[tamal]

21 February 2019 at 7:30:35 #820037

Hi

I am an Indian. me and my family plan to tour Switzerland in July 2019. we are a mixed age group ranging from 62 to 27.

What i have loosely planned is as below –

• Arrive at Lausanne by tgv from paris. take a car/train to zermatt for 2 nights.

• In zermatt – i would love to go to kein matterhorn, then to gornergart by cog rail and then to rothorn too by air zermatt. i intend to do the europoaweg skybridge walk too. am i overdoing it? is it possible, given the time available? can there be acclimatisation issues?

• From zermatt i like to take glacier express to st moritz – 2 nights. We would like to go to diavolezza and muottas muragi (or should i do piz nair instead?). hike to lake staz as well.

• While leaving st moritz, can we do the bernina express trip to tirano and back and then go onwards to interlaken for 4 nights? Here we want to go to Schilthorn and Jungfraujoch and harder klum too. Hike to unterseen and panoramaweg and lauterbrunnen to strechelberg!.

• While leaving Interlaken we would like to see mt titlis and then move on to Zurich 1 night. is that possible considering we will have luggage to carry? We leave Zurich next day for home.

Will Swiss saver pass for eight days through, will be right pass for us instead of Eurail pass, since we will be arriving after the France leg of our tour? how are chances of rain at that time?

This is a very loosely compiled plan, and I need your good advice on this as you do regularly, I find from your website – which is quite comprehensive and helpful, considering the reports and remarks.

Best wishes

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[Removed user]

21 February 2019 at 18:10:19 #904688

Hi Tamal and welcome to MySwissAlps!

What a wonderful trip you are planning, and congratulations on giving it a lot of thought already.

Generally speaking, given the amount of travel you are doing within Switzerland, a Swiss rail pass would make most sense (more so than a Eurail pass). Here are a few links to help you with your choice:

• Overview: http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses
• How to choose a rail pass: http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses/prac tical/chooserailpass
• For peace of mind, you can have a look at more info on Eurail also: http://www.myswissalps.com/mu lticountrypasses

More specifically, I think the Swiss Travel Pass might be a good option if you want ticketless travel and flexibility during your stay: http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass

If you want to be absolutely sure you are getting the right pass, you will need to input every journey into the handy spreadsheet calculator on this link and choose the best rail pass: http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses/prac tical/chooserailpass

There are also discounts for groups of 10 or more, but this only applies for specific trips not for the amount of travelling you will be doing 🙂

Generally speaking, your itinerary looks a bit too packed to me! The number of days in the different areas is fine but you may want to be less ambitious with your plans whilst you are there. To be sure you have enough time to do everything you want, build a more detailed plan and check travel times between each point using our timetable tool: http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable

Regarding acclimatisation in Zermatt, to be on the safe side I would attempt the Klein Matterhorn on the second day rather than the first (check altitudes of each place). However, it really depends if at home you live in the mountains or at sea level – this will make a big difference to how your lungs and cardiovascular system adapt to the altitude. The best is to make stops along the way and not make a big ascent in one go, and ensure that windows on train carriages are open so you can breathe in the new levels of oxygen to let your body adapt!

For the last day in Interlaken, you should be able to leave your luggage at the station: http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/practical/luggage

Regarding the weather, July is a fantastic month to visit Switzerland! Although make sure you still bring warm clothing for the higher altitudes 🙂 http://www.myswissalps.com/we ather

Hope this helps and good luck planning your trip!!

Maria.

[tamal]

22 February 2019 at 6:27:43 #904689

maria

thanks for your prompt suggestions.

i knew it was a packed calender, but i needed your opinion on it.

let me check your links first and get back to you, definitely with more questions.

God bless you.

[tamal]

28 February 2019 at 6:01:37 #904690

hi Maria

i have checked your links.

for zermatt – i am dropping the heli trip and the europaweg for time constraint. will rest the first day, as you rightly suggested and then got to gornergrat first in the morning and then klein matterhorn in the afternoon, weather permitting. i think that is doable!

for st moritz – pls tell me whether i should opt for muottas muragi or piz nair. once again i will try diavolezza in the morning and the other in the late afternoon, while do the lake staz thing during lunchtime. pl suggest..

in interlaken part – should i stay at lauterbrunnen or interlaken (cost wise and to save some time)? or are there better options!

i have asthma, which bothers me at times. kindly suggest me some easy hikes in this region, i would feel bad if i can’t do some, especially downwards like maybe from lauterbrunnen to strechelberg.

your advice on luggage was great. they do offer to send the luggage for drop at zurich airport directly, which will keep our hands free for the last two days in interlaken/zurich. what a wonderful service indeed.

pls advice, particularly on whether i am missing something in those areas.

best wishes

[Removed user]

28 February 2019 at 18:49:57 #904691

Hi again Tamal,

I cannot comment on the St Moritz section as I have not been up to those mountain tops, but from I can see Muottas Muragl has quite a lot to offer!

Interlaken or Lauterbrunnen? Well, Lauterbrunnen will be further up the mountain so closer to all the attractions, so I would say stay there. You can see for yourself if you check the timetable: http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable

For hiking suggestions, have a look at this link: http://www.myswissalps.com/hi king

There you can search for hikes by region and also difficulty level. I also have asthma so I know exactly what you mean – you might find that the mountain air (which is less polluted) helps. I would suggest you attempt an easy hike and then if you find it too easy you can try a moderate hike the next day. Downwards should not be a problem at all with your asthma (in fact the opposite), unless you have bad knees! In which case poles might help. Also take into account altitude, as the higher it is the more difficult it will be, owing to lower oxygen levels!

I personally don’t think you’re missing anything, if anything your plan is very ambitious 🙂

Great to hear about the luggage!

Hope this helps and have a great trip!

Maria.

[Arno]

28 February 2019 at 19:28:21 #904692

Hi Tamal,

You can’t go wrong with Muottas Muragl or Piz Nair, both offer absolutely stunning views. And both offer hiking to explore the area even better. You can find suggestions through Maria’s link or here: http://www.myswissalps.com/st moritz/activities.

[tamal]

1 March 2019 at 3:53:38 #904693

Maria,

thanks for your advice and what a wonderful website indeed.

let me check some more and get back.

God bless you.