MySwissAlps.com features ads, commercial and non-commercial Skiing holiday in Zermatt, Jungfraujoch in Dec “22
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Hey, this is my first time heading to Europe from Boston, Ma. I am 25 Years old and I have always dreamed of going to Paris and Skiing in the Swiss Alps. Although this is a dream, I am having such a hard time trying to plan this trip out for my girlfriend and I. If someone who is experienced would be so kind to input some advice in the comments below, that would be super helpful! We have around a $10,000 budget between both of us. We honestly are there to adventure and tour and try new foods and see some amazing things and see what being in a different country is like. We both are 100% skiing as well. The main points of my trip I want to be Paris and Zermatt, but I want to explore other parts of Switzerland as well! Here is an itinerary I created. If anyone can look over this, make some suggestions or anything that would be great!
Day 1 [Dec 8th] – Take off from Boston at 6PM & land in Paris 6AM next day (day 2).
Day 2-5 [Dec 9th, 10th, 11th & 12th] – Explore Paris
Day 6 [Dec 13th] – Leave Paris early in the morning & take train to Interlaken, Switzerland.
– Plan to leave Paris 0800 & arrive in Interlaken at 1400. (Should I take a plane instead?)
– Once arrived, check into hotel (any recommended Hotels?) & take a trip up to Harder Klum before heading back to the hotel for evening dinner.
– Spend night in Interlaken, Switzerland.
Day 7 [Dec 14th] – Take a day trip to Jungfraujoch – The Top of Europe & spend the night in Interlaken.
– On the way to the train, I plan to go up via Lauterbrunnen/Wengen from Interlaken since Interlaken has cheaper accommodation than Grindelwald. We will get off at Lauterbrunnen to see the waterfall and walk behind it before getting back on the train towards Wengen. On the way back down, have a meal in Grindelwald.
– Is this a good idea or do you recommend something else?
– Also, do you recommend staying in Interlaken again overnight or heading out to Zermatt after the day trip to Jungfraujoch?
– Any places to grab food after the day trip as well?
Day 8 [Dec 15th] – Leave Interlaken early in the morning & take train to Zermatt, Switzerland.
– I believe we have to hop on the train in Interlaken, change trains in Spiez, take the train to Visp & then take the train to Zermatt? (Is this correct?)
– It’s only a 2.5 Hour train ride, correct?
– Once arrived, settle down, chill out, have some coffee, walk around the resort and shop.
– Are there any recommended hotels you guys can tell me about? (Good prices and Views)
– Do you suggest doing anything else on my first day in Zermatt?
Day 9 [Dec 16th] – Visit the Matterhorn
– Spend the night in Zermatt.
– Is the Matterhorn an all-day thing or should I add something else into the mix on this day?
– Should we go visit the Gornergrat? If so, what day should I add this in?
Day 10 [Dec 17th] – Go skiing in Zermatt (Probably would spend most of the day skiing)
– Should we do anything after Skiing?
Day 11 [Dec 18th] – Zermatt – I’m not sure of anything else we could do… Any recommendations?
– (We love skiing)
Day 12 [Dec 19th] – Again, nothing planned for this day… Should we stay in Zermatt for this day, or should we head out early and take a trip somewhere else?
– One thing I thought of is taking the 8-hour train ride, The Glacier Express to St. Moritz via INTERLAKEN because it’s very scenic.
– Or head to Luzern instead?
– Stay wherever we decide overnight.
Day 13 [Dec 20th] – Head out of wherever we are at the time based off the info you guys provide me, Either Zermatt, St. Moritz or Luzern later in the day and head to Zurich.
– Stay in Zurich overnight.
Day 14 [Dec 21st] – Leave Zurich Airport & head back home to Boston, MA
I need recommendations for the last part of my trip! Should we cancel out some places and spend some more time in others? Should we do other activities? We are open to anything. Again we are a young couple looking to have some fun, see some beautiful places and try some amazing food.
Also, is this too much stuff to do or is this do-able. We are fast movers and efficient.
Any recommendations for this itinerary would be amazing!
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Hi Joey17 and welcome to MySwissAlps.com!
Great that you are coming to visit Paris and Switzerland! 🙂
From Paris to Interlaken – take the train, so you’ll see more, here you’ll find some tips: http://www.myswissalps.com/traintickets/france. Hotel recommendation in Interlaken: http://www.myswissalps.com/interlaken/hotels or http://www.myswissalps.com/interlaken/rentals.
Sure, I also recommend making a round trip if someone goes to Jungfraujoch, one way via Lauterbrunnen, the other via Grindelwald. Here you learn more about Jungfraujoch: http://www.myswissalps.com/jungfraujoch. I think this day will be a busy day, so better to stay in Interlaken again. Note, that in December it will be dark early like around 4-5 pm.
From Interlaken to Zermatt the fastest route takes via a tunnel. To avoid the Lötschberg-Basistunnel for a longer but also more scenic route use Kandersteg and Brig as via-stations. The fastest route, the one you described takes around 2.2,5 hours. Please see the timetable for the details: http://www.myswissalps.com/timetable.
You can find accommodation in Zermatt here: http://www.myswissalps.com/zermatt/hotels and http://www.myswissalps.com/zermatt/rentals. Zermatt is quite expensive, last time I’ve been to Zermatt, we spent the night in Tasch.
If you wake up early you can visit Klein Matterhorn (http://www.myswissalps.com/kleinmatterhorn) and Gornergrat (http://www.myswissalps.com/gornergrat) on the same day. I, personally, prefer Gornergrat, I think the view is better from there.
After skiing you can walk in Zermatt and try some local food, like cheese fondue with white wine. http://www.myswissalps.com/aboutswitzerland/culturehistory/food and http://www.myswissalps.com/activities/culinary/chocolate
At http://www.myswissalps.com/activities/winter/beginnerski you’ll find some tips about skiing, also have a look at http://www.myswissalps.com/wheretogo/winter.
The Glacier Express is amazing, but it does not go via Interlaken. the route is from Zermatt to St Moritz, see at http://www.myswissalps.com/glacierexpress/gettingthere.
Lucerne is also a lovely town, one of my fav: http://www.myswissalps.com/lucerne. From there you can also visit some mountain tops like Pilatus, Titlis or Rigi: http://www.myswissalps.com/pilatus and http://www.myswissalps.com/titlis and http://www.myswissalps.com/rigi.
As you are coming in December, you’ll have the chance to visit Christmas Markets: http://www.myswissalps.com/activities/christmasmarkets.
You can also try sledging, it so much fun: http://www.myswissalps.com/activities/winter/snow.
As you are going to travel a lot, make sure to have a look at the train passes, you can save money with them: http://www.myswissalps.com/train/ticketspasses/practical/chooserailpass. But first you should know your itinerary 🙂
I hope this helps you continue your planning,
let us know if you have further questions.
Ildiko
Wow that was super helpful lldiko! Thank you!
So I do have a few more questions for you. When leaving Zermatt on day 12, do you suggest going to St. Moritz on the Glacier Express or heading to Lucerne?
It depends on you. 🙂
You’ll see the Zermatt – Visp part of the Glacier Express anyway, but the Andermatt-Chur-St Moritz part is the most amazing in my opinion. Glacier Express is one of the most beautiful train rides in Switzerland (and maybe in Europe), so I am sure you won’t regret it. Although it is quite a long ride.
If you would like to see more nature, then choose the Glacier Express. If you would like to see a lovely town then visit Lucerne. Lake Lucerne area is also beautiful (http://www.myswissalps.com/lakelucerne) (I, personally, love Lucerne. It has a great museum too, the Swiss Transport Museum)
Have a look at http://www.myswissalps.com/lucerne/pictures and http://www.myswissalps.com/glacierexpress/pictures, but you can also google “Lucerne” for more photos. Maybe that will help you a bit.
Ildiko
Hi Joey,
Just a quick note on the Staubbach Fall just outside Lauterbrunnen: mid December is late fall/early winter. The amount of water will likely be much less than in spring and summer. Also, as far as a I know, the path behind the fall is closed for the winter season. The tourist agency in Lauterbrunnen would know for sure.
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