7 day itinerary: Lucerne-Lauterbrunnen-Zermatt?

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19 February 2019 at 23:37:58 #820008

Hi!

Thank you for all the info you provide on this site. It definitely helps in planning. While I have kind of an idea as to what we want, I want to run it by the experts.

This is our first trip to Switzerland. My husband and I, with our 3yr old, and my in-laws (not very active people so we can only do so much). I am 7mos pregnant so I tried to really cut the trip down to manageable levels but at the same time, I don’t want to miss out on too much. Here’s what I have.

Day 1 – Arrive Zurich 9am, Stretch our legs and have a quick bite, then train to Lucerne. Check in to hotel or leave luggage, walk around town. Overnight Lucerne.

Day 2 – Mt Pilatus or Titlis. Back to town, rest, walk around, transport museum. Overnight Lucerne.

Day 3 Option 1 – Mt Titlis or Rigi. Check out from hotel then take train to Interlaken then to Lauterbrunnen. Overnight Lauterbrunnen.

Day 3 Option 2 – Mt Titlis or Rigi. Lunch. Do one other activity in Lucerne or surrounding area. Rest. Overnight Lucerne.

Day 4 Option 1 – If we go with Day 3 option 1 then this day 4 will be spent going to either Schlithorn or Jungfraujoch then surrounding area. Overnight Lauterbrunnen.

Day 4 Option 2 – Check out from hotel then train to Zermatt. Overnight Zermatt.

Day 5 Option 1 – Early train to Zermatt. Whole day Zermatt. Overnight Zermatt.

Day 5 Option 2 – Gornegrat early morning. Lunch. Train to Bern possibly stopping for Cailler Factory tour. Overnight Bern.

Day 6 Option 1 – Breakfast. Check out. Train back to Lucerne. Spend day in Lucerne. Overnight Lucerne.

Day 6 Option 2 – Explore Bern and other sights in area. Train to Zurich. Overnight Zurich.

Having an extra night in Zurich is appealing to me because I want a good rest before our noon flight the next day. I’m also assuming there must be something in Zurich that we can explore on the last afternoon/evening in town. BUT I’ve read so much in here why I shouldn’t do that. That’s why my other option is to stay in Lucerne to be close enough.

Day 7 – Depart Zurich.

From Day 3 onwards, I’m leaning towards option 2 because I feel like doing both interlaken area and zermatt might be too much.

Anyways, is this itinerary ok? My original plan was to make Lucerne our home base and book the hotel for the entire stay. Then take day trips to Interlaken region. OR take an overnight trip to Zermatt then back to Lucerne but I feel like we’re wasting too much time going back and forth to Lucerne.

Any info would help! Thanks!

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20 February 2019 at 16:57:28 #904594

Hi and welcome to MySwissAlps!

What a wonderful trip you are planning and great that you have thought about it in detail and planned everything you want to see. It really helps to make the most of your visit!

Looking at your itinerary, it seems to me to be quite reasonable overall, specially bearing in mind the limited mobility. Where are you flying from? Depending on that, you will also need to factor the jetlag specially the first 2-3 days after you land.

I would check the timetables so you are happy with the amount of travel required: http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable and also the number of connections 🙂 changing trains too many times can be exhausting with luggage so I would limit that as well.

If I could suggest potential changes, they would be:
- to check whether you really want to stay overnight in Lauterbrunnen. The area is of course stunning, but you will already get quite a lot of mountain scenery with the day trips to Rigi and Mount Titlis without having to transfer your ‘base’ and specially if you then go on to Zermatt… However if you do, it will be well worth it for Jungfraujoch and beyond.
- I would skip Bern and the Cailler Factory (which is by the way very much out of the way in the French-speaking part of Switzerland and as far as I know there is only one). Bern is a beautiful city of course, but you can also get a Swiss city feel by spending more time in Zurich and enjoying things to do there and be well rested before you go back home!
- There is no need to go back to Lucerne after Zermatt. You can go straight to Zurich and the airport for that matter! There is only one train connection, it is very convenient, so you would only need to factor in your flight times.
Here are some additional links to help you:
All the best in planning your trip!

Maria.
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20 February 2019 at 19:52:23 #904595

Thanks, Maria!

I agree about skipping Bern. And will be skipping Lauterbrunnen as well. Decided to do 3 nights in Lucerne, 1 night in Zermatt, and 2 nights in Zurich so we’re close to my original plan of 1 or 2 bases, just added that 1 night in Zermatt because it’s on my must-see list.

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