Switzerland in August or September?

Just get to know this fabulous website when I was planning for trip to Switzerland. This is my plan for 4 adults : Singapore -> Milan -> Switzerland -> Paris in either August/September. This is my duration in each city,

• Milan - 3 days
• Switzerland - 6 days
• Paris - 3 days

Firstly, I can't decide if August or September is better month to go, any kind soul can help?

Secondly, I have been reading too many materials on Switzerland then I get greedy - I wanted to go so many places in Switzerland but I realize I do not have the luxury of time to do that. Can anyone advise me on the 'must visit' place Switzerland? I know this is depend on personal preference. What I am looking for

• some breathtaking mountain view,
• little to moderate of walking (not too hectic),
• little of scenic train ride, and
• get to enjoy how's the local live (although 6 days of Switzerland is too little to do that - that is the reason why I said I am getting more greedy.)

Many thanks in advance. :)

Hi Ellyfong-

Welcome to the forum.

Here is small start on answers to your questions.

1.- Go in Seotmber. Much less crowded, and often the best weather.

2.- In order to get more time in Switzerlnd, skip Paris and Milano. ;-)

For a start on where to go check the features on this web site. particularly "Getting Started" and "Where to Go."

Consider Lucern and the Jungfrau region of the Bernese Oberland. That will meet your first three interests

For your 4th interest, perhaps Arno and Annika can suggest some form of farm stay, country inn, etc.

I know some back country inns but they tend to require significant hiking, or have only limited access by public transport.

Slowpoke

Thank you Slowpoke for your kind advise.

1- I had just confirmed my ticket in Aug 2016 this morning and keep trying to update my post here but fail to do so.

2 - There are 4 of us, some are keen to Milano and Paris for shopping, so this is the final compromise plan for us which including of little bit shopping in order to please everyone :) We will be arriving in Milan on 16 Aug at 9am, then leaving Paris to home on 29 Aug at 12pm. Following is my draft plan after ticket confirmed.

Travel Period : 16 Aug 2016 - 29 Aug 2016

• 16th to 18th Aug : Milan
• 19th to 25th Aug : Switzerland
• 26th to 29th Aug : Paris

Now I will have more days in Switzerland. Here is the general itinerary then. Will work on more details once every accommodation/transportation is finalized in later stage.

• 16th & 17th - Milan & surrounding. Any advise where should I stay so that it is more convenient for my next departure from Milan to Lugano to Luzern on 18th?
• 18th - Lugano to Luzern, night at Luzern
• 19th - Bern / Rhine falls, night at Luzern
• 20th - Mt Titlis, night at Luzern
• 21th - Lake Brienz Cruise/Up to Brienz Rothorn Bahn/visit Open Air Museum Ballenberg. Night at Interlaken region - any suggestion?
• 22th - Train ride & explore Jungfraujoch area. Night at Interlaken region. Will consider to visit Grindelward / Wengen if weather is not permitted to go up the mountain. Night at interlaken region.
• 23th - Taking golden pass scenic train from Interlaken to Montreaux. Realize there is connecting train from Montreux to Geneva every hourly, however should I spend a night at Montreux instead of Geneva?
• 24th & 25th - Plan to explore in Geneva and surrounding area.
• 26th - Off from Geneva and head to Paris.
• 27th to 29th - Paris

Hope to get some comments on the above plan from all the experts here! Many thanks in advance.Have a nice day ahead.

Regards,Elly

Hi Elly, thanks for joining us.

Don't worry, August is a good month for a Switzerland visit. It's tourist high season so some attractions may a bit crowded, but you'll certainly get to enjoy yourselves!

Here are some tips for your plans in Switzerland. First of all, you'll be traveling quite a lot so I'd definitely recommend an 8 day Swiss Travel Pass. It will cover all regular journeys by train, bus and boat, provide free public transportation in towns and provide discounts on mountain trips. Prices are listed here. Right now, you'd best get it online from www.swissrailways.com/ en and pick "Online ticket" when asked for delivery options. That way you'll get to print your passes at home without any further shipping or handling fees. There's time to wait though and see if any interesting promotions come along. We'll mention them at our forum if there are any, and also include them to the "Promotions" tab on our Swiss Travel Pass page and our general "Promotions" section.

Here are some further tips:

• when traveling form Lugano to Lucerne, you may consider the Wilhelm Tell Express. It's a very scenic ride. If it takes too long for your travel party, you can do the same route using regular trains and skip the boat part. All connections can be found in the timetable;
• hotel suggestions for Lucerne are here;
• August 19: Bern and the Rhine Falls are quite far apart, so it would be easier to do either of them and not both. If you like a city visit, it would make more sense to combine the Rhine Falls with Zurich rather than Bern;
• hotel suggestions for Interlaken, including tips for smaller towns in the region, are here;
• August 23: whether or not to spend the night at Montreux depends on your preferences. Montreux gives access to some great sites of interest, like the Chillon Castle or viewing point Rochers-de-Naye. If you're interested you could spend a night there, do some local sightseeing on the morning of August 24, and then head for Geneva. It does mean that you'll have yet another hotel/base town transfer, including the time spent on packing and unpacking;
• please visit our Geneva page for sightseeing tips and hotels.

You've mentioned interest in Swiss traditional culture. Good that you've added the Ballenberg museum to your list; it's very interesting. To be honest, your current itinerary doesn't leave much room for long cultural side trips, but there are a few options that won't be that time consuming. For example, you may enjoy a fondue dinner in a restaurant, or try to include a visit to Gimmelwald and its dairy farm on August 22. A short guided city tour could be an option as well. A guide will provide interesting info and you'll get to ask anything you'd like to know. Here are some examples.

Thanks Annika for the great advise. Will definitely look into the info given when I have time. May coming back for help after I have finalize the itinerary. Once again, thanks for the great help here. :)