17-day trip to Switzerland

We, 7 hikers from Los Angeles, will travel to Switzerland in late August and early September (8/29 - 9/14). This is our first trip to Switzerland. Our plan if weather permits is:

Day 1 Arrive in Zurich; take train to Lucerne.
Day 2 Tour Lucerne; take train to Interlaken.
Day 3 Hike Schynige Platte; overnight at Berghotel.
Day 4 Hike to Kleine Scheidegg.
Day 5 Take Jungfraujoch excursion. (If we start from Kleine Scheidegg, will we be able to catch the less expensive 1st train to Junfraujoch? Do we have to go to Grindwald to catch the Jungfraujoch train?)
Day 6-8 Move to Grimelwald and stay for 3 nights. Day hike around the area.
Day 9 Hike to Gspaltenhornhutte.
Day 10 Hike to Blumlisalphutte.
Day 11 Hike to Kandersteg and take train to Zermatt.
Day 12 Explore Zermatt.
Day13-15 Take train to Lausanne. Will stay for 3 nights and take day trip to Bern, Geneva, etc.
Day 16 Take train to Zurich.
Day 17 Fly home.

Any suggestions to modify the schedule will be appreciated. We are not too sure whether we should get Swiss Pass or Swiss Card. Also, we welcome any advice on hiking to the two huts.

Hi tohiker, and welcome! That's a great plan for your first visit to Switzerland. If weather is fine, the train rides and hikes will allow you to explore the beauty of the Alps in a fantastic way.

It's always wise to have a back-up plan in case weather circumstances aren't good enough to make the hikes you've planned. Especially the hikes to mountain huts should only be made in good weather. I don't know if you're experienced hikers, but just to be sure: these general tips may help you prepare for your hikes. As for the specific routes you have in mind: I can recommend the Wanderland website, which allows you to search for routes on a map or by name. It provides detailed descriptions on many routes, although not all hut routes are listed here. You'll find the huts themselves though (just fill out their name in the search box) including links to pages with further information on the huts, their surroundings and nearby hiking routes.

I think a Swiss Card would be a good option. A Swiss Pass may turn out to be too expensive, as it offers free traveling on all days, and you won't be needing that for short train rides or hikes.

You can start your Jungfraujoch trip from Kleine Scheidegg and that will allow you to catch the first train in the morning. However, this cheaper 'good morning ticket' is meant for travelers without a rail pass. The discounts your Swiss Card provides, will result in a cheaper ticket than this 'good morning ticket'. So you should just use your Swiss Card for a 50% discounted ticket, whether you take the first train or not.

Hi Arno,

Thank you for your comments and suggestions. I'll certainly check out the trails to the two huts online. I have problem making reservations for the two huts online. For some reason, it will not go through. Wonder whether anyone else has the same problem.

I'm confused about the kind of discount we can get for the Jungfraujoch trip. Is the discount for this excursion the same for Swiss Pass, Swiss Card and Half Price Card? Somewhere I read that it's only 25%.

Is there a train going directly from Kandersteg to Zermatt? The SBB connection shows that we have to go to Spiez then double back to Zermatt.

tohiker

Hi Annika,
Thanks for your help. We'll take the regional train from Kandersteg to Zermatt as you suggested.
Linda