Swtizerland 1 week itinerary -Lauterbrunnen/Lucern

I need some advice on planning my itinerary in Switzerland. I have booked my accomodation as per below and now need to plan on places to visit during this 6 day trip. We have a few places in mind such as Mt.Pilatus, Jungfrau but would like to know about any other must see places around Lauterbrunnen/Lucerne. Please suggest the best places to visit around Lauterbrunnen / Lucerne area.

Also I was thinking of buying a Swiss half fare card to cover these trips? Should I buy point to point tickets or would I be better off buying the Half Fare card.

18 Jul - Arrive Geneva
19 Jul - Lauterbrunnen
20 Jul - Lauterbrunnen (Visit Jungfrau/Zermatt)
21 Jul - Lauterbrunnen
22 Jul- Lucerne (Visit Mt.Pilatus)
23 Jul - Lucerne

Hi aussietourist! A Swiss Half Fare Card will definitely save you money, so yes, you're better off buying one. As for places to visit: the Jungfraujoch and Pilatus are great viewing points. Other trips to be made from Lauterbrunnen could include a cable car ride up to the Schilthorn, a boat ride over lake Thun or lake Brienz, a ride up to Schynige Platte, and so on. The Bernese Oberland day trip overview may provide other ideas. Lucerne has lots to offer as well. Examples are a boat ride or the cog railway up to the Rigi. This forum topic lists further tips.

Does that answer some questions? Best regards,

Hi Annika,
Thanks for your suggestions and the links you have provided.It will help a great deal in planning our day trips. I am still a bit confused on whether I should go for a Swiss 4 day flexi pass or go for the Half fare card? In case, we go for a flexi pass, does it give discount on non-travel days?

Hello ausstietourist. Yes, a Swiss Flexi Pass offers a 50% discount on non-free travel days as well (as long as they're in between the first and last free travel day). All details can be found on the Swiss Flexi Pass page. I'm not sure if it's economical in your case. In order to profit from discounts on all days, you should plan free travel days right at the start of your stay and at the end, being July 23. That doesn't make much sense, unless you plan to make quite a long and expensive trip around Lucerne that day. Otherwise, you'll be paying for a free travel day you're not really using. The same goes for July 18: if you're not making any longer trips from Geneva, you won't profit from the free travel offered by the Swiss Flexi Pass. You can also choose to take July 19 as your first free travel day, but that would mean that there are no discounts for July 18 in Geneva.

You could do some calculations once you've decided on your exact travel plans, to find out whether the Swiss Half Fare Card or the Swiss Flexi Pass suits your needs better.

hi annika,

I plan to do visit the following places
Day 1 - explore around lauterbrunnen
Day 2. Jungfraujoch
DAY 3.Murren Loop (cable carring and cog railing up to Murren, cable car to Schilthorn, cable car back down but to Stechelberg this time, visit Trummelbach Falls then yellow Postbus back to Lauterbrunnen.
day 4 - From Lucerne go to Mt.Pilatus, lake lucerne
Day 5 - Rigi ,Mt.Titlis

I was thinking of buying the 5 day swiss flexi pass to cover these 5 days or you suggest based on my above itinereary I am better off with a Half fare card?

Also will the swiss pass cover all teh journeys I have mentioned above

I was also thinking of perhaps going for a Tell pass to cover the Lucerne region and a 3 day swiss flexi pass for Lauterbrunnen region.

I forgot to ask whther the swiss pass would cover the follwoing
1. Jungfrau trip
2.Mt Pilatus /Mt.Titlis

Hello aussietourist. In that case, a Swiss Flexi Pass may an option as well, since you'll be traveling on your last day in Lucerne too. I would advise to take a 3 day Swiss Flexi Pass though instead of a 5 day, and use your free travel days for 1) your transfer Geneva-Lauterbrunnen, 2) day 4 and 3) day 5. Day 2 and 3 don't require free travel days, as they include lots of mountain transportation which is discounted instead of for free anyway, even on a free travel day. The Jungfraujoch is discounted by 25%, Pilatus and Titlis are discounted by 50%, and the trip to Rigi is for free. Please take a look at the map under the link 'Overview of the network on which the Swiss Flexi Pass is valid' at the Swiss Flexi Pass page for all details.

thanks for your suggestions. Do amnt of these trips require reservation or we should be fine to borard a train on the days we decide to travel.

Hi aussietourist. No, your trips don't require reservation. You can just buy your (discounted) tickets right before boarding.

Me and My Wife are planning a trip to Switzerland for 2 weeks in March, end, 2012..
We would be staying in Apartments ( Sat To Sat. ) with kitchen and bath. I want
to see the best of Switzerland and would like to make 2 base cities for day trips.
Can you please suggest me 2 base cities from where we can do day trips and
come back to our base city ?..

I have interacted with many forums and friends but i have really got confused.
Some, suggest Lucerne and Grindalwald as 2 base cities.. some Suggest, Lucerne
and Ticino, some suggest, Lucerne and Montreux.., Some suggest Lucerne and Lugano.

Can you please suggest me a good itinerary for 2 weeks on Swiss Rail Pass ?

I would be grateful

Hi vaneet,

Well, it really depends on what you want to see and do. There are not just two places that allow you to see the best of Switzerland. Anyone will answer this from his own preferences and experiences. I could even add a new combination: Interlaken and St. Moritz. You can do many day trips from Interlaken (or any nearby town), then travel to Brig and pick up the Glacier Express to St. Moritz from there. Many day trip options there as well. The timetable allows you to plan all the traveling.

Our website, including this forum, lists many suggestions. You can best review them in order to determine what the best of Switzerland would be in your case.

In case you have other questions, please feel free to open a new topic rather than replying to an existing topic. More people will notice that way.

Have fun preparing!

Thanks a lot.. Arno for your reply.. i will go thru it. In case, i need your guidance in future if i cant decide, i will contact you again..

I hope i have decided the 2 base cities to see most of the Switzerland for 14 days. Lucerne for one week for day trips and trhe other Montreux for day trips too.. Kindly, guide, if i have chosen the wrong places as a base.. Can you please let me know a Holiday home, Apartment, vacation home for a week in Montreux in the range of USD 400 to 500 per week ? i shall be obliged..

Hi vaneet,

The holiday home page lists over 9000 homes and apartments. You can best take a look there. Even more can be found through the link page of the Switzerland section.

Thanks a lot.. Arno..