[Removed user]

20 October 2018 at 15:06:03 #818752

Hey folks,

I finally BOOKED my flight and super excited about my trip to Switzerland. First time, solo traveling. I will be flying into Zurich after the middle of June for ten days and mostly wish to see the Jungfraujoch area.

I wish to have two bases. Perhaps one in Interlaken because I understand it has easy access to so many towns and the other perhaps in Lauterbrunnen. My main goal is to see breathtaking scenery, swiss chalets, gorgeous mountains with flowers in the valley, etc. Not interested too much in castles and not at all museums.

Most important, it MUST be easy enough to get around to as I will be traveling by train only and as a solo will be lugging my suitcase from one base to another.

I wish to visit Wengen, Murren? (not sure about that). I hear Lucerne is nice but have no idea, truly.

Is Appenzell worth going to, or too far away from my base. Not interested in Bern, maybe the Swiss Grand Canyon.

I welcome your ideas as I need to book the hotels now. Hotel needs to be walking distance from the train station or not far as I cannot carry much.

Thanks in advance, I truly need some help.

Lori

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[Removed user]

20 October 2018 at 17:08:18 #898162

Hi Lori,

For 10 days, I’m not sure I would base myself in Interlaken and Lauterbrunnen. Both serve the same region (although Interlaken has train connections all around Switzerland, Lauterbrunnen is only 20 minutes away). http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable

If you’d like to get to see two different regions of Switzerland, I might stay in a town in the Jungfrau region for 5/6 days (http://www.myswissalps.com/ju ngfrauregion) and then move to a different area, like Ticino (Italian) or the South-west region (French).

• http://www.myswissalps.com/ti cino
• http://www.myswissalps.com/so uthwestswitzerland

If you want to stick to being in the Alps and mountains, Lucerne is a great choice: http://www.myswissalps.com/lu cerne as is the Graubunden region with St. Moritz: http://www.myswissalps.com/gr aubunden

And of course the ever-popular Valais region with Zermatt and Matterhorn: http://www.myswissalps.com/va lais

St. Gallen and the Appenzell region is nice as well. You can read about a trip I took there here: http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/ebenalp-appenzell-from-zurich-day-trip

There are many great areas of Switzerland. For 10 days you can easily just stay in the Jungfrau region, but I’d recommend a 2nd base in a different region to get a more complete feel for Switzerland.

[Removed user]

21 October 2018 at 3:04:39 #898163

Lucas,

So glad to hear from you. Thank you so much for your response. I was limiting myself to that area as I thought there was so much to see. I have 8 days to visit, 2 are travel days to and from Switzerland.

Do you recommend staying in Interlaken and not move over to Lauterbrunnen? I thought they were very different, Lauterbrunnen offering a way to get to Wengen easily to walk 30 minutes to an amazing spot that has been photographed and gone viral. I literally tracked the photograph down to see where it was so I could be there myself!! I will check out your links above. Zermatt and Matterhorn did not interest me as much. I hear Appenzell is wonderful. I was thinking Lugano and Ticino but thought it was too far out. I must say I forget to mention I am totally interested in one or two scenic train rides and not sure which one to take or how to fit it into my journey. Any advise there? Thanks for the input!

Lori

[Removed user]

21 October 2018 at 8:52:45 #898164

Yes, there is certainly a lot to see there and you won’t do everything in 8 days anyway. It was just a thought to see 2 different regions on the country- especially if you don’t have plans to return and this may be a one time visit.

I wouldn’t stay in both Interlaken and Lauterbrunnen no. Anything you can do from one town you can do from the other (20 minutes apart). I’d choose Lauterbrunnen as it is located in a prettier location.

I really liked Ticino and Lugano – nothing is too far in Switzerland, about 4/5 hours max by train. Coming from Canada it isn’t far to me -same for Americans too I bet. If you train to Lucerne first you can then take the Gotthard Panorama Express train to Lugano (a long day though on this route with a ferry) http://www.myswissalps.com/go tthardpanoramaexpress

You could fit in a trip on the Golden Pass train route (http://www.myswissalps.com/go ldenpass) from the Jungfrau region (even a day trip could work) but the other panoramic trains (http://www.myswissalps.com/be rninaexpress & http://www.myswissalps.com/gl acierexpress) aren’t really accessible if you stay based in the Jungfrau region.

[Micalj]

21 October 2018 at 22:45:33 #898165

Hi Lori,

Just curious if you intend to get the Swiss Travel Pass or not? Based on your focus of two areas, it may or may not be worthwhile. You’ll need to do the math on train trips / excursions you’ll plan to make, and compare spends (http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses/prac tical/chooserailpass).

One nice thing about the STP, it allows unlimited flexibility, and adds ferry’s, buses and some gondolas and mountain trains. In the Jungfrau region, it gets you from Lauterbrunnen to Wengen, and to Grindelwald, but not to Kleine Scheidegg where you pick up the segment to the Jungfraujoch. The ferry’s on Lake Lucerne, Lake Brienz and Lake Thun are lovely excursions, and boat docks are easy walks from the train stations. Lucerne and Interlaken both have hotels within easy walking distance of the train stations. You could also take the Golden Pass scenic train part way from Lucerne to Interlaken if you choose those as your bases, or take it the whole way through to Montreux.

Hope you have an amazing time, and I always enjoy the planning part as well. We’ll be using Zurich as a hub early next June when we visit for about 10 days, and as you plan to do– use a hotel close to the the Zurich Hauptbahnhof.

Mike J

[Removed user]

22 October 2018 at 8:44:37 #898166

I would suggest not staying in Interlaken, and choose among Lauterbrunnen. Murren or Wengen instead. Of the three, Laurerbrunnen will be the most cost effective, but the most beautiful, in my opinion, is Murren.

For your second base, as Lucas had already suggested, you can go for Lucerne, a charming city just an easy hour from Zurich.

Or you can spend the entire duration in the Bernese Oberland, using the BO Pass or the Jungfrau Travel Pass.

Enjoy!

Ritu