Swiss Itenary Suggestion

Hi Experts ,

We are taking a trip to Paris & Swizz.3 nights in paris & 4 Nights in Swiss. We (2 adult) would be travelling with 16 month baby (Scared to travel). As recommended by you in my prv post regarding the passes i have purchased Paris pass(2 Days) and Swiss Pass (4 days).

I will be travelling from paris to basel and from there towards my hotel @ BnB Chalet-Gafri which is at Wilderswil-Interlaken. (Train Journey tickets not booked) I would need your help in following things:

- From Basel should i travel direct to Interlaken OST via normal train OR Basel -> Luzern(Normal train) and Luzern-> Interlaken (Panoromic train) and then reach Wilderswil

- I am not able to plan any trip as i am not sure which places would be suitable for my 16 month baby. Need help to suggest for 3 days trip

- We would love to visit Mount titlis , jungfraugh etc but just not sure if that will suite the 16 month baby.

- Is Swiss Stroller friendly ? Cos my storller is sturdy but heavy so not sure if this would be perfect for swiss?

- Last Day 4 - i would be taking Gloden Rail from Interlaken to Montreaux . I have not booked any reservation yet.

I would request you to please help me plan my itenary. I am traveling in next 5 days :)

Hi samcool80!

Let's take a look at your questions:

• you've indicated that your baby doesn't like traveling. If that's a serious issue, you'd better minimize traveling times. In that case it's best to travel from Basel to Wilderswil directly. Traveling via Lucerne would be a detour and add an extra 1h30. If it's not that big of a problem and you'd enjoy a scenic ride, sure, you could travel via Lucerne and the Golden Pass route. Both options are fully covered by the Swiss Travel Pass and don't require seat reservations. You can find traveling times with the aid of the timetable. To see the Golden Pass variant, enter 'Lucerne' as a via-station between Basel and Interlaken Ost;
• the Titlis is too far off from Wilderswil in my opinion. You'd better focus on the Jungfrau region during your 3 days stay. The Jungfraujoch could be an option, but beware of altitude sickness with your child. You may want to opt for viewing points that aren't that high, such as Schynige Platte, Brienzer Rothorn, Männlichen or First. You may like a boat trip on Lake Brienz or Lake Thun or some easy hiking as well;
• yes, Switzerland (not spelled Swiss or Swizz by the way ;-)) is quite stroller friendly. You see lots of parents traveling with strollers, even in mountain trains and cable cars. They even use them on the easier hiking paths.

<<"- We would love to visit Mount titlis , jungfraugh etc but just not sure if that will suite the 16 month baby.">>

Do you have a suggested upper altitude limit for your 16 month old? Some other posters on the forum have mentioned specific numbers. It is easy to find out the altitude of various mountains, to compare.

Wengen is at about 1300 meters, Männlichen at about 2230, Kleine Scheidegg at 2061, Jungfrau 4150 meters above sea level. (M.ü. M in the German abbreviation.)

There are many ways to get those altitudes; I chose to look a the map in this link:

map.geo.admin.ch/?X=164115.68&Y=639663.9 8&zoom=4&lang=en&topic =ech&bgLayer=ch.swisst opo.pixelkarte-farbe&layers_opacity=0 .65&layers=ch.swisstop o.swisstlm3d-wanderwege

Zoom in and out to expand or contract the map.

You can also enter the names of the towns and famous mountains in Wiki:

en.m.wikipedia.org/wik i/Brienzer_Rothorn

A walk on the floor of the Lauterbrunnen Valley ( or bus - they are on the same route) is at about 8-900 meters, has beautiful waterfalls, and can include a round trip such as -

Lauterbrunnen - Stechelberg- aerial cable cars via Gimmelwald to Mürren ( 1640 meters) - walk or train (trolley) to Grütschalp (1486 meters) - aerial cable car to Lauterbrunnen. Or, do it in the other direction.

Hey Annika,

Sorry for the confusion , My baby loves to travel... we parents are scared of how things will be.

Do you suggest me to first try smaller mountain and if he`s able to cope up then try for Jungfraujoch ?

Day 1 - will be reaching my hotel @ about 18:00 Hrs so i would not be able to visit any place except for the nearby local place.

Day 2 - Trip to Lucerne / interlaken ? If yes which place would you suggest ?

Day 3 - Trip to Lauterbrunnen or Jungfraujoch

Day 4 - Exit from wilderwill Hotel and move towards Geneva via Golden Rail - Interlaken --> Mondreaux

Havent heard about these place which other member suggested :

Lauterbrunnen - Stechelberg- aerial cable cars via Gimmelwald to Mürren ( 1640 meters) - walk or train (trolley) to Grütschalp (1486 meters) - aerial cable car to Lauterbrunnen. Or, do it in the other direction.

the itenary that i have seems to be very unorganized trip and not planned . thus seeking your kind advice.

<<"Havent heard about these place which other member suggested :Lauterbrunnen- Stechelberg- aerial cable cars via Gimmelwald to Mürren ( 1640meters) - walk or train (trolley) to Grütschalp (1486 meters) - aerialcable car to Lauterbrunnen. Or, do it in the other direction.">>

This is a very nice, easy trip. It is not exciting like the ones that go up to the high mountains. So, a tour group or organizer would probably not put it on the list of targets. It is a good back up excursion when it its too cloudy to go up high.

You might find the following document useful, if it is not too much for you. Lots of good details.

www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/tips-about-wengen-and-the-jungfrau-region-by-kim

<<"Do you suggest me to first try smaller mountain and if he`s able to cope up then try for Jungfraujoch ?">>

I'm not a doctor of medicine, so I don't give medical advice. Here is some engineering advice, instead. The best thing you could do to address this issue is move from vague speculation and limited information from tourist guides (this forum) to more useful quantitative data, when you are making a decision about the health of a person. Especially one who cannot communicate clearly.

What is the guidance from your child's doctor about altitude? I can assure that once you get up on the Jungfrau, it will take quite a bit of time to get down again, so watching for symptoms may not be a way to get real fast action if you observe problems. Unless you join REGA.

www.rega.ch/en/home.as px

Slowpoke -

<<"Day 1 - will be reaching my hotel @ about 18:00 Hrs so i would not be able to visit any place except for the nearby local place">>

Train travel from Basel EuroAirport requires 2 hrs and 32 or 36 minutes to reach Wilderswil.

It does require a bus for the first leg, and a fair number of changes of train (how many depend on which specific trip) as well as some for walking 6 minutes in Basel. It would be a bit tiring with a lot of luggage and a small child, I suspect. If I were coming in jet-lagged on an intercontinental flight, I'd not want to do it myself. If you are on the European clock by then, perhaps it would be tolerable.

The journey starts every half hour until 1830, then 1930, 2037, 2107, 2137 (this one has a fully loaded train on the leg from Basel to Olten at 2202---shift change at the SBB?), and 2307.

www.myswissalps.com/ti metable

The train at route at 1730 has relatively few changes, as does the one at 1830.

Both offer a restaurant car during the 2 hour segment from Basel to I. Ost.

A taxi might be an option at Interlaken. Swiss cabs are not cheap. but for larger parties and short distances, they sometimes make sense.

At least, if you miss a connection, there would be another one not too long after soon after. Most routes are identical; one goes through I. West instead of I.Ost, which is a minor issue to fix with a train, bus or taxi.

Hey

I would be reching Basel from paris via euro rail @ around 15:26Hrs thus will be taking a train for interlaken OST for 15:31 or 15:59 . from interlaken OST hotel would come and receive or alternately will take bus 105 to winderswil , Dorf

The information that you seek is in the timetable

www.myswissalps.com/ti metable

You will need a map of Basel SBB station, available on the SBB website, which shows the track number (if properly zoomed).

plans.trafimage.ch/bas el-sbb?lang=en#?layer=basel_innenplan& x=611450&y=266342&r=0. 24

Your schedule and tracks -

I have attached a screen capture of a random day schedule on your route for Basel SBB.

I have expanded the section for your TGV from Gare de Lyon to Interlaken, showing the change for the 1531 departure. The TGV continues to Zürich.

You arrive on track 9 and depart on track 10. They are both on the same platform.

The 1559 train leaves from platform 6. Note high occupancy in second class for the Basel to IO leg. (red figures at right.)

Hope this helps.

PS- I am not recommending it, since you travel with a small child, but you have the option to walk around Basel for a bit if you put your luggage in the Left Luggage office ( for a fee, of course!).

www.myswitzerland.com/ en-us/tinguely-fountain-basel.html

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNw7ZpMhQa8

The Tinguely Fountain is likely to please all three of you, and it is a 10-15 minute walk from the station, in the direction of the Altstadt.. It is one of the major visusl attractions in Basel.