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First time traveling to Europe…
My wife and I will be in Switzerland for 5 Days and are looking for some travel advise. We are flying in to Zurich on June 27 and will be boarding a Viking River Boat in Basel on July 2. We already purchased the Swiss Travel Pass. We are planning on visiting the Rhine Falls and Stein am Rhein on Day 1. For Day 2 we are thinking about going to Lucerne for the day, taking the gondola up to Mt. Pilatus and possibly a boat ride on Lake Lucerne. Days 3 & 4 I’d like to visit Interlaken, go up to Jungfraujoch and possibly do (At least part of) the Glacier Express. My plan is to spend our first night in Zurich, our second night in Lucerne, our third night in Interlaken and our last night in Basel.
Any suggestions on how to get the most out of our time in Switzerland would be greatly appreciated.
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Some personal views:
The Glacier Express is not suited to a ‘short hop’ visit. It would ‘waste’ you time, which you could use to see the same mountains in other simpler ways – as you already plan to do if you are visiting Jungfraujoch and Pilatus. I recommend you concentrate on ‘there and back’ visits to mountain areas (although Jungfraujoch is a bit too much like a theme park for some people nowadays)
Rhine Falls is pleasant enough, but it is not a huge falls like Niagara or Iguazu – if that is something you want to consider.
With just a few days available, I recommend the following:
- full lake steamer journey Luzern – Fluelen and back to Luzern by train
- Luzern – Goeschenen by Treno Gottardo – then up the legendary Schollenen Gorge to Andermatt, then up to the Oberalp Pass, and return
One possible itinerary would be
Zurich Rhine Falls (1 night Zurich) then to Luzern
3 nights Luzern (days trips as above)
Luzern – Interlaken night Interlaken – mountain trip
Interlaken- Basel boat landing stage
Thanks for your reply. I thought it was going to be tough to fit the Glacier Express in to my itinerary, but was hoping to find a way. Leaving the Glacier Express off the itinerary will certainly free up our schedule.
Hello 2Sal,
That’s great you have already purchased the Swiss Travel Pass to travel whilst here.
Just in case you were not aware, you will need a ticket to visit Jungfraujoch and Mt. Pilatus though it will be discounted with your Swiss Travel Pass. More details here regarding coverage: https://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass/validity
Rhine Falls is known as the most powerful waterfall in Europe, you can read more about it here: https://www.myswissalps.com/rhinefalls
I personally enjoyed visiting Stein am Rhein, it’s a very pretty spot. Take a look at the thread below from a member, there are some photos you can view.
If you are following your above ideas (which I find are good for a first visit here ;-)). Yes, you already have quite a lot planned. Trying to fit in the Glacier Express would be tricky as you have probably discovered, in its entirety, the full route takes a day. That said, you maybe able to fit in a section. It could be a backup plan if the weather for the mountain visits are not favourable?
Here are some additional links for you, within you will find information on the towns themselves, how to get around, accommodation and activity ideas:
and whilst in Interlaken:
Do use the SBB timetable to research journey times: https://www.myswissalps.com/timetable
I hope this helps, feel free to reach out with any further questions.
Kind regards,
Yolanda
Hello 2Sal,
From Lucerne, excursions to the mountains Pilatus, Titlis, Rigi and Stanserhorn are worthwhile and offer very beautiful views. A boat trip on an old paddle steamer on Lake Lucerne is also a wonderful experience.
In the city of Lucerne there is the Gletschergarten (Glacier Garden), which is also a worthwhile sight.
– Interlaken is a good starting point for excursions to the Jungfrau and the Lauterbrunnen Valley. I can recommend some highlights in the area around Interlaken. There are: Lauterbrunnen with the waterfalls, Grindelwald First, Kleine Scheidegg, Schynige Platte, Villages of Mürren and Wengen. How about a nice train ride up the Brienzer Rothorn or a visit to the Aaareschlucht and Reichenbach Falls near Meiringen? These are also wonderful excursion destinations!
Have a great trip!
Martin
Thank you Martin.
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