[Removed user]

22 April 2012 at 9:58:13 #805154

hi all,

I did some draft planning on 5days trip in Switzerland (in Sept 2012), appreciate any advise if the following plan is workable and suggestions to improve? I will be purchasing the Swiss Saver Pass 2 for 1 offer for the first 4 days.

Day 1 (Thur): Arrive Zurich in morning (0800) and takes train to Interlaken/Lauterbrunnen (haven’t decided which to stay) for hotel. Check-in luggage in hotel and proceed to Lake Brienz tour (1207 at Interaken OST station). Reach Brienz at 1320 and take a bus to Open Air Museum Ballenberg. Stay for 2-3 hours and come back to Brienz by bus for walk. Finally back to Interlaken via train from Brienz.

Day 2 (Fri): Take golden pass scenic train leaving Interlaken OST (0908) to Montreux (1213). Walk along the scenic path from Montreux to Chillon Castle. Come back from Chillon to Montreux by bus and take the train back from Montreux (1545) to Interlaken (1849).

Day 3 (Sat): Check if weather is good in the morning before moving up to Jungfrau. Leave from Interlaken (0705) to reach Jungfrau via Wengen at (0922). Come back from Jungfrau via Grindelwald, to reach Interlaken at 1525. Catch the glden pass train from Interlaken OST (1704) to Lucerne and check in hotel.

Day 4 (Sun): Walk around Lucerne in morning, and visit Chapel bridge, old town, sovenir shopping. Do the golden round trip to mount pilatus (start with Lucerne boat ride to Alpnachstad at 1240) and back to Lucerne later on.

Day 5 (Mon): From Lucerne, take train to Paris.

By the way, is it advisable to make reservations on the golden pass trains for Day 2 and Day 3? Any other things I need to look out for?

Thanks !

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[Annika]

24 April 2012 at 11:32:19 #835744

Hi Park65, and welcome to the forum! Your itinerary looks great. It’s doable, although day 2 will be long; but if that’s fine with you, there’s no problem at all. The advantage of your 4 day Swiss Saver Pass is that you’re very flexible. You can change plans according to weather circumstances, if that’s necessary. It’s wise indeed to check weather first before getting up to the Jungfraujoch. You can also take a look at the live cams showing the views at the top shortly before leaving. This is broadcasted through local TV stations, and can also be displayed at railway stations along the route (Interlaken, Kleine Scheidegg). The same goes for day 4: you may want to visit Pilatus first, if weather is better in the morning than in the afternoon. Just check the timetable for traveling times and connections.

If you want to travel in panoramic Golden Pass trains, yes, you do have to make seat reservations. If you’re fine with regular regional trains running along this route, seat reservations aren’t required. Both are mentioned in the timetable. You do have to add via-stations in order to get information on the Golden Pass route, as the timetable automatically comes up with the quickest routes. Enter Meiringen and Brienz as via-stations between Lucerne and Interlaken, and add Zweisimmen and Gstaad as via-stations between Interlaken and Montreux.

Our hotel pages on Interlaken and Lucerne may be convenient for you.