7 Days Switzerland trip report – September end

OMG I am still in Switzerland, though not physically.. 🙂 Couldn’t get my mind out of the greenery and scenic mountains of this heavenly beauty..

Our trip was for 8 days out of which 6.5 days in Switzerland and 1.5 days in Paris ( 15th September to 22nd September )

I will try to keep this post short and relevant. But I will upload a detailed trip report later on this forum.

We chose our base to be Lucerne (2.5 Days) and Wengen (3.5 Days) and purchased a 8 Days Swiss travel pas<strong>s </strong>online which was very helpful as we traveled worry-free for tickets.

We booked our stay in Airbnb and all our stays were awesome. One thing to note is we have booked our stay, flights and rail passes, 3 months in advance so we got our bookings at a good bargain.

All in all, the trip was superb and everything went as per our plan, though we once had to follow our plan B since the weather gods were not in our favour for 2 days.

Me and my wife started our Journey from India(Mumbai) -> Zurich by Etihad Airways ( Nice, comfortable and Economic)..Reached at 7 AM morning.

Itinerary we followed :

Day1 (Friday) -> 7 AM at Zurich airport -> Train to Luzern at 8.30 -> Early check in Lucerne and Went for Mt Pilatus trip. We took the Golden Round trip (but in the reverse direction so that we can enjoy the late afternoon time on Lake Lucerne). Started at 11.30 AM from our hotel and returned at 5.30 PM to Lucerne. The weather was partly cloudy. Enjoyed our trip wholly and in the evening strolled the beautiful city of Lucerne.

Day 2 -> Early train to Engelberg for Mount Titlis, weather was good but tuned foggy soon after we reached so couldn’t do Iceflyer. One recommendation would be to keep a jacket handy as the weather varies from base to mountain tops. So gloves, caps and jackets should be carried. We strolled the beautiful Engelberg and had some snacks in a small park near to the station. Returned Lucerne in the evening and had a good sleep after walking the streets of Lucerne in the evening and visiting the Lion Monument and Chappel Bridge.

Day 3 Sunday -> Got up early and went Mt Rigi, took the Classic Round trip and I must say the Cable car ride from Kaltbad to Weggis while returning was mind blowing. Reached Lucerne, collected our luggage from Hotel and boarded the 2.05 PM train to Interlaken via Luzern Interlaken express ( Golden Pass Line – part1) : Luzerne ->Interlaken -> Wengen. Checked in Wengen and roamed around the beautiful town on the mountains for 1 hour and slept.

Day 4 -> Started for Schilthorn. Wengen->Lauterbrunen->Grutschalp->Murren. But once we reached Murren the person in the ticket booking counter suggested bad weather on top of mountain so we returned from there and did the highlight of the trip..”Paragliding”. It was so exciting that it can only be experienced and not explained. My wife was very hesitant to do it initially but thank god she did it and was super happy after that.Then we went to Trummelbach falls and walked from there to Lauterbrunnen which I think everybody should do. The path is super flat and cows grazing with the big bells just adds to the beauty. We moved to Interlaken and took the boat to lake Brienz. Enjoyed some time on the lake and returned to Wengen by Train.

Day 5 Tuesday -> Did the Panoramic Walk from Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg. It took us 2 hours to complete the same since we stopped a lot for photos. It started snowing during our walk and that was fun though we couldn’t see the mountains which was the reason for doing the walk. From KS we went to Interlaken and then to Bern and then Geneva. Just covered the famous Jet DEau in Geneva and walked few metres here and there in both the cities. Bern is a beautiful city and we wish we had more time to spend there.

Day 6 Wednesday -> Again went for the Schilthorn trip but because of bad weather had to return again from Murren. Went straight to Schynige Platte. The train journey is superb with views of both Lake Brienz and Lake Thun. The jounery was as if straight out from a fairy tale as it suddenly snowed and the greenery turned half white after a long tunnel. You just need to absorb these views as much as you can. Enjoyed some time on the top and then went to Interlaken for a local city walk. Returned hotel a bit early as had to pack our stuff since we were checking out next day at 4.30 AM.

Day 7 -Boarded the 6 AM train to Interlaken and went to Paris. Route we followed is Wengen -> Interlaken -> Spiez -> Zweisimmen -> Montreux ->.Laussane -> Paris ( Part 2 of the Golden Route and the route is absolutely stunning till Lausanne)

We bid our last goodbye to Switzerland on this route and with memory of lifetime reached Paris at 4 PM..

Few tips :

1) Get a local sim in Switzerland ( probably of Salt ) as you would need internet connectivity to check connecting trains and buses time to time, live weather in mountains etc.

2) Download and Install SBB app on your mobile as it helps you immensely in planning your travel in Switzerland. Check whatever route you want to take from Point A to Point B and put the intermediate station in VIA option available in the app.

3) Get a Swiss travel pass as it help you avoid unnecessary hustle of booking tickets from point to point and save you a lotttttt of time. Of course, first do your calculation if you would actually need it.

4) Always plan you trip in such a way that you have a plan B for each day, as you never know what the weather could be on top of the mountains..

Switzerland is a dream place to visit so have a wonderful trip ahead…

And lastly I cannot thank enough to this forum for my trip, since I have got all the help I possibly could which has helped me plan my trip A to Z..Thank you guys..Keep up the good work.