9 days – Zurich – Lucerne – Zermatt – where else?

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    8 March 2018 at 8:52:10 #814668

    Hi. Planning a 10day 9 nights trip in early December. Will be arriving in and departing from Zurich.Here’s what i have planned so far :

    Zurich – 1 night (arrival)

    Lucerne – 2 nights (should i go mt pilatus, rigi or titlis?)

    Zermatt – 3 nights (2 days for ski/snowboard)

    Zurich – 1 night (departure next day)

    So i have 2 more nights. Wondering where i should go to fit in between lucerne-zermatt or zermatt-zurich.

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    rockoyster
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    8 March 2018 at 9:19:16 #878099

    Hi Bernie,

    First recommendation – unless you arrive Zurich late in the day go straight to Lucerne. It’s only 1 hour from Zurich Airport.

    Second recommendation – have a look at the Jungfrau Region.

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    8 March 2018 at 9:26:28 #878100

    Hi Bernielee68 and welcome to MySwissAlps!

    It really depends on your interests for what to add for those extra days. Certainly the Jungfrau region, as Rockoyster noted, is very popular and worth visiting – a town like Wengen is a great trip. I’d also suggest skipping Zurich unless you have specific plans for it and go straight to Lucerne – giving you more time there, the Jungfrau region, or Zermatt.

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    8 March 2018 at 11:49:40 #878101

    Thanks for your replies. I do arrive early in Zurich…. aft nearly 13 hrs of flight. So I’m not sure if we’d want to travel. Having said that, it could take another hour to get to our Zurich hotel i guess? Ok. I’ll definitely consider going to Lucerne from Zurich airport.

    As for Jungfrau region, should i make day trips from lucerne so that i dun have to move luggage around or is it better to stay a night there? And this should be before going Zermatt i suppose?

    Was wondering if i should stay 4 instead of 3 nights in Zermatt too.

    P.s. is there nothing much in Zurich? So it’s good enough to just spend a day there i.e. day before departure to fly home?

    Bernie

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    8 March 2018 at 14:39:51 #878102

    Hi Bernie,

    Zurich airport too Zurich main station is about 12/15 minutes + time to your hotel. But Lucerne is easy to reach as well and Zurich isn’t too exciting for 1st time visitors (usually). Zurich is great for shopping, restaurants and art galleries / museums.

    Lucerne to Interlaken is about 2 hours by train – so easy to do. But if you want to go into the mountains (like Jungfraujoch) you’ve got another 2 hours on that. Be sure to use the timetable for Swiss railways to plan out your trips.

    I’d go: Lucerne, Interlaken/ Jungfrau region, Zermatt and then Zurich.

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    10 March 2018 at 3:18:22 #878103

    Hi Bernie,

    >> I do arrive early in Zurich…. aft nearly 13 hrs of flight. So I’m not sure if we’d want to travel. Having said that, it could take another hour to get to our Zurich hotel i guess?

    If you arrive early, it is unlikely you will have access to your hotel room before 2-3pm anyway (although you can usually drop off your luggage). A warm and comfortable 45-minute trip to Luzern on the train is easier than wandering around Zürich in the early morning, especially as it will be freezing cold in December, and (depending on what you mean by “early”), indoor attractions may not yet be open.

    A boat trip on the Vierwaldstättersee (Lake Lucerne) might be a pleasant way to enjoy some scenic beauty without exerting yourself too much after a long flight.

    Alpenrose

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    10 March 2018 at 13:28:36 #878104

    Thanks all! With the suggestions and advice given, here’s what I’ve planned now….. (with some more qsns)

    Day 1 – stay in Lucerne. Arrive Zurich airport around 7am. Have breakfast and rest a bit before taking the train to Lucerne. Will do a few sights/attractions.

    Day 2 – stay in Lucerne. Continue on attractions and/or go Mt Pilatus/Rigi/Titlis. Any advice?

    Days 3 & 4 – stay in Grindelwald or Wengen. Haven’t decided. Any advice?

    Day 5, 6 & 7 – Zermatt. Planning to stay at a chalet that is near/in Furi. Will include skiing n snowboarding. Any idea if I’ll need to book ski rentals n ski passes in advance at that time of the year i.e. early Dec?

    Day 8 – Zurich. Eat, shop, walk around.

    Day 9 – we leave on a night flight around 10pm. So we do have nearly a day more in Zurich.

    Given thatwe’ll be travelling by train on Days 1, 3, 5 and 8 – is the Swiss Pass Flex for 4 days the best?

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    10 March 2018 at 15:58:05 #878105

    Hi Bernine,

    Looks like a good itinerary.

    Day 2: I’d choose between Pilatus or Titlis.

    Day 3/4: Wengen is the more popular choice – both are great

    Day 5: no need to book gear in advance I don’t think. A few weeks ahead would be fine if you don’t want to worry about it. 🙂

    Day 9: See what to do in Zurich here.

    You’ll probably be traveling on Day 2 as well it looks like.
    The Swiss Travel Pass also provides for free transit in towns as well (bus and boat and tram etc). and if you decide to take a trip up the Gornergrat or Klein Matterhorn in Zermatt I’d look at an 8 day Swiss Travel Pass (consecutive) as well.

    To know for sure you’ll need to plan out all your trips within Switzerland and do the math to compare various rail passes. Use our page here for help: How to choose the best rail pass. The Swiss Half Fare Card could be worth a look as well.

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    7 April 2018 at 12:17:32 #878106

    I’m back here again after taking to a couple of friends who’ve been to Switzerland. So now I’m thinking of adding in Bern and Jungfraujoch (if the weather is good, as advised in this forum to check before buying tickets).

    I’m not sure if these additions will make my itinerary too packed. So would like advice on whether i should go to Bern:

    1) from Lucerne on day 2 – which might mean giving up Mt Pilatus cos i don’t think i could cover both in a day? Or should i go Pilatus on day 1 (But that’s the day we arrive aft long flight)

    2) from Lucerne on day 3 before going to Wengen. Spend a few hours there then go to Wengen. Would there be lockers to keep medium-sized suitcases at the train station in Bern?

    3) from Wengen on day 4 (But might mean skipping jungfraujoch OR i do jungfraujoch on day 5 before going to Zermatt)

    Hope that doesn’t sound confusing!

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    7 April 2018 at 13:22:44 #878107

    Hi Bernie,

    It is tough to do it all unfortunately!

    1. Well it is up to you whether you can do it all in one day. Plan for 2 hours to Pilatus and maybe 2 hours at the top – then down to Luzern and then to Bern – long day but doable if you just want a few hours in Bern.
    2. Yes, this might make the most sense if your only plan that day is to just get to Wengen at some point. Yes there are lockers for you at Bern
    3. I’d leave both Day 4 and 5 open for Jungfraujoch and weather issues. Go with point 2 I think.
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    11 April 2018 at 5:30:36 #878108

    Hi again. Will be taking Lucas’ advice 2 and 3. But as i was using the rail pass calculation sheet and checking how to get from Wengen to Zermatt, I realised I’d have to change trains 4 times!

    As much as Wengen sounds so nice, I’m wondering if i should change to stay in Interlaken instead (though i recall some comments abt Interlaken not being as interesting?)

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    11 April 2018 at 6:03:33 #878109

    Well, you’ll still have 2 changes from Interlaken….what about Lauterbrunnen and split the difference? 3 changes to Zermatt but a much prettier setting than Interlaken. 🙂

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    11 April 2018 at 8:47:13 #878110

    >> checking how to get from Wengen to Zermatt, I realised I’d have to change trains 4 times!

    Don’t worry, it will be a doddle 🙂 You won’t have to negotiate any steps to transfer between platforms with your luggage.

    • Lauterbrunnen and Interlaken Ost are very small stations, and have ramps to assist you with transferring between platforms.
    • Spiez is a straightforward transfer from one side of the platform to the other.
    • Visp has ramps as well.

    Attached is a view that you get in Wengen. You won’t get anything like that in Interlaken 😉

    Alpenrose

    rockoyster
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    11 April 2018 at 9:44:38 #878111

    Doddle? Is the OP Antipodean?

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    11 April 2018 at 9:48:02 #878112

    Many thanks. You guys are fast and good! I’ll decide between Wengen and Lauterbrunen then….

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