[Removed user]

26 April 2017 at 12:36:26 #811554

Hi,

I’m planning a trip for my partner’s birthday in late July. Due to the schedules of other guests and accommodating everyone I’m packing a lot into one trip that I wouldnt otherwise do. My partner and I, and another friend arrive into Geneva Thursday night, and two friends will arrive into Zurich late Friday.

Some assumptions/rational in the proposed schedule to help you understand my thought process

• Three of us will rent a car as it’s more affordable than each of us getting train tickets (to be fair, I’ve not done a complete price comparison)

• Lauterbrunnen for a day- I had originally planned for us to spend the whole weekend doing this, but since other friends decided to join us we wanted to minimize their travel time to a hike destination, and opted for Rigi for Saturday/Sunday.

Please see my proposed schedule below – would love your thoughts.

Thursday

Three of us arrive in Geneva

1840/2120 Outbound flight Gatwick to Geneva

Friday

9-12pm Drive to Lauterbrunnen (3 people)

Lunch in Lauterbrunnen

Hike Options (lower key hike 1-3 hrs)

• Hike to Stechelberg (http://www.myswitzerland.com/ en-gb/valley-of-the-72-waterfalls-lauterbrunnen-stechelberg.html
• Hike to Murren (then Gimmelwald)

  http://www.wanderland.ch/en/r outes/route-0351.html

• Hike Wengen to Klein Scheidegg

http://www.wanderland.ch/en/r outes/route-0352.html

Accommodation – ? Gimmelwald – http://www.mountainhostel.com /

(Friends arrive late evening Zurich)

Saturday

Drive Lauterbrunnen to Weggis or Rigi Bahnen (park)

Friends train from Zurich (they may opt to do the boat beforehand

Lunch

Hike options (more robust, 3-5 hrs)

Mark Twain Trail? Or one of the other ones listed here.

http://www.rigi.ch/en/Experie nce-Enjoy/Summer/Hiking/Hi king-trails-on-Mount-Rigi

Accommodations – Stay in Kulm (At the top) or Kaltbad (spaaas)? Or other options?

Sunday

Hike a different trail (lower key hike 1-3 hrs)

Lunch

1400 Drive Rigi to Geneva (3 hours)

1910 Fly home

Too ambitious?

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[Annika]

27 April 2017 at 10:03:30 #862199

Hi lmnguyen! Welcome to MySwissAlps.

Well, that’s pretty ambitious indeed. Here are some thoughts. First of all, it might be worth doing a full price comparison for car versus train. Car rental and parking costs may add up quickly, whereas a rail pass (e.g. the 3 day Swiss Travel Pass or the Swiss Half Fare Card) saves money on trains and cable cars. More information is at myswissalps.com/carver sustrain.

Now, as for our itinerary:

• Friday: all routes you’ve mentioned are great. You could even combine two by hiking from Grütschalp to Mürren first, then heading town to Stechelberg by cable car and walking back to Lauterbrunnen through the valley. Gimmelwald’s location is beautiful indeed, but other than that there’s not much one can do there. If you like to do some grocery shopping or want to have more choice in accommodation, I’d suggest a stay in Lauterbrunnen or Wengen instead.
• Saturday: yes, an overnight stay in one of the hotels at Rigi would be great. Please find details and booking links through myswissalps.com/hotels /mountaintops. I’m not familiar with the Mark Twain Trail, but there are many hiking options in the Rigi area and you’ll certainly be able to pick a route that suits your and your friends’ needs.
• Sunday: would you like to hike in the Rigi area on Sunday too? Here are some more options in the wider Lucerne area (scroll down): myswissalps.com/lucern e/activities.

Mind to make some back-up plans (such as train/boat rides: myswissalps.com/activi ties/scenictrips or visits to Thun or Bern: myswissalps.com/wheret ogo/towns) in case weather doesn’t allow for hiking.

[Removed user]

27 April 2017 at 12:36:59 #862200

Thank you so much! I’m sure it’s a bit tiresome to respond to the same questions again and again, but it’s much appreciated! I wish there was an easy way to search the forum threads.

I decided on Wengen for the Lauterbrunnen bit and still sorting out more on RIgi. We are planning to hike Rigi bits Saturday and Sunday but will take a look at other activities (esp if it rains or there’s bad weather!)

[Arno]

27 April 2017 at 14:05:45 #862201

Hi lmnguyen,

I’d recommend to use the top menu and the search box, also in the top of the website. Browsing forum threads takes a lot of time, and the information you need to prepare for your trip is mostly readily available in other parts of MySwissAlps.com (see Annika’s links). If there’s anything you can’t find, then the forum is the best place to ask. We’ll be glad to assist.

By the way, I agree with Annika that renting a car may not be your best option. You’ll be visiting a lot of car free areas (Wengen and actually most of the Jungfrau region, Mount Rigi). You car will be in paid parking places most of the time and only be used for your transfers from one region to another. Public transport is excellent in Switzerland: safe, comfortable and eco-friendly.