[Removed user]

12 July 2019 at 20:58:19 #822807

Hi All,

Just confirming an Itinerary i have been looking at for my husband and i for travel dates 3-9th September (trains are booked). We have purchased an 8 day Swiss Travel Pass:

• 3rd – Coming from Paris by train to Bern11.30 and spending a few hours looking around then arriving in Interlarken at 5.30 and catching the regional train to Lauterbrunnen where we are based here from the 3rd – 6th. Once checked in would it be an option to look around Lauterbrunnen/Interlarken for a few hours?
• 4th – A day trip to Pilatus and do the ‘Golden Round Trip’. We are morning people so we would leave early. Do we need to prebook this/seat reservations? Which is the best way to get there and back? Would there be time to explore Grindlewarld/Harder Kulm/Interlarken for a few hours or do you suggest other local areas?
• 5th – Schilthorn & Jungfraujoch. I was reading you can purchase the Good morning ticket (which would suit us fine). We would like to fit this all in for the day: (SCHILTHORN) explore Birg, Skyline walk & Thrill Walk. (JUNGFRAUJOCH) Sphinx Observatory & Lindt Swiss Chocolate Heaven (maybe a class?). I have read that there are certain ways to get to these Peaks (some better than others), what are your thoughts? Do we need to book these before we arrive as I would not like to miss out on this experience?
• 6th – Leave early for Zermatt. Here we want to visit the Gornergrat and Matterhorn. Do we need to pre purchase tickets and what is your suggestions for which way we spend our day. I have read that its good to do the Gornergrat then the Matterhorn. Would love your thoughts? Do you have recommendations for accomodation we are only staying 1 night
• 7th – Catching the Glacier Express to St Moritz (seat reservations booked) and staying the night here. Any suggestion for an activity here?
• 8th – Catching the Bernina Express to Tirano and bus too Lugano. Staying the night here. Any suggestions for activity for here (Monte Bre?). Last night in Switzerland before heading to Italy.
• My main concerns are what do i need to pre book so we don’t miss the activities listed above. We nearly missed the Glacier Express & Bernina Express because they were sold out on the day we wanted to go so had to reshuffle our itinerary. Looking forward to your thoughts and ideas on our itinerary.
• Kristine & Mark – Australia 🙂

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[Annika]

13 July 2019 at 7:01:42 #917632

Hi Kristine and Mark! Nice that your itinerary is is getting finalized. I’ll try to answer some of your questions below:

• Sept 3: you could explore the towns a bit, sure. Lauterbrunnen is pretty small though. Please see http://www.myswissalps.com/la uterbrunnen and http://www.myswissalps.com/in terlaken;
• Sept 4: you don’t have to pre-book anything. The route options are described at http://www.myswissalps.com/pi latus/gettingthere. If you combine this information with the timetable at http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable, you’ll be able to plan your trips in detail. It will be a pretty long journey from Lauterbrunnen, and whether there’s room for anything else depends on how early (or late) you return. An evening (dinner) trip to Harder Kulm could be nice indeed. Mind that there are plenty of activities closer to Lauterbrunnen. That may be more attractive than visiting Pilatus in terms of traveling time: http://www.myswissalps.com/be rneseoberland/activiti es;
• Sept 5: the combination of Jungfraujoch and Schilthorn is ambitious, but doable. The routes can be found at http://www.myswissalps.com/ju ngfraujoch/gettingther e and http://www.myswissalps.com/sc hilthorn/gettingthere. If you get down from Jungfraujoch on the Wengen/Lauterbrunnen side, you can easily continue traveling toward Schilthorn. Yes, there is a Good Morning Ticket, but that’s primarily for those traveling without a rail pass. Your Swiss Travel Pass grants free traveling as far as Grindelwald/Wengen and a 25% discount for the remaining legs: http://www.myswissalps.com/ju ngfraujoch/tickets, http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass/validity. No pre-booking is required and I’d guess that you can do without seat reservations for the Jungfraujoch in September. It’s an option though, as explained at the Jungfraujoch ticket page I just mentioned;
• Sept 6: please study ticket options and links to timetables at http://www.myswissalps.com/go rnergrat and http://www.myswissalps.com/kl einmatterhorn (I think that’s what you mean when mentioning “Matterhorn”?). I too would be inclined to do Gornergrat first and then Klein Matterhorn. Our recommendations for hotels in Zermatt can be found at http://www.myswissalps.com/ze rmatt/hotels;
• Sept 7: there won’t be much time left to do sightseeing near St. Moritz after arrival. You could do some hiking in St. Moritz and around the lake: http://www.myswissalps.com/hi king/lakestmoritz. Other suggestions are at http://www.myswissalps.com/st moritz/activities;
• Sept 8: yes, Monte Brè would be lovely: http://www.myswissalps.com/mo ntebre. Other scenic options are listed at http://www.myswissalps.com/lu gano/activities.

I hope this helps you out!

[Removed user]

14 July 2019 at 19:32:48 #917633

Hi Annika,

Thanks for your reply. The sites you posted were really helpful. With staying at Bern for only a few hours is there anything that you would recommend not to miss or just a stroll around will be nice.

Thanks

Kristine & Mark

Australia

[Annika]

15 July 2019 at 10:08:02 #917634

Hi Kristine and Mark,

Glad I could help! You’ll definitely enjoy yourselves strolling around a bit in Bern. It has a beautiful city centre. Our recommendations can be found at http://www.myswissalps.com/be rn.