6 Day trip to Switzerland,Interlaken as the base

Hello all,

I will be travelling to Switzerland with a family of 6 people (with 4 being around 68-70yrs of age). We have made Interlaken as our base and booked an apartment in Interlaken which is closer to the station and didn't want to keep changing the base with parents. We have Swiss Rail pass tickets booked as well.

Day1- We arrive Zurich in the afternoon and from there train to Interlaken reach there by 3-4pm. Take rest - am not sure if we can do anything on this day. Any suggestions are welcome please!!??

Day 2 - Visit Lucerne take day train to Lucerne - Chapel, Lucerne Lake, Dying Lion monument. If possible visit Engelberg - mt.Titlis and back to Interlaken.

Day 3 - Jungfraujoch region - need more details on planning this trip - how to plan this one and where can i book the tickets? I believe there is a cog wheel train as well. And when asked people I got a list of places to see in this region so am confused and need you to help with the same - Kleine Scheidegg, Wengen, Murren, Grindelwald.

Day 4 - Basel or Lausanne - Any other suggestions? What are the places to see in Basel?

Day 5 - Glacier Express tour - where should we start this from since our base is interlaken. We already have swiss rail pass tickets, should we book glacier express tickets as well in advance?

Day 6 - Any suggestions for this day?

Day 7 - Travel back to Zurich, flight is around 3pm.

We would like to see Interlaken locally as well, so please suggest whatever would be good. Thanks in advance,

Rgds

Aparna

Hi Aparna,

Welcome and thanks for your post! When will this trip take place?

All Jungfraujoch details can be found here: myswissalps.com/ jungfraujoch. ​I don't recommend the Glacier Express as a day trip from Interlaken. You can only do party of the route and even then it would be a very long day. Please see myswissalps.com/ glacierexpress. The Golden Pass line is a better alternative. Please see the Interlaken page for details about the town.

Thanks Arno for your reply, we will be there next month (not very far :-) )

So as I read from the link, the tickets to Jungfraujoch will be discounted since we have the swiss rail pass.

Glacier Express - we dont want the entire trip since its long, were planning only half-trip basically till Zermatt and back would that be possible?

Also, wanted to know what other cities can be covered during our stay? Bern, Basel, Lausanne?

Thanks

Aparna

Hi Aparna -

<<"can be covered during our stay">>

What do you mean by "covered."

Perhaps with people on your trip as old as I am, you might wish to go to fewer places and spend more time in each place,rather than trying to visit many places in one day.

From a base in Interlaken, you can spend a good deal of time in all of those places nearby that you mentioned. They are all good. Wengen, Männlichen, Kleine Scheidegg, Jungfraujoch (expensive train ride up there), Mürren/Schilthorn, Brienzer Rothorn Bahn(train) , The NIessen, lake boats, Hotel Giessbach, Thun, the easy walk from Lauterbrunnen to Stechelberg, Meiringen ( Aare Schlucht , Reichenbach Falls, Sherlock Holmes Museum) and more. Bern is easily accessible. Good place to go when the weather in the moutains near Interlaken are covered with clouds and fog.

However, with your expressed desires, you might consider staying in Luzern for a night or two, then going on to Interlaken.

I understand that you have booked in Interlaken, but you also express interest in going to a lot of different places. Luzern would add a lot to your journey. It would be a much better base for you if you are serious about going to all those diverse places.

Slowpoke

Sure Agree... :-) but since we have 5 days thought would plan one city per day. Will restrict Lucerne day trip to Lucerne itself. This is the tentative itinerary, would be glad if you can suggest accordingly -

Day1- We arrive Zurich in the afternoon and from there train to Interlaken reach there by 3-4pm. Take rest -am not sure if we can do anything on this day. Any suggestions are welcome please!!??

Day 2 - Lucerne and back to Interlaken. Day 3 - Jungfraujoch region Day 4 - Any one city - Basel or Lausanne - Any other suggestions? What are the places to see in Basel?Day 5 - Glacier Express tour - ​half-trip onlyDay 6 - Interlaken local (probably per you suggestion Lauterbrunnen , Thun, whatever is feasible.

Day 7 - Travel back to Zurich

Thanks

Aparna

Hi AparnaK!

On day 1, there's not that much you can do once you're in Interlaken. You could explore the town a bit, or take a short hike along on of the lake shores. You may get up to the Harder Kulm, which is certainly nice if weather is clear.

As for day 4: I'd pick a town closer to Interlaken if I were you, in order to restrict traveling times. Thun and Bern can be recommended.

The Glacier Express really isn't a good choice if you're staying in Interlaken, as Arno explained. You'd have to travel to Brig or Zermatt early to catch the train and you should get out at Andermatt (for example) to travel back in time. Did you check the timetable? Don't get me wrong, doing just a part of the Glacier Express is nice too, but in my view it's the long journey and the diversity of landscapes all the way from Zermatt to St. Moritz that is the real charm of the Glacier Express. The Golden Pass that Arno suggested makes more sense, if you're into a scenic train ride. Otherwise, pick one of the many attractions in the Jungfrau Region itself.

<<"Day 2 - Lucerne and back to Interlaken. Day 3 - Jungfraujoch region Day 4- Any one city - Basel or Lausanne - Any other suggestions? What are the places to see in Basel?Day 5 - Glacier Express tour - ​half-trip onlyDay 6 - Interlaken local (probably per you suggestion Lauterbrunnen ,Thun, whatever is feasible">>

Supporting Arno's comments, Bern could be nice for day 4. Thun is close buy and pleasant.

If you really wanted to push, the one combination of cities that could be jammed into a long day 4, picking from your original list, is Bern and Basel. Bern and Thun is much easier. Lausanne is a bit far.

The train ride from Interlaken Ost to Bern is about one hour, and the train from Bern to Basel is about one hour. Frequent service on both stretches. The trip from I.O. to Luzern is 1 hour 51 minutes, for comparison.

You are wise to leave two days for the Berner Oberland - Day's 3 and 6. They are almost the same, and you would not want to go up to Jungfraujoch on a cloudy day. The whole point is the vbiew.

So, by having two different days in the area, you can hope for good weather on at least one of them

In fact, watch the weather, and go up to JFJ on whichever day gives clear weather, then rearrange the other days.

Hello Aparnak

I agree it is better to have one base for a shortish stay and visiting Lucerne for the day is certainly feasible. The train trip from Interlaken Ost to Lucerne is scenic in itself. Catch an early train and there would be plenty of time to visit either Titlis (enter Kleintitlis as destination in timetable) or Rigi (enter Rigi Kulm). I would choose the latter as it would involve a boat trip to Vitznau, cog wheel train to summit where there are great views and you could take the other train down to Arth-Goldau then train back to Lucerne - the whole trip covered by your pass. Depending on how long you stay at the top there could be time to have a short walk around the old town of Lucerne and see the Chapel Bridge, before catching train back to Interlaken.

Other suggestions for your stay in Interlaken could include a trip from Wilderswil to Schynige Platte where there are great views and an Alpine Garden to explore. The Brienzer Rothorn Bahn from Brienz is another favourite of ours.

I don't think in such a short stay I would go to Basel or to Lausanne as they are quite a distance. I would combine a visit to Bern and then Thun and take boat ride back from Thun to Interlaken. Slowpoke has listed several other places to see in Interlaken area as well. If you want to get up into the mountains, First and Mannlichen are great options. If you go up to First your parents could rest at the top in the open air restaurant area while you take a short hike to Bachalpsee and back. It isn't a difficult trail so you could all do it if you wish. (We are now in our 70's so only do the easy walks these days!!)

Enjoy your stay.

Maggie

Thank you all for all the wonderful suggestions, this has helped me a lot in getting the right itinerary. I am still working on it though. :-)

One last piece of suggestion or recommendation - where can I book tickets for Jungfraujoch trip? Is this the right one - www.jungfrau.ch/en/som mer/start/ ? I have Swiss travel pass so which ticket shall I choose?

Also, for Golden pass I want to be able to book Interlaken - Montreaux - Interlaken. Is it possble to book a round trip? - tickets.goldenpass.ch

Also, does it make sense to make reservations now itself for my trip?

Thanks again,

Hello again Aparnak

It isn't necessary to make reservations for your trips. In fact I wouldn't make any at this stage so that you can change your plans around according to the weather. Have a list of the trips you plan to take then be flexible about the order in which you take them. It would be very expensive to go up to Jungfraujoch on a cloudy day and see no views for example. You can buy your discounted tickets by showing your pass in Interlaken or Wengen or Grindelwald depending on which route you take up - go up one way and return the other. For Montreux just board the train and show pass when requested by train staff. Use the online timetable to check train times there and back.

Enjoy your stay

Maggie