7 days Swiss Tour Visp&Lauterbrunnen during Easter

  • Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    13 December 2017 at 9:57:53 #813817

    Hello,

    I’m planning for a 7 days Swiss trip with my wife. Our itinerary is as below

    Day 1: Arrive in Zurich, visit Rhine Falls (overnight stay in Zurich)

    Day 2: Visit Zermatt & overnight stay at Visp

    Day 3: Visit Montreux & overnight stay at Visp

    Day 4: Visit Lauterbrunnen & explore nearby villages (overnight stay in Lauterbrunnen)

    Day 5: Visit Jungfrau(overnight stay at Lauterbrunnen)

    Day 6: Visit Lucerne

    Day 7: Fly to London from Zurich in the afternoon

    Am I missing any area that I should cover or anything I could do to make our travel more efficient? We have nothing to do on day 7 & would like to hear some suggestions. We would like to cover the scenic train routes as well. Please suggest.

    Regards,

    Josh

  • Effortlessly learn from the questions and answers in the forum. Receive a daily e-mail with new discussions.

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    13 December 2017 at 19:31:51 #872857

    Hi JoshMithy, and welcome to MySwissAlps,

    It looks like a pretty busy schedule to me. Here are some of my thoughts.

    There is a scenic train route from Zurich to Zermatt. Please have a look at this thread: http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/scenic-ways-to-get-from-zurich-to-zermatt-by-train. I’m not sure how much time it will leave you for visiting Zermatt. Not sure if you would like to visit Gornergrat or Klein Matterhorn. You could skip Montreux and use day 3 to visit Zermatt. You could also take the fast route (even skip the Rhine Falls and travel immediately to Zermatt) and use the scenic option to go from Visp to Lauterbrunnen.

    Another option is to take the Golden Pass from Montreux via Zweisimmen to Interlaken. In Interlaken you can take the train to Lauterbrunnen.

    Keep in mind that the weather might be bad and not worth a visit to Jungfraujoch. Either plan a backup day or think about another activity you could do. A boat trip perhaps.

    Have you already thought about what you would like to do in Lucerne? Just visiting the city or are you planning to visit any of the mountains there. Click here for more information about the activities in Lucerne. If you are thinking of buying the Swiss Travel Pass it might be a shame not to benefit from some of the great offers. The trip to Mt. Pilatus is for free for example.

    The Swiss timetable is helpful when planning your trip.

    rockoyster
    Participant
    8889 posts
    13 December 2017 at 20:21:57 #872858

    Hi Chantal,

    JoshMithy doesn’t say when they are travelling but Pilatus is only 50% discount in 2018.

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    13 December 2017 at 20:32:42 #872859

    Hi rockoyster,

    I keep forgetting that it’s already December and people are most likely planning for next year. Thanks for the reminder!

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    15 December 2017 at 13:24:36 #872860

    Hello Chantal. Thanks for your suggestions. I’d like to check with you if it’s advisable to visit Jungfraujoch during the last week of March? Is the weather really bad? If it is, then we should be looking at other places.

    Arno
    Moderator
    15471 posts
    15 December 2017 at 18:37:42 #872861

    Hi Josh,

    The weather in the mountains is very changeable all year round. One can’t say that one month is better than the other for a Jungfraujoch visit, but one day will be better than the other. For example: on average September is a very nice month, but even then a whole day of rain is certainly possible. You’ll only know until you’ve checked the weather forecast two to three days ahead of time, and again the prior evening. So go for it I would say, but have alternative activities in mind for bad weather.

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    18 December 2017 at 16:35:58 #872862

    Thanks Arno. Is Swiss Pass valid on all the scenic train routes including Golden Pass, Glacier Express? Also do I need to make any bookings on these trains?

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    18 December 2017 at 19:26:09 #872863

    Hi Josh,

    Yes, these routes are covered by the Swiss Travel Pass. On this page you’ll find more information about the validity of the pass.

    You do not need seat reservations for the Golden Pass, although reservations are recommended for some trains on the Montreux to Zweisimmen leg. You can make a reservation here if you wish. For the Glacier Express you need to book your seats in advance which can be done here.

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    18 December 2017 at 19:44:43 #872864

    Fantastic Chantal. Thanks for posting those links directly. I came across https://www.swisspasses.com. Is this a genuine website for purchasing Swiss Travel Pass (it’s the cheapest £287, on the official website it costs £301) ? Also in general are there any discounts on the Swiss Travel Pass (8 Day )?

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    18 December 2017 at 20:33:28 #872865

    Hi Josh,

    We work with other retailers. I think Happy Rail charges around the same price as you found on internet. You can check it here: http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass/price.

    If there are any promotions, we list them here. Currently we aren’t aware of any.

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    19 December 2017 at 1:49:31 #872866

    >> One can’t say that one month is better than the other for a Jungfraujoch visit, but one day will be better than the other. For example: on average September is a very nice month, but even then a whole day of rain is certainly possible.

    To illustrate Arno’s point, here are two pictures of the Lauterbrunnen Valley taken within a few days of each other in September last year.

    September is said to be the best month to visit the Jungfrau Region, but anyone who had only one day there, and that happened to be 5 September last year, would have seen little but cloud. Had they spent a few extra days there, they would also have experienced clear weather, both at Wengen (where those photos were taken) and on the Jungfraujoch.

    >> Day 4: Visit Lauterbrunnen & explore nearby villages (overnight stay in Lauterbrunnen) Day 5: Visit Jungfrau(overnight stay at Lauterbrunnen) Day 6: Visit Lucerne

    If I were you, I would keep a constant eye on the weather forecast and be ready to do a Jungfraujoch visit on any of those days – in fact, on the first clear day – and re-arrange your other activities accordingly.

    On your arrival day in Lauterbrunnen, you could be on top of the Jungfraujoch by lunch time if you took the fastest route from Visp and had a short break in Lauterbrunnen to drop off your luggage. On the last day, if you got an early start (e.g. 8:00) you could visit the Jungfraujoch in the morning, spend two hours there and travel to Luzern, arriving around 16:00.

    If you will be arriving in Switzerland before Sunday 25 March, be aware that daylight saving starts on 25 March, and clocks go forward one hour. Sunset at the end of March before daylight saving starts will be around 18:45; after daylight saving starts it will of course be an hour later. The German term for daylight saving is “Sommerzeit”, which simply means “summer time”.

    The Altstadt (old town) of Luzern, the riverside promenades and the bridges make for a beautiful stroll in either daylight or after dark, and are particularly beautiful at dusk when the lights start coming on and creating magical reflections in the river.

    Alpenrose

    Arno
    Moderator
    15471 posts
    19 December 2017 at 9:06:37 #872867

    Hi Josh,

    You’d best buy from a website with a good price but also delivery via e-mail so you can print the pass at home. The additional advantage is that you’ll have a PDF backup of the pass, so even if you would loose the printout, you could print it again in your hotel for example. Chantal mentioned HappyRail and they do offer this. Their price is GBP 284 at the moment: http://www.happyrail.com/en/p ass/europe/switzerland /swiss-travel-pass-consecutive.

  • The thread ‘7 days Swiss Tour Visp&Lauterbrunnen during Easter’ is closed to new replies.

About MySwissAlps

We’re passionate tourists and locals. We share tips about how to plan a trip to Switzerland. MySwissAlps was founded in 2002.

Get a free account for a worry-free trip

  • Join our 10730 members and ask us questions in the forum
  • Access to member-only promotions
  • Detailed maps and weather forecasts

Planning your first Switzerland adventure?

Get a jump-start with Annika’s 20-minute e-mail course, “Switzerland for beginners”. Subscribe to our newsletter to unlock the course.