15 day itinerary Lausanne Interlaken Luzern Zurich

I am traveling on my own to switzerland from 8/6/16 to 22/6/16 for 15 days. I enjoy hiking and walking around and I have came up with an itinerary and would appreciate some feedback or advice.

what is the weather like in mid june? will there be a lot of raining? are they usually heavy rain or just showers?

• Day 1: - (stay in lausanne) arrive in Zurich at ~6am, train from zurich to lausanne and check into hostel. local sightseeing in lausanne
• Day 2 - (stay in lausanne) early train to Chateau de Chillon, walk Grand Traver. see de Lavaux from Montreux to Lausanne
• Day 3 - (stay in Interlaken) check out o hostel in the morning, early train from Lausanne to Geneva. Sightseeing in Geneva. Train from Geneva to Interlaken in the evening
• Day 4 - (stay in Interlaken) skydiving in Interlaken (~8;30 - 13:00), boat cruise in lake Thun
• Day 5 - (stay in Interlaken) early train to Jungfraujoch viz Grindelwald. Travel from Jungfraujoch to Eigergletscher then do the eiger trail walk from Eigergletscher to Kline Scheidegg, continue to hike down to Grindelwald or get there by train
• Day 6 - (stay in interlaken) early train to Zermatt, then take the cable car to blauherd and do the 5-lake walk to Sunnegga. Then hike from Sunnegga back to Zermatt travel back to Interlaken from Zermatt in the evening
• Day 7 - stay in Interlaken train from Interlaken ost to Lauterbrunnen, then hiking from lauterbrunnen to wengen. Take the cable car to Mannlichen and then hike to Kline Scheidegg. Hike back down to Wengen and take the train back to interlaken
• Day 8 - stay in Interlaken day trip to Bern
• Day 9 - stay in Interlaken day trip to brienz, Meiringen and see Reichenbach fall and Aare Gorge.
• Day 10 - stay in Luzern Train from interlaken to Luzern, check into hotel. sightseeing in Luzern
• Day 11 - stay in Luzern day trip to Mount Rigi: take a boat from Luzerne to Viztnau, then cogwheel train to Rigi Kulm. Hiking from Rigi Kulm to Rigi Kaltbad then Rigi Kaltbad - Känzeli - Kulmhütte - Rigi First - Rigi Kaltbad. Afterwards take cogwheel train from Rigi Kaltbad to Arth then travel back to Luzern
• Day 12 - stay in Luzern. Day trip to Mt Titlis
• Day 13 - stay in Zurich. Travel from Luzern to Zurich and check into hotel, sighseeing in Zurich
• Day 14 - stay in Zurich. Day trip to Schaffhausen: see RhienFall
• Day 15 - day trip to Uetiliberg. plane leaving Zurich at ~2245

Thank you so much!

Hello k4karen, welcome to MySwissAlps!

I think you've come up with a good itinerary. It covers some of the prettiest regions in Switzerland and is very varied in terms of hiking, city visits and scenic trips. Here are some thoughs:

• Montreux is generally considered prettier for tourists than Lausanne, so you may want to change your base for the first few days;
• on day 3, the Golden Pass would be a beautiful route towards Interlaken, rather than the regular train connection. It does take a bit longer though, so you should limit your stay in Geneva somewhat if you're interested in this ride;
• on day 5, it may be too early to for the Eiger Trail. The recommended period for this hike is July-October and by June, the trail may still be covered by snow. You'd best check with a local tourist office once you're there. Finding a hike at lower altitude as a back-up plan would be wise. Options are here;
• the same goes for the hike on day 6. You can contact Zermatt tourism to ask for current circumstances once you're there. Further hiking tips can be found here. Do leave early, as day trip to Zermatt from Interlaken will take quite some time, especially if you want to include the scenic local train via Kandersteg and Goppenstein instead of the quicker tunnel route. Details are in the timetable;
• as for day 7: I'm not sure about your hiking experience and condition, but do note that Lauterbrunnen-Wengen is quite steep. If you feel up to that, it's fine. If not, you may first enjoy the pleasant hike in the Lauterbrunnen valley and then get to Wengen by train.

Once your plans are set, you should look into rail passes. A 15 day Swiss Travel Pass would be the easiest option for your plans. You may compare this to the Swiss Half Fare Card, but bear in mind that this requires you to buy discounted tickets for each trip.

It's very hard to predict anything about the weather. June may be rainier than July and August, but there have been years with the exact opposite pattern, with beautiful spring/summer weather in June. Just make sure you have enough back-up plans in case weather doesn't allow for hiking.