vendsit

I was able to take advantage of the Delta black Friday sale last year and was able to book a trip for my wife and I to Switzerland for a week in March. Using a bump credit, the tickets ended up costing me only $22.

We arrive in Zurich on the 11th and depart out of Zurich on the 17th. Right now we don't have anything planned and only a hotel booked by the ZRH airport on the 16th.

Was thinking about taking a 4 or 5 day trip on the Grand Tour train or get a 4 day rail pass and visit 3 or 4 cities. The big question is where to go. I'm open to suggestions but would like to see the Shilthorn, Lake Lucern and maybe ski one day.

I have about 250,000 HH points that I can use or would be open to staying at local hotels. A friend of mine told me that we need to stay at the Victoria Jungfrau in Interlaken but are open to other places nearby.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,

nrr

For Swtz. there are 100's of super spots to visit--you should read some guide books to get the full scope!
A few personal comments:
Jungfrau is an expensive trip, NOT covered (fully) by railpasses. The last stretch is through a tunnel. The weather in Interlaken can be "nice", but at the peak not so nice...so you if you go you have to fine tune your trip to the TOP.
Luzern is a super nice city to visit and take side excursions: (1)ride the boat to Vitznau and take the cog railway to Rigi Kulm, return via rail to Arth Goldau; return to Luzern via boat from Brunnen (a stop or two from AG).
(2)Luzern to Interlaken via Meiringen (very scenic route). Interlaken to Murren is also very scenic.
(3)The full Golden Pass route: Luzern-Meiringen-Interlaken-Speiz-Zweisimmen-Montreux also is very scenic.

SwissCircle

I recommend consulting myswitzerland.com. Loads of information there.

:D!

Well there are only two Hiltons in Switzerland and neither are bad, but not particularly interesting so unless you have no other options to use the points, I'd save them for elsewhere

The_Bouncer

The rail pass is definitely the way to go. Rail is the way to get around in Switzerland. As previously mentioned, Jungfrau is not fully covered by the rail pass, which IIRC extends as far as Grindelwald (which is in itself a nice little place to visit).

Lucerne and Interlaken are both absolutely stunning places to visit. Have a great trip.

Concerto

What about a trip on the Bernina Express? That's one you won't forget in a hurry. It goes from Chur to Tirano in Italy. Much of the railway line itself is a UNESCO protected heritage site.

https://www.rhb.ch/en/panoramic-trains/bernina-express

The_Bouncer

Excellent idea. I did the trip myself about in 2015 and it was well worth it. It can be done in a day.

vendsit

We did this trip in 2015 as well and loved it. Thanks for the suggestions.

nrr

You (sort of) have to stay in Chur if you want to ride the Bernina Express (based on early departure time). While Chur is nice to visit, other Swiss cities offer more things to see and do.

The_Bouncer

It is a long day if you're not staying in Chur, but it can be done. I did a day tour on the Bernina from Lindau in Bavaria. IIRC we got on the bus to Chur at about 4:30am.

Concerto

Wow you like punishment!

I'm not sure I would go to Switzerland for their cities. It's the countryside and mountains people come to see! But on the other hand, if the weather goes a bit funny (it's just been too nice and sunny recently) there are a lot of wet weather things you can do:

spend a day in Geneva touring the United Nations and nearby Red Cross Museum (truly sobering) and finish with a stroll through the Ariana porcelain museum across Avenue Appia;

get lost in the Musée de l'Horlogerie (watchmaking museum) at La Chaux-de-Fonds in the Jura for which you need an entire afternoon, then see Le Corbusier's legacy in that slightly strange and remote town in the coldest part of Switzerland;

explore the Musée Olympique (Olympic Museum) in Lausanne on the lakeshore and disappear into the endless interactive displays followed by a Vaudois wine cellar visit;

plus, much more!

nrr

I'd add (for in door activity), Transport Museum in Luzern.
On Bahnhof Strasse in Zurich the Bayern clock/watch store has a CLOCK MUSEUM in the basement (free with Zurich Card); the National Museum (across from Zurich Hbf).

SCD89

He is right - I live near Zurich and did the same last year in Summer. You can easily take an early morning train to Chur and change onto Rhaetische Bahns Bernina Express - be sure it will be a long day but if you like to enjoy the sophisticating views for a couple of hours I highly recommend to do that. A hint, just book "normal" ticket, no extra panoramic car - you will be bored and sit crowded. "Normal" car will be much less crowded plus you can open any window at anytime and take as much fresh air as you want to

vendsit

I appreciate all of the suggestions. We're getting out itinerary set, sort of.

As of now, we're going into Zurich on the 11th and taking a train over to Lucern and stay at the Chateau Gutsch and take a trip up to Mt Pilatus for the day. Then going to Murren for 3 days and gonna go to Junfraujoch, Trummelbach Falls and the Schilthorn for lots of outdoor activities. Then going to Interlaken and stay at the Victoria Jungfrau for a day before returning to Zurich for a day of shopping before our flight back.

The only question we have is should we get the Swiss Travel Pass or the Swiss Half Fare card. I think the Tracel Pass would be the best for us as that gets us a pretty good discount on the Schilthorn and Mt Pilatus I believe.

Any thoughts from those who have been there?

SwissBritMiss

Luzern as a city is lovely to explore - I'd spend at least a day there and head up Pilatus on a second day.

Mürren sounds good; 3 days means that hopefully the weather will be on your side for at least some! Could do a day trip to Bern if not. Remember that March is still peak ski season, and it will be cold up the mountains.

I'd skip Interlaken. Even the Swiss tourism board describes it only as a starting point... replace with Luzern.

Coming to Zürich to shop - one of the first times I've heard that one!

Re: rail tickets, SBB are very helpful (at least to tourists ) on figuring out the most economic way to travel. Call them with your plans, or even sort out when you arrive at the airport at the counter.