14 day itinerary - Your comments please

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gemcap
gemcap

Hello,

This is the broad itinerary I have mapped out for our holiday in September. I would be grateful for comments / thoughts/ suggestions on :

  1. Whether this is too busy or do-able. I realise that there is quite a bit of packing of bags to do since the overnight stays short but is this manageble as we would like to cover as much as we can over two weeks.
  2. A place to stay overnight on Day 5 in Engadine- not sure if staying there for just one night is worth it - and Day 12. (If there are alternate places you would suggest as against Chur and Zermatt, please do let me know)
  3. The sequencing of the travel - I would like to avoid doubling back or criss crossing places if I can avoid it.

Once I have this done, I will map out the days in more detail and get into details of the train pass (Swiss Pass/ Swiss Flexi pass etc)

My head is all a-whirl after trying to figure out what and when, so many thanks for your inputs and helping us on our way :-)

GC

Day 1 Fly into Zurich ; travel to Chur; O/n at Chur
Day 2 Chur to Poschiavo on Bernina Express. O/n at Chur :
Day 3 Chur to Zermatt on Glacier Express. O/n at Zermatt
Day 4 Gornergrat and Klein Matterhorn O/n at Zermat
Day 5 Engadine Valley o/n where ???
Day 6 Engadine to Lucern ; o/n at Lucerne

Day 7 Rigis / Pilatus o/n at Lucerne

Day 8 Reichenbach Falls /Aare gorge o/n at Lucerne
Day 9 Jungfraujoch / Wengen O/n at Lautebrunnen
Day 10 Thunersee, Brienz, Beatus Caves O/n at Lautebrunnen
Day 11 Murren /Gimmewald / Schilthorn O/n at Lautebrunnen
Day 12 Bern O/n where ???
Day 13 Rochers de naye OR Gruyere / Broc O/n at Montreux
Day 14 Château de Chillon O/n at Montreux
Day 15 Fly out from Geneva

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gawkabout
gawkabout

You joined in 2003 on TT. Doesn't look like you've learned zip.

Over night anywhere is a waist of time and money.

What are you looking for?

What are your intrests besides train stations?

Two weeks of nothing, stress and vulnerability?

Suitcases? Why?

rule of threes!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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neckervd
neckervd

Engadin: you pass twice through the Engadin Valley on day 2. You go then from Engadin to Zermatt, almost at the other end of Switzerland. Therefore it wouldn't make sense to turn back to Engadin on day 5.
Reichenbachfall/Aar Gorge: you will pass there twice, day 8 for the visit and day 9 on your trip to Brienz - Lauterbrunnen.
Brienz: why backtrack on day 10. You passed there on day 9.
Conclusion: you plan to do the whole leg Lucerne - Interlaken twice in both directions, that means that you will pass 4times through the same places.

You are maximising train rides and will therefore have less time for visits. In my opinion, it doesn't make sense to go to 2 neighbour mountain peaks in only 1 day (Jungfrau AND Schilthorn, Gornergrat AND Kleinmatterhorn). Even with a Swiss Pass, you will have to pay hundreds of USD for that.

May be you will have a look at
http://www.myswitzerland.com/en/home.html
http://www.swisstravelsystem.ch/en/

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gemcap
gemcap

Sigh....thanks neckervd. Let me go back to the drawing board and rework.

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hexli
hexli

So how did your rework go?

I agree with neckerv, going back to lucerne after reichenbachfälle is probably not worth it because it takes some time.
I assume you plan this because you don't want to take all your luggage to the falls. If so o/n in meiringen could be an option, so you could drop off your luggage when you get in from lucerne, before going to the falls.

Do you have a specific reason why you stay so many nights in Lauterbrunnen? After Thunersee, Brienz, Beatus Caves you probably don't feel like going up there... again.

I'd also do either schilthorn or jungfraujoch. Mürren / Gimmelwald is a nice trip even without the schilthorn. Nice walk, view... And schilthorn only if the weather is good (really blue sky, good sight).
Junfraujoch is of course also much nicer when the weather is good, but i guess you are only going to be there once, so you'll go up anyway.

So I suggest this change

Day 7 Rigis / Pilatus o/n at Lucerne
Day 8 Reichenbach Falls /Aare gorge o/n at Meiringen
Day 9 Jungfraujoch / Wengen O/n at Lautebrunnen
Day 11 Murren /Gimmewald O/n at Lautebrunnen
Day 10 Thunersee, Brienz, Beatus Caves O/n at Interlaken
Day 12 Bern O/n where ???

Enjoy Switzerland!
Christina

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gemcap
gemcap

I just finished the revised plan earlier today while listening (after a long time) to Lobo and ironically enough, singing to the lyrics "wine made my mind crazy / but now I'm not so hazy/ I gotta go / I gotta go" :- )

The liquid levels in my wine bottles though, are all intact so it must have been a touch of sun which prompted Itinerary Version 1.

neckervd - many thanks for the time in dissecting that madcap plan and for your amazing patience and graciousness of presence :-)

Hello Christina : Itinerary Version 2 is as below. The places where we will stay overnight is given in brackets - the choice between Lauterbrunnen and Wengen is pending.

Day 1 Arrival at Zurich ; Leave for Engadine Valley (UPPER ENGADINE)
Day 2 Morteratsch Glacier; Take the Bernina Express to Alp Grum ; Hike from AlpGrüm to Ospizio Bernina Station (UPPER ENGADINE)
Day 3 Hikes around Sils (UPPER ENGADINE)
Day 4 Piz Nair / Celerina (UPPER ENGADINE)
Day 5 Glacier Express to Zermatt (ZERMATT)
Day6 Gornergrat; Around Zermatt (ZERMATT)
Day 7 Klein Matterhorn;Explore surrounding areas (To finalise between LAUTERBRUNNEN OR WENGEN)
Day 8 (am) Wengen -Lauterbrunnen -Grutschalp - Muerren - Schilthorn (pm) Muerren - Gimmelwald – Stechelberg - Trummelbach Falls (L or W)
Day 9 (am)Wengen- Lauterbrunnen - Wilderswil - Shynigge Platte Bahn. (pm) Interlaken East - Giessbach- Meiringen- Aareschlucht- Reichenbach falls (L or W)
Day10 St Beatus Caves- Beatenbucht - Beatenburg - (Niederhorn possibly)-Thun (possibly) (L or W)
Day11 Jungfraujoch ; Hike from Mannlichen- Klein Shyndigge ; Grindelwald ; First to Bachalpsee Hike (L or W)
Day12 Bern (L or W)
Day 13 Lucern town (LUCERN)

Day14 Fly out from Zurich

The plans on Day 8 - 12 could move around.

Would appreciate your thoughts and views.

:-)
GC

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gawkabout
gawkabout

What the heck is your rush? That's like going to Thanksgiving dinner for 30 minutes!

Are you afraid you might learn something? Or maybe afraid you might give a place its due?

Chop half you itenn. and enjoy places that took centuries to develope.
Don't just do something. Sit there. Talk with nice helpful foreigners. You'll be glad you did, I promise.
:)

~Beware of travel by check list.

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neckervd
neckervd

The first week is OK.
Week 2 is more of the same, but in another area. Do you really want to go to Jungfraujoch AND Schilthorn AND First AND Schynige Platte AND Niederhorn (the by far less attracive of all 5)?
Even with a Swiss Pass, you will have to pay 115 CHF/EUR resp 150 USD for the roundtrip to Jungrfaujoch, 37 CHF/EUR resp 50 USD for the Schilthorn roundtrip, 28 CHF/EUR resp 37 USD for the First roundtrip, 30 CHF/EUR resp 40 USD for the Schynige Platte roundtrip and 20 CHF/EUR resp 27 USD for the Niederhorn rourndtrip: Total 230 CHF/EUR resp 304 USD/pax.
I don't think that all these places will bring you much more after all the glaciers and more than 4000m high peaks of the Zermatt area.

Schynige Platte plus Lake Brienz steamboat plus Giessbach cablecar, historic hotel and waterfalls, plus Aar Gorge plus Reichenbach waterfalls in only 1 day is too much.

Jungfraujoch, the Kleine Scheidegg - Maennlichen hike AND the First - Bachalpsee hike in 1 day is too much too.

May be you hike from Jungfraujoch over the glacier to Moenchsjochhutte and back and visit the installations of Jungfraujoch. If you still want to do another hike, you may go from Eigergletscher railway station to Haaregg and then to Wengernalp railway station.

Take another day for the hike from Schynige Platte to Faulhorn - Bachalpsee - First (if you feel fit enough, otherwise sleep at Faulhorn hotel).

Combine the Lake of Brienz boat trip with a steam cog railway ride to Brienzer Rothorn or with the visit of the Ballenberg Swiss Village Museum.

Aar Gorge and Reichenbachfall could be combined with either Hasliberg or Gelmersee.

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gemcap
gemcap

neckervd - thanks again for the insights. The level of detail you provide time and again is truly amazing :-) . I am currently going through each point to calculate travel distance to rework Week 2.

gawkabout - I appreciate your advice to stop and breeeaaathe the roses (or the eidelweiss) ; but there's just so much to do in Switzerland and never ever enough time.

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