9 days in Switzerland late May advice needed

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    15 March 2019 at 2:58:07 #820400

    Reading through your site and forums, I finally settled for below itinerary. This is entirely by car and using half fare and family card. We are a family with one 15 year old.

    Please do let me know if it doable considering it is last week of May. Thanks in advance for your help.

    • May 25 – Reach Zurich Airport at 2pm. Stay local with city site seeing and Zürich Opera (night – Zurich)
    • May 26 – Start early, drive to Appenzell – Ebanelp, Seealpsee, drive to Stoos and Weggis (night at Weggis – Lucerne)
    • May 27 – Mt. Rigi, boat ride to Lucerne – City walk – site seeting (night in Weggis)
    • May 28 – Lucerne – Mountain pass drive – Meiringen – Aare Gorge – Susten Pass – Gotthard Pass – Furka Pass – Grimsel Pass – (night Wengen) if mountain pass are not open – do Bern/ St. Beatus Caves
    • May 29 – Travel to Lauterbrunnen/ Wengen – St Beatus Caves, Staubbach Falls, Trummelbach, Murren, Grutschalp (night Wengen) local valley walks
    • May 30 – Jungfrau region (Jungfraujoch) (night Wengen)
    • May 31 – Early Morning Travel to Zermatt via – Blausee, Kandersteg – Oeschinensee Lake – in Zermatt – Gornergrat, local (night Zermatt)
    • Jun 01 – By car drive to Montreux, Gruyeres – Chateau de TourBillion, Valere Basillica (Sion), Fairy Caves of Saint-Maurice on the way, Lavaux Vineyards, Chillon Castle (night – Saint Saphorin)
    • Jun 02 – La Gruyeres chocolate factory, cheese factory, castle or just Geneva city (night at Geneva airport hotel)
    • Jun 03 – Fly out from Geneva early morning
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    16 March 2019 at 15:55:19 #906529

    Hi Ni3m,

    It seems your itinerary is coming together nicely!

    Having an overall look at your itinerary, it seems doable, however you should calculate the time needed between each location to ensure you’re ok with the travel times. I use google maps when I’m driving but I’m sure there are other route planners as well. Be sure to check this section on our site too: http://www.myswissalps.com/ca r

    May 26th, May28th, May29th and June 1st look a little bit packed to me unless you will only drive through those areas. If not it is worth checking the length of stay available at each destination to check it’s enough time to do all the places justice.

    On June 2nd I would personally prioritise Gruyeres over Geneva 🙂

    Please find below links to all your destinations for further reading:

    Hope this helps your planning and have a wonderful trip!

    Maria.

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    17 March 2019 at 3:05:44 #906530

    Thank you Maria, appreciate your help. I know some of the days are packed and we won’t be able to do all on a given day. I I have few follow up questions:

    1) will mountain passes (Furka, Susten, Gotthard and Grimsel) be open by 27-28 May?

    2) will Mannlichen to Klein Scheidegg trail be open by 28-29 May?

    3) in your experience is Ebenalp to Seealpsee an easy to moderate trail and will it be open about 25 May or so?

    4) is it worthwhile to visit Stoos, especially when we are planning to visit Appenzell, Lauterbrunnen, Wengen Mürren and similar other places?

    thanks in advance for the help,

    regards, Nitin

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    17 March 2019 at 9:52:15 #906531

    Hello Nitin,

    I hope you’re all exited planning you trip to Switzerland!

    Here some answers to your above questions:

    1) The mountain passes have general opening seasons, which you can check in below link, but of course it does always depend on the current weather and especially snow situation.
    http://www.myswissalps.com/ca r/trafficinfo

    Also it is advisable to keep an eye on the weather generally:
    http://www.myswissalps.com/we ather/forecast

    2) The hike should be open but do check the weather upon arrival as well as the amount of snow in order to get an idea of what to expect.
    http://www.myswissalps.com/hi king/maennlichen-kleinescheidegg/

    3) I personally don’t know that hike but from what I can see on their webpage the cable car is running and the hike should also be available.
    http://www.ebenalp.ch/en/summ er/hiking-map

    4) This is a hard to answer question, as you need to decide how much travelling and different destinations you want to include in your itinerary. The Stoos funicular is definitely worth an experience, but as you say, you will be visiting so many wonderful places…
    Here some interesting facts that might help you find and answer:
    stoos-muotatal.ch/en/facts-about-the-new-funicular-railway/

    Happy planning, we’re here for any further input you might need.

    Best,
    Steph

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    25 March 2019 at 17:38:39 #906532

    Hi Maria,

    i know some of the days look packed and I’m sure I won’t be able to cover all, but depending in weather, possibilities of mountain passes being open, I will choose which ones are doable on a particular day.

    By the way, i read through other blogs that May typically is a wet month and will be very muddy with melting ice. It is also a month where Zermatt is mostly closed. Is it worth visiting Zermatt in that case? Else I am thinking of extending a day in Wengen itself. What’s your view?

    a slightly unrelated question – what are your views on Zurich Opera House? Any feedback?

    Regards, Nitin

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    25 March 2019 at 17:39:39 #906533

    Thanks a lot Steph, appreciate your inputs. Cheers, Nitin

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    26 March 2019 at 11:29:15 #906534

    Hello Nitin,

    Regarding the month of your visit, it can be a bit an in between season in the mountains but not at all an entirely dead month. You will find Zermatt quiet but not closed and still worth visiting.

    Check this link for overall information:
    http://www.myswissalps.com/be sttimetovisit

    Regarding the Zurich Opera House, it is a quite a famous Opera and located beautifully on the shore of the lake of Zurich.
    I’m not sure though if you’re asking about sightseeing or visiting the Opera, as in audience.

    Best,
    Steph

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