3N/4D trip from Paris-Switzerland-Paris 24-27 Sept

We are married couple in 30's planning to visit beautiful country Switzerland, and looking for advice from this group for our planning. Appreciate the activeness and response given by people in this group. Please find below few details.

Starting/Returning from/to Paris Onward : 24th September, 2015

Return : 27th September, 2015

• Preferences/Constraints: Nature, Scenic drive, Mountains- Not much interested in Muesums and City
• Public Transport
• Vegetarians
• Budget trip

Plan A:---------Paris -> Geneva -> Interlaken(2 night) -> Zermatt(1 night) -> Paris

• Day 1: Paris -> Interlaken via GenevaStay in interlaken : Sunny Days B & B - Is this ok?
• Day 2: Jungfrau -> Interlaken. Shall I buy Swiss travel pass or manage point to point tickets?Assuming most of the time is spent in Jungfrau. Is it worth spending? Price per person(without Swiss pass) : 190 EURO / 205 CHF Price per person(with Swiss pass) : 120 EURO / 130 CHF Stay in interlaken : Sunny Days B & B
• Day 3: Interlaken -> Zermatt Stay in Zermatt/Tasch: Aparthotel Monte Rosa. Is this ok?
• Day 4: Zermatt -> Basel -> Paris OR Zermatt -> Geneva ->Paris - Which route to take. Geneva route is cost effective.

Plan B:---------Paris -> Geneva -> Interlaken(2 night) -> Lucerne/Basel(1 night) -> Paris

• Day 1 and 2: same as Plan A.
• Day 3: Interlaken -> Lucerne/BaselStay in Lucerne/Basel: Hotel Booking not done yet. Any budget stay recommendation is welcome.
• Day 4: Lucerne/Basel -> Paris

Plan C:--------Paris -> Basel -> Interlaken(Stay - 2 night)->Geneva/Montreux(1 night) -> Paris

• Day 1 and 2: same as Plan A.
• Day 3: Interlaken -> Geneva/Montreux.Stay in Geneva/Montreux: Hotel Booking not done yet. Any budget stay recommendation is welcome.
• Day 4: Geneva/Montreux -> Paris

Plan D:--------Paris -> Geneva-> Interlaken (2 night)->Geneva/Montreux (1 night) -> Paris same as Plan C except entry and return will be from Geneva.

1. Which is the best option among A, B, C and D OR any better itinerary can be done ?
2. Any budget hotels?
3. Which pass should we take? Can we buy pass from train station or they have to be bought online? Swiss Travel Pass: 2nd class ( 3 or 4 day - which one to buy) 3 day: Euro 175 / 210 CHF 4 day: Euro 204 / 221 CHF
4. What kind of clothes(winter) will be required for our visit in September last week?

Thanks in advance!!!

Thanks for posting here, rags1512!

1) All itineraries would be fine. Which is best, depends on your preferences. Here are some considerations. If you want to see more of the country, option A, B or C (entering via Basel) are better, as you'll avoid using the same entrance and departure city. Moreover, the inbound trip from Basel to Interlaken via Thun and Spiez is definitely nice. Now, as for the remaining options: if you're especially interested in scenic views and mountains, I'd prefer A or B, focusing on the Interlaken and Zermatt or the Interlaken and Lucerne regions.

Out of these two, option A including Zermatt requires more traveling time. Did you check the timetable to check such details? Of course that's no problem if you don't mind somewhat longer trips. There's an alternative to plan B, by the way: don't leave from Basel after your stay in Lucerne, but from Geneva, taking the entire Golden Pass train ride down to Montreux first. That too will be a long trip though.

2) Hotels can be found through these accommodation pages:

• Interlaken hotels
• Zermatt hotels
• Lucerne hotels
• Montreux hotels
• Geneva hotels
• budget hotels

Once you'e decided on your base towns, you can start looking for hotels through these pages. If you're not able to find anything that suits you, please let us know and provide your specific requirements and budget, so that we provide some tips. Further budget tips are listed at www.myswissalps.com/pl antrip/doityourself/sa vemoney.

3) Whatever option you choose, you'll be traveling extensively during 4 days, so I'd definitely recommend a 4 day Swiss Travel Pass. Please find all details at www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass. The validity section explains where the pass applies. Explanation on the Jungfraujoch is included. Swiss Travel Pass retailers are listed in the price section. Since you're from India, you can order through www.raileurope.co.in and profit from these promo codes.

4) You don't need special winter clothes, as September won't be that cold yet. Do prepare for cold if you visit the Jungfraujoch though. Generally, several layers of clothes, including fleece jackets, will do.

Thanks Annika for the detailed response. I am almost done with the travel planning with one query left.

I'll be leaving Paris on 24th sep'15 at 7:00 AM and reach Geneva by 10:15 AM.

Planning to buy swiss pass for four days.

Shall I take GoldenPass Line from Geneva to Interlaken ? Will it be covered in Swiss Pass?

Stay at Interlaken for 2 nights.

Start from Interlaken at 6:30 AM and reach Zermatt by 8:30 AM. Explore Zermatt whole day and next half day.

Now, I have a question. I can take two routes for returning to Paris.

1. Zermatt -> Visp -> Geneva -> Paris . Catch train from Geneva to Paris at 7:00 PM

2. Zermatt -> Basel -> Paris. Catch train from Basel to Paris at 6:30 PM.

Which route will be the best? As swiss pass covers both of them, no money issues and travel time will be almost same. Looking for a scenic route. For both the routes, Switzerland to Paris is same as it'll be night.

Thanks in Advance!!!

Hi rags1512,

Yes, the Golden Pass is covered by the Swiss Travel Pass (the Swiss Pass is something different by the way; please see here). It can be found at the validity overview I mentioned and at the Golden Pass tickets page.

As for your outbound trip: did you already decide on your entrance point? That may be decisive, especially if you want to see different routes and thus exit from another town. Zermatt-Geneva will bring you along the northern shore of Lake Geneva, which is definitely nice.

The route towards Basel has a longer tunnel section between Visp and Spiez. The leg from Spiez to Thun is scenic, but rather short, although the remaining leg towards Basel isn't bad at all. An alternative to this route is the regional Lötschberg train Visp-Goppenstein-Frutigen-Spiez, that winds through the mountains instead of going underneath through at tunnel. This will add extra traveling time though. You can find it by adding "Goppenstein" as your via station in the timetable when looking for options from Zermatt to Basel.

Thanks Annika. I haven't booked the ticket from paris to switzerland and return. Just checking the best route. The route via Goppenstein looks interesting.

The Route 1 below is CHF 70 costlier than route 2.

1. Onward(Paris-> Geneva[07:07 Hrs - 10:16 Hrs]) and Return(Basel -> Paris[18:34 Hrs - 21:37 Hrs])

2. Onward(Paris -> Basel[06:23 Hrs - 10:09 Hrs]) and Return(Geneva -> Paris[19:42 hrs - 22:52 hrs]).

Is it worth spending extra CHF 70 or route 2 will be good as well. Please suggest.

Hi rags1512,

So it's just the French leg of the trip that is more expensive for route 1? The Swiss leg does not matter if you have a Swiss Travel Pass, as everything is included). For the French leg, the prices are different per train and date, so if you're not bound to those specific times it may pay off to compare your options. Please see the site for India for tickets and prices: www.raileurope.co.in/t rain/tgv-lyria. Note that booking earlier is cheaper. Prices will go up as the travel date is approaching. The local train via Goppenstein is absolutely worth it. I can't comment on the French legs.