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Planning second trip to Switzerland with my wife and 19 yr old son.
In my first visit, had covered Geneva, Chamonix, Gstaad, Jungfraouch.
This time coming for 5 nights/6 days in the first week of June. Please help plan my itinerary. Following is my draft:
Day 1. Land in Geneva around 11 am. Rent a Car and see Montreux, Vevey and Lausanne area and stay in Lucerne
Day 2. Visit Mt. Rigi or Mt. Pilatus and stay overnight in Lucerne.
Day 3. Visit Stanserhorn and depart for BO.
Day 4. Visit Zermatt/ Gornergrat/ Matterhorn Paradise. Stay overnight in Zermatt or return to BO.
Day 5. Do Sky Diving and Visit Mt.Titlis. Overnight in BO.
Day 6. Visit Schiltron/Murren/ Trummelbach falls and depart for Geneva to catch 6 pm flight to Paris.
Have following queries:
- Please let me know if above itinerary OK and where to stay in BO. Whether stay in Zermatt or return to BO on day 4?
- What to do Mt. Rigi or Mt. Pilatus?
- Best place to do skydiving?
- From which company to rent a car from and to Geneva Airport? Whether Car driving safe andeasy on selected routes?
Hope to get some suggestions to plan trip in a perfect way.
Thanks.
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OPTION 2
Day 1. Land in Geneva from Nice around 11 am. Rent a Car and see Montreux, Vevey and Lausanne area and stay in BO
Day2. Give the rental car back. Have access to 4 days Swiss Regular Pass. Visit Zermatt/ Gornergrat/ Matterhorn Paradise. Return to BO for overnight stay
Day 3. Visit Mt. Titlis. Overnight stay in BO.
Day 4. Do sky diving. Visit Schiltron/Murren/ Trummelbach falls and take train to Lucerne and stay overnight there.
Day 5. Visit Mt. Rigi or Mt. Pilatus. Rent a car for next day. Stay Overnight Lucerne.
Day 6. Visit Stanserhorn by car and depart for Geneva by car to take 6 pm light back to Paris.
Have following queries:
1.Please let me know if above itinerary OK and where to stay in BO.
2. Whether stay in Zermatt or return to BO on day 4?
3.What to do Mt. Rigi or Mt. Pilatus?
4.Best place to do skydiving?
5. From which company to rent a car from and to Geneva Airport?
6. Whether Car driving safe andeasy on selected routes?
Hope to get some suggestions to plan trip in a perfect way.
Thanks.
Hi rnmotwani,
Let’s look into your questions:
1. It’s quite a lot for the limited time you have. It’s doable if you don’t mind doing quick visits to the various towns and attractions. Do keep in mind that visiting mountains (e.g. Zermatt) requires good weather.
Personally, I would not rent a car and take an 8-day Swiss Travel Pass instead of a 4-day pass. It’s CHF 110 extra per person, but I don’t think you’re saving money by renting a car twice. Plus, you don’t get discounts on cable cars (day 6) if you don’t have a rail pass. The train is more relaxed, and you can travel on the beautiful Golden Pass line on day 1, instead of driving.
Note that you can save money by buying your pass online instead of in Switzerland. Prices and points of sale are listed here.
2. A day trip can be done as long as the weather is fine and you depart early.
3. Please see the Mount Rigi page and Mount Pilatus page to make a choice.
4. Please see this thread.
5. Please check http://www.easycar.com for affordable rates from the major companies. I don’t have a preference.
6. The main roads in Switzerland are fine. Driving in the mountains requires some skills. Please see the car section for all details about traffic rules, required driving skills, etc.
Thanks for your mail.
Hope I have not crammed too much in my itinerary like too many mountain excursions. You can advise which one to skip and add some other place instead.
Will go with your advise for 8 days swiss pass instead of rent car. Baggage was a big hurdle to and from airport and sight seeing on the way.
Can you suggest some accommodation in BO . Grindelwald might be good option. Else Interlaken OST.
Is Mt. Pilatus advisable in summer due to rocky terrain. Also foggy weather might spoil it. Please advise. Else will go Mt. Rigi which is free of charge too.
Thanks once again . Will wait for your soonest reply.
One more question:
On day 6, do you suggest a TGV from Bern to Geneva for 6 pm flight to Paris. Will be staying in Lucerne on day 5.
Thanks
Hi rnmotwani,
Whether it is too much is really a personal decision. Your plans would be too much for some people, but if you want to see a lot it can be done and there’s nothing wrong with it. The train traveling can be a joy in itself, but you’d better check the timetable to see if your plans fit your personal travel pace. Basically, all Swiss regions offer enough to do for a week or more, so from that perspective there’s no need to travel a lot. But you can do so if you wish to see various areas.
Note that there’s a baggage service you may want to use: myswissalps.com/train/luggage
Mount Rigi and Pilatus are both worth it, but very different as you can see on the pages I linked to. Fog can spoil either visit; you can only know for sure on the day itself. Make sure to watch the weather forecast the prior evening, check again the next morning, and then decide.
Hand picked hotels can be found on the Interlaken page and Grindelwald page.
Actually a flight from Geneva to Paris really isn’t the best way to get there. There are comfortable high speed trains from Geneva to Paris. But, being based in Lucerne, traveling via Geneva is a huge detour. You can simply take a train to Basel at the Swiss border. This is free with your pass. Then board a high speed TGV Lyria train to Paris there. The whole trip takes about 4.5 hours. It’s quicker and more enjoyable than flying. For the best price you need to get the ticket from Basel to Paris soon, as you can see on the linked page.
Hi Arno!
Thanks for your quick reply.
I have already booked return flight from Geneva to Paris . So will have to travel back to Geneva from Lucerne.
Should I take direct train from Lucerne or from Bern to Geneva?
Regards…
Hi,
That’s too bad! Well, on the positive side, now you can see more of Switzerland. You can enter Lucerne to Geneva airport in the timetable link I gave you. It takes 3 hours with the direct train.
FINAL ITINERARY after all your suggestions.
Day 1. Land in Geneva from Nice around 11 am. Take a train to Zermatt. Stay Overnight there.
Day2. Zermatt/ Gornergrat/ Matterhorn Paradise. Return to Lucerne for overnight stay.
Day 3. Visit Mt. Titlis. Overnight stay in Lucerne.
Day 4. Visit Mt. Rigi or Mt. Pilatus. Leave for Grindelwald and stay overnight there.
Day 5. Do sky diving. Visit Schiltron/Murren/ Trummelbach falls and stay overnight in Grindelwald.
Day 6. Visit Stanserhorn and depart for Geneva by train to take 6 pm flight back to Paris.
Please let me know if more fine tuning required.
Thanks once again.
Sorry. Will have to skip Stanserhorn since its in Lucerne area.
And on day 6 will take golden pass route to cover Laussanne Vevey Montreux on the way to Geneva.
Regards
Sounds good to me! If the weather cooperates you’ll see a lot of Switzerland.
Have a wonderful trip! A trip report would be very welcome!
Dear Arno,
Sorry to trouble you again . Hope to be my last query…………
This is my FINAL ITINERARY after all your suggestions.
Day 1. Land in Geneva from Nice around 11 am. Take a train to Zermatt. Stay Overnight there.
Day2. Zermatt/ Gornergrat/ Matterhorn Paradise. Return to Lucerne for overnight stay.
Day 3. Visit Mt. Rigi or Pilatus. Mostly Mt. Rigi.Overnight stay in Lucerne.
Day 4. Visit Mt. Titlis. Leave for Wengen from Titlis and stay overnight in Wengen.
Day 5. Do sky diving. Visit Schiltron/Murren/ Trummelbach falls and stay overnight in Wengen.
Day 6. Do Paragliding and depart for Geneva by train to take 6 pm flight back to Paris.
I just want to know which swiss travel pass should I buy and for how many days. I was thinking of 8 days regular pass which is costing around 290 Euros per person but I am not sure whether its the right choice. Or should I go for half fare? For how many days? I want to avoid calculations in detail. I want to save maximum here and enjoy more adventure activities instead.
From your vast experience and detailed itinerary , I am sure you can tell me just like that.
I need to order urgently. Will appreciate your quickest reply.
Thanks and regards,
rnmotwani
Hi rnmotwani,
No trouble at all! An 8-day Swiss Travel Pass is fine and it’s what I would prefer with your busy schedule. Even Mount Rigi is included for free, as well as the boats on the lake there, and the cable cars to Mürren, so it’s really convenient to just hop on and off. Whether the Swiss Half Fare Card is cheaper should be calculated, there’s no other way to be sure of that. There is a one-month version only.
The 8-day pass is currently INR 20487 (€ 287) if you order via your local reseller at raileurope.co.in/ pass/swiss-pass. The pass for your son is cheaper as he qualifies as Youth. Perhaps you can get an additional discount: raileurope.co.in/ deals/article/ exclusive-discount-off.
By the way, your day 5 looks really busy. I’m not sure if it’s possible to go sky diving and visit 3 sites in one day. I suppose it depends on how long sky diving takes.
Thanks Arno for your mail and suggestions.
Day 5 skydiving starts at 8.30 am and will finish by 11.30 max. We are just going to watch son do sky diving.
Then I have remaining day to visit 3 sites mentioned. Hope all are near each other and would complete before last train from Schiltron.
Also, while returning from Interlaken OST to Geneva on June 6 , was not able to book Golden Pass line for 11 am to 12 noon slot as flight at 6 pm from Geneva. Should I take any other train which will give me good views of Montreux ? Which via route you suggest if I look into SBB site?
Thanks and regards,
rnmotwani
Hi rnmotwani,
You don’t need to book the Golden Pass line. Simpy board and show your Swiss Travel Passes upon request. So it won’t be a problem to travel via that route. Please see here for details.
Day 5 might be doable if you go straight to the Schilthorn (mind the spelling if you enter it in the timetable), then down for the Trümmelbach Falls (open to 5 PM, or 6 PM in July and August).
Hi Arno,
Thanks for your previous mail.
If you see from my itinerary on day 4, I am leaving Luzerne and visiting Mt Titlis on my way to overnight stay in Wengen.
Where should I drop my luggage? Do they have facility at Engelberg? What do you suggest?
Thanks and regards,
rnmotwani
sbb.ch/en/station-services/am-bahnhof/railway-stations/bahnhof-finden.posid. 8399.html
If that does not take you to Engeleberg, work from that web site page and insert the city name.
Thanks Annika!
As you can see on my itinerary, I have some free time in Lucerne on day 2 and day 3.
Can you suggest some local must sight seeing and good restaurants in Lucerne ?
Thanks and regards,
rnmotwani
There are some good ideas here:
http://www.myswissalps.com/lu cerne/activities
I would add the Bourbaki Panorama.
If you like museums, the Rosengart Collection has a whole room full of Klee’s, and the Picasso museum in the old city is small and very nice.
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