72625 posts
Hi Mahesh and welcome to MySwissAlps!
Jul 23: either mountain can work – check the weather after you reach your hotel and see which mountain has better weather conditions. You can use the Swiss railways timetable to plan out the trip: https://www.myswissalp s.com/timetable (enter Luzern to Rigi or Pilatus) and it gives your the schedules.
July 24: 2 mountains in one day can work for you here but i t becomes a long day. Stay flexible and decide if you and the family are up for another mountain trip once you are coming down from Titlis.
https://www.myswissalp s.com/titlis / https://www.myswissalp s.com/rigi / https://www.myswissalp s.com/pilatus
July 25: Pick the mountain with the best weather that day. https://www.myswissalp s.com/jungfraujoch / https://www.myswissalp s.com/schilthorn
July 26: Trümmelbach falls would be easily down when returning from Schilthorn. Lake Thun is a bit further away but still can be done without much issue from either mountain. https://www.myswissalp s.com/boatlakethun
July 27: Gornergrat (https://www.myswissalp s.com/gornergrat) is at the far other end of the country from Zurich airport (3 hours one-way) whereas the Rheinfall (https://www.myswissalp s.com/rheinfall) is about an hour from Zurich airport. That being said, if you want to see the Matterhorn you can do it and still get to Zurich airport by 7pm or so to catch your flight.
7567 posts
Hi Mahesh –
Just a couple of thoughts to add to Lucas’ thorough answer.
All three mountains near Luzern have their own personalities. The Rigi is the most “gentle” with more trails and is the lowest.
Titlis is the highest, with snow probably still there even in July. There are several things to do. Pilatus is close to Luzern. A steep mountain with little at the top… some restaurants and a modest walking trail. Great views.
From a logistics point of view, a recent post in this forum suggested going up Pilatus by the cableway from Kriens in the AM and returning via the cograil to Alpnachstad in the late morning. The stated objectve was to avoid crowds and long lines going up on the cograil in the busy Summer season. From Luzern, there are hourly boats taking about an hour ( check the timetable) to/from Vitznau, where you can get one of the the cograil trains up to Rigi Kulm, ( the top). A day with Titlis and the Rigi has the most travel in the middle.
Search this site for the name of each mountain to find out a lot more details including travel possibilities. Tere are some options at the Rigi, for example.
Regarding the Matterhorn. It is certainly possible…..but even with the reliability of the Swiss trains, I’d be a bit nervous about being so far from the airport. So, I’d try to work out a schedule using the timetable, including what you do at Zermatt,such as Gornergrat as discussed above,and do my best to schedule arrival at the airport more than 3 hours before flight time. I am perhaps overly cautious, because my travel patterns usually involve flight to the USA from Zürich, not to London. Still, the 27th is a Friday in the Summer, and traffic will be heavy, and some delays are possible.
So, after you work out a schedule, I suggest that you take a look at how much time you will have to go up to one of the better viewing points and decide if it is worth a very long journey on a busy Friday.
Slowpoke
72625 posts
Thanks Lucas & Slowpoke for your comments!
Based on the comments i would like to test, if following alteration in itinerary sound right 🙂
23 July (Day 1) – After reaching to Luzern by 14:00, Plan to visit to Mt. Rigi by taking a boat ride to Weggis –> Cable car to Rigi Kulm. Spend 1 about and hour –> Take cogwheel railway to Vitznau (18:00) –> Boat ride back to Luzern. Basically the idea is to cover both path (Cable car + Cog wheel railway). The question is shall we go to Mt. Rigi via weggis route and comeback via Vitznau route back to Luzern or vice versa. Not sure at this time which will be more crowded route. Any suggestions ? (all this plan based on whether of course)
24 July (Day 2) – As suggested by Lucas, I will take a decision based on how the day has gone by and whether to continue our visit to Pilatus (I definitely want to cover this but if its to exhaustive may need to give it a miss) or spend more time on Mt. Titlis & once back in Luzern try to visit city attractions such as Lion monument.How far this monument from Luzern Train station ?
July 26 (day 4) – Based on suggestions, Is it a good idea to do Gornergrat Day 4 & keep Schilthorn, Trümmelbach falls & thun lake on Day 5. This way i see 2 benefits & 1 drawback:
1. We are near to Interlaken & can easily drop Thun lake or Trümmelbach falls incase any issues with the timings to catch our return flight to London from Zurich (9:30 PM).
2. We could keep our Luggage in hotel after checkout.
Drawback – We have 4 days swiss travel pass & i think Shilthorn journey is free end to end on this pass? if we plan to cover shilthorn on day 5 we will need to buy separate tickets ?
Also Please suggest what will be the economical way of covering Day 5 Itinerary (Either Gornergrat or Shilthorn)& return travel to Zurich Airport.( e.g. Swiss Half Fare Card or Buy the individual tickets or any other option) ?
Do we need to buy a ticket for my kid (8 years) as well in case we plan to buy individual journey ticket & mountain excursion on day 5 ?
Thun lake & Luzern boat ride is free on Swiss travel Pass ?
All suggestions are welcome 🙂
7567 posts
<<“The question is shall we go to Mt. Rigi via weggis route “>>
15 minute up hill walk from ship landing to valey station of the cable car at Weggis.
I’d take the cable car down, not up. More frequent service than the train, I think. If I recall correctly, the train is once per hour. Going up from Vitznau, the cog rail train meets the lakeboat.
Check the timetable.
Luzern –
I have marked the map with a star where the Lion Monument is.
map.search.ch/?pos=666525,212118&z=51 2&poi=bergbahn,haltest elle,museum,parking,to ur,viasuisse,zug
Slowpoke
72625 posts
Thanks Slowpoke .. its useful to plan my Day 1.
Any thoughts on the rest of the queries in my earlier post ?
Cheers,
Mahesh
72625 posts
Day 1 sounds good. I can’t tell you which route may be busier though
Day 2: Google Maps show the monument at about 15 minute walk from the train station
Day 4/5: Use the Swiss Travel Pass on day 4 to get to Schilthorn free. On day 5 either buy a Saver Day Pass: https://www.myswissalp s.com/onedaytravelpass /details or point to point tickets: https://www.myswissalp s.com/traintickets/swi tzerland
The child will need a Junior Travel Card on day 5 regardless: https://www.myswissalp s.com/juniortravelcard
Everything covered by the Swiss Travel Pass is noted here: https://www.myswissalp s.com/swisstravelpass/ validity
72625 posts
Thanks Lucas!
If i decide to spend day 5 in interlaken, could you suggest what other option do i have ?
Cheers,
Mahesh
72625 posts
If you are in Interlaken for a day , you could do pretty much any of the activities we recommend in the Jungfrau region here: https://www.myswissalp s.com/jungfrauregion/a ctivities