First time visit, arrive in Zurich, 3 nights

Hi, I hope you can help me, because I'm very confused :-)

I plan to visit Switzerland in mid-June for the first time. I will probably fly from London to Zurich, and arrive mid-day on 13 June, and leave in the afternoon of 16 June. I will be travelling alone as I have to be in London for work and just wanted to make a quick visit to a new country. I want to see Lucerne, but also consider visiting the Bernese Oberland area. Is that do-able? Should I stay one night in Lucerne and 2 nights in BO? Or 2 nights Lucerne and one night BO? And where in BO? I am not interested in hiking, but would like to see the scenery and experience a typical Swiss village. I like strolling around in the old town parts and the cobble stone streets with little shops and restaurants.I hope you can help me.Thank you.Annemi

Welcome to MySwissAlps, Annemi!

I understand it's hard to choose between the Lucerne region and the Bernese Oberland. It's doable to pick only one of them as your base, and make a day trip to the other region returning the same evening or afternoon. This base could be Lucerne, as it's rather close to Zurich. That would save on traveling time on your arrival and departure day, and I think that's what I would prefer.

Of course picking two hotels in both areas is fine too. It doesn't really matter how you divide your days/nights in that case; both regions are stunning and have a lot to offer. You can best check the activities in both regions (following the links I inserted) and decide which of them deserves your main focus. Popular towns in the Bernese Oberland are Interlaken for its central location and Wengen, Grindelwald or Mürren for their views. Traveling times from these villages to other regions are longer though.

Depending on your final plans, it's worth it to look into rail passes. A Swiss Travel Pass (including the Rigi for free) or a Swiss Half Fare Card may suit your needs.

Hi Annika,

Thank you for your reply.

I'm now thinking to change trip to 4 nights, and do 2 nights in Wengen and 2 nights in Lucerne. Will arrive in Zurich at 16h00, and plan to then travel to Wengen to get the travelling for the day out of the way. I note that the train takes about 3 hours, so then I should arrive in Wengen between 19h30 and 20h00. Is this accurate and do-able? Can then have dinner and go to bed, and the next day go up to Jungfrau trainstation and do that circle route. On the next day visit Thun for a few hours, and then take train back to Lucerne in the late afternoon. Then I can spend 2 nights in Lucerne, do the Old Town, maybe a trip on the lake, and also Pilatus.

What do you think?

Bye

Annemi

Hi Annemi,

This sounds good to me. Wengen is indeed a bit over 3 hours from Zurich, so it's doable to go straight to Wengen and have an early start there the next morning. The links I have your before will help you find activities and hotels. Now all you need is good weather!

You might find that few hours in the old town of Zürich, near the Lindenhof and St. Peters would be enjoyable, too. Perhaps you might have time on the way back to the airport?

See attached map

Thank you to all for your feedback. I am now going to try and figure out which train pass is best :-)

Hi Annika, please help me. What pass will be the best for the trip set out in earlier post? The 4-day trip.

Thank you

Annemi

Hi Annemi,

The 4-day Swiss Travel Pass that Annika mentioned is the most convenient option for a 4-day trip as it includes much traveling (and museums) without the need to get tickets. Whether a Swiss Half Fare Card works out cheaper depends on what exactly you'll be doing during the 4 days. You can do the math to be sure. Please click to the Price section on both pass pages to see where to buy.