8 day Switzerland trip from Milan to Geneva

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    13 June 2018 at 2:01:11 #816615

    Hi, We are flying into Milan from US on August 7. We plan to fly out from Milan or Geneva on Aug 16. Can someone please confirm if the trip I planned is good and suggest changes? Once I have the route finalized I will have to book hotels/chalets.

    We will be celebrating my husband’s 50th birthday and prefer to be in Jungfruajoch or Geneva on August 14.

    August 8 – Arrive in Milan. Spend Aug 8 & 9

    August 9 – leave to Lugano. I thought Como but heard traveling to Lugano is better.

    August 10 -Spend in Lugano and leave to St. Moritz

    August 11 – spend in St. Moritz area

    August 11 night leave to Lucerne

    August 12 – Bern area back to Lucerne

    August 13 – Is it worth going to Zurich to see the Rhine falls or should we just spend time in Lucerne

    August 13 night – travel to interlaken or closest point to Junfraujoch so we can go to the mountain early.

    August 14 – Jungfraujoch – Leave to Geneva in the evening

    August 15 – Geneva

    August 16 – fly out

    We are missing our Zermatt. Is that OK? Should we not stay in Milan and use an extra day in Lucerne & Geneva?

    We are a family of 4. Kids are 12 & 16.

    Thanks a lot. I cant wait to be done planning the route and booking accomodation and activities

    I am sure this question was asked several times. Really appreciate your patience in answering this.

    Thank you

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    13 June 2018 at 4:11:30 #888169

    I am guessing you are traveling by train as the distances will take too long to drive.

    A Swiss family pass will allow your 12 year old to travel for free. I have only been to the Junfraujoch area about 5 times, once with elderly parents, once with a Girl Scout troop of 14 year olds, and other trips with my family. My first impression of your plan is that it is so much traveling and moving every night to a new hotel might wear you out.

    Is there a possibility of concentrating on the Bernese Oberland area as there would be plenty to do in the area between Interlaken and Jungfrau. Interlaken is a city on the lake, and there are lots of villages and activities in between the city and the mountaintop. The train trip up to Jungfraujoch is discounted (with a some rail passes), if you take the first train up. You can catch the train from many villages along the route–the farther up you start, the cheaper and shorter the trip up to the top .

    You can stay in the valley–in Lauterbrunnen–or part way up the mountain in a car free village like Wengen.

    I love Wengen. Wengen offers shops, a Co-op grocery, restaurants, a community center that has programs about the culture of the area, lots of rental properties for short stays and hotels and is accessed by train. From Wengen there is the cable car to Mannlich, then down to Gimmelwald. Beautiful views!

    There is the Bernese Oberland Area train pass or the Jungfrau Travel Pass which allows free/discounted travel on trains, cable car trips, discount to Jungfraujoch, buses, etc. They have a three day pass and you could plan your time to make maximum use. Jungfrau .ch is the site. For example–the 5 day pass is also good for free tickets on the boats you can catch in Interlaken for a cruise around the lake and perhaps some stops to see other towns. Trummelbach Falls can be accessed from Lauterbranen by taking the bus a very short ride and very easy to locate. The falls are inside the mountain!

    Take the cable and funicular up to Murren–opposite side of the valley from Wengen. Murren is another car free village. From Murren it is a flat level short walk to the cable car that takes you to Schilthorn–rotating restaurant from 007 movie. Could be foggy or a beautiful view depending on the snow cover and temperature. Have a meal, and walk or take cable to village of Gimmelwald–Heidi like area–beautiful views, ability to purchase eggs and cheese from the residents to cook when you get back to your chalet. Another no -car, very small village.

    Milan is a big city; the church and the Last Supper are definitely worth seeing, but I think if you focus on covering less ground, you will have a more relaxing trip and still be able to see a lot. Trying to find your way around a big city when you only have a day is difficult. If you are traveling by train, then you are talking about taking your luggage on and off the train, getting to a hotel to drop the luggage off so you can sight see, trying to get oriented in the city you are in, then packing up and going to the next town. Imagine pulling into a big US city on the train, having to load your luggage into a taxi (unless you are backpacking), head to a hotel to drop it off, then figure out what you can see in the few hours you have, crash, catch another train in the am….I get tired just thinking about it.

    My advice would be to pick 3 places to “park” and take day trips from this base. You can fly into Milan and head to Lugano immediately–skip the city of Milan this trip. And then another base in Bernese Oberland area, and then one in a city where you can explore in more depth for a couple of nights.

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    13 June 2018 at 13:51:48 #888170

    Hi mandulap,

    A few links to help with your planning:

    Choosing between Milan and Lucerne or Zermatt is a personal choice. Aslorilythfrantz says, it is a big city – are you looking for that or more mountain experiences?

    I’d also try to reduce the amount of times you move hotels/towns. Cutting out St. Moritz will make your trip a lot easier. You can take the Gotthard Panoramic Express from Lugano to Lucerne. https://www.myswissalp s.com/gotthardpanorama express.

    I’d not worry much about Zurich, Geneva or the Rheinfalls (https://www.myswissalp s.com/rheinfall) – use those days in Lucerne or near Jungfraujoch (Lauterbrunnen for example) or add in Zermatt.

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