Late June trip

  • Removed user
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    23 April 2011 at 8:25:19 #804237

    Hello,

    We’ll be spending 2 1/2 weeks in Europe in the summer. My girlfriend has never been to Switzerland and really would love to see the famous mountains she dreamed about visiting when she was young. As we also will have to travel to the Netherlands (family) and Germany (festival), we need to limit our time in Switzerland to 5-7 days, alas.

    Musts: Matterhorn, Jungfrau, Glacier Express
    Wants: Mont Blanc, Bern/Lucern
    Most convenient city to fly into: Zurich

    I already found great information on this board to help planning for this trip, but if folks have suggestions for a 5-7 day schedule, I’d love to hear from you.

    Thanks, Karel

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    Removed user
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    23 April 2011 at 22:39:05 #832617

    After reading most of the relevant posts on the forum, I made the following tentative schedule:

    Fri: arrive at Zurich from MSP 1.30pm. Train to Lucern. See city. OvernightLucern.
    Sat: Lucern boat trip, Mt. Rigi. Trainto Wengen. Overnight in Wengen.
    Sun: Day trip to Jungfraujoch and/or Schilthorn.Overnight in Wengen.
    Mon: Early Train to Zermatt (arrivalnoon?). Cog train ride to Gornergrat,enjoy Matterhorn views. Overnight in Zermatt.
    Tue: Glacier express Zermatt – StMoritz. Overnight in St Moritz.
    Wed: StMoritz-Zurich train (ca 4 hours). Flight to A’dam.

    Any suggestions for improvement?

    karel

    Annika
    Moderator
    7104 posts
    24 April 2011 at 5:53:37 #832618

    Hello Karel! Considering that the Jungfraujoch, Gornergrat (for the Matterhorn views) and Glacier Express are must-sees for you, you did a great job composing your itinerary. It would indeed be most logical to follow the order Zurich-Lucerne-Interlaken-Zermatt-St.Moritz-Zurich. You can do it the other way around as well of course, but that doesn’t make much of a difference. I did notice that your travel scheme is quite full, but that’s a matter of personal preference. If you want to see as much of the country as possible, this is great. If you want to be a bit more relaxed, you could also choose to skip Lucerne and travel onto Wengen directly. This will give you an extra day in the Bernese Oberland. On the other hand: Lucerne is beautiful too, so it’s hard to make such a decision.

    Some more tips:
    – when visiting up at the Jungfraujoch, get down the other way via Grindelwald and return to Wengen via Grindelwald and Zweilütschinen. It’s a bit longer, but the cog ride down to Grindelwald is great;
    – when traveling from Wengen to Zermatt, take the route right through the mountains (via Kandersteg and Goppenstein) by regional train, instead of the quick tunnel connection. Again: it takes more time, but it’s a much better experience with great views along the way.

    I’m not sure if you already found the Swiss timetable, but it’s very convenient for planning your Swiss trips.

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    24 April 2011 at 9:16:55 #832619

    Thanks for your feedback, Annika!

    [quote]Annika said: If you want to be a bit more relaxed, you could also choose to skip Lucerne and travel onto Wengen directly. This will give you an extra day in the Bernese Oberland. [/quote]
    I plan to take it easy in Lucerne – it’s our “recovery” day from the USA trip 🙂

    Karel

    Removed user
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    72625 posts
    24 April 2011 at 9:25:02 #832620

    Rather than booking the train + hotels ourselves, is there a tour operator that might be able to get attractive pricing for this trip?

    Annika
    Moderator
    7104 posts
    25 April 2011 at 9:38:41 #832621

    Hello Karel. There are tour operators who can plan your trip, such as Magic Switzerland. However, such a custom made trip isn’t necessarily cheaper than planning it on your own. But it’s very convenient of course.

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