Switzerland trip with family – 5 day itinerary

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    19 April 2017 at 12:30:12 #861359

    Hi Nihad,

    Day 4 I think is doable but a very long day! There trains might be a little more crowded than on a weekday but it isn’t really a concern I don’t think.

    You could perhaps have an easier time doing the chocolate and cheese factories near Gruyeres from Luzern. Also, you could visit one of the mountains you don’t visit on Day 3 as another option for you.

    For SIM cards: myswissalps.com/ simcard

    Lucas

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    20 April 2017 at 4:41:17 #861360

    Dear Lucas,

    Apologies of coming back again to you but its all changing again. A friend of mine with his family ( 2 kids similar to age of my kids) is also probably joining me. However he has been with his family before to Switzerland and has visited Luceren and Interlaken – TItlis and Jungfrauch, and also the Chocolate factory even though he found bad weather on all days he still enjoyed the mountains. I am now in a quandry because ofcourse he would like to visit new places and since he is coming with us I would also not like to force him to come to places where he has already seen.

    Hence I have been working on the other possible destinations – Gstaad and glacier 3000, Zermatt and Mathorn, is there another mountain called 360 degreees or it refers to the matthorn becuase my friend has heard about it.

    Which is the town or city I should stay in if I would like to do the above mountains? Or should I stay one night in each place. Then remains one more night becuase the 4th night we have to come to Zurich since the swiss pass is valid only for 4 days. Please suggest if I am thinking on the right lines or this would be a bad organisation.

    Also consider that we are pure vegetarians and availability of food is a criteria too.

    I need your advise again as I am back to the drawing board totally confused.

    BR,

    Praveen

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    20 April 2017 at 6:00:03 #861361

    Hi Praveen

    Sorry to hear about the complications – I’d be tempted to inform a friend of mine of my itinerary and let him choose whether to come with me or not 😉 haha.

    If you want to change things and visit those above destinations that is ok too!
    I would stay in Montreux and Zermatt for those attractions – 2 nights at each is best if possible.
    Click the above links and you can read about the attractions near each location and how to get there/what to do there. You shouldn’t have any trouble at either town finding vegetarian options (though perhaps not full vegetarian restaurants. Try contacting Zermatt tourism and Montreux Tourism and they should be able to provide you with specific options.

    I haven’t heard about anything called 360 degrees….perhaps the views are 360 degrees of something? I would assume that is Gornergrat or Klein Matterhorn near Zermatt – click here.

    Lucas

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    20 April 2017 at 13:38:47 #861362

    Dear Lucas,

    I reworked the itinerary . I would really like your honest suggestion and advise if the earlier one was better or should I mix the two in some way :-

    Day 1:- arrive in Zurich at 815 hours – after keeping excess luggage in hotel head to montreaux – head to Roche De Naye straight followed by Chillon castle in the evening and lake cruise.

    Day 2:- Glacier 3000 and Gstaad from MOntreux and back.

    Day 3:- head to Zermatt and do Glacier Paradise

    Day 4 :- Do Gornegot and return to Zermatt – take train to Zurich to cover the Swiss Pass.

    Day 5 :- Zurich Rhine falls and city .

    BR,

    Praveen

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    21 April 2017 at 8:53:40 #861363

    Dear Lucas,

    I sent you a prospective itinerary with MOntreuz and Zermatt. What are your views on the same?

    Best Regards,

    Praveen

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    21 April 2017 at 14:14:11 #861364

    Hi Praveen,

    Your new itinerary can work – day one is quite long however.
    Both itineraries will work – it is just a matter of what areas/sights you want to see more I think! 🙂

    Lucas

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    21 April 2017 at 15:09:30 #861365

    Dear Lucas,

    Which one would you suggest considering that we are with kids .

    BR,

    Praveen

    Annika
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    7103 posts
    22 April 2017 at 12:27:56 #861366

    Hi Praveen,

    I think both itineraries are pretty similar in terms of fun for kids. I think they’ll love the mountains, snow activities at the mountain tops and views in both journeys. So it really comes down to your personal preferences, and whether or not you want to give up your original plans for your friend who’s already visited some of the sights. In any case, your 2nd plan is a fine alternative to your original schedule.

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    26 April 2017 at 14:46:40 #861367

    Dear Lucas,

    I have booked refundable hotels according to both itineraries consider the weather forecast in JUne. I will take a call when i am more closer to the date of my departure.

    I have a question:- Out of my two itineraries Lucerne/interlaken/Gstaad and Montreux/Gstaad/Zermatt which would be more safer considering if we are unlucky and the weather is still being forecasted as cloudy.

    Also advise me if I should book the swiss pass in advance or should i book later because I also will need a family pass for my daughter to go free.

    For the mountain excursions I read that it is better to book later depending on the weather – However is the booking possible at all stations or do I have to do online.

    BR,

    Praveen

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    26 April 2017 at 16:45:26 #861368

    Hi Praveen,

    I can’t comment on what areas of Switzerland may have the best chance of weather, sorry! You’re plan is smart though.

    I would book the Swiss Travel Pass online as soon as your dates are set and locked (you can order the Swiss Family Card at the same time).

    You can buy tickets to the mountains at any time on your trip – no issues there. Jungfraujoch can get very busy in the summer and sometimes buying a ticket the day before is advised (still at any rail station) although in June the same day purchase should be fine.

    Lucas

    Nihad
    Participant
    11 posts
    30 April 2017 at 6:53:54 #861369

    Hi!

    I will be in Luzerne on May 4 evening and am yet to complete planning the itinerary. Please help me out and tell me how to fill the gaps.

    Day 2 – Golden Pass Line – Leave Luzern at 07:05 and reach Interlaken Ost at 08:55. Take 09:08 train from Interlaken Ost and reach Zweisimmen at 10:19. No train to Montreux due to construction. Since we have read that the best leg of the Golden Route is Zweisimmen to Montreux, please help with info about buses to Montreux. I need to return to Luzerne the same day. Will i be able to do this trip or should I stop at Zweissmmen and return.

    Day 3 – Day in Luzern – Trip to Mt. Rigi and rest unplanned yet

    Day 4- Luzern to Broc Fabirque via Gruyeres , start the day 7 and reach Luzerne back at 7 p.m. Long day but worth it if i can visit the chateau, cheese factory, and chocolate factory.

    Day 5 – Have to be in Zurich at night so is there any thing that I can plan during the day or should i just spend the day in Zurich.

    Please tell me which are the routes where i need to pay for reservation surcharge. Can i do it at the station itself. Thanks in advance.

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    30 April 2017 at 8:47:56 #861370

    Hi Nihad,

    Day 2: trains are running on most of the route – there is just a small section where you have to switch to buses and then you get back on the train due to construction. You can still do this route and return in one day if you like.

    Day 3: after Rigi you could spend the afternoon in Luzern exploring the town or taking a boat cruise on Lake Luzern.

    Day 5: Here are our pages on what to do in Luzern and Zurich to help you decide which town looks more appealing to you. I think Zurich is worth a half day of exploring certainly.

    No trains that you are considering require reservations. You can inquire at the train station in Luzern about reservations when you are there (there is a chance the Zweisimmon to Montreux section is full but you can look at reservations a day or two before to see).

    Lucas

    Nihad
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    11 posts
    30 April 2017 at 9:18:28 #861371

    Thanks a lot Lucas, feel more relieved now that the planning part of the trip is almost done. Will try to send report of my trip once I am back.

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    17 May 2017 at 16:22:32 #861372

    Dear Lucas,

    Very near to starting my trip so just wanted to check few things with you.

    I am finally looking at itinerary two with two nights in Montreux and one night in Zermatt( two days) – however I would want to touch Lucerne and also do Mount Titlis the first day and then from there got to Montreux. Just becuase the kids want to also see Titlis. Do you think it is do able?

    Then let me know if I could do some part of the scenic trains like the Glacier of the Golden pass line considering my itinerary.

    Can you give me the best site where realistic weather informations can be obtained?

    Could you suggest the best way to reach Rhine falls on the last day of my trip ? As you said the Zurich pass will not suffice. Will point to point tickets be then cheaper. I have booked teh NH hotel near the airport.

    Excited to get there.

    Br,

    Praveen

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    18 May 2017 at 9:28:31 #861373

    Hi Praveen!

    You could maybe do Mt. Titlis and/or Luzern briefly, but then you couldn’t do Roche De Naye that day as well, but you could probably visit Chillon Castle or do the evening lake cruise.

    Be sure to use the timetable to see the timing of the trains as well as trip duration. Give yourself 2 hours on the mountain tops unless you just plan on just seeing the views and walking around a bit before heading down the mountains.

    You can travel on the Golden Pass line from Luzern to Montreux (via Zweisimmen) on your first day either on a regional train or the panoramic train. Also from Montreux to Zermatt you will be on the same line as the Glacier Express (from Visp to Zermatt) so it is up to you if you want to be on the panoramic train or on a regional (non-panoramic train). On the timetable the Glacier Express is marked as GEX – reservationsare required.

    It is pretty quick from Zurich to the RheinFalls, just enter both into the timetable (or the airport if you are departing from there) and the timetable will give you the quickest trip – an all zone day pass (34chf) will get you to the RheinFall (Schloss Laufen Am Rhein train stop) but is only economical if you plan on using other trains/buses around Zurich that day as well. You can buy the day pass at the train station before boarding.

    Lucas

    Nihad
    Participant
    11 posts
    18 May 2017 at 16:04:08 #861374

    Hi!!! What a wonderful breathtaking vacation I have just had. The trip started badly with weather in India making us lose connecting flight and then delay of 3 days to get our luggage. But I was determined to make the most of what we have, luggage or no luggage.

    Day 1 we reached Luzern around 6 pm and I was too tired to move out but the family checked out the lake, supermarket etc. Day 2 – golden pass panorama route from Luzern to Montreux. Regretted not having booked one night in Montreux.

    Nihad
    Participant
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    18 May 2017 at 16:14:54 #861375

    Day 3 – Mt Pilatus – tram and then cable car. Spent half day and rest of day in Luzern just walking around in the slight drizzle until it got too cold for us. Day 4- trip to Gruyeres, saw the castle cheese and chocolate factory. Day 5- returned to Zurich and walked around the city again.

    Oh I forgot to mention in Interlaken we did not stop except to take train to Thun and visited the castle. Must visit little town.

    I should really thank this forum writers for their tips and would like to add my own tips.

    Order the swiss travel pass online and take printout.

    Check the SBB website and try out different routes for planned itinerary and take printout so that if you do miss one train you can always do something else. That is how we went to Thun. Familiarize yourself with the different station names and platform numbers.

    Dont be too rigid in the itinerary. The whole country is so beautiful that you will not feel bad about missing out a must visit place. And take it slow. Walk around the city, look at the sites, enjoy the locals dancing in the street (we saw an impromptu dance and a dance class/right in the middle of the street). Those who plan Luzern visit stay close to the train station.

    thanks again and have a nice day!

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    18 May 2017 at 17:52:05 #861376

    Glad to hear you had a good trip Nihad!

    Thanks for the post!

    udayaditya
    Participant
    55 posts
    20 May 2017 at 1:32:11 #861377

    Hi Nihad

    Sorry to.hear for your initial inconvenience. Which airlines were you traveling and your originating city?

    Udayaditya

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