How to plan six night itinerary in Jan from Geneva

  • Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    15 November 2016 at 9:20:59 #810349

    Hello, We are a couple in late 40s, planning to celebrate our wedding anniversary for six nights (January 22 to Jan 28, 2017). Starting point is Geneva. Kindly note that neither me, nor my wife, knows skiing 😌 Please advise that what shall we do during the tentative itenary, as follows?

    Jan 22 (Sun): Fly from London, UK. Reach Geneva at noon. Rent car for seeing Geneva, and then visit Annecy (~ 1 hour drive). Come back for first Night stay at Geneva.

    Jan 23 (Mon): Visit UNO in Geneva, and then drive car to Montreux, Glacier 3000, and Gastaad. Come back to Montreux, to return car and night stay.

    Jan 24 (Tue): Start 4 day Swiss Pass. Golden pass train from Montreux to Interlaken. Then take train to Jungfrau. Come back to Interlaken for night stay.

    Jan 25 (Wed): Morning train from Interlaken to Zermatt, for night stay.

    Jan 26 (Thu): Glacier Express from Zermat to St. Moritz, for night stay.

    Jan 27 (Fri): Train from St. Moritz to Zurich. Night stay in Zurich.

    Jan 28 (Sat): Return flight at Noon, from Zurich to London, UK.

    Any suggestions about what to see, enjoy, and where to eat? Thanks in anticipation of your help; kind regards,

    Malik

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    Arno
    Moderator
    15471 posts
    16 November 2016 at 11:14:00 #857074

    Hi Malik, thanks for joining MySwissAlps!

    That’s a pretty full itinerary, that doesn’t leave lots of room for additional side trips. You could add one in the Interlaken or Zermatt region on January 25 though. In clear weather I’d absolutely recommend to visit some mountain tops for great views. Please check the pages below for information about the towns/regions you intend to visit:

    It seems like your main goal is to travel across the country and experience some scenic mountain rides, which is great for a winter visit that excludes skiing. Mind though that you’re not that flexible in terms of weather and clear skies, which is especially important for a mountain top visit such as the Jungfraujoch. In order to have more days in this area, increasing your chances of good weather, you’d have to set up quite a different itinerary though. Creating a bad weather alternative for your Jungfraujoch visit on January 24 is another option (e.g. a visit to Thun or Bern).

    If I were you I’d make all my trips by train, rather than using a rental car the first couple of days. Both driving and parking in Geneva are challenging if you’re not familiar with the city. Please compare for yourself at myswissalps.com/carver sustrain. In your current itinerary a 4 day Swiss Travel Pass certainly makes sense. If you decide to use public transportation on January 22 and 23 as well, an 8 day Swiss Travel Pass might be the better solution. You can calculate your options using these guidelines: myswissalps.com/train/ ticketspasses/practica l/chooserailpass. Please find retailers at myswissalps.com/swisst ravelpass/price.

    Does this help you out?

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    25 November 2016 at 18:39:19 #857075

    Thanks Arno, Really appreciate your detailed reply.

    Please advise, considering my 2 reasons of getting rental car on Jan 22-23:

    1. On Jan 22, my hotel is Château des Avenieres, near Cruseilles, http://www.chateau-des-avenieres.com/. It is 20 min drive outside Geneva city. I am not sure, if there is a train network to reach hotel, and then come back?

    2. On Jan 23, I am not sure if it is better to take train or drive car to Montreux, Glacier 3000, and Gastaad; and then come back to hotel in Montreux?

    Based on your expected advise, I can get 8 days swiss ravel pass … instead of getting 4 day pass plus Zurich card. So look forward to your kind reply.

    Regards

    Aasad

    Arno
    Moderator
    15471 posts
    26 November 2016 at 10:32:29 #857076

    Hi Aasad,

    1. Cruseilles is in France and public transport across the border is not as good as in Switzerland. You’d better ask the hotel. If you come by car, also ask what the driving conditions on that road are. You may need snow tires. A taxi is an option too.

    2. Montreux and Gstaad are easily accessible by train. I wouldn’t go by car, especially in January. Glacier 3000 is easily accessible too. You can visit it on the way back from Gstaad, by taking a bus there. Then proceed to Les Diablerets and take a train back to Montreux. Details are in the timetable. All the buses and trains are included in the Swiss Travel Pass, so you don’t need tickets except for the cable car (you’ll get a discount).

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    27 November 2016 at 5:35:01 #857077

    Makes perfect sense. So I will return the car on Jan 23 morning, and will travel to Gustaad and Glacier 3000 via train. So, now I will take 8 days Swiss travel pass instead of 4 days pass. Thanks for guidance🙏

    How about any lake tours in January, in Geneva Lake or in Thun Lake? Do the lakes freeze? Or there are some cruises available in second half of Jan?

    Arno
    Moderator
    15471 posts
    27 November 2016 at 12:38:47 #857078

    Hi Aasad,

    Ok, great! You can print the pass at home so you can use it straight away upon arrival: myswissalps.com/ swisstravelpass/price.

    The lakes you mentioned are too big to freeze. Smaller ones at altitude, like in St. Moritz, do freeze over. Boat schedules are very limited in winter time. You’ll find links to timetables on any of our lake pages.

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