[Removed user]

10 August 2017 at 18:53:29 #812913

Hi,

I and my wife will be landing at Zurich airport on 20/9, will stay 1 night somewhere in zurich.

21/9 – planning to go paris from zurich and may spend 2 nights there. Kindly guide/educate us how to get train from zurich to paris (two way).

23/9 – We will be back from paris to zurich. Free and easy at zurich.

24/9 – Planning to go rhine falls and free & easy at zurich city.

25/9 – Planning to go Bern and suggest me some interesting places which i can cover in Bern.

26/9 – Planning to go Jungfrau Region and suggest me some interesting places which i can cover in Jungfrau Region.

27/9 – Planning to go interlaken and suggest me some interesting places which i can cover in Interlaken.

28/9 – Planning to go matterhorn and suggest me some interesting places which i can cover in matterhorn.

29/9 – Planning to go einstein house and cover some other hot spots. We will have to back to Zurich as next day is our return flight.

30/9 – Our return flight from Zurich airport.

* Apart from my request on interesting places suggestion, i have few more questions as this is our first trip to Switzerland, in fact first trip to europe.

Since we have planned to travel from one city to another, how should we go about hotel booking? Are we supposed to book the hotel in main cities and travel from there? Kindly advise me on this as I’m really lost in this portion.

Next is about our pre-planned itinerary as shown above. Can someone advise us which place/city we should visit in order as we are not familiar with distance of one city to another? By proper travel planning, we will able to save time and cost of transport, rather than travel from one point to another by taking a big round. So kindly someone help on this.

Thanks.

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[Slowpoke]

10 August 2017 at 20:15:06 #868156

H Devregi85-

Welcome to my Swiss Alps. Looks like you’ll have a good chance to enjoy Switzerland.

I can get started on some of the information that you need.

For each of the towns or regions you have named, there is a page in this website that gives a lot of information, including hotels.

Look under the tab “Where to Go” on the homepage:

http://www.myswissalps.com/wh eretogo

<<“Can someone advise us which place/city we should visit in order as we are not familiar with distance of one city to another?”>>

This map is one of several that are useful for travelers. It will give yo the answer to that question. If you zoom in, you can see the train lines and cableways. Use the menu under Points of Interest/Traffic to visualize the location of the station stops.

map.search.ch/

Use the timetable to understand travel times and frequency of service for trains, buses, lakeboats and cableways:

http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable

General “how to” questions that you have asked about travel in Switzerland have most of the answers under:

http://www.myswissalps.com/tr avel/inswitzerland

One aspect of your itinerary is noticeable, and gives me some concern. You do not list Lucerne ( Luzern in the local German spelling.)

All of the forum moderators plus experienced travelers such as my self would recommend Luzern over the Rhine Falls. it is easier to get to from Zürich and has more to offer.

http://www.myswissalps.com/lu cerne

And, time you plan to spend in Zürich could well be spent more enjoyably in or near Luzern.

After you take a look at those links and a map, let us know what questions were not answered.

Slowpoke

[Removed user]

15 August 2017 at 11:51:16 #868157

HI Slowpoke,

Really appreciate your useful tips. However since im still polishing up my itinerary i’m not ready yet to ask more questions at the moment. Guys I may need your help soon as I will finalize the itinerary by this week.

Cheers 🙂

[Removed user]

18 August 2017 at 3:55:11 #868158

Guys,

1) Anybody could suggest which are the main attractions in switzerland not be missed by a first time traveller to swiss?

2) Which travel pass would be suitable for us since we will be staying in switzerland for 10 nights? (couple)

3) Any recommendations for sky dive in switzerland?

4) As we plan to cover most places in switzerland, which option is the best, A or B?

A) Stay all the while in zurich and travel in/out to other area.

B) Book hotel in every area/region and stay near to the attraction.

[Slowpoke]

18 August 2017 at 7:28:59 #868159

Hi devregi85-

Please use the timetable linked in my first post to check travel time from Zürich to the locations that you have listed. You will find that you can reach each one and return in one day. However, in some cases, such as the Jungfrau Region, you will spend a lot of the day riding the train to and from. The extreme case is 4 hours and 3 minutes to get to Jungfraujoch from Zürich main station.

It will take you over three hours to get to Zermatt from Zürich main station, plus time to ascend to one of the many locations for viewing the Matterhrn. You cannot actually go to to the Matterhorn:

http://www.myswissalps.com/ze rmatt

If you use he links to locations suggested in my first post, you will also note that Interlaken is part of the Jungfrau Region:

http://www.myswissalps.com/ju ngfrauregion

Also, if you use the map that I linked, you can see the locations of the various cities, and, by zooming in, you can see the rail lines.

Once you have a list of the specific locations that you select as noted in my first post, you can begin to think about how to travel, how long the trips from one place to another will take, and in what order of locations.

I suspect that you will wish to stay in some of the locations away from Zürich.

By the way, in your first post, you have listed 8 days in Switzerland; in your second post, you have written that you will spend 10 nights in Switzerland. Neither 8 night nor 10 nights are sufficient to “cover most places in Switzerland” even if you spend only a short time at each location. Please use the help at the two links I listed in my first post to help you get started. They will tell you about how to travel, and let you read about interesting places so that you can begin to choose which meet your needs best.

For instance…do you want to hike? See museums? Ride scenic trains? Visit “old towns” in various cities? See the Alps? Take a boat ride on any of the beautiful lakes? It is not clear to me what you might consider to be a “hot spot.” And there might be cold spots by late September, especially in the high Alps. 😉

Also, Einstein House is in Bern:

http://www.myswitzerland.com/ en-us/einstein-house.html

Slowpoke

[Removed user]

18 August 2017 at 14:52:52 #868160

Hi devregi85,

1. There are too many to list (ok well here's a list). But in the end they are all great. Choose the ones that look the most interesting to you and you won’t go wrong. Jungfraujoch is definitely the most well-known (and most expensive).
2. Look at the Swiss Travel Pass or the Regional Pass-Bernese Oberland. Read our page on how to choose the best rail pass as well.
3. Check out this company for a sky dive near Interlaken.
4. B for sure. Zurich is not a convenient location. Try to limit yourself to 2 or 3 towns during your trip. Perhaps Luzern, Interlaken and Zermatt.

Lucas

[Removed user]

21 August 2017 at 11:35:13 #868161

Hi Slowpoke & Lucas,

Both of you great!! Atleast now i have a rough idea on how to come up with a realistic itinerary for my swiss trip.

* Any good train company for two way route from zurich to paris?

[Removed user]

21 August 2017 at 15:54:29 #868162

I don’t worry too much about the train company (usually it is TGV). I go with whatever train is least expensive and the quickest (or thereabout). You can look at tickets to/from Paris and Zurich here.

Lucas

[Arno]

25 August 2017 at 10:05:50 #868163

I agree with Lucas, don’t think in terms of train companies. There are so many in Switzerland, it can become pretty confusing 🙂 They mostly operate on their own routes so you really don’t have an actual choice. Sometimes they overlap but you mostly won’t even notice that. Zurich to Paris is operated by TGV Lyria trains by the companies SBB (Switzerland) and SNCF (France).

[Removed user]

1 September 2017 at 5:10:54 #868164

Hi Guys,

Appreciate for the info given so far, really very useful. Below is my pre-arranged itinerary. Kindly advise if we should add on or remove something.

20/9 – Arrive Zurich airport and stay 1 night in Zurich (near to main station)

21/9 – Get a euro train from Zurich HB main station to Paris Gare de Lyon

21/9 – Overnight in Paris and free easy

22/9 – Overnight in Paris & visit Eiffel tower

23/9 – Get a euro train from Paris Gare de Lyon to basel.

Travel to Interlaken from basel via train. (2 nights in Interlaken)

23/9 – Overnight in Interlaken and activities

24/9 – Overnight in Interlaken and activities

25/9 – From Interlaken travel to zermat(via train) and activities. (2nights in Zermatt)

27/9 – From Zermatt, travel to bern. Sighseeing in bern. Travel from bern to Luzern(via train). Overnight Luzern . (2nights in Luzern)

28/9 – Overnight in Luzern, activities and free easy

29/9 – Back to Zurich from Luzern(via train) and free easy (1night in Zurich)

30/9 – Departure from swiss from Zurich airport.

Note: We have decided to purchase swiss travel pass (8 days). Is it a good idea? Besides this, please suggest any places(must visit) in every town/region which i have mentioned in the itinerary above. Of course, we can get this info via swissalps webpage but we would like to know if there is any “must visit” spot.

[Slowpoke]

1 September 2017 at 7:32:46 #868165

Hi devregi85 –

That looks like a well -organized itinerary. Perhaps a bit heavy on time in Zürich, but we don’t know your arrival and departure times. If your departure time on 30/9 is mid-day or later, possibly even late morning, and very nuch depending on your interests, you might consider extending your stay in Luzern to include the night of 29/9. There are direct trains from Luzern to Zürich Airport every hour at xx10 all day long starting at 0710, taking 1 hour and 3 minutes. In between, at xx35, starting at 0635, there are trains every hour at xx35, requiring a change of trains in Zürich main station, taking 1hr 7 minutes.

And, if you miss the 8 minute connection in Zürich main stationdue to hauling luggage, for example, there are on the order of 6-8 trains per hour , depending on time of day, from Zürich main station to the airport.

Of course, if you have chosen specific things that you know that you want to see or do in Zürich,

http://www.myswissalps.com/zu rich/travel

then your plan as written may well be a better choice.

<<“Of course, we can get this info via swissalps webpage but we would like to know if there is any “must visit” spot.”>>

To give more help on this point than we did earlier in the thread, it would be helpful to understand your interests.

For instance…do you want to hike? See museums? Ride scenic trains? Visit “old towns” in various cities? See the Alps? Take a boat ride on any of the beautiful lakes? It is not clear to me what you might consider to be a “hot spot.” And there might be cold spots by late September, especially in the high Alps. 😉

One Example –

For myself, and for some of my family members (whose tastes I understand), the answers are:

The Rosengart collection in Luzern, and Reinharts am Römerholz in Winterthur.

For others, it is this hike:

http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/the-swiss-path-and-southern-lake-lucerne

or this one:

http://www.myswissalps.com/hi king/maennlichen-kleinescheidegg

For others, it is Restaurant Kronenhalle in Zürich, near Bellevue, and the tomb of James Joyce near the Zoo on Zürichberg.

As noted previously by Lucas, there are lists to help guide you.

Slowpoke

[Removed user]

5 September 2017 at 4:18:23 #868166

Hi Slowpoke,

Thanks for your advice.

i have one more question but not sure if this is the right platform for it. Kindly help if possible.

As i mentioned in earlier thread, i will be going to paris also from zurich via train(TGV). For your info, we are malaysian. So i understand we do not need a visa for most of europe countries. However, when we travelling from zurich to paris (via train), how are we going clear france immigration? Is there any immigration stop during the train journey? Will our passpost get immigraton s

[Removed user]

5 September 2017 at 4:19:43 #868167

Hi Slowpoke,

Thanks for your advice.

i have one more question but not sure if this is the right platform for it. Kindly help if possible.

As i mentioned in earlier thread, i will be going to paris also from zurich via train(TGV). For your info, we are malaysian. So i understand we do not need a visa for most of europe countries. However, when we travelling from zurich to paris (via train), how are we going clear france immigration? Is there any immigration stop during the train journey? Will our passpost get immigraton stamp one reach paris?

[Removed user]

5 September 2017 at 9:53:48 #868168

Hi Devregi85,

There is no customs/immigration between Switzerland and France as they are both in the Schengen Zone.

Happy travels!

[Removed user]

15 September 2017 at 19:07:58 #868169

@lucas, Thanks for your info.

We will be travelling to jungfraujoch on 24/9 from our hotel in grindelwald. I have heard that the weather is quite unpredictable at the peak of mountain.

So, is advance booking(train) to jungfraujoch really needed or can we just walk-in on the day itself?

Which sim card has coverage in both countries, switzerland and france?

[Removed user]

15 September 2017 at 23:44:12 #868170

Yes, we usually recommend buying your tickets to Jungfraujoch the day of or day before you want to go, once you know the weather i clear.

As for Simcards, the one explained here (Simly card)is works in both Switzerland and France.