

Have you looked at this map?

map.search.ch/index.en .html

Slowpoke

Hi Slowpoke,

I have decided to stay 3 days each in Lucerne, Zermatt and Interlaken. Can you please advise should i take rail pass to travel among these these cities? Will the pass give benefit in different excursion while staying in these cities?

Hi Nauman,

You'll find a map and more details about what's included on the Swiss Travel Pass page: myswissalps.com/ swisstravelpass/ validity. If you want to calculate which pass offers most savings you can follow these instructions: myswissalps.com/train/ ticketspasses/practica l/ chooserailpass.

Hi Naumann -

<<":as base area and will roam around">>

One of the reasons that I did not pick Zermatt is that it is not a good base station for roaming around, compared to St. Moritz (or Pontresina, which is nearby St. Moritz.) You specified base station for roaming around.

Slowpoke

Hi Slowpoke,

I decided below plan on my own without any package:

• 2 nights in Lausanne
• 2 nights inSt.Mortiz
• 3 nights Interlaken
• 2 nights Lucerne
• 1 night in Zurich

I will be traveling from Milan, Can you suggest sensible route . I want to end at Zurich because of Intl flight on next day

Thanks,

Last and final plan:

• 3 nights in Montreux
• 3 nights in Lucerne
• 3 nights in Interlaken
• 1 night in Zurich

what should be the order of moving these bases while entering from Milan and ending at Zurich....?

Thanks,

Nauman

Hi Naumann-

<<"what should be the order of moving these bases while entering from Milan and ending at Zurich....?">>

Please look at the map that I linked earlier in the thread and the timetable that Annika mentioned. As noted before, it makes good sense to start at Luzern.

Slowpoke

Hi Slowpoke,

My new itinerary suggested by trip organizer include following cruises. Do you think it will be boring to do so many cruises or you think below cruises are well scenic like train tours?

While in Lucerne:

• Round Trip Cruise: Lucerne - Weggis - Vitznau - Beckenried - Brunnen - Flüelen
• Round Trip Cruise: Lucerne - Kehrsiten - Stansstad - Alpnachstad
• Round Trip Cruise: Lucerne - Küssnacht am Rigi

While in Montreux:

• Round Trip Cruise: Montreux - Geneva - Lausanne/Evian - Montreux
• Round Trip Cruise: Montreux - Vevey - Montreux
• Round Trip Cruise: Mountreux - St.Gingolph – Montreux

Hi Naumann -

Whether it is boring or not depends on your own perspectives. I have traveled most of those routes at one time or another, and they are certainly scenic.

Please look at the map that I linked you to earlier.

map.search.ch/

You will see that the three trips on Lake lucerne cover different branches of the lake.

I would suggest the trip to Flüelen, because I think the southern part of the lake (called the Urner See...."See" in German can mean "lake") is particularly dramatic. I posted a few pictures from that region in this link about hiking in the area:

www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/the-swiss-path-and-southern-lake-lucerne.

At the end of that trip (at Flüelen) I'd take a train back to Luzern. Or, if i were to repeat part of the boat trip on the return, I'd ride from Füelen to Brunnen, get off there, and take the train from Brunnen back to Luzern. The train station is a 10-15 minute walk from the boat landing, but there is a bus that runs three times per hour and takes 11 minutes. Your senior member of your party would not have to walk.

And, if they really like the ride, you could stay on the boat and return from Flüelen all the way to Luzern that way

Check the boat schedules...some make more stops than others. Watch out for the different seasons listed on this link.

www.lakelucerne.ch/en/ timetable-fares/timetable/

if you do that, check the train schedules in the time table to make sure you have a good connection.

www.myswissalps.com/ti metable

The other two rides duplicate the first part of that trip, but then go to different branches of the lake. Alpnachstad is the base station for the cograil to Pilatus Kulm.

I'd only do one on each lake unless you have a lot of time on your trip. That also is a personal judgement based on how I allocate my own time. Your preferences may differ.

Also, on Lake Geneva, I would also study the map. Those trips are very different, but the lake does not have branches the way Lake Lucerne does, so you would see somewhat similar scenery on all trips.. I'd also consider using a train for the return on the Geneva trip, but I'd go in the reverse direction. That is - boat from Montreux to Lausanne/Ouchy to Geneva. Or, take a train to Geneva and return by boat.

The train station at each stop has varying distances from the lake boat piers.. I don't know the bus link details in Geneva, but the train station ( Cornavin) is 10-15 minutes walk from the lake. At Lausanne, there is a nice funicular from Ouchy direct to the main train station. The lake front at Ouchy offers many nice restaurants.

On Lake Geneva, a particularly nice stop is in Yvoire:

www.yvoiretourism.com/ accueil_en.html

Slowpoke