Switzerland Trip

[Shen siung]

I'm not driving, the last thing I wanna do is carry my luggage all around. Now I'm trying to find out which place is the best to serve as a base where I will stay for a nights and make my day trips from there. Any advise from personal experience? I would arrive early morning in Zurich. I'm think to head out to Berne or interlaken to check in all my stuff then start my journey from there.

Yes I know you not driving, that's why I said stay one place for at least 2 nights. Personally I feel 2 nights at one place (at least 40 hours) is still acceptable for me, I tried that.

I'm not familiar with Switzerland cities. but if not wrong, from Geneva (quite far west) to Zurich (closer to east border) by train minimum (with 15-20 min transit time for any stops in between) is about 4 hours.

Thus, if I'm in your situation, I will choose 2 cities (that separate 'evenly' between each), each for 3 nights. so you might able to estimate everyday you will spend about 4 hours on train (for a return trip) to visit a place and back to the place you stay.

Check this: https://www.sbb.ch/mct/wi/shop/b2c/sprache.do?en

 

[choocn]

Hi

New to this forum but would like to share my Swiss experience with you. I've been to Switzerland three times (as a tourist) - March 1992, June 1999 and Dec 2008 and the sceneries then and now has never changed.

Your spouse is going with you but ar you two going on a full photography trip or as casual tourists? Your trip in March will probably be cold, so think thick clothing, bulky luggage (and camera gears?). Unless your spouse is also into photography or very patient, you are not going to get a lot of time analysing or composing photos (trust me, I speak from experience). Spring in Switzerland is still rather brown and your best bet for nice bright pictures are up in the Alps (Zermatt, Jungfrau, etc.).

My honest recommendation is that you either book a package in Sgp or book an inland tour -Insight Vacation or Trafalgar (I've tried IV in Italy and was one of the best package I've ever experienced). The time you spend at all the major tourist attractions are more then ample to take nice shots, provided you are willing to sacrifice spending too much time on looking for artsy angle shots. You will still be travelling every other day (CH is a big country after all) and lugging your suitcase, but at least your meals and timetable is all laid out for you.

But if both of you are gungho and love the unpredictable, have a wonderful trip.

You can view my most recent trip if you're interested:
http://www4.snapfish.com.sg/thumbna...9/a=95776311_95776311/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/

 

[byteyou]

Hi guys, thanks for the advice. Can I check with those that been before, say suppose i will be staying in bern for about 3 nights, is it convenient to make a day trip from berne to jungfraug, berne to zermatt? i'm more concern trips that need to travel up the mountains.

I think for the first day, I will just stay in Zurich and 2nd day onwards I would make my base at Berne and make day trip from there and probalby the 2nd last day I would travel to foxtown area for the last night before moving on to Milan. How does that sounds? any more opinion? I'm still in the midst of research, anymore input would be great. Any idea what the temp is like during march?

This is not a full photography trip, more to holiday and at the same time take some nice picture whenever possible. I see myself bringing only 2 lens and probably a tripod

 

[mm88]

For Jungfrau is still ok but for Zermatt, 1 way journey is abt 2-3hrs. (based on the estimates I provided you earlier) 2 way wld be almost 6hrs. You comfortable with travelling 6hrs for a day trip?

 

[hetfieldpaul]

Well i think the best place for your Base would be @ Interlaken, after all it name really is the interlink between all cities in Switzerland. Hotels there are not expensive too depending on your budget, Hotel Oberland is a 3 star pretty good costing from SGD 120 a night or even 4 star hotels excluding breakfast cost from CHF 110 a night.

 

[byteyou]

Hi I've just read about interlakan and was wondering how are the activities like. I assume it would take one full day to go up to jungfrau rejion and probably another day to tour around the nearby lakes and stuff. Does touring around Interlakan and jungfrau region takes at least 2 days? After reading up on Zurich I'm thinking to probably give it a miss, it seems more like a cultural centre with lots of museum which i'm not really interested in, I'm more into landscape sight seeing.

Regarding Zermatt, I'm thinking of staying 2 days, 1 day to go up to gornergrat and 1 day to stay in the town, but i'm not sure if the town to have one full day for. So basically, I'm thinking of 2 nights in Bern to explore itself, Luzerne, and probably another place. 2 nights in interlakan, 2 nights in zermatt and then make my way to foxtown in lucano (not staying overnight) then off to milan.

What you guys think? any opinion? esepecially on on things like 1 full day for zermatt and surrounding worth it? 2 nights in interlakan worth it? or I should explore some other region instead of so much time spent there. Pls advise, thanks alot!

 

[shierwin]

Few points that you may be interested to know:

1. Zurich airport has sbb sevice where you can buy various types of rail passes. Need to know you exact travel needs and then decide to buy a full pass, 1/2 price pass etc... Cheaper most of the time if you use the rail frequently. Also at many major towns certain rail passes give you free ride on the city buses.
2. There're many hotels around the main railway stations. You can leave your spouse to hang on to the bags and you recce/enquire at the surrounding hotels.
3. At major railway stn, there is a hotel booking centre, either self help "phone atm" or a service counter to book the hotels. Try to stay near the stn convenient for simple meals and to travel out to the surrounding. By the way the yellow bus is part of the Swiss Rail System.
4. Set your daily budget for a hotel room. Check on the web what's the average cost of a stay 2*, 3* etc. Don't spend too much time chasing cheap hotels. Suburbs are cheaper.
5. Hotels I stayed before: Lucerne opp stn, Alpine (nxt to Mac) ; Berne, Kreb's hotel just up one of the stn staircase. Interlaken Chalet Oberland 10m min walk from Interlaken west stn. Zurich just across the river front of stn on the last day. Geneva cross the road from the stn.
6. Zermatt hotels are exp. Time taken may not be worth the while. Have to take "public transport"... no cars up there.
7. You've to decide what're your interests and read up. If your last day is Zurich, visit the Swiss National Museum nxt to the bahnhoff (german for rail stn).
8. Travel light bro, some swiss stn have no escalators/lifts and lugging heavy bags up and down stairs (some very long) is no fun. You don't sweat much in march. Be brave and travel light. You'll never regret this advice. Your choice anyway... like many cs members have said time and again "Take just enough cam gears and enjoy the holidays, unless you're on National Geographic assignment"
9. Learn a few German words/phrases. Gutenmorgan, Gutentag, Gutenabend, Guten nacht, Danke... Bahn (train), Bahnhoff (train stn), Zimmer (room). Let you read some useful signs too.
10. Don't be surprisedif they do things different from what we're familiar with in SG.
11.Have fun and enjoy the Swiss way fo life... clean, quiet, organised, efficient

 

[Shen siung]

Few points that you may be interested to know:

8. Travel light bro, some swiss stn have no escalators/lifts and lugging heavy bags up and down stairs (some very long) is no fun. You don't sweat much in march. Be brave and travel light. You'll never regret this advice. Your choice anyway... like many cs members have said time and again "Take just enough cam gears and enjoy the holidays, unless you're on National Geographic assignment"
9. Learn a few German words/phrases. Gutenmorgan, Gutentag, Gutenabend, Guten nacht, Danke... Bahn (train), Bahnhoff (train stn), Zimmer (room). Let you read some useful signs too.

Travel light is always something good, but most people only fully understood after a 'not light' trip..
Not just German words. If near to Geneva that will be French word. A travel guide will be helpful.

 

[Mad Armour]

Im going swiss for a week before heading over to Italy. My friend plans the itinary for me in the following order:

- Zurich Check in morning - 1 night
- Lucern 2 nights
- Berne
- interlakan 1 night
- Zermatt 1 night
- Gruyere 1 night
- foxtown (moving off to Milan from foxtown)

She plans in such a way that we will stay 1 night in each place except for Lucern which is 2 nights. My thinking is with my luggages, it might be quite inconvenient to move about and changing hotels. What do you guys think? Im thinking to stay in just 1 place maybe like Lucern or interlakan and then move out to different places for day trip and return at night.

I'm not familiar with travelling over there and will not be driving. My only concern is if I just stay in one place and move out from there for day trips, will the places be too far and time consuming? especially places where im going up the alps. Any suggestion on how I should do it?

Thank you

Hi, not too sure if I'm too late but I hope this helps. I just came back from a trip to Switzerland. Italy and Austria. Reach and left from Zurich.

Most of the cities in Switzerland is reachable by their extensive, comfortable and efficient railway system. For instance

1) Zurich to Luzern - <1hr
2) Zurich to Bern - ~1hr
3) Zurich to Gruyere - 2.4hrs

You can check here for exact info, including the stops you need to take.

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en?newrequest=yes&protocol=http:&

If you travel extensively by train, you can get the Swiss Pass. Can buy online, at Zurich Airport or via the Singapore agent, Dynasty Travel. Dynasty charges you $8/transaction so if you buy 8 tickets from them plus the pass, you will be charged for 9 transactions ($72). From my recent experience, I'd say you can buy the Swiss Pass (or passes to other countries, eg Italy Pass) from Zurich Airport. Most train in Switzerland is free sitting and there's plenty of space. If you are kiasu, you can book your seat too (additional charges apply). Train in Austria and Italy need to book seat.

http://www.eurorailways.com/products/trains_passes/single_country/swiss.htm?gclid=CLTT-JWTxp8CFcgvpAodEjA60w

Cheers and enjoy your trip.

 

[byteyou]

Thank you! ok now the part where i need to zoom in is in junfrau regeion.. I plan to stay at Wengen for 3 nights. What are the available activities there during March, at least half a day is kept for going up jungfrau.

I read about those round trips what are they exactly? just a round trip in the train or do we actually walk around. I wanna explore places like Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, Gimmelwald and the Trummelbach Falls etc...is it possible to do a light hike from march 12 onwards?

I will probably reach wengen around noon time, so strictly speaking i have 2 and half days, can I cover all these places? anyone that zoom in to these places before?

 

[lestwe4get]

Hiking does not really start in March as it can still be cold and unpleasant to walk. The walking paths are limited to the surrounding area around the village street. Places like Murren, Wengen and Gimmewald are just a stretch of street with hotels and restuarants. As for Jungfrau, be prepared to abandon the trip if weather fouls up; IE see nothing up there. You can seek advice at the ticket counter before you buy the ticket.

The train at Interlaken will split up at Lauterbrunnen (if I remembered correctly), with the front end heading to Gimmewald and the other to Murren and Wengen. It is not exactly connected. Also, Murren and Wengen are pretty quiet during this time; low season and not all shops are opened.

Perhaps you may consider adding more time on the land than the mountain.

Some useful infor here (operated by a Singaporean lady) http://www.tour168.ch/index.htm

 

[shierwin]

Thank you! ok now the part where i need to zoom in is in junfrau regeion.. I plan to stay at Wengen for 3 nights. What are the available activities there during March, at least half a day is kept for going up jungfrau.

I read about those round trips what are they exactly? just a round trip in the train or do we actually walk around. I wanna explore places like Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, Gimmelwald and the Trummelbach Falls etc...is it possible to do a light hike from march 12 onwards?

I will probably reach wengen around noon time, so strictly speaking i have 2 and half days, can I cover all these places? anyone that zoom in to these places before?

Many of the towns are rather small... renown in name but real small and they act mainly as accomodation centres. You must get out to the surrounding areas. Google these places. Maps of many of these locale even with a good scale do not fill up an A4 paper. You may feel disappointed. My zermatt and Davos maps in landscape layout only cover at most 1.3x A4 paper. Interlaken and Lucern surrundings are much more interesting.

Visit the websites on Switzerland and work out the details.

 

[Mad Armour]

Thank you! ok now the part where i need to zoom in is in junfrau regeion.. I plan to stay at Wengen for 3 nights. What are the available activities there during March, at least half a day is kept for going up jungfrau.

I read about those round trips what are they exactly? just a round trip in the train or do we actually walk around. I wanna explore places like Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, Gimmelwald and the Trummelbach Falls etc...is it possible to do a light hike from march 12 onwards?

I will probably reach wengen around noon time, so strictly speaking i have 2 and half days, can I cover all these places? anyone that zoom in to these places before?

According to this website, the weather at Wengen at the time you are going is ard 5 - 9 degrees. You'll have to decide your comfort level. In Rome, I was pretty comfortable walking ard at a temperature of 9-10 degrees. Still had to wear my thermals, some layers and winter jacket though. When the wind blows it was another story. :sweat: Just make sure you have the appropriate clothings/protection.

 

[hetfieldpaul]

If Rome is 9-10 degrees Most of Switzerland would be 0 to -5 degrees, and at least -20 @ Jungfrau

 

[shierwin]

Travel light is always something good, but most people only fully understood after a 'not light' trip..
Not just German words. If near to Geneva that will be French word. A travel guide will be helpful.

And Italian in the South and going thru Italy. Make a lot of difference to be able to greet in their language instead of "Good Morning" & "Thank You"

 

[byteyou]

now im seriously quite lost, i was on the trip advisor fourm, ppl were saying the lake rides are mostly closed and now is the peaked season for skiing so most accommodation at the mountains are fully booked. Yes, most hike trails are not ready yet, jungfrau depends on weather and interlaken according to them are pretty boring.

Ok now im stuck at what I should do for that.. total estiamted time spent at interlaken area will be 2.5 days with 1 day catered for Luzern the other 1.5 for jungfrau and surrounds.

When you mentioned surround areas of interlaken do you mean the lakes and its castle etc...?

 

[Mad Armour]

now im seriously quite lost, i was on the trip advisor fourm, ppl were saying the lake rides are mostly closed and now is the peaked season for skiing so most accommodation at the mountains are fully booked. Yes, most hike trails are not ready yet, jungfrau depends on weather and interlaken according to them are pretty boring.

Ok now im stuck at what I should do for that.. total estiamted time spent at interlaken area will be 2.5 days with 1 day catered for Luzern the other 1.5 for jungfrau and surrounds.

When you mentioned surround areas of interlaken do you mean the lakes and its castle etc...?

Well...the Swiss has high standard of living. Don't have to work on weekends, so they will drive up to the mountains to ski. Finding a place to stay therefore will be a bit challenged. Do book early. However, I'm not so sure of the conditions in March when spring is starting. You might get lucky.

 

[shierwin]

now im seriously quite lost, i was on the trip advisor fourm, ppl were saying the lake rides are mostly closed and now is the peaked season for skiing so most accommodation at the mountains are fully booked. Yes, most hike trails are not ready yet, jungfrau depends on weather and interlaken according to them are pretty boring.

When you mentioned surround areas of interlaken do you mean the lakes and its castle etc...?

Since you've chosen the period, you've to plan around what's available. Hotels in ski resorts will be expensive and difficult to get. Daylight will be short. Night activities will depend on your interest. So good and thorough planning is a must. A link for you to look at accommodations. Most of the cities (not ski towns) can get convenient accommodation at decent prices. Link for you to check prices. Can google for specific hotels by cities too.

http://www.swisshotels.com/guides

 

[Mad Armour]

Or consider spending more time in Italy instead?

 

[theonlyone]

I'm going to Switzerland around the same period too. But I'll be going from Venice to Lucarno to Lucerne to Zurich to Prague. My stay in Switzerland is about 4 days and the majority is in Lucerne. March is still skiing season so if you are into winter sports, Jungfrau region would be good. My wife doesn't like hiking or skiing, so I'm planning to use Lucerne as a base and explore the surrounding area eg. Pilatus/Rigi. Any further I'll have to spend more time travelling. And I also wouldn't want to carry my luggage everywhere I go. If I have chance to travel to Switzerland again, I'll go by France to Geneva to Interlaken and to Zermatt. That way I'll get to see most of the country.

As for the lake tour in Lucerne, it seems that even though they said that it is close in this time of the year, the boat service is still available (almost every hour) to travel around the region (to nearby towns like Weggis). Anybody know if that is really the case?