MySwissAlps.com features ads, commercial and non-commercial 12 day trip Switzerland for family of 5 in June
-
I have put together a 12 day itinerary that I want to get advice on. Essentially I just want to make sure that I’ve covered the “must dos” in the areas we’re considering going to. We’re a family of 5, kids will be 13, 11 and 11 at time of travel. We love to be active on vacation, don’t need a lot of down or chill out time while on vacation. We arrive on June 21st (day 1).
Day 1 – Arrive Zurich approximately 10:30 am from USA, private car transfer to Lucern. Check into hotel then afternoon guided tour of Lucern (Tours by Locals).
Day 2 – Ferry from Lucern to Alpnachstad then Cogwheel train to peak of Pilatus. At top of Pilatus do dragon or flower trail (or other hikes?) and lunch at the restaurant. Take cableway to Frankmuntegg for rope park and toboggan. Gondola back to Kriens then bus to Lucern. (Are there longer/better hikes at the peak as dragon and flower trail look pretty short.)
Day 3 – Take train from Lucern to Interlaken. Check into hotel. Lunch in town. After lunch, hike to the peak of Harder Kulm. After relaxing at top, take funicular back down.
Day 4 – Train from Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen. Take bus or taxi (will a taxi be easy to get?) from Lauterbrunnen to Trummelbach Falls. Spend an hour at the falls then taxi/bus back to Lauterbrunnen. Lauterbrunnen to Jungfraujoch via Kleinn Scheidegg. Enjoy activities at top. Do the return trip via Grindelwald? Maybe get dinner in Grindelwald before heading back to Interlaken? Any “must dos” for this?
Day 5 – Take ferry from Interlaken West to Beatushole. Guided tour of St. Beatus Caves. Then back on ferry to Beatenbuch. At Beatenbuch take funicular to Beatenberg then cablecar to Niederhorn. Return to Beatenberg by monster trotti (take short route), then back on ferry. Ferry to Thun, take guided tour of Thun Castle. Depending on time, maybe train to Spiez, dinner in Spiez then train back to Interlaken.
Day 6 – Lake steamer from Interlaken to Giessbach, hike up falls then hike from Giessbach Falls to Istelwald. Lunch in Istelwald then back on ferry to Interlaken. After lunch, family rafting on Lutschine River to lake Brienz.
Day 7 – Train from Interlaken to Zermatt. Check into hotel then lunch. After lunch, cog railway to summit of Gornergrat. (Anything to do at summit?). Take cog train back down to Rotenboden then hike from Rotenboden to Riffelberg. From Riffelberg cog train back to Zermatt. (Or how long is the hike from Rotenboden to Zermatt? Doable?)
Day 8 – The Gorge Adventure (rope course through Gorner Gorge). Lunch then afternoon – ?? Guided tour of Zermatt or any other “must do” in this area?
Day 9 – Train from Zermatt to Montreaux. Check into hotel, then after lunch, ferry to Chillon Castle and tour of Chillon Castle.Ferry back to Montreaux then train to Lausanne. Sunset dinner cruise from Lausanne, back to Montreaux.
Day 10 – The chocolate train – tour of Gruyere (cheese factory and castle) then Broc for chocolate factory. (I can’t decide if it’s better to do the group train/tour or just do these two places on our own. Not sure about the large group aspect of this, generally we don’t like big group tours.)
Day 11 – Train from Montreaux to Bern. Check into hotel, afternoon in Bern (Einstein museum, clock tower, Bear Pit etc).
Day 12 – Private transfer Bern to Zurich for lunch time plane back to USA.
-
Hi WTand beyond
Lots to comment on in your post, and I’ll not have time at moment for much of it. I’ll say that late June is a nice time to visit. Most tourist services have re-opened from Winter by mid-June in the high Alps, and the heaviest crowds of July and August have not yet arrived. Hiking up there is a special experience, and my first thought is that you have not planned enough of it. See images attached.
Are you from a mountain state in the USA?
But, I’ll note that the use of taxis for such places as the Trummelbach Falls is an unusual question. That, and the comments about private car transfer, lead me to suspect that you do not fully appreciate the convenience of the Swiss public transport network, or the very very high cost of taxis …much much higher than in the USA. Of course, if you can find a taxi that will carry all of you and luggage, there is only one fare, as opposed to 5 train tickets…..
Look into a train pass:
http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses
So, unless you have special reasons, such as physical handicaps, a whole lot of luggage, or infant children, (none of which seem likely except the luggage) please also consider the public transport network for the times when you are considering another method.
http://www.myswissalps.com/tr avel
Upon arrival from the USA, jet lag can be a problem, so there is good reason to consider some form of private transportation to Luzern. But, there is a direct train once per hour, and train(s) with transfer at Zürich main station in between. Zürich main station is a complex, multilevel affair, so that transfer may not be simple. The timetable shows which tracks the trains arrive on and depart from…And, most everyone manages, even with luggage. And, if you miss a train on a route like that, there is another one along in a few minutes. Timorous travelers can get something to eat or a cup of coffee in the food court on the ground floor of the train station at the airport while waiting for the direct train.
Check the timetable to see how frequent the bus service is between Lauterbrunnen and Trummelbach Falls. Every 30 minutes for a 9 minute ride.
http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable
Slowpoke
Hi WTandBeyond,
Day 4 – You can walk along the Lauterbrunnen valley to Trummelbach falls, it’s a lovely stroll, then catch the bus back.
Day 10 – You can do the castle and cheese factory at Gruyeres on your own. There’s a bus from the station to the medieval town/castle, and then you can walk back down along a path, it’s not far. The cheese factory is across from the station. Tours of the factory finish around 2.30pm I think, but they also have headsets with a commentary so if you’re too late you can wander through on your own.
The Swiss public transport system is amazing, so taking trains is easy, with frequent connections.
There are so many beautiful areas to see. We spent 5 weeks in Switzerland in May/June this year, and didn’t even make it to the west of the country. From Lucerne, Mt. Rigi, Mt.Titlis, and Stanserhorn are all gorgeous, as is a wander around Lucerne itself.
Klein Matterhorn from Zermatt is also a great trip.
From Lauterbrunnen you could take the cable car to Grutschalp, walk or train to Murren, cable car to Schilthorn and back to Murren, walk or cable car to Gimmelwald, and cable car down to Stechelberg, then bus back to Lauterbrunnen.
Brienzer Rothorn is gorgeous too, you could do that from Interlaken.
Sooo many choices…. For more info and inspiration have a read through the various trip reports in this forum. Happy planning, and have a great trip.
Regards,
Narelle
Hi Narelle –
Indeed, all those options are good possibilities.
This map may help…I like it because it shows the public transport lines very clearly if you zoom in far enough:
map.search.ch/?poi=bergbahn,haltestel le,zug&pos=638096,1595 84&z=64
I’ve set it to show Trümmelbach bus stop and Lauterbrunnen. It’s about a 2 km easy walk. Nice way to see the scenery.
Attached is a view from above, showing the valley floor.
Slowpoke
Attachments:Hi WTandBeyond,
first of all, I totally agree with Slowpoke, taxis for longer routes and private car transfers are very expensive and you don’t need really them as public transport and the rail system is fantastic in Switzerland.
On day 4, I suggest going first up to Jungfraujoch, as usually it is more clear in the morning than in the afternoon. From Lauterbrunnen to Staubbach Fall this is a nice walk too: http://www.myswissalps.com/hi king/lauterbrunnen-stechelberg.
You’ll find the details of the route from Rotenboden to Riffelalp at http://www.myswissalps.com/hi king/rotenboden-riffelalp/route. More hiking routes at http://www.myswissalps.com/hi king (use the filters).
For more information and tips on what to do please refer to:
- Jungfrau region: http://www.myswissalps.com/ju ngfrauregion/activitie s
- Zermatt: http://www.myswissalps.com/ze rmatt/activities
- Lake Lucerne: http://www.myswissalps.com/la kelucerne/activities
- Zurich: http://www.myswissalps.com/zu rich
- Montreux: http://www.myswissalps.com/mo ntreux/activities
- Bern: http://www.myswissalps.com/be rn
- The thread ‘12 day trip Switzerland for family of 5 in June’ is closed to new replies.
