MySwissAlps.com features ads, commercial and non-commercial Itinerary for 20+ days in Switzerland in June 2020
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Hello all, We are new to this web and would like to seek helps from all destination experts. We are a couple from California in early sixties. We enjoy slow travel, small towns, moderate hiking, great scenery, art and history. We booked air ticket to arrive June 3 at Zurich, plan to stay in Switzerland for around 24 days, plus or minus. I have the following paths in mind, please help me choose or fine tune. We appreciate any inputs!
Plan A:
- Zurich airport to Lucerne 2n/ Wengen 4n/ Montreux 4n/ Zermatt 2n / Scuol 7n / St Moritz 1n / Lugano 2n / Zurich 1n
- We plan to travel on train with half fare card, and don’t mind buying advanced ticket to save cost. We will upgrade occasionally in some routes like first class on GEX or others, please recommend.
- We usually plan a vacation from vacation so I picked Scuol for 7 days (better pricing for a week in apartment). Is Scuol a good spot to stay longer? In this case, we also give up staying in lower Engadine area and use it as transit spot. St Moritz or Sils Maria or Poschiavo?
Plan B:
- Zurich airport to Lucerne 2n / Lugano 2n / St Moritz (or others) 2n / Scuol 7n / Zermatt 2n / Montreux 4n / Wengen 4n / Zurich 1n
- With this plan, I try to arrive Zermatt and Wengen later (mid June) so hopefully weather/wild flower/cable openings etc will compromise better.
Plan C:
- Hit major spots with 4 nights each and if necessary take out one or two areas, I.e. take out Scuol.
One silly question, will all the high mountain scenery look the same as you have seen one or two? I mean this is from a foreigner standpoint. We returned from Scotland Highlands, we enjoyed the scenery but do agree that some spots/experience are quite the same.
Thank you in advance for any inputs. Truly appreciate that!
Lili
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Congratulations on identifying Scuol – it is rarely mentioned on this site/forum and is a lovely ‘out of the way’ area, but like anywhere in Switzerland is actually not a long journey to get to other places due to the small size of the country.
“One silly question will all the high mountain scenery look the same as you have seen one or two?”
To a certain extent, yes, one set of snowy mountains is much like another, but you will no doubt want to tell your friends afterwards that you have seen particular ‘famous’ peaks such as Jungfrau, Eiger, Matterhorn.
One very important thing I would say on this subject is that – with 24 days in Switzerland – you should try and get away from the Alps. You should think about spending time in the lower altitude parts of Switzerland – with its classic gently rolling green farmland. Also, do please visit the other mountain range – the Jura (where I learnt to walk and ski!)
Thanks 1960man! May I ask where would that `lower altitude parts` be?
With air tickets already purchased and far in advance, consider the following advice…
My wife and I booked air tickets (Delta) in February for a September 2019 trip to Zurich (round trip). I have also made hotel reservations, some with no refund conditions and some with refund. Two weeks ago we were told by Delta that the over-the-Atlantic part of our trip was canceled and left it to us to find another date/time for that leg of the journey. Due to the circumstances we were able to get a refund for the entire trip. My wife deftly found another route/airline that still gets us into Zurich on the same day, so my hotel reservations are still good.
So, my advice is not to make hotel reservations (with no refund conditions) too far in advance. Our experience over the years is that airlines may make schedule changes, but these are usually a matter of minutes or half hour, so a multi-leg trip is not really affected. Our original trip reservation was another story.
“lower altitude parts” – towns like Interlaken, Montreux, and Luzern would be lower altitude.
Thanks for the advice pvonk! Yes I am well aware of the possible change in plans and my lodging bookings are refundable. We booked the flights early as they are award tickets which open up 11 months ahead, by booking early we can get the best routes with the least miles. We may consider giving up Scuol and add nights in Thun and Lugano area to take some lower level walk or meadow views.
Hi Lilicam! Wonderful that you get to spend about 3 weeks in Switzerland. I think June is a good time to travel. Not all high-altitude hiking trails will be accessible yet, but that shouldn’t be a problem for your specific preferences and plans. Pretty much all mountain transportation will be up and running, and tourist masses tend to visit primarily in July and August. It’s hard to decide how to divide your days and nights. Each of your plans would work to be honest. Since you like small towns, I would highly recommend spending some time in Scuol or another town in either the Upper or Lower Engadine, which to me is a very romantic valley with picturesque towns: http://www.myswissalps.com/up perengadine, http://www.myswissalps.com/lo werengadine. You’ll find peace and quiet there, as the region is less touristy in summer than some other spots on your list.
I have not once felt bored while soaking in one scenic view after the other :-). Each region, town and mountain top has its own charm and characteristics. But that’s a personal view of course.
The Swiss Half Fare Card will certainly work for journey. Please find details at http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isshalffarecard. Just to make sure: did you study the options listed under “Alternatives if you stay longer than 15 days” at http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass/details?
I’ve added some links to your first post, allowing you and other readers to find more information on the places you’ve mentioned.
That is awesome, Annika. I will certainly reconsider Scuol for 4n, and maybe Sils Maria 4n. Will also “do the maths” to compare passes, most likely use half travel card and book early for the longer journeys.
Sils Maria is lovely too! Too many options, right? Have fun planning and good luck with your pass comparison! Let us know if we can be of further assistance.
The lower altitude region, is known as the Swiss plateau or Mittelland. (Switzerland is divided into three geographical areas, the Alps, the Central Plateau (Mittelland) and the Jura mountains. )
Mittelland, between the two ranges of mountains is a hilly, central plateau that extends in a swathe roughly south west – north east
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Swiss_Plateau
The Mittelland contains three of Switzerland’s four major cities, ie not including Basel which lies north of the Jura.
I found these two rather good small maps which clearly highlight the Mittelland:
3.bp.blogspot.com/-b-g_J4Sn5FM/TwWp0l9t5VI/ AAAAAAAAMaE/nrqVuNfGOC E/s640/map_swiss_alps. gif
And Switzerland is small enough that you can photograph the Alps when standing on top of the Jura and see the Mittelland in between, for example from the Vue des Alpes mountain Pass
Thanks 1960man, the map helps a lot! Yes too many cities to choose from! The updated itinerary is as follows:
June 3 a.m. arrive Zurich airport/Lucern 2n / Wengen 5n/ Montreux 4n / Zermatt 2n / St Moritz or Sils Maria or Samedan 2 n / Scuol 4n/ Bellagio or Varenna 4n / Zurich 1n fly out 6/27
With this path, we will be In Wengen 6/5 to 6/10, hopefully ‘late’ enough for some good weather. For Zermatt, we are taking a bet on good weather with only two nights. Italy runs train from Tirano to Varenna (ferry to Bellegio) so it’s good to enjoy Italy a little bit (cheaper room rates, food and transportation). Will tour Lugano etc when staying in Bellagio. Ferry to Menaggio/bus to Lugano/train to Zurich and spend last night there. With all of these we get a chance to take famous train trips like GEX, Bernina, Gotthard. I am also tempted to leave from Milan but that will give up the chance of Gotthard. Tough decision!
We try to figure out the returning flight so we can book the award ticket and take care of all logistics later. Thanks for all inputs!
I notice that you are still not proposing to actually stay in the Mittelland or Jura mountains which is a pity, although you are staying for a fair number of nights at Wengen and Montreux from which you could travel to parts of the Mittelland or Jura.
http://www.myswitzerland.com/ en/destinations/jura-threelakes/
There are lots of things to see in the Mittelland, such as castles, fort towns
Romont is an example of a place missed by many visitors drawn only to ‘the Alps’:
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