[Elana]

9 July 2022 at 17:02:50 #827726

My husband and I will be visiting Switzerland for the first time. We will only have a week. We tend to travel pretty fast. This is the itinerary I have laid out for us so far:

1. Arrive in Zurich early morning; take the train straight to Lucerne. Spend the (jet-lagged) day of our arrival in Lucerne. We will receive Tell Passes for travel in the area.
2. Visit Mt. Pilatus. It will be a Saturday. I was thinking to do the Golden Round Trip in reverse, but now I think we might just do the conventional loop and take the boat first thing, so we don’t need to worry so much about the boat schedule on the return trip. I know the mountain will be more crowded this way, but hopefully not too crowded to enjoy.
3. Take the train to Brienz. This is a 1.5hr journey (and shows how a car can sometimes be worth it – public transportation is readily available everywhere, but often the trip seems to take much longer than driving). Hoping to see Giessbach Falls (by boat on Lake Brienz), have lunch at the hotel, and visit the town of Brienz. If we still have energy after all of this, on the way back we will stop at Meiringen to visit Aare Gorge. Then back to Lucerne.
4. Train from Lucerne to Lugano. Stay in Lugano. We’ll get a travel pass for the Ticino area. We’ll either do the Olive Path to Gandria, or else get to Morcote by combination of bus and boat. I’ve heard Morcote is nicer than Gandria, but it might be a lot of travelling all in one day. Any feedback on this? Is it worth all the extra trouble to go to Morcote instead of Gandria?
5. Visit Locarno, and head into the Valle Verzasca for some hiking.
6. Day trip to Como. I have read the bus to Menaggio is unreliable (another traveller said the bus did not stop there), so I guess we’d take the train to Como station and catch the ferry from there. Visit Villa Balbianello and Bellagio. Ferry back to Como, then train back to Lugano.
7. Taxis are cost-prohibitive and buses are a bit inconvenient, and not necessarily that much better in price, so I guess we’ll be taking a 1.5hr train to Malpensa Airport in Milan. Our flight is scheduled for 3:10pm, so luckily it’s not too early.

Is there a better way for us to execute this plan than how I’ve laid it out? I appreciate your feedback!

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[Anna]

9 July 2022 at 20:07:04 #944121

Hi Elana,

Thanks for sharing your itinerary. It’s certainly well-planned.

Your Tell Pass will cover the round trip to Pilatus and train trip to Brienz. But do take note that you will have to get tickets for the boat trip to Giessbach Falls and back. You can check the Tell Pass validity map here: http://www.myswissalps.com/tellpass/validity

Morcote and Gandria are both charming villages along Lake Lugano. Gandria is really tiny. I think you will have more things to see and do in Morcote. If you have time you can do a boat trip and visit both villages in one day.

Day trip to Como is best done with the train. There are regular services between Lugano and Como San Giovanni. You can check out train tickets to Italy here: http://www.myswissalps.com/traintickets/italy

Regards,

Anna

[Elana]

9 July 2022 at 20:27:21 #944122

Hi Anna,

Thanks for taking a look at my itinerary. It sounds like I am on the right track! I appreciate your feedback.

[Removed user]

9 July 2022 at 22:33:54 #944123

When is your trip dated?

Take the train to Brienz. This is a 1.5hr journey (and shows how a car can sometimes be worth it – public transportation is readily available everywhere, but often the trip seems to take much longer than driving). Hoping to see Giessbach Falls (by boat on Lake Brienz), have lunch at the hotel, and visit the town of Brienz. If we still have energy after all of this, on the way back we will stop at Meiringen to visit Aare Gorge. Then back to Lucerne.

Yes ‘a car can sometimes be worth it’ – but for this day’s itinerary you need to factor in parking (finding as space) paying for parking etc. This is not easy at Brienz and especially not Giessbach. The overall journey times by public transport will be no longer than by car. Also the road route Luzern – Brienz is only ‘faster’ because there are some tunnels that mean you miss the scenery (and the driver will always miss the scenery…) It is also slow and busy over the Brunig pass

. I’ve heard Morcote is nicer than Gandria,

Both villages are tourist traps and can be very busy – not always a very ‘local’ experience)

, so I guess we’ll be taking a 1.5hr train to Malpensa Airport in Milan. Our flight is scheduled for 3:10pm, so luckily it’s not too early.

Malpensa airport is not ‘in Milan’ – far from it. Lugano is only 20km further from Malpensa than is central Milan. The trains are not express trains as it is part of a regional commuter network mainly geared up to local travellers

[Arno]

10 July 2022 at 11:37:48 #944124

Hi Elana!

As for car or train: the times indicated for car traveling don’t factor in any kind of delay. In reality, a car trip in Switzerland usually takes longer than this indicated time. You can find a comparison between car and train traveling here: https://www.myswissalps.com/carversustrain,

[Elana]

10 July 2022 at 14:42:51 #944125

Hello,

We’ll be visiting late August into early September.

We’ll definitely not be renting a car this trip, since we know it can be more trouble and expense, but it is discouraging when (at times) you see that getting somewhere by car takes significantly less time than by public transport. On a trip this short especially, it stings a lot. There is always the chance of delays (even by train sometimes), but still a good chance to make it in good time by car.

At this point I am most interested in feedback regarding Morcote vs. Gandria. I guess we’ll make the final call once we’re actually there, and see how we feel. I am curious if Morcote is “too far” for an enjoyable first day in Lugano. I figure we’ll roll into Lugano station in the morning, have a look around Lugano, and then carry on to either Gandria or Morcote. I have a good idea of the combination hike/boat journey to Gandria, which would probably including a trip up Mt. Bre. But it seems like the trip to Morcote would involve a bus and then sort of a long boat ride back. Or maybe do that in reverse, so we don’t have to worry so much about the boat schedule later on. But it probably would be nicer to mellow out on the boat on the way back, once we are out of energy.

I am also interested in feedback on my Day 5. This is one day that seems more unwieldy without a car (particularly the latter part of the day). It looks like we would have to take a 40 minute train from Lugano to Locarno station. No problem there. Then, if we want to carry on to Valle Verzasca from Locarno via public transportation, we’d need to take the train to Tenero station, switch to a bus, and take the bus about 40 minutes up to the Lavertezzo, Paese stop. That’s if we want to get as far as Ponte dei Salti. At this point I have questions. We are not the type to hike for 10 hours. Maybe like 4 hours at most. I am not sure the best paths to take on foot from this point. Looking at AllTrails (http://www.alltrails.com/explore/trail/switzerland/ticino/valle-verzasca-ponte-dei-salti), it seems if anything that people tend to head further north from here. I saw a nice trail ending in Ganne. Maybe we just take the bus an hour all the way to the Brione, Ganne stop (or some other stop before that, for a shorter hike – suggestions?) and hike down until we are at the bridge. Then we can catch the bus back to Tenero and train back to Gabbani.

For all those moving pieces, I am wondering if the payoff will be worth it (in your opinion), and especially so if we are not planning to swim. Again, we’ll make the final call once we are there, and weather is always a factor. But just trying to get the best idea I can in advance. Thank you!

[Arno]

10 July 2022 at 16:12:47 #944126

Hi Elana,

Yes, sometimes car trips can be faster than train rides in Switzerland. That can go for the route Lucerne-Brienz (but not always since, as 1960man mentioned, the Brünug Pass causes delays). And sometimes it’s the other way around. For example: Lucerne to Lugano. This can be a quick and direct train ride of 1h40 with no changes of trains. The indicated time for a car trip would be about 1h50, but that doesn’t include the traffic jams that very often occur around the Gotthard car tunnel. I’ve waited nearly 3 hours before entering the tunnel on one of my few car rides in Switzerland, and that wasn’t even in high season.

I think both a trip to Morcote as well as to Gandria would be very enjoyable. As for Monte Brè, a hike to Gandria and a boat trip back to Lugano: I’ve made an excursion in this exact same order (being based in Locarno, so with additional traveling time) and liked it a lot. It was very doable and I didn’t feel rushed.

Morcote isn’t that far from Lugano: a roughly 30-minute ride by train to Melide and by bus to Morcote. You’ll find details in the timetable: https://www.myswissalps.com/timetable. A link to boat schedules can be found here: https://www.myswissalps.com/boatlakelugano/gettingthere. You can also force the general Swiss timetable to show boat connections only, using the “Advanced search” function.

As for day 5: there are direct buses from Locarno to Lavertezzo in the morning, where the Ponte dei Salti is located. The ride takes about 40 minutes, and there’s no need to get to Tenero by train first. The change in Tenero is indeed required for the connections later in the day, but that hardly effects the overal traveling time. If you do prefer a direct bus ride, then I’d recommend to travel to Locarno early, then first visit the Valle Verzasca, and explore Locarno once you’re back.

The hike Lavertezzo-Ganne (or the other way around, as you suggested) is a great one. Worth the bus ride in my opinion. You can find details here: http://www.myswissalps.com/hiking/lavertezzo-ganne.

[Elana]

11 July 2022 at 2:10:43 #944127

I’m not sure it would make much sense for me to go to Locarno early just to catch the bus; at that point I would probably just go straight to Ganne from Lugano (1hr15m journey). I hoped to go to Locarno first, have some lunch, take the train/bus to Ganne, hike down, maybe grab some dinner somewhere. Osteria Paradiso might be good, but we’ll have to keep an eye on the bus schedule. Also, do these buses have toilets? Or at least the bus stops?

[Elana]

11 July 2022 at 3:28:19 #944128

At this point I’m thinking it might make the most sense to just skip Locarno to focus on our hiking. It’d be a shame to miss it, but at least we won’t have to feel like we have to get through one to make it to the other. If we have a ton of ambition to go to Locarno after the hike, we can still do it, but I think between the two it might be better for us to prioritize the Valle Verzasca.

[Anna]

11 July 2022 at 9:45:21 #944129

Hi Elana,

No, the buses have no toilets. There are toilet facilities at most train stations. There’s also toilets at Ponte de Salti if you’re heading that way.

regards,

Anna

[Elana]

11 July 2022 at 13:47:01 #944130

Thank you!

[Arno]

12 July 2022 at 9:19:10 #944131

Hi Elana,

I think your decision makes sense. You’ll probably feel more relaxed just focusing on the Valle Verzasca. And who knows, if time and energy allow, you might still be up for a short exploration of Locarno after your hike. A segment of this city hike could be nice: http://www.myswissalps.com/hiking/locarno.