MySwissAlps.com features ads, commercial and non-commercial 3 nights Interlaken and 2 nights Lucerne in Sept
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Day 1: 15:30 arrival at Interlaken. Pick up 3 day Jungfrau pass. Tour Harder Klum or Lake Thun cruise (/Spiez)
Day2:Jungfraujoch, Grindelwald-First
Day 3: Lauterbrunnen, Trümmelbachfälle, Wengen, Männlichen, Schynige Platte,
Day 4: Train to Lucerne, pick up 3 day Tell pass, Rigi, Hammetschwand Elevator, Stanserhorn
Day 5: Titlis, Lungern-Turren-Bahn, Brienzer Rothorn
Day 6: Pilatus, 12PM train to Como.
I try to fit as much as possible because I know the weather won’t be ideal at the end of September but it still seems too full. If I want to remove one or two, which ones to remove? Anything to add?
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Hi xzzhu22,
Thanks for sharing your itinerary. Personally I think you have a very busy and ambitious plan. Day 1 – 2 is easily doable. Day 3 – 5, it seems you are trying to fit in as much as possible. I suggest keeping your daily sightseeing to 2 or 3 destinations so you don’t feel rushed and overwhelmed. On Day 3, I suggest combining Wengen and Männlichen in the morning, and Lauterbrunnen and Schynige Platte in the afternoon. Day 4. focus on Rigi and Stanserhorn. Day 5, pick either Titlis or Brienzer Rothorn, and maybe add a cruise on Lake Lucerne as a side trip.
These are just my personal suggestions. You can of course stick to your current itinerary and be sure to check the timetable to plan your journeys.
Regards,
Anna
Hi xzzhu22,
On day 1, you may want to consider Both a boat ride on Lake Thun, and Harder Kulm as it is doable. Consider a train to Spiez, walk down through the town to the boat ramp, and take the boat back to Interlaken West. (Roughly an hour and a half to two hours on the lake.) Then go to Harder Kulm (a 7-10 min walk from Interlaken Ost). This way you can catch the sunset from up there, (which I was able to see) and it’s very beautiful. This way you don’t have to choose between the two. The views of the lakes, the city below, and the sunset were spectacular. Hope this helps you in some way. Enjoy your trip.
Danielsan
Thank you for your advices. So how do I arrange those in 2 days
Day 4: Stanserhorn, Titlis , Rigi,
,Day 5: Pilatus, Lungern-Turren-Bahn, Aare Gorge, Brienzer Rothorn,
Seems like I must cut one of the 7, so which one should I cut?
Personally I would miss out Pilatus – or Titlis unless you want Titlis for the snow/ice
Perhaps choose between one of Stanserhorn and Rigi
Brienzer Rothorn should not be missed as it is a steam train
Personally I would also miss out Harder as you are planning to visit the Jungfrau area close up
Hi xzzhu22,
On day 4 you could combine Stanserhorn and Rigi. I even did a combined trip including Bürgenstock this way: Stanserhorn – bus to Bürgenstock-hike at Bürgenstock – funicular down to Kehrsiten-Bürgenstock – boat to Lucerne – boat to Weggis – cable car to Rigi Kaltbad. I was up at Stanserhorn with the first cable car in the early morning, and ended up at Rigi Kulm by (late) afternoon. But my base was Weggis, at the foot of Rigi Kaltbad. You’d have to return to Lucerne which would take more time.
Anyway, if you leave out Bürgenstock, and especially the hike up there, it will be pretty easy to visit these 2 mountains and include a nice boat ride over the lake. Please find details at the below pages, and use the timetable recommended by Anna (https://www.myswissalps.com/timetable) to plan each segment in detail. That way you can see if you’re fine with the overall duration of your plan:
- https://www.myswissalps.com/stanserhorn/gettingthere
- https://www.myswissalps.com/burgenstock/gettingthere (in case you’re interested)
- https://www.myswissalps.com/rigi/gettingthere
- https://www.myswissalps.com/boatlakelucerne/gettingthere
As for day 5: I’d just focus on a trip to Brienzer Rothorn. A single trip to the top from Lucerne already takes 1h30 (by cable car from Sörenberg) to 2h30 (by steam train from Brienz): https://www.myswissalps.com/brienzerrothorn/gettingthere. You may manage to visit either the Aare gorge or Turren, but I wouldn’t try both. In your original itinerary you planned Pilatus on day 6, right? If you have a full morning, that will be doable: https://www.myswissalps.com/pilatus/gettingthere.
Hi xzzhu22,
I would still consider the train to Spiez, boat back, and Harder Kulm. Again, if you’re arriving around 1530 (I assume you’re staying in Interlaken?), and picking up your Jungfrau pass, drop your bags at the hotel and this is a nice way to spend the rest of the afternoon into the evening.. You can do any combo of train/boat. Or just spend time on the lake. I took a boat to Spiez, (I believe it was about two hours) the train back to Interlaken Ost (15-20 min) and walked over to the Harder Kulm funicular. As I mentioned in my last post, the sunset over the mountains and lake is beautiful from up there. I met a couple from Australia and had dinner with them on the large, open air patio as the sun went down. An Oompah band was blaring their music inside the whole time. It was a way to end a beautiful day. Again, just a suggestion. Have fun.
Danielsan
P. S.
The train between Interlaken West and Ost is only a few minutes. The boat landing is right outside, and downstairs from Interlaken West.
Thank you Danielsan. I was thinking to use Fast baggage service so won’t need to check in hotel first. But to my surprise, it takes 2 days to arrive at the next station rather than the used to be same day service. Any other recommendations to forward/store luggage?
On the other hand, among those high mountains, namely Jungfraujoch, First and Titlis, which one is the most prone to cloud/fog and bad weather? I assume the other mountains should be ok unless it’s raining?
Hi xzzhu22,
Travelling with luggage on train is common in Switzerland. All trains have space to store baggage. However if you prefer to have your luggage transported in advance, SBB also provides same day luggage delivery. You can use this form to check if the service is available for your destination: commerce.sbb.ch/en/luggage.html
For trips to mountaintops above 2500m such Jungfraujoch and Titlis, be sure to check the mountain webcams before getting your tickets.
Regards,
Anna
Hi xzzhu22,
There are fairly large lockers at Interlaken West. (Probably at Ost too. Not sure, but more than likely.) Even if you did check into your hotel first, you shouldn’t have a problem continuing on. Harder Kulm is open later on, so you could do the boat cruise first, then to Harder Kulm later on. Again, its open later than the boat rides.
As far as other destinations, its hard to predict weather conditions and such, and basically go with the flow. Most hotels have a ‘mountain cam’ of sorts to let you know of the conditions up above. (Which is why its best to buy those tickets on the day of.)
Depending on your time, you can possibly visit Turren-Bahn, on your way to Lucerne…..
Also, be aware that if you coose to see the Brienzer Rothorn from Lucerne, its about a 2+ hour ride from Lucerne (give or take), and you’re basically going all the way back to Interlaken. Perhaps concentrate more towards Mt Rigi.
Danielsan
Thank you everyone for all the details!
Likely I will cut Brienzer Rothorn as this is the farthest.
What’s the best sequence of the day 5? Go Pilatus earlier or later in the day? I think Mt Rigi’s sunset is the best so day 4 is probably ok.
Day 4: Stanserhorn, Titlis , Rigi,
Day 5: Pilatus, Lungern-Turren-Bahn, Aare Gorge (Do I have time or is it worth taking cable car from Meringen to Planlplatten/alpen tower?
I won’t be able to do much on the higher mountains because my lung/heart is sensitive to elevation. Just want to enjoy the views.
Hi,
Day 5 – I would plan the trip to Lungern in the morning, followed by the Aare Gorge then Pilatus later in the day. Be sure to check the operating hours of the mountain transportation to Pilatus. I think they operate until 5.30pm. Skip the excursion to Alpen Tower. I would not try to do to many things in one day as you will then be rushing from one destination to another.
Day 4 – I would plan the excursion in this order: Titlis – Stanserhorn – Rigi. Hopefully you’ll have enough time to visit all three mountains in 1 day. But I think visiting just 2 is good enough.
Don’t forget, you can always use the SBB timetable to plan your routes and determine how much time is needed to travel from one place to another.
Regards,
Anna
Do check the mountain webcam as others have suggested. I had the experience of a clear day up Jungfraujock, but the next 4 days were cloudy. I did not check the weather for Pilatus, and it turned out to be a low cloud day. I could only see cloud beneath me after reaching the top.
I did have some breathing sensitivity at jungfrau, but did not feel anything at Pilatus.
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