Day 1 (31 Mar): arrival at Zurich Airport
- We explained to John and his wife that they needed to buy a standard train ticket for this short arrival trip, as their Swiss Travel Passes would become valid the next day.
Day 2-3 (1-2 Apr): sightseeing in Zurich
- Uetliberg, city walk, and boat ride. We gave them multiple options to enjoy Zurich, such as our city walk that includes all of the old town’s highlights.
Day 4 (3 Apr): travel to Lucerne + Rigi round trip
- Morning: travel from Zurich to Lucerne. We recommended the quickest route, so they had time for a lovely mountain trip in the afternoon.
- Afternoon: Rigi round trip via Arth-Goldau and Vitznau, with a boat trip back to Lucerne. John initially wanted to visit Mount Pilatus, but the funicular was closed for the season, and they wished to avoid the cable car. We suggested the cogwheel trains to Mount Rigi as the perfect alternative.
Many thanks for your assistance, suggestions, video and advice to enable us to get to this point. It has been greatly appreciated.
Day 5 (4 Apr): Bürgenstock + Lucerne city walk
- Morning: round trip to Bürgenstock. This round trip to the Bürgenstock viewpoint consisted of a bus, funicular, and boat ride.
- Afternoon: our city walk in Lucerne.
Day 6 (5 Apr)l: St. Gallen day trip by Voralpen-Express
- All day: return trip to St. Gallen. This trip combined a visit to the historic town of St. Gallen with northern Switzerland’s prettiest train ride: the Voralpen-Express.
Day 7 (6 Apr): travel to Interlaken via the GoldenPass + shopping
- Morning: travel to Interlaken via Meiringen. We suggested the northern leg of the GoldenPass train line, along several wonderful lakes.
- Afternoon: shopping in Interlaken. For a relaxed afternoon, we advised just some strolling and possibly (chocolate) shopping in Interlaken.
Day 8 (7 Apr): round trip to Jungfraujoch
- All day: round trip to Jungfraujoch through the Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald Valleys. To avoid the Eiger Express cable car, we suggested a round trip by cogwheel trains through Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, Kleine Scheidegg, and Grindelwald.
Day 9 (8 Apr): Lake Thun + Beatenberg
- All day: a day around Lake Thun and in Beatenberg. A day trip to the historic town of Thun, including a boat ride, added variation to their itinerary. Although we couldn’t resist recommending a funicular side trip to the mountain village of Beatenberg…
Day 10 (9 Apr): travel to Montreux by GoldenPass
- Morning: travel to Montreux by GoldenPass. Today, it was time for the southern section of the GoldenPass route to Lake Geneva. Because 1st-class seats for their upcoming Bernina Express trip were sold out, our package partner kindly booked them seats in the luxurious GoldenPass Express Prestige class.
Day 11 (10 Apr): Rochers-de-Naye
- Morning or all day: Rochers-de-Naye. They could take all the time they wanted to make the cogwheel train ride to Rochers-de-Naye and its panoramic views.
- Afternoon, optionally: boat ride on Lake Geneva and/or the Chillon Castle. These were optional additional trips: fully included in their Swiss Travel Passes, so no money lost if they decided to skip these excursions.
Day 12 (11 Apr): day trip to Geneva
- All day: trip to Geneva and back, with a great city walk passing all highlights of the old town and lakefront.
John originally wanted to stay in Geneva. To make his personalized itinerary less rushed, I proposed skipping the overnight stay, and added a day trip to Geneva from nearby Montreux instead.
Day 13 (12 Apr): travel to Zermatt + village walk
- Morning: travel to Zermatt via Martigny in the Rhone Valley.
- Afternoon: village walk in Zermatt. Our proposed route through the lively center and quieter outskirts was a nice way to settle in and get to know the village.
Day 14 (13 Apr): Gornergrat
- All day: Gornergrat. To see the Matterhorn without taking a steep cable car to Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, we proposed the easy cogwheel train to the Gornergrat viewpoint.
Day 15 (14 Apr): travel to St. Moritz by Glacier Express
- All day: travel to St. Moritz on the Glacier Express, one of John’s absolute must-do’s.
Day 16 (15 Apr): bus ride to Maloja + Sils-Maria sightseeing
- All day: bus ride to Maloja and back. We suggested a bus trip along the Upper Engadine lakes to a viewpoint overlooking the Bergell Valley, followed by a sightseeing stop in Sils-Maria.
Day 17 (16 Apr): Lower Engadine train trip, with the Wiesen viaduct
- All day: train trip St. Moritz – Zernez – Davos – Filisur – St. Moritz. This circular route, passing the Lower Engadine and crossing the high Wiesen viaduct, is a definite must for an ultimate scenic train itinerary!
Day 18 (17 Apr): travel to Lugano by Bernina Express
- All day: travel to Lugano by Bernina Express train and bus. Although 1st-class seats were sold out when John booked his package in December, we secured 2nd-class seats for this popular route.
Day 19 (18 Apr): Lugano city walk + Monte San Salvatore
- All day: city walk in Lugano with a side trip to Monte San Salvatore. Our easy walking route covered the city and the lake promenade. For a brilliant view, we added a funicular side trip to Monte San Salvatore.
Day 20 (19 Apr): Monte Brè + Gandria + Lake Lugano boat ride
- Morning: Monte Brè. Another funicular trip to a viewpoint near Lugano, yet with a view that differs from the Monte San Salvatore panorama.
- Afternoon, optionally: Gandria and a boat ride. If they still had time and energy in the afternoon, they could make a bus ride to the lakeside village of Gandria, and return to Lugano by boat.
Day 21 (20 Apr): travel to Zurich by Gotthard Panorama Express
- All day: travel to Zurich via Lucerne, by Gotthard Panorama Express train and boat.
I wanted to make sure that John’s travel plan included all of the famous trains! Knowing that the Gotthard Panorama Express only started on 18 April, I put it at the end of his trip and planned the rest around this.
Day 22 (21 Apr): travel from Zurich to Austria
- All day: travel to Austria. After their last night in Zurich, John and his wife would travel to Austria. Although our packages only cover Switzerland, we provided the information they needed to plan this transfer themselves.
Once again many thanks for your assistance… and patience.

Itineraries

MySwissAlps Plan + Package














