First time traveling to Europe! Need help

Hello All,

We are (Me &Wife) first time traveler to Europe and plan 10 days trip to Europe. My trip starts from Zurich. I am planning traveling on August 24 (Peak Season).

we are planning staying 5 days in Switzerland (Interlaken) and visit (Mt Schilthormbain, Mt. Titlis, Luceren, Jungfrau ,engelberg, Latterburmen,Grindelwald (if time permit).

Questions#1: Do you think we can visit all these places in 5 days? What are the main attractions we should cover?

Question#2: What is the best mode to travel around the city (InterLaken) and from interlaken to all above mentioned places? Which travel pass should I buy?

Day 6: we are planning to go to Paris from Interlaken and just to see Eiffel tower and few streets. Should we take train or fly? pls help

Day 8: we will be flying to Venice from paris and staying there for 2 days only. We will be back to Chicago from Venice.

What do you guys suggest? Does this plan looks reasonable? Any suggestion is welcome

Btw...this would be our honeymoon trip to Europe :)

Thank you

Hi dyec125,

Congratulations on your upcoming marriage! The basics of your plan will work, but I'd recommend to change the order of towns: start in Paris and take a train to Switzerland from there. Lucerne is a good first base town. No need to go through Zurich. Then move to Interlaken or any of the smaller towns in the region. Finally take a train to Venice. This order saves you time, it prevents an additional flight, and you will see more.

An 8-day Swiss Travel Pass would cover you from the Swiss/French border to the Swiss/Italian border. It also includes buses within Interlaken, but it's a small town and you can get around on foot. You probably won't spend much time in town anyway, as there's not much to see and do. The highlights are in the surrounding region, not in town. But before picking a pass you first need to finalize your itinerary, and then check these instructions.

How to get from A to B can be found in the timetable. Be sure to spell locations correctly: it's Luzern (or Lucerne in English), Schilthorn, Jungfraujoch, Lauterbrunnen.

Have fun planning!

Hi dyec125,

Congrats on your wedding and hope you have a lovely trip in Europe. Me and my wife are also travelling in 2 weeks time (mid April) for 15 days to Europe and yes, just as Arno suggested you should plan the same way (if not already booked). We will be travelling from India to Paris (6 days), Paris to Geneva (via the TGV Lyria to the border station of Geneva or Basel). You can book your tickets here : www.tgv-lyria.com/en. And again from Lucern to Milan & Rome (www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en). That ways its easier and faster.

For 5 days in Switzerland you can either :

a) Book the 4-day Swiss Travel Pass and book point-to-point tickets for the 5th day OR

b) Book the 8-day Swiss Travel Pass.

During the peak seasons, point-to-point tickets can be quite expensive depending on how far and where you travel but then its upto you to figure out if you will be spending similar amount in point-to-point ticket as for a 8-day pass instead of 4-day.

The Swiss Travel Pass will give you free travel in majority of the trains, buses, boats and free entry to museums (www.swissrailways.com/ en/node/66). Details on how to use the pass can be found here (www.myswissalps.com/ swisstravelpass/howtou se).

Titlis : You can read all details at www.titlis.ch/en OR at www.myswissalps.com/ titlis

Jungfrau : You can read all details at www.jungfrau.ch/ en/tourism OR at www.myswissalps.com/ jungfraujoch

The Swiss Travel Pass will also provide you 50% discounted tickets for the mountain trains in Titlis (cable cars, Rotair and Chairlift) and 25% discounts for the mountain trains in Jungfrau (Lauterbrunnen to Jungfrau or Grindelwald to Jungfrau section)

If possible split up your 10 days more or less equally between the 3 countries since Paris has a lot to see and not just the Eiffel Tower. At least you could see the Disneyland or the Louvre Museum too (Monalisa painting) if not anything else.

This forum has tons of info on planning a Swiss trip, places, where & how to book. You can go through them all as you have lots of time but being peak season you should try to book as much in advance as possible.

Thank you guys...

My trip is not booked yet but I would do it in couple of days.Yes it makes sense to land Paris first and then move to other locations.

sskundu: Thanks for your advise. Yes, I can equally divide the days and visit some specific places in Switzerland (Mt Titlis, Jungfrau, Schilthorn) only. I like your itinerary as well. I have seen Disney in USA, but yes I can stay more. Can you share which hotel you booked in Paris or in Swiss? that's the another pain... Somebody suggested me to go only for B&Bs, not sure which one...

Arno: as you mentioned that "A 8-day Swiss Travel Pass would cover you from the Swiss/French border to the Swiss/Italian border". will it valid in Paris or in Italy also? Do you have any idea how to travel in Paris or in Italy? Do I need to buy separate passes or I can use my swiss rail pass? (Stupid questions though lol)

Yes you are correct, I need to spell the correct locations :)

Thank you guys

As you will be travelling a lot, perhaps you would consider combining your trip to Jungfraujoch with a delightful short walk. You could go immediately after breakfast from Interlaken to Wengen (free with your Swiss Pass). Then cable car from Wengen to Männlichen (half price discount). Then spectacular walk Männlichen to Kleine Scheidegg (approximately 1 hour). Train from Kleine Scheidegg to Jungfraujoch return. Then back to Interlaken via Grindelwald. You can spend time at both Jungfraujoch and Grindelwald. That would be a very pretty trip.

Have a wonderful honeymoon!

Hey dyec125,

I know it can be overwhelming to book a first time trip. I was (and somewhere still am) in your shoes until a month ago. LOL.

In ref. to what Minnie wrote about the train to Jungfrau, you can take a train from Interlaken OST (not Interlaken West) to Lauterbrunnen BUT your Swiss Pass covers you for free till Wengen (a stop after Lauterbrunnen). You can buy your Wengen to Jungfrau tickets (via Klein Scheidegg) at Interlaken OST or Lucern or any other station which would be 25% discounted. The alternative route is Interlaken OST to Grindelwald (Free) and then the discounted ticket from Grindelwald to Jungfrau. You can go up via one route and return via the other but note that Grindelwald route is more expensive than the Wengen route.

1. Gridenwald - Jungfrau - Grindelwald : CHF 184 p.p (apply a 25% on this price)

2. Gridenlwald - Jungfrau - Wengen (or the reverse) : CHF 177 p.p (apply a 25% on this price)

3. Wengen - Jungfrau - Wengen : CHF 170 p.p (apply a 25% on this price)

You can find all the pricing and discounts at www.jungfrau.ch/en/tou rism

Regarding your Paris stay, you can book any hotels or B&B. For Paris I am staying in Adagio Access Paris Asnieris hotel while in Swiss and Rome I will be putting up at B&B but it all depends upon your budget and choice. Pricing near the city center (zone 1) in Paris tends to be higher than in other zone. For both Paris and Italy you have separate passes for free transport and entries but unfortunately this is not the forum for other places so I am a bit hesitant in writing the details here :-)

Hi dyec125,

Please download the map from myswissalps.com/ swisstravelpass/ validity so you can check what's included in the Swiss Travel Pass.

For Paris and Italy you need different products. As sskundu says, MySwissAlps is about Switzerland so we can't provide details on those. Here are a few links to get started though:

• myswissalps.com/ traintickets/france
• myswissalps.com/ traintickets/italy
• eurail.com/eurail-passes/one-country-pass/italy
• getyourguide.com/paris -l16/paris-sightseeing-pass-bonus-attractions-transport-t4521/
• viator.com/tours/Paris /Paris-Pass/d479-2036PARIS

You can drop me a direct message at sskundu (@) icloud.com and I may be able to help you w.r.t. Paris & Italy to an extent that I have been through for my trip. Arno's links are good as well for your reference.

@sskundu.....where r u putting up in switzerland?? I m planning a visit with my family some months later....can check out those places then

I am putting up in Gersau, a small town about an hour from Luzern.

www.airbnb.co.in/rooms /4884723

@Sskundu.....thanx for the link....how much are they charging?

When you open the link you can view the prices and the calendar as well. Or you can check out any other accommodation in the www.airbnb.co.in site.