Need advice on 22-days trip plan June

Hi there,

I am planning 22-days trip to Switzerland and Germany. This trip is aim to be relax, flexible, and with some easy to moderate hikes suitable for our group of 60s. Got it set finally!!!

I need any input and advice from the expert to see whether I forgot some important points that would make our trip run smoothly. I’ve already reserved hotels in towns as indicated and will have Swiss pass, 15d consecutive. Here is our trip plan:

*Swiss pass travel day Stay at Jun5 Fly to Zurich: BKK 20.35 –ZRH 06.55

• (Jun 6) -Jun6 Travel to Fussen, Germany -> local sight seeing Fussen
• Jun7 Visit Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau Fussen
• Jun8 Travel to Winterthur, Switzerland -> local sightseeing Winterthur
• Jun9 Day-trip to Konstanz and Mainau (Germany) Winterthur
• Jun10* Travel to Lucerne -> Lucerne sightseeing Lucerne
• Jun11* Day-trip to Mt. Rigi Lucerne (boat to Vitznau ->train to Rigi Kulm -> train to Arth-Goldau –> Lucerne)
• Jun12* Day-trip to Engelberg - Mt. Titlis Lucerne
• Jun13* Travel to Interlaken -> trip to Schynige Platte Interlaken West
• Jun14* Day-trip to Mt. Schilthorn, visit Trummelbach Falls Interlaken West (Interlaken to Mürren via Grütschalp, Murren to Interlaken via Stechelberg (a walk from Murren to Gimmelwald)
• Jun 15* Day-trip to Grindelwald – Mt. First-> trek Bachalpsee lake Interlaken West
• Jun16* Trip to Bern –Thun castle – boat to Interlaken Interlaken West
• Jun17* Boat tour on Brienz lake - Giessbach fall - Ballenberg open air museum Interlaken West
• Jun18* Travel to Zermatt via Kandersteg ->local sightseeing Zermatt
• Jun19* Day-trip to Gornergrat– Riffelsee then walk to Gornergrat Zermatt
• Jun20* Travel to Montreux Montreux Visit Château de Chillon, boat tour on Geneva Lake to St-Gingolph
• Jun21* Day-trip to Lavaux Vineyards Montreux (Montreux-Chexbres-Village–Rivas-St Saphorin–Lutry (by boat)–Montreux)
• Jun22* Half-day trip to Vevey Winterthur Travel to Winterthur via Zweissimen
• Jun23* Day-trip to St. Gallen and Appenzell Winterthur
• Jun24* Day-trip to Schaffhausen - Rhein fall - Stein am Rhien Winterthur (boat from Stein am Rhien back to Schaffhausen)
• Jun25 Fly back home:ZRH 11.25 - BKK 07.10 (Jun 26)

-A backup plan at Lucerne => visit Rapperswill

A backup plan at Interlaken => visit Schloss Spiez or St. Beatus cave

Here is my question.

Concerning Jun 6. Do I have enough time after landing to catch a 09.21 train to Fussen instead of 13.21? So I don’t have to wait hours for the afternoon train.

Thanks in advance

JP

Hi JP, welcome to MySwissAlps.com!

Great that you get to spend a few weeks in Switzerland. You've managed to create a full, but doable itinerary, allowing you to visit many of Switzerland's highlights. Just try to be flexible with your plans and adapt them to weather circumstances, doing city visits, boat trips and museums on poor weather days, and mountain top visits on clear days. And try to prioritize your wish list, so that you can decide which trips to prefer in case members of your travel party feel it's too full and need a few days off.

As for your arrival day: if you land at 06.55, you should be able to catch the 09.21 train from the Zurich Airport railway station. If you don't make it, there are plenty of other connections between this train and the 13.21 option. They require more changes of trains and are thus less attractive, but it's good to know the options are there. Your connections don't require seat reservations, so it won't be a problem if you miss your 09.21 train. All connections can be found in the Swiss timetable.

I'm not sure if you already have your Swiss Travel Passes. If not, please find purchase options at www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass/price. The easiest option would to buy your passes as print-at-home passes, without any additional fees, from www.swissrailways.com. Just select "Online Ticket" when asked for delivery options.

Hi Annika,

Thanks for your advise.

I have to make decision whether to buy a train ticket (to Fussen) in advance to get a good price or wait until we arrive at the airport.

We will get our consensus wish-list priority. Thus, everybody are happy in case encountering a bad weather. We do not have Swiss pass yet, may get it on line or buy it at Winterthur train station since we don't need it until the fifth day of traveling.

looking forward to a great holiday in Switzerland.

JP

Hi JP,

If I were you, I wouldn't get train tickets to Fussen in advance. In most cases that will require you to catch a specific train and although I'm pretty confident you'll be able to catch the 09.21 one, you can never be sure.

It would be much easier to get your Swiss Travel Passes in advance through www.swissrailways.com. It's not more expensive than buying in Switzerland and you'll save time in Winterthur. Especially if you're with a group, it will take some time to arrange for your passes at the rail station. When ordering your passes, you can enter the first date of use and the travelers' names. You can then print them at home (select "Online Ticket" for that option) and start using them as soon as needed in Switzerland, without any further validation process.

Hi Annika,

Yes, we are a group of 4. To be on a safe side and more flexible, I will not get ticket to Fussen in advance. Moreover, I've just learned from other post about promotion of 35% discount on point-to-point ticket when buying it together with travel pass. It will be a good chance to buy a train ticket from Fussen back to Winterthur. This promo ends on March 29

I will check that out next month due to a 3-months limit of issuing advance ticket and travel pass.

JP