[Removed user]

28 May 2017 at 11:14:26 #812011

Hi! Thank you all for lots of useful information at MySwissAlps.

We are 3 adults from different places and arriving Zurich by air on June 22. My one time visit to Switzerland was 30 years ago in Lucern. We are managing to purchase sim card and Half Fare Card in our places before departure or, if not, will do it at airport on arrival.

Please supplement to our following itinerary. Thank you very much!

Day 1: Arrival. Find sim card at Salt shop or Post Office at Airport. Purchase Half Fare Card at train station. Take Tram No.10 to hotel direct. Walk around city.

Hotel: Old Town.

Day 2: Pick up car at Zurich HB. Interested places: Rhine Falls, Stein am Rhein.

Hotel: Lake Constance, Stadd.

Day 3: Drive to Bellinzona. Interested places: Zernes, Swiss National Park.

Hotel: Lake Maggiore, Vira.

Day 4: Drive to Zurich. Interested places: Fox Town, (Traffic tips of A2 Gottard Pass Tunnel on Sunday is needed). Drop off car at Zurich HB. Walk around city, cathedral and museum.

Hotel: Old Town.

Day 5: Train to Zermatt at noon. Purchase 2/3 day Peak Pass. Interested places: Zermatt village, Museum.

Hotel: Zermatt village.

Day 6: Mountain train to Ice Paradise, Gornergrat.

Hotel: Gornergrat.

Day 7: Short Hiking around Rotenboden. Mountain train to Rothorn, Sunnegga.

Hotel: Zermatt village.

Day 8: Train to Lausanne at noon. Walk around city with Hotel Free Pass.

Hotel: Lausanne Train station.

Day 9: Train to Geneva at noon. Walk around city with Hotel Free Pass.

Hotel: Geneva Cornavin Train station.

Day 10: Bus to Annecy and return.

Hotel: Geneva Cornavin Train station.

Day 11: Cable car to Mont-Saleve and return.

Depart at late afternoon flight to London.

All supplement, in particular interested places, are appreciated!

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[Removed user]

29 May 2017 at 9:07:47 #864106

Hi MaRock and welcome to MySwissAlps!

It would be easier for you to buy the Swiss Half Fare Card online prior to arrival – you can then print at home and no need to line up to buy at the airport. You can buy the Swiss Half Fare Card here.

Note, your drive from Lake Constance to Bellinzona will be about 3,5 hours and then you are driving back to Zurich the next day – long trip for one night.

Then you train to Zermatt which isn’t too far from Bellinzona – I would train everywhere in Switzerland, so from Bellinzona train to Zermatt rather than return to Zurich. If you do decide on training everywhere I would look a the Swiss Travel Pass rather than the Swiss Half Fare Card.

Otherwise the rest of your itinerary looks good. If you want tips on what to do in the towns you are visiting have a look at our where to go web page – there is a list of towns there and on each town’s web page a list of nearby activities for you to read about.

Cheers,
Lucas

[Removed user]

29 May 2017 at 9:45:50 #864107

Hi Lucas,

Your input is worth a good think when fine tuning our itinerary.

Thanks!

[Peterli]

29 May 2017 at 21:20:58 #864108

Hej !

When I read your itinerary, it sounds like you have already planned where you will be staying each night. Just in case this is not the case, I will make a few comments and suggestions that may be of help.

First of all, the public transportation system in Switzerland in amazing. However if you are three, then you must pay three times for wherever you want to go. Car rentals as expensive in Switzerland but the flip side is that you will be dividing this cost by three. Travelling by car gives you much more flexibility but you may also have to content with congestion which will eat up your limited time. The autoroutes are superb but keep in mind that they whisk you by the more interesting villages and sites you as tourists would find interesting. You will certainly cover the greater distances (eg, Zurich to Lausanne) in less time and probably zero delays if you use the SBB CFF. Side trips can be made by Postal Cars which synchronize with train arrivals and departures but even so, this is going to eat into your eleven days.

Have you considered making two trips to Switzerland ? If so, you could reserve the Ticino and the area around the Léman (Lake Geneva) and nearby France (Annecy) for the next trip ! This would allow you to explore more in the north. For instance, I see that your Day 2 is pretty busy, starting in Zurich, then to Neuhausen (Rheinfall), then to Stein am Rhein, and then over to Staad. I assume this is Staad in Kanton St. Gallen. However there is another Staad just over the border in Germany, just north of Konstanz, and near there is Mainau, which is an absolutely beautiful visit, if you get a nice day ! Of course, we can’t control the weather but it sure makes a difference on any day you are visiting Switzerland. While you are in the north-east, you could also consider visiting the Toggenburg and Appenzell and if you are into heights, ride to the top of the Säntis, the highest mountain in eastern Switzerland.

http://www.mainau.de/de/openi ng-hours-prices.html

https://saentisbahn.ch/en/

I am serious about a second (and more) trip to Switzerland. I think you would love to explore along the shores of the Léman, Gruyères, Fribourg, Lac Neuchâtel, Berne, Lakes Thun and Brienz and the Interlaken Wengen Grindelwald area, not to mention going back to Lucerne. A boat ride on Lake Lucerne on a nice day is fantastic. Okay, that’s enough from me.

[Removed user]

30 May 2017 at 6:47:16 #864109

Hi Peterli,

That is it, “A boat ride on Lake Lucerne on a nice day is fantastic.” which is one of my ever-fresh memories of travelling around. Certainly I like going to Switzerland again and again. Your informative comments are much appreciated.

Thanks a lot!