7-day itinerary expert advise request

Dear Arno,

I had made an itinerary as below an needs your expert advise, I was in communication with you on another topic but I am unable to continue that conversation.However, Following ia my itinerary

3/9/15: Land in Zurich by 2.00 PM and enjoy the place, night stay in Courtyard by Marriot in Zurich North

4/9/15: travel to Interlaken by metro/bus, check in to a hotel or a home apartment (nothing booked yet) and be there for 2 nights. During this period enjoy the jungfru region and nearby places

6/9/15: move to Zermatt or Montreux or Bern ( need ur advise to take this decision) see the places. would like to stay 2 nights in this place as well

8/9/15: I dont know where to go

9/9/15: 4 PM flight from Geneva to Dubai

Please help me complete this itinerary and also help me get good accommodation with no much expense, I am ok to be in home stay/apartment

Ruhi deep-

You should most certainly use the train on arrival (4th Sept, 2015) to get to Interlaken. Not sure what "metro" you refer to.

www.myswissalps.com/ti metable.

Add more days to "interlaken" or nearby, and stay nearer to the Jungfrau....Wengen, Grindelwald, Mürren....

My thoughts.

Slowpoke

Hi ruhideep,

I second Slowpoke's advice to add your extra day (8th) to the Interlaken area. Changing hotels means loosing sightseeing time. Apart from that there's plenty to see in each of the areas you mentioned.

I would not pick Bern as a place to stay as it's close enough to Interlaken to visit it as a day trip (e.g. on a bad weather day). Montreux and Zermatt are both good options, but really different. It depends on your interests which one is best. Please see the links for details.

Once you have picked your towns we can look into accommodation. Apartments are usually rented by the week. Cheap hotels are probably your best option. I don't know about home stays. What's the budget you can spend on accommodation?

Dear Arno,

As suggested by you and slow poke following are my final destination list and dates, please help me with best hotels in the good location and my budget per night is max 100 Swiss Franc, I dont mind booking the hotel through you.

Sep 3 : Landing in Zurich, Hotel for Sep 3rd is already reserved

Sep 4 : Check out and catch a train to Interlaken

Sep 4 to 7 : Stay in Interlaken and explore in and around as much possible ( 3 nights stay here)

Sep 7 : Check out from interlaken and move to Zermatt, stay in Zermatt on 7th and 8th night

Sep 9: Morning travel to Geneva and see as much possible of the city, the flight we have to catch is departing at 4.00 PM, means reporting at 2.00 PM

Please suggest whether this is a good plan or you have any better suggestions, also let me know to cover the above mentioned itinerary which rail and bus pass should I take, and how shall I do that, can I do it from Dubai ? or I need to land there ?

<<"Sep 9: Morning travel to Geneva and see as much possible of the city, the flight we have to catch is departing at 4.00 PM, means reporting at 2.00 P">>

Good plan. There may be very little time in GVA last day.

Zermatt to Geneva - 3 hrs 44 min +/-

Walk to lakeshore from Cornavin station (Geneva) main station) and look around. Maybe walk up to St.Peters.

Walk back.

That is it...pretty much, unless you get creative with the trams.

Slowpoke

Thank you Slowpoke,

so I understand from your above message my last day will be hectic, in that case shall I stay 8th night in Geneva instead of travelling 9th morning from Zermat to Geneva ?

Also please help me with the other points I have requested in my earlier message, like which train pass is the best for my itinerary and accomodation

<<"in that case shall I stay 8th night in Geneva instead of travelling 9th morning from Zermat to Geneva ? ">>

That is what I would do myself. I like to be near to the airport on my last night........even though there is plenty of time for the train ride.

www.myswissalps.com/ti metable

However, the earliest train from Zermatt to Geneva on the 9th is at 0537, takes 4 hours and 1 minute to the airport. Arrive 0938. Th0se trains rub every hour and apparently do not have food service. You could leave your bags or check in.......<<"Alsoplease help me with the other points I have requested in my earliermessage, like which train pass is the best for my itinerary andaccomodation">>

Arno and Annika are the experts on passes and accommodation. They'll need to jump in.

Start here.

www.myswissalps.com/ge neva

www.myswissalps.com/ge neva/hotels

www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses

www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses/prac tical/chooserailpass

Start with those links. The passes are complex.

Slowpoke

Hi Ruhideep,

A 3-day Swiss Travel Pass Flex Combi could be a good option here. You would use the free travel days on September 4 to travel from Zurich to Interlaken, September 7 to move to Zermatt and September 9 to go to Geneva. Please see the linked page for details. See www.raileurope-gcc.com/pass/swiss-travel-pass-half-fare-card for prices. There are additional discounts if you buy before August 26: www.raileurope-gcc.com/special-offers/great-deals-to-tour-Europe.

Another option is the Swiss Half Fare Card: no free traveling, but 50% discounts on all tickets.

As for accommodation: CHF 100 per night is not a lot in Switzerland. But if you don't mind dormitory rooms and shared bathrooms it's certainly possible. Is that what you had in mind, or do you prefer a private room? Please have a look at the below pages and let us know if that does not help you out:

• myswissalps.com/ interlaken/ hotels
• myswissalps.com/ zermatt/ hotels
• hotelscombined.com/ Place/Interlaken.htm
• hotelscombined.com/ Place/Zermatt.htm

Dear Arno,

Thank you for your advise. shared bathroom will be not convenient. From your list I am choosing the best low budget hotels.

Regarding the rail pass that you mentioned "3 days swiss travel pass flex combi" I have few questions. As recommended by you we can use it on 4th Sep for Zurich to Interlaken, 7th to Zermat and 8th to Geneva.

How do I commute during 5th, 6th and 9th ? how can I travel to jungfru, Titlis etc... ? Can the above mentioned pass be used to get discount in other tickets or the pass should be used on a particular day to get discount on that respective days.

Hi Ruhideep,

The pass provides 3 free travel days, and a 50% discount on tickets you buy on the other days. But please note: the discounted tickets only work between the first and last free travel day, as those days mark the validity of the pass. So you can't have the last free travel day on the 8th and get discounts on the 9th, but you can get discounts on the 5th and 6th. I assumed you would travel to Geneva on the 9th (and thus also have discounts on the 8th). That would fit perfectly with this pass. Further pass details can be found here.

Thank you Arno,

I found following options:

Swiss travel pass - 3 days - 171/-, 4 days - 204/-, 8 days - 295/-

Swiss travel pass combi - 3 days - 243/-, 4 days - 282/-, 8 days - 380/-

Swiss travel pass flex - this links directs me to swiss travel pass only

I am confused that, swiss travel pass mentioned first in the above list looks cheaper than others. please guide me.

Dear Arno,

I found following hotels in my budget from the link you provided

for Interlaken:

Harder Minerva Hotel, Hotel Central continental, Hotel Beausite

For Zermatt

Best western hotel Butterfly, Residence Patricia

which among these would you recommend based on its geographical placement

Dear Arno,

Thanks for your guidance, I booked hotels as per your link. 3 nights in Interlaken and one night in Zermat. central continental and Best western. Now all I need is a recommendation on the pass.

Dear Arno,

As the discount offer is ending tomorrow, I booked, Swiss travel Pass for 8 days. 590 euro for 2 people and got a discount of 25 euro, booking charge is 16 euro. total 581 euro for 8 days travel pass.

Hope I made a right purchase.

Once I land in airport, I assume I can use the train to reach Zurich town, how shall I activate this pass ?

Hello Ruhideep,

I'm glad you found hotels that suit your needs, as well as a rail pass. The Swiss Travel Pass you booked is even more convenient than the Swiss Travel Pass Flex Combi. You now get free unlimited traveling on all days (train, bus, boat) and discounts on mountain trips (cogwheel trains, cable cars, etc.).

In Zurich airport you can follow the signs and walk to the airport train station. Ask the staff at the ticket desk to validate the pass for you. Then you can take the escalators down to the platforms and board any train to the Zurich Oerlikon station. There are trams and buses too, but by train it's just a 4 minute ride. Your hotel is 5 minutes on foot from the station.

Have a great stay! A trip report would be welcome.

Dear Arno,

You and Slow Poke had made my trip lot more easier. Really grateful for what you have done. Please share your phone number, I would like to thank you over phone once I land there.

Hi Ruhideep,

Good to hear we've been useful. We don't have a phone number, but feel free to e-mail or even better, post a trip report once you're back. Many travelers love practical insights.

Dear Arno,

Well noted.

I would like to know whether a sim card is needed in switzerland ? as it might help me to have internet on phone to check the routes and online schedules of train.

Is it expensive to have a local sim card ?

Hi Ruhideep,

We recently added a page about SIM cards to our site: myswissalps.com/ simcard. I think this should help you out.