Advise on my 9 days Switzerland itinerary please?

Hi everyone

Me and my partner are intending to go to Switzerland next year in Jan for 9 days and I am not sure if the itinerary below would be very ideal based on the things we want to do and that the places flows well in order and I would be appreciated if you can have a look to see if it is any good and answer for is marked in BOLD/UNDERLINED words. Feel free to change anything you think is not recommended or recommended etc.

ITINERARY:

Jan 20 - Arrival Zurich Airport 10 AM, transfer to Montreux & will arrive around 1pm (not sure if it is enough time to see Chateau de Chillon & Lakeside Promenade Fleuri is possible after arrival?)? Overnight in Montreux.

Jan 21 - Transfer from Montreux to Interlaken Ost by Golden Rail Pass (GRP) @ morning. Check in hotel. I assuume we have time to go for Schilthorn excursion after that?. Overnight in Interlaken Ost

Jan 22 - Transfer from Interlaken to Lucerne Ost by GPR @ morning. Check in hotel. Excursion to Mt. Rigi (I am not sure if this excursion is possible depending when we arrive at Lucerne or it is a bit late?). Overnight in Lucerne

Jan 23 - Excursion to Mt. Titlis (morning) and Mt. Pilatus (afternoon), Overnight in Lucerne

Jan 24 - Transfer from Lucerne to Zermatt. Overnight in Zermatt. Have free day in Lucerne or Zermatt so what would you recommend to do since the day is more of a transfer

Jan 25 - Excursion to Gornergrat and Glacier Paradise. Overnight in Zermatt

Jan 26 - Glacier Express from Zermatt to St. Moritz. Overnight in St. Moritz

Jan 27 - Free morning in St. Moritz, early afternoon transfer from St Moritz to Zurich. Drop off lugagges @ hotel and then head to Bern for few hours? Back to Zurich. Overnight in Zurich

Jan 28 - Zurich touring for the final day. PS: Because 8 day swiss pass has ended, we will probably buy 1 day Zurichpass to use for Lake Zurich, Old Town (Altstadt), Uetliberg Mountain etc? I can buy the Zurich pass at the station? My flight is 7pm back home so I guess the latest we leave on the train to airport at 4pm??

I heard that from Montreux is quite a must to travel for Golden Rail Pass which we want to go for. Plus, we heard if we travel from Montreux to Zweisimmen and Interlaken to Lucerne train route, it is a VERY RECOMMENDED to travel on the 1st class and reserve on any of the very front 4 rows seats so that you can see the views not only on the window side but on the front as though you are the driver's seat. I am aware that the reservation does not start 90 days prior so we still got like a few weeks before the reservation opens. My question is....we will buy the Swiss Pass 8 days (2nd class) and if we buy/upgrade to 1st class at the station, I'd like to know how much extra will it cost for each leg between (Montreux all the way to Lucerne even though I am aware you need to change like 2 or 3 times)

Your answers and suggestions would be greatly appreciated

Thanks in advance!

On your Golden Pass question. i just did that. I had a 2nd class Swiss travel pass. And I bought the reservation online for those seats you mentioned (and they are really nice) ahead of time. You just need to upgrade to first class for the portion that you are in the panoramic train from Montreux to Zweisimmen. The rest of the ride is in 2nd class using your rail pass. And yes you change trains several times. We went to the SBB window and bought the upgrade from 2nd to 1st for just that section and paid 12 each using the rail pass discount. It seems you could have bought it on the train as well, but I wanted to have it in hand before I got on.

I found the SBB app very useful for planning the train times, platforms and changes. Never missed on connection and most of the connections were 5-9 minutes between trains.

The only other thing I can speak to is doing Mt Pilatus. We did the round trip up the cogwheel down the gondola. We were on a 8:42am train out of Lucern and not back until 2pm. Not sure you could fit Mt Titlus into that day. But that depends on how fast you move. We spent time up there hiking as we had a beautiful day.

Dear herotravel,

We have just returned from 11 days in Switzerland. This was our first time there so we do not have the great deal of experience that others on this site have. However, here are my thoughts as to some of your questions.

Jan 20. Chillion Castle requires a couple of hours. it is easy to find from Montreux train station as the bus goes right there (from the train station down the escalator to the main street), or it is a simple walk along the lake shore which is also easy to find from the train. Rent the audio for 6 CHF. Jan 21. Yes there is time to do the Schilthorn after your arrival at Interlaken Ost. Check the timetable for the ride up through Lauterbrunnen. The SBB app is invaluable in determining where and when the trains go. I recommend working with it a bit before you leave so you are comfortable with it. Even then asking at the ticket windows in any city will give you lots of help. The ticket agents were in our experience uniformly friendly and very helpful.

Jan 24. Take the tour from the Luzern TI in the train station. (It's on the street level on the Zentralstrasse side.) It leaves every morning at 9:45. Your hotel will give you a document that gets you a bit of a discount for this tour. It is not covered by any pass as I understood it. Since it appears you may be flexible check the weather in Zermatt. There are many webcams up on the mountain. That may determine whether you stay in Luzern or go to Zermatt. The flexibility based on the weather is pretty critical. We travelled only first class because of the arrangements made that allowed us an upgrade. I do not believe it is necessary on any of the trains (Glacier or Golden Pass) to be in a particular car or seat. The fact is they all have windows that give you the ability to see what is there to be seen and if it's on the other side of your car you can get up and look.

Enjoy Switzerland. it is wonderful.