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Hello,
I’m planning a trip with my friend, we’re both 28, and are looking for some sightseeing and hiking.
the itinerary I planned is as follows:
1) 1st Day land in Geneva at 10am. Take the train to Montreux and stay there (Maybe I should stay in Geneva for a day, see what it has to offer? any nice hiking trips there?) Take a boat ride to Vevey and visit Chillon Castle, maybe also squeeze in gruyere.
2) 2nd Day, Interlaken and Jungfraujoch.
3) 3d Day, Lake Thun or Lake Brienz and then head to Lucerne. Make 2nd base here. Visit mount Titlis.
4) 4th day, Rhine falls and back to Lucerne.
5) 5th day head back to geneva and fly home.
I think I covered here some sightseeings, any other beautiful places you guys can recommend I can see instead/on the way?
I’ve seen on Google maps that driving by car is a lot faster than by train, yet a lot say the train is more comfortable, would you still recommend it?
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HI Blackbear and welcome to MySwissAlps!
I think Montreux is a good idea with plenty to see and do and some nice hikes around Lake Geneva. but I wouldn’t base myself there for some of the trip you note above.
- Day 1 and 2 in Montreux
- Day 3 and 4 base yourself in Interlaken or Luzern or Thun
- Day 5 train back to Geneva for flight home
- I would also skip the RheinFall, too far out of the way and there are more interesting/exciting things to see near Luzern and near Interlaken.
- Most of the time train travel is virtually as quick as car travel (unless your route involves multiple connections – Luzern to Geneva for example is virtually identical travel times. Train travel is typically more convenient and can access more areas of Switzerland than cars can – plus no parking issues/costs. Have a look at the Swiss Travel Pass as an option for you on your trip – you just hop on the train you want and go! You would have to buy a ticket to Jungfraujoch once you reach Grindelwald or Wengen but at 25% off.
- Check train schedules for your planned trips here.
I hope that helps! Let us know if you have further questions!
Lucas
Hey Lucas,
thanks for the help and the detailed answer! Much appreciated.
Where would you base yourself other than Montreux for the first part of the trip?
And do you think I should get us a travel pass? What do you think would be a good option?
I’ll take your advice and skip Rheinfall for this time, and just explore the areas we’ll be staying at.
Thanks again, and waiting for your replies 🙂
Hi there,
Just wanted share my thoughts, based on my recent experience.
Agree with Lucas, don’t base in Montreux and travel to Lake Thun and then go to Lucerne after that – too much overlap. Consider staying in Thun as he suggested or even Fribourg – that’s where my husband and I stayed and it wasn’t too long a ride to Thun.
The Swiss Travel Pass is definitely well worth your money – trains run on time, the system is very easy to comprehend, and you can take multiple bus/train/tram and even boat rides. When we got too tired to walk, or were unsure where to go, we’d just jump onto a bus and let it take us wherever, as long as we knew where we had to go back to. That was so much fun because we got to see parts of the city that nobody really mentions about, and also got to relax while we were “chauffeured” around! The Pass also covers several museums, one of which is the Olympic Museum in Ouchy, Lausanne – I thought that was a very nice place to visit.
Since you are going to stay in Lucerne, consider visiting Mt Pilatus, which is covered in full by the Pass (going up and down). The ride up by the cogwheel train is just lovely and the views from the top, breathtaking. Highly recommend. May be busy and have lots of tourist, but totally worth the trip.
And, again, agree with Lucas, skip Rhine Falls. You won’t be missing much 😉
>> When we got too tired to walk, or were unsure where to go, we’d just jump onto a bus and let it take us wherever, as long as we knew where we had to go back to. That was so much fun because we got to see parts of the city that nobody really mentions about, and also got to relax while we were “chauffeured” around!
I’ve done that on occasions too! Last year I was waiting at the Versam-Safien railway station in the Rhein Gorge for a train back to Chur. I had just missed one, and the next train along was heading in the opposite direction, to Disentis/Mustér, so I decided to get on that instead, and got off at Ilanz, from where there would shortly have been a train heading back to Chur. However, there was a PostBus waiting at the station, so I decided to get on that, which took me to Laax, from where I got another bus to Flims, and then another one to Chur. While this was all done on a whim, I did have my SBB and PostBus apps to confirm I would be able to get back to Chur without getting stuck anywhere!
The bus trip from Ilanz to Laax was wonderful, as the bus climbs higher and higher, affording beautiful views down into the valley, and then goes through narrow village streets with just enough room for the bus to squeeze through. I would like to go back to the area one day to have a good look around.
On the buses, I was apparently the only tourist. Most of the other passengers all seemed to know each other and were speaking the local variety of Romansch, which fascinated me.
I have attached some photos I took that day, with a lot of reflections from the bus windows unfortunately!
Alpenrose
Hi Blackbear,
I think Montreux is a good place to stay for 1 or 2 nights to explore the area. Then either Thun or Luzern as I mentioned on my earlier post. The Swiss Travel Pass is a good bet for you – you can do a 4 day pass and use it on either the first 4 days of the last 4 days (whichever is more expensive).
You can read about what the Swiss Travel Pass covers here (most rail routes and mountains like Mt. Pilatus and more) and how to buy it online if you choose to.
Thanks for all the help, you guys are very helpful!
At the end, I’m staying the first night at Montreux and then basing myself in Interlaken for the rest of the trip. Also got the swiss travel pass you were talking about Lucas, so thanks again 🙂
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