[ShellyMonsen]

9 June 2022 at 16:18:05 #827462

My extended family and I are planning a trip to Switzerland in June of 2023. My 85 year old mother’s grandparents were both born outside of Bern and later immigrated to the USA. She has never been to her ancestral homeland which is on her bucket list. We decided to attempt to travel with her and as many of her children and grandchildren as possible. We hope to have as many as 20 people on this amazing journey. We want to spend a week in the country. We’ve considered flying into Zurich, getting a hotel near the train station then going on train excursions each day yet keeping the same room so we (she) doesn’t have to hassle with luggage from city to city. We are open to other suggestions though.

I would love and greatly appreciate suggestions for any element of this trip from hotel recommendations near train stations, day trip suggestions, and just the general beginning to plan this trip. We have a variety of budgets from low to medium amounts for some of the travelers.

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[Anna]

10 June 2022 at 7:05:05 #943066

Hi ShellyMonsen,

Welcome to MySwissAlps.

This sounds like an exciting trip. And 20 is indeed a big number. To get you started, you can find a list of accommodation in Zurich using the links below. Alternatively, you could make Bern your base. There are direct trains from Zurich Airport to Bern and the journey takes roughly just 1 hour.

• Zurich hotels: http://www.myswissalps.com/zurich/hotels
• Zurich rentals: http://www.myswissalps.com/zurich/rentals
• Bern hotels: http://www.myswissalps.com/bern/hotels
• Bern rentals: http://www.myswissalps.com/bern/rentals

There are plenty of day trip options you can plan from Zurich or Bern.

• Zurich: http://www.myswissalps.com/zurich/activities
• Bern: http://www.myswissalps.com/bern/activities

Once you have some ideas about your itinerary, you might want to think about choosing a railpass if you decide to travel by trains and other modes of public transport. Seat reservations on train are not necessary but is recommended if you plan to travel together in a big group. There are also railpass discounts for large groups: http://www.myswissalps.com/train/ticketspasses/promotions

If you have no time to plan or feel overwhelmed about planning a trip for a large group, it might be a good idea consult a private tour organiser for a customised itinerary: http://www.myswissalps.com/customgroupholidays

Hope this gets you started. Let us know if you need more info.

Regards,

Anna

[Arno]

10 June 2022 at 10:20:58 #943067

Hi ShellyMonsen!

It’s indeed good to study rail pass options, as rail passes will probably be cheaper than normal tickets. This guide may help you: http://www.myswissalps.com/train/ticketspasses/practical/chooserailpass.

If you end up choosing Swiss Half Fare Cards (https://www.myswissalps.com/swisshalffarecard), Swiss Travel Passes (https://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass) or Swiss Travel Passes Flex (https://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpassflex), make sure to apply for a group discount here: https://www.myswissalps.com/train/ticketspasses/practical/groupdiscounts.