Switzerland Trip

[byteyou]

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

 

[byteyou]

Anyone pls

 

[ishou80]

When are u leaving?

 

[nsinggih]

Lucerne, Interlaken, Bern, Zermatt and Gruyere, are all not too far from each other, and yes, you can stay at one place and do a day trip if you prefer.

Please note that they drive on the other side of the road compared to Singapore, and if you're not used to it, it maybe a challenge.

The foxtown that you mentioned, I think is the one that is located near Lucarno, just before the border of Milan. This is pretty far from the rest of them, and you'd want to find a hotel either in the Swiss side (Lucarno/Lugano) or on the Italian side (lake Como or Milan).

Staying in Milan will be cheaper... and don't bother about Foxtown.. if you're looking for a factory outlet complex.. go to Seravalle around Milan... much better collection and prices.

 

[byteyou]

When are u leaving?

leaving in mid march

 

[mm88]

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

From personal experience, I find if you stay 1 place 1 night, it can be quite tiring and abit of time waste becoz
1. you must travel from Place A - Place B, this will take you 1-2hrs at least
2. next, you need time to look for the place you are staying (must also cater time for getting lost esp if you are not staying near where you first arrive)
3. must also cater for check in/check out time
4. everyday you must pack and unpack for each night

easily, all these will take you 3-4hrs. By the time you embark on your day trip, will be in the afternoon which doesn't left you alot of time.

I would advise you find a more central base eg Berne (i think this is quite central to Interlaken, Gruyere and Lucerne) and do day trip in and out. Granted you might spend abit longer on travelling (but at least you can start early and still arrive to do what you sightseeing etc instead of always looking for your next hotel stay and all the packing and unpacking). Also, bigger city, will have more train options, so likely to have more express trains etc etc.

Not sure what time you arriving in Zurich but you can have something like this
Day 1 - explore Zurich, head for Lucerne (overnight)
Day 2/3 - Lucerne (overnight if you like or move on to other place)
Day 4 - Berne (overnight)
Day 5 - Gruyere/berne (overnight) or Gruyere/Interlaken (overnight)
Day 6 - Interlaken (overnight)
Day 7 - Zermatt (overnight)

lots of options to explore, just have to find 1 that suits you best.

not too sure where foxtown is, so can't advise. If you are buying train tickets, I strongly recommend you get rail pass. If you intend to buy tickets on the spot, you might have to queue a long time. (i nearly missed my train from geneva - lyon even I gave 1 hr buffer to buy my tickets)

recommend you go to this Swiss train schedule website
http://www.sbb.ch/en/

from here you can estimate the train travel timing and duration. I use this for my planning, this is very accurate.

have fun!

 

[byteyou]

From personal experience, I find if you stay 1 place 1 night, it can be quite tiring and abit of time waste becoz
1. you must travel from Place A - Place B, this will take you 1-2hrs at least
2. next, you need time to look for the place you are staying (must also cater time for getting lost esp if you are not staying near where you first arrive)
3. must also cater for check in/check out time
4. everyday you must pack and unpack for each night

easily, all these will take you 3-4hrs. By the time you embark on your day trip, will be in the afternoon which doesn't left you alot of time.

I would advise you find a more central base eg Berne (i think this is quite central to Interlaken, Gruyere and Lucerne) and do day trip in and out. Granted you might spend abit longer on travelling (but at least you can start early and still arrive to do what you sightseeing etc instead of always looking for your next hotel stay and all the packing and unpacking). Also, bigger city, will have more train options, so likely to have more express trains etc etc.

Not sure what time you arriving in Zurich but you can have something like this
Day 1 - explore Zurich, head for Lucerne (overnight)
Day 2/3 - Lucerne (overnight if you like or move on to other place)
Day 4 - Berne (overnight)
Day 5 - Gruyere/berne (overnight) or Gruyere/Interlaken (overnight)
Day 6 - Interlaken (overnight)
Day 7 - Zermatt (overnight)

lots of options to explore, just have to find 1 that suits you best.

not too sure where foxtown is, so can't advise. If you are buying train tickets, I strongly recommend you get rail pass. If you intend to buy tickets on the spot, you might have to queue a long time. (i nearly missed my train from geneva - lyon even I gave 1 hr buffer to buy my tickets)

recommend you go to this Swiss train schedule website
http://www.sbb.ch/en/

from here you can estimate the train travel timing and duration. I use this for my planning, this is very accurate.

have fun!

hi thanks for advise. I will be travelling with my wife so there will be a bit of luggage and I can imagine moving around each day with so much stuff. That's why I prefer to stay in just one place abd return to it overnight. Which place would be better to stay in? Berne, interlaken or lucern? I will be reaching Zurich in the morning like 730 am. Should I head out to let's say Berne first to check in my stuff then start my day trip from there? Will there be enough time to cover the places I've mention? Thanks

 

[byteyou]

Lucerne, Interlaken, Bern, Zermatt and Gruyere, are all not too far from each other, and yes, you can stay at one place and do a day trip if you prefer.

Please note that they drive on the other side of the road compared to Singapore, and if you're not used to it, it maybe a challenge.

The foxtown that you mentioned, I think is the one that is located near Lucarno, just before the border of Milan. This is pretty far from the rest of them, and you'd want to find a hotel either in the Swiss side (Lucarno/Lugano) or on the Italian side (lake Como or Milan).

Staying in Milan will be cheaper... and don't bother about Foxtown.. if you're looking for a factory outlet complex.. go to Seravalle around Milan... much better collection and prices.

thx for advise? Where do u suggest I should stay where it's easier to get around for day trips? Berne, interlaken or lucern?

I I'll be arriving 730 am in Zurich? U think should I move out straight the centralised location for check in first then start my tour? Or should I stay a night in Zurich cuz I can't possibly tour around Zurich with all my luggage and head out to my chosen accomodatiom at night. Thanks!

 

[hetfieldpaul]

Interlaken would be good to have 2 nights cause everyone would go up to Jungfrau which would take a day already and another day to explore and see the town, have a nice fondue dinner etc. You could take a look @ my thread for photos. For me going Switzerland was more of a Snowboarding Holiday, Spent 7 nights in interlaken.

 

[mm88]

I was told that Gruyeres the place for fondue. Its a very small little medieval town but famous for its cheese.... so i especially went there for that as well as "Alien" museum.

 

[hetfieldpaul]

personally not a fan of the 3 course fondue, not cheap to about CHF 30 a head, but worth a try

 

[mm88]

thx for advise? Where do u suggest I should stay where it's easier to get around for day trips? Berne, interlaken or lucern?

I I'll be arriving 730 am in Zurich? U think should I move out straight the centralised location for check in first then start my tour? Or should I stay a night in Zurich cuz I can't possibly tour around Zurich with all my luggage and head out to my chosen accomodatiom at night. Thanks!

Depending on how big ur luggage is, there are locker areas. Im sure esp for big train station like zurich they have locker area but not smaller town like Gruyeres (I have to lug my bag up slope on 10min walk becoz there is no locker area!!! ).

actually it really depends if Zurich is a must see place for you. If it is not, you can always go to more centralised area, else no harm staying for 1N. Afterall, its a long flight, you be quite tired as well. But that being said, travelling time between Berne and Zurich is only 1hr-1hr 20mins.

here some of estimate train duration (i think you can see that bern is quite ideal spot)
zurich - bern approx 1hr-1hr 20mins
zurich - luzern approx 45mins - 1hr
luzern - interlaken approx 2hrs
bern - luzern approx 1hr - 1hr 30mins
bern - interlaken approx 1hr
bern - gruyeres approx 1hr 30mins - 2hrs
interlaken - gruyeres approx 2hr30mins - 3hrs
interlaken - zermatt approx 2hr 15mins
bern - zermatt approx 2hrs 10min - 3hrs

Like I said earlier, there are alot of possible combination but here's one as an idea.
Day 1 Explore Zurich (overnight)
Day 2 Explore Luzern (overnight)
Day 3 Explore Luzern/Bern (Bern overnight)
Day 4 Explore Gruyeres (Bern overnight)
Day 5 Explore Bern (Interlaken overnight)
Day 6 Explore Interlaken-Jungfrau (Interlaken overnight)
Day 7 Explore Zermatt (overnight)

If you do buy the rail pass (depending on which one also), you can travel back and forth at no charge.

The best part of taking the train is- the scenery in Switzerland is awesome! So, you wldn't feel it is a drag.

hope this helps abit more.. or did I just confuse you even more. ;p

 

[mm88]

personally not a fan of the 3 course fondue, not cheap to about CHF 30 a head, but worth a try

ya I tried (i paid CHF23) .... i concluded I am not a fan of fondue as well. But you don't try, you dunno.

 

[hetfieldpaul]

Best part would probably be the Desert i guessed i got ripped off cause i went to this famous one in Interlaken which was really crowded.

 

[mm88]

haha Interlaken is a famous tourist spot, so everything would definitely be abit more expensive..but then again, in general Switzerland is expensive! hahaha

 

[nsinggih]

thx for advise? Where do u suggest I should stay where it's easier to get around for day trips? Berne, interlaken or lucern?

I I'll be arriving 730 am in Zurich? U think should I move out straight the centralised location for check in first then start my tour? Or should I stay a night in Zurich cuz I can't possibly tour around Zurich with all my luggage and head out to my chosen accomodatiom at night. Thanks!

I assume you'll be getting a car and drive around in a car (with GPS) while you're there?

If you're planning to do all these with a train... it'd be a bit tough... March will also be still a bit on the cold side.

Let's put it this way, Interlaken, Lucern and Bern are something that do not require a full day to explore... unless of course you're going up the peak, Jungfrau or the other... that will takes up quite a number of hours to finish.

I see you've 6 nights planned in CH, I'd suggest you complete Zurich on your arrival date, and then sleep in Interlaken (find an Accor hotel up in the mountain), and use this as your base for the next 3 nights.

Then you can head to Gruyere via Mt. Zermatt. There's no accommodation in Gruyere, and the place itself can be completed in around 2 or 3 hours. Another good place not far from there is Montreux - a must in my list. You can spend a night over there --> that's 4 nights in total.

The next day, spend more time in Montreux, drive around the Lac Leman (or Lake Geneva), toward Geneva, spend few hours going around the lake, and then head to France, go up Chamonix (closest village to Mont Blanc), and spent a night there. ===> that's 5 nights.

The next day, drive through the Mont Blanc tunnel, toward Italy, continue to Milan (about 2 hours from Chamonix) and from there you can cross back to CH to Lugano / Lucarno, about 1 hour from Milan.

I'd get a hotel outside of Milan for cost reason...

 

[Shen siung]

TS I'm agree with you and some others that staying 1 night a place can be tiring. Try do it this way:

Check some travel guide, confirm which spot is the one you like most - stay there (say town A).
Day 1 Check in 2 pm, walk around the town, sleep one night.
Day 2 use a whole daytime travel via train to a closer town (say town B) and spend time there. then back to town A. stay another night.
Day 3 leaving town A, to town C. Can repeat the same thing. So won't be too tired.

Why not go to Geneva? Worth a visit.

 

[byteyou]

TS I'm agree with you and some others that staying 1 night a place can be tiring. Try do it this way:

Check some travel guide, confirm which spot is the one you like most - stay there (say town A).
Day 1 Check in 2 pm, walk around the town, sleep one night.
Day 2 use a whole daytime travel via train to a closer town (say town B) and spend time there. then back to town A. stay another night.
Day 3 leaving town A, to town C. Can repeat the same thing. So won't be too tired.

Why not go to Geneva? Worth a visit.

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.

 

[byteyou]

I assume you'll be getting a car and drive around in a car (with GPS) while you're there?

If you're planning to do all these with a train... it'd be a bit tough... March will also be still a bit on the cold side.

Let's put it this way, Interlaken, Lucern and Bern are something that do not require a full day to explore... unless of course you're going up the peak, Jungfrau or the other... that will takes up quite a number of hours to finish.

I see you've 6 nights planned in CH, I'd suggest you complete Zurich on your arrival date, and then sleep in Interlaken (find an Accor hotel up in the mountain), and use this as your base for the next 3 nights.

Then you can head to Gruyere via Mt. Zermatt. There's no accommodation in Gruyere, and the place itself can be completed in around 2 or 3 hours. Another good place not far from there is Montreux - a must in my list. You can spend a night over there --> that's 4 nights in total.

The next day, spend more time in Montreux, drive around the Lac Leman (or Lake Geneva), toward Geneva, spend few hours going around the lake, and then head to France, go up Chamonix (closest village to Mont Blanc), and spent a night there. ===> that's 5 nights.

The next day, drive through the Mont Blanc tunnel, toward Italy, continue to Milan (about 2 hours from Chamonix) and from there you can cross back to CH to Lugano / Lucarno, about 1 hour from Milan.

I'd get a hotel outside of Milan for cost reason...

I won't be driving as I'm not familiar there and left hand drive.
I will be carrying luggage for a 16 days trip. So it's quite a bit, there I'm thinking to find a place to stay for all nights. Question is where is the best place to stay for all nights and to go for my day trips from?

 

[mm88]

I won't be driving as I'm not familiar there and left hand drive.
I will be carrying luggage for a 16 days trip. So it's quite a bit, there I'm thinking to find a place to stay for all nights. Question is where is the best place to stay for all nights and to go for my day trips from?

Not possible for all nights if you want to travel all places. For Zermatt, it is quite out of the way, might as well spend 1 night there. I would prefer Bern simply because it is major city, more choices of lodging, food and trains.

Interlaken is more of a tourist spot and its a small town so to speak. From my experience, train options is not as many as a major city. stuff are more expensive too.