16 days in Switzerland, 10 in Bernese Oberland
A couple is planning a 16-day trip to Switzerland from June 25 to July 10, starting in Zurich and traveling to Crans Montana for their daughter's convocation. They will spend time in Montreux, Lausanne, and Interlaken, where they seek advice on making the most of their 10 days exploring the Bernese Oberland and tips for their other stays.
- Consider purchasing both the Swiss Half Fare Card and the Regional-Pass Bernese Oberland for the best travel coverage and convenience during your trip.
- Take advantage of early morning train departures for breathtaking views and to maximize your day.
- Look into various activities in Interlaken, such as a relaxing boat cruise on Lake Thun and a visit to Funky Chocolate Club for a fun chocolate-making experience.
AI-generated summary-
Hello Friends,
We are a couple planning for Switzerland 16 days holidays from 25 June to 10th July 2020.
We plan to fly in from Mumbai to Zurich on 25th June morning and fly out on 10th July morning.
First 2 days we shall stay in Crans Montana for daughter’s convocation and next 2 days we plan to spend in Montreux- Laussane. Last day we plan to stay at hotel close to Zurich airport.
Balance 10 days we plan to stay at an Airbnb in Interlaken and explore Bernese oberland. Interlaken works well for us as it has multiple restaurants for Indian food. Our daughter shall also join for this tour.
We intend to buy half fare rail pass and 10 days Bernese Oberland pass.
Please suggest how to make good use of 10 days in Interlaken. Guidence for our other places of stay i.e. Montreux – Lausanne, and Zurich are also most welcome.
Thank you.
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Hello Namjoshiram,
Thank you for starting a new thread in the miscellaneous section. I appreciate your cooperation! Thank you also for your questions!
I wish you an early congratulations on your daughter’s graduation. You must be so proud!
First of all, I will attach detailed links regarding the Swiss Half Fare Card and the Regional-Pass Bernese Oberland, as well as links where you can purchase them:
Swiss Half Fare Card:
Regional-Pass Bernese Oberland:
- http://www.myswissalps.com/regionalpassberneseoberland
- http://www.myswissalps.com/regionalpassberneseoberland/price
I think it’s wonderful that you have 10 days in Interlaken as a travel base. You’ve made a wise choice staying in Interlaken because you’re certainly correct about Interlaken having multiple Indian food restaurants. You will also find small grocery stores that carry Indian groceries, in case you want to purchase some snacks from there, such as: Asia Mini Mart, or Akkara Asian Supermarket. Asia Mini Mart is a personal favourite of mine because they have extended opening hours.
Here is a link about Interlaken and suggested activities. A personal favourite of mine is a boat cruise on Lake Thun. It is relaxing the lake is breathtaking! If your interested, take a look at “Funky Chocolate Club,” while you are in Interlaken. You can make your very own Swiss chocolate!
- http://www.myswissalps.com/interlaken
- http://www.myswissalps.com/interlaken/activities
- http://www.myswissalps.com/lakethun
- funkychocolateclub.com/
Here are links about Montreux and suggested activities to get inspiration from! In case you are a fan of music, in particularly jazz, the famous Montreux Jazz Festival is on while you are in Switzerland. Take a look to see if that would be of interest:
- http://www.montreuxjazzfestival.com/en
- http://www.myswissalps.com/montreux
- http://www.myswissalps.com/montreux/activities
Lausanne is another gem of a city in Switzerland. If you have interest in architecture, make sure you go visit the Lausanne Cathedral:
- http://www.myswissalps.com/lausanne
- http://www.myswissalps.com/lausanne/activities
- http://www.myswissalps.com/lausanne/pictures
Zurich is wonderful city for shopping, the Lake Zurich and many other activities:
I hope this helps and gives you a clearer idea of what you would like to do when you are in Switzerland.
Happy planning!
Best regards,
Suzanne
You might find a few pointers at http://www.myswissalps.com/forum/topic/a-week-in-thun.
And even http://www.myswissalps.com/forum/topic/autumn-in-montreux-september-2019.
What prompted you to buy both Swiss Half-fare Card AND the RPBO?
I recommend using the SBB Mobile app (bit.ly/2ICIUHi) for checking train, bus, boat and cable way timetables, finding fares* and buying tickets on-line if required. In the unlikely event you don’t have a device capable of running the app then you can use the timetable on the SBB website (bit.ly/2HH1U7B).
* The SBB website shows half-fare prices by default, the mobile app allows you to nominate whether to show full or half-fares (by editing the passenger details in settings) and is also smart enough to offer you the Saver Day Pass (http://www.myswissalps.com/saverdaypass) if that offers the best fare. The app can also display a platform map (at least at the larger stations) to help you make connections. You can also easily filter modes of transport (eg bus or ship).
The app will always show the fastest, most direct routes unless you tell it you want to go a longer way round by including other stations to go VIA. For example, if you wanted to follow the Golden Pass route you would need to search the SBB app looking for Luzern to Montreux via Interlaken and Zweisimmen.
Based on your personal itinerary you should read “How to choose the best travel pass” (http://www.myswissalps.com/train/ticketspasses/practical/chooserailpass), download the handy spreadsheet calculator and do the math. The spreadsheet also includes links to the “Where it’s valid” page for all available passes. Be sure to check those pages for each pass you are considering. Study the map AND read all the text on those pages to fully understand what is covered by the respective pass.
Thank you Suzanne and rockoyster for prompt comments. They are very useful.
Using your posts I shall try to develop a detailed itinerary ( first cut) and post it for you review and advise.
Thanks again.
Swiss half rate card + BOP first class 10 days is (all values in CHF) 354+120= 474 . It is almost same as buying 10 days BOP first class alone @ 468. Half rate card shall get us discount in travel from Zurich to Crans Montana- Montreux , Lucern – Zurich and any other sections not covered by BOP.
I believe ,BOP may cost us nearly same as individual tickets but most importantly it shall free us from hassle of buying individual tickets in peak tourist season.
We are a couple in early 50s, reasonably fit and accustomed of taking up 1/2 day hikes in Himalayas. Our daughter is of course more energetic. We plan to stay at Airbnb as close as possible to Interlaken Ost. Our idea is to start early in the morning on good weather days and catch train leaving at about 07:30am.
I have drawn a first cut itinerary ;
25 June fly in by Swiss air early morning to Zurich . Onwards to Crans Montana.
25-26 June Stay at Crans Montana for daughter’s convocation.
27-28 June Stay at Montreux ( or Lausanne) close to Railway station.
27th June Visit Church , Olympic Museum , City Square and lake front Lausanne
28th June : Lake front Montreux, Queen Studio, Chillon Castle and ( may be) Chaplin’s World?
29th Golden Pass Montreal- Zweisimmen ( VIP seats ?)- Interlaken Ost . Visit Harder Klum in the evening ( Paragliding for daughter).
30th June to 8th July . 9 days flexible plan as per weather.
1. Bad weather program : Visit Bern, old city walk including Clock tower, Parliament building, Einstein House + Bear Garden. ( Visit Einstein Museum?).
2. Bat weather Program : St Beatus caves, Castle Oberhofen , Thun City walk, Boating from Thun to Interlaken.
3. Bad weather program : Boating on Lake Brienz, Aare gorge, ( Brinzer Rothorn if weather permits)
Other days in priority
4. Interlaken to Schilthorn. Spend time at Shiltron and its Midway station, Walk from Murren to Gimmelwald , Walk from Stenchelberg to Lauterbrunnen. ( We have visited Trummelbach 5 years back)
5. Interlaken to Männlichen , Royal Walk, Panorama Walk to Kleine Scheidegg, ( We have visited Jungfrau earlier) Train to Grindelwald, Cable to first, fun rides at first (for daughter).
6. Interlaken to Allmendhubel, North Face walk. Cable and train to Wilderswil Train to Schynige Platte walk aroun.
7. Interlaken to Grindelwald , bus to Grosse Scheidegg. Hike to first and lake, (2nd day for fun rides at first). walk around in Grindelwald and Wengen if time permits.
8. Visit to Zweisimmen – Rinderberg, Gstaad, walk to Saanen ( Visit few places in Gstaad Saanen & Zweismmen where popular Indian Movie was shot)
9. Visit to Oeschinen lake and ( Optional Niesen or Spiez Castle & lake front).
9th July morning Interlaken to Zurich Via Luzern ( Goldenpass). Stay at Hotel near airport. Half day city tour of Zurich.
10th July Morning flight back by Swiss air to Mumbai in morning.
Please give this plan a look and advise me changes and improvements.
Thanks
Ram
Hi Ram,
Looks like you have it all under control. You might want to think about a visit to Glacier 3000 while visiting Gstaad.
I’m not sure when the VIP Seats return to service on the Golden Pass Panoramic.
Nearer the time, you can make reservations for the Golden Pass Line (http://www.myswissalps.com/goldenpass) including seat selection at bit.ly/2kaq6Rf. Click the “e” for English language top right of the page. (where it says “Sprachwahl: d i f e”). Then change the class of travel, date of travel and start/end points to suit. Reservations are not compulsory but are recommended on the Zweisimmen to Montreux leg (which is where the Panoramic and Belle Époque trains operate) during peak tourist season.
Enjoy.
Hello rockoyster,
Thank you for your prompt comments. I shall consider visit Glacierto 3000.
I shall post my report once trip is done.
Thanks a lot again.
Hi Ram,
You will find some pictures of Montreux and Lausanne and Glacier 3000 in my trip report at http://www.myswissalps.com/forum/topic/autumn-in-montreux-september-2019.
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