Switzerland Advice + Suggestions

4,896 Views | 59 Replies | Last: 1 yr ago by FightinTexasAg15
FightinTexasAg15
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Wife and I have been wanting to visit Switzerland, and we finally got a good deal on flights, so we pulled the trigger and are now looking to plan the details.

I've outlined what I think would be a good itinerary based on my research. We fly into and out of Zurich.

September 7th - Arrive in Zurich 6:20AM (spend this day exploring Zurich, then taking train later to Lucerne)
September 8th - Lucerne
September 9th - Lucerne
September 10th - Interlaken
September 11th - Grindelwald
September 12th - Lauterbrunnen
September 13th - Montreaux
September 14th - Zermatt
September 15th - Zermatt
September 16th - St. Moritz
September 17th- St. Moritz
September 18th - Back to Zurich, fly out 5:30 PM

Any thoughts on this schedule? Anything you would change or suggest against?

I think we're going to buy the swiss travel pass and navigate around by train and for it's other uses. Is that the best way to do it?

Would you have any must do/see things? Or things you did but wouldn't suggest for someone else to do?
wangus12
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Where'd you get a good deal on flights
FightinTexasAg15
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I'd been tracking the prices on google flights and skyscanner waiting for them to drop to a reasonable level
wangus12
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Gotcha. I've been doing the same and it seems like they're spiking right now, but the Hopper app says they'll go back down in March. Was just curious?

Here is a thread I started awhile back with some great info so far.

https://texags.com/forums/54/topics/3090216
FightinTexasAg15
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The summer may be different I know that's a busy time, but for September I got tickets for $580 a person through Swiss airlines purchased on Friday. Flying out of Dallas
FbgTxAg
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I'd spend 2 days at Interlaken and only one in St. Moritz.
schmendeler
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please don't change hotels every two days. switzerland is small enough to manage from two home bases, or one if you pick something central.
SwissAgg
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Interlaken is boring. You're better off going to Wengen or Muerren.

Do you like hiking? It is a wonderful time of the year for hiking.
FightinTexasAg15
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Wife and I are big hikers. Very much looking forward to spending as much time outside as possible.
Furlock Bones
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make a budget. then, double it. have fun in Switzerland.
schmendeler
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we had a regular practice of loading up with fresh bread and lunch meat and chocolate each day at migros before heading out. a mortadella sandwich tastes even better while taking in the views via train to your next stop.
FightinTexasAg15
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Sounds like a great idea!
SwissAgg
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How fit are you and the wife?
FightinTexasAg15
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We're both in solid shape. We did New Zealand last year and did most of the big hikes, some being 4+ hours to the top of the mountain, and then the same back down.

I think my wife would prefer some more leisurely hikes this go-around but wouldn't shy away from a good hike if it's a must-do or super worth it
SwissAgg
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FightinTexasAg15 said:

We're both in solid shape. We did New Zealand last year and did most of the big hikes, some being 4+ hours to the top of the mountain, and then the same back down.

I think my wife would prefer some more leisurely hikes this go-around but wouldn't shy away from a good hike if it's a must-do or super worth it
I have tons of hiking books on Switzerland. You are probably best hiking in Berner Oberland or Graubuenden
(St. Moritz) area. If you want, I can look up some of the hikes. Are you planning on taking the Glacier Express?

By the way, St. Moritz is really expensive. You can stay in one of the neighboring towns for much less like Pontresina
FightinTexasAg15
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Good to know about St. Moritz.

Yeah if you have any favorite hikes or suggestions that's something I haven't gotten into specifics on yet, but hiking is definitely on our list
Vernada
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If I'm counting correct: 11 nights, 9 different towns (counting Zurich twice)?

Sounds terrible to me. But then, I like to take my time and enjoy trips too.
FightinTexasAg15
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So then what would you suggest?
schmendeler
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As I said before, please don't pack up and move that much. You can see all of those places, but I think you're going to be miserable checking into and out of hotels that much when you're talking about taking a 90 minute train ride for a lot of it.
FightinTexasAg15
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What cities would you suggest for our hubs?

We've done travel where we move around a lot, but I'm definitely not opposed to doing home bases and traveling out
schmendeler
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FightinTexasAg15 said:

What cities would you suggest for our hubs?

We've done travel where we move around a lot, but I'm definitely not opposed to doing home bases and traveling out
I've covered just about every corner of Switzerland from Bern or Zurich. Geneva was a bit of a haul from Bern but it's doable in a day. Zermatt is also kind of far but can be done in a day as well from Zurich.

I haven't stayed somewhere like Interlaken (more Central), but I believe they also get the fastest inter-city trains to get you on your way. I think that usually comes up as a suggestion.
SwissAgg
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FightinTexasAg15 said:

Good to know about St. Moritz.

Yeah if you have any favorite hikes or suggestions that's something I haven't gotten into specifics on yet, but hiking is definitely on our list


I will be away for a couple of days, but I will check out a couple of hikes.

Castle Chillon is near Montreux.
cruzdoggie
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Wengen is great. Recommend the maya caprice hotel if you need any ideas. We loved the lauterbrunnen valley.
Vernada
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FightinTexasAg15 said:

So then what would you suggest?
I recommend picking two cities that you'll spend all your time in and a few key activities that you know you want to do.

Then you can fill in the rest once you get there.

Travel like you'll be going back - don't try to cross every last thing off on a single trip... but at least you're trying to cross everything in off one country. I see some proposed itineraries with 10-12 days where folks want to cross off every country!
FightinTexasAg15
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Good information. Thanks!
SwissAgg
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Here are the train schedules:

https://www.sbb.ch/en/home.html

If you arrive in Zurich, there is a direct train to Luzern. Also, there is a train from Zermatt to St. Moritz called
the "Glacier Express". It has beautiful scenery, but it does take a while though, 7 hours 46 minutes.

Glacier Express

Regarding a home base, I think you will probably need based upon your parameters.
Wallis/Valais is the state where Zermatt is. You might want to cut out St. Moritz and stay in Wallis/Valais.
More could be less here in that you see things more intensively. I've been here for 20 years, but I still
love Zermatt.


Luzern
Grindelwald
Zermatt
Somewhere near St. Moritz

atag
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Zermatt is heaven. Went a couple of years ago and will return Christmas 2021. We also want to hit up st Moritz because they have a bobsledding thing we wanna do. In zermatt make sure you take the train to gornegrat. It's amazing. Also the food there is expensive and worth every cent but make sure you make reservations!
proudest member of the fightin texas aggie class of 2005.
fire09
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Former resident of Switzerland. Spend a full day in Zurich. Interlaken is fun to visit if you like to windsurf / sail / kiteboard. If you are not doing any of those activities I would axe a day. Changing locations every two nights is insane for a country like Switzerland. Pick hubs like others suggest. There is really no bad options as long as the city has a rail and more than 1 restaurant. Have fun, get ready to turn out your pockets!
wangus12
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Question about leaving and trains. We will fly out of Zurich when we leave in the afternoon and were planning on taking the train from Interlaken that morning. Is that doable or should we plan on being in Zurich the night before.
schmendeler
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I think you shouldn't have any problem. But I'd check the train schedules.

We took morning flights out of Zurich while staying near Bern with no problems. But I guess if it's some super early flight then the trains might not have started running by then.
SwissAgg
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wangus12 said:

Question about leaving and trains. We will fly out of Zurich when we leave in the afternoon and were planning on taking the train from Interlaken that morning. Is that doable or should we plan on being in Zurich the night before.
See the train schedule that I posted above. It should be doable.
wangus12
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SwissAgg said:

FightinTexasAg15 said:

We're both in solid shape. We did New Zealand last year and did most of the big hikes, some being 4+ hours to the top of the mountain, and then the same back down.

I think my wife would prefer some more leisurely hikes this go-around but wouldn't shy away from a good hike if it's a must-do or super worth it
I have tons of hiking books on Switzerland. You are probably best hiking in Berner Oberland or Graubuenden
(St. Moritz) area. If you want, I can look up some of the hikes. Are you planning on taking the Glacier Express?

By the way, St. Moritz is really expensive. You can stay in one of the neighboring towns for much less like Pontresina
I'll take you up on hiking ideas in the Lauterbrunnen/Grindelwald area. Hows Covid affected Switzerland so far?
FightinTexasAg15
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Any opinions on Montreaux? I'm trying to cut down on the different places we're staying.

We have Montreaux scheduled between the Interlaken/Lauterbrunnen/Grindelwald area and Zermatt.

There doesn't seem to be a whole ton to do in Montreux, should I add an extra day in Zermatt or somewhere instead?
M.C. Swag
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What about a place like Bern?
schmendeler
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Chateau du chillon is near there and definitely worth a visit
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