Switzerland

[orith]

Hi Raymond, Mrs N, Nas

I am planning to spend 10 days in Switzerland, then spend the last 3 days in Germany (black forest).

Here's my rough planning:
Day 1. Arriving Zurich at noon. Spend afternoon and nite at Zurich.
Day 2. Morning at Zurich then travel to Luzern in the afternoon. Then tour Luzern.
Day 3. Tour Luzern area. If got time, go to Mt Titlis
Day 4. Travel to Interlaken. Tour around the area.
Day 5. Take train to "Top of Europe". Spend whole day there
Day 6. Go to Bern. Spend whole day there.
Day 7. From Bern, travel to Spiez to continue the Golden Pass Rail to Montreux. Tour around Montreux.
Day 8. Go to Lausanne. Spend whole day there.
Day 9. Take boat trip from Lausanne to Chateau de Chillon. Go back to Montreux.
Day 10: From Montreux, goes to Zermatt. Then board the Glacier Express to St Moritz.
Day 11. From St Moritz, go to Zurich via Chur. At Zurich, pick up rental car then drive to Sshaffhausen. Then see Rhine Fall. Stay overnite at there.
Day 12. Go around Schaffhausen. Then drive to Blackforest area
Day 13. Back to Zurich by noon.
Day 14. Arrive Singapore

I am afraid the above planning is too rush. Any comments or suggestions? Please advise.

Thanks.

 

[rtan]

Hi Orith,

Wah... you guys are superman / superwomen?

There is no need to be the typical kiasu Singaporean; want to visit as many places as possible. You just end up spending most of the time in the train and feeling tired. There is the jetlag to overcome, as well as the long flight. The distances are not very short, and you are travelling through the mountains, which makes the train journeys longer. Also, what happens if one of you falls sick? If you miss the train? If you cannot find your hotel? etc. etc. There is no contingency plan and no space to breathe.

Since you're going on your own, there is no need for a mad rush from place to place. It just adds to the stress especially if it is your first time to Switzerland / Germany.

I suggest cutting out St Moritz and Lausanne. You may choose to cut out others. Cutting out more is even better. Best to spend at least 2 - 3 nights at each place.

Just my 2 Euro cents worth.

 

[rtan]

Hi Orith,

Here is an idea of how I would plan a F&E (this is our itinerary for our 2nd honeymoon to France in June 2007). We are starting from Grenoble as my work is there. Note that we will be renting a car from Day 1 till Day 12.

Day 1: Drive from Grenoble to Tours (6 hour drive). Eat lunch at an interesting town.

Day 1 - Day 8: Stay at Tours and explore the Loire Valley.

Day 8 - Day 12: Stay at Rennes and explore Brittany.

Day 12 - Day 15: Stay at Paris and explore Paris.

Day 15: Depart for SG.

Hope this helps.

 

[lovetotravel]

Dear Orith,

agree with Raymond, too many places will be tiring. one suggestion...choose two or three places as a base so that u don't have to drag your luggage and change hotel everyday. We choose lucern, interlaken and vevey as our base and from there, explore to different part of switzerland. Take into consideration the weather, when it rains or foggy, u might want to change mountain trip to another day. Lausanne nothing much, i think u can skip. The walk to chateau de chillon is beautiful take time to enjoy it.

 

[nas]

Hi Orith,

You would have to pay for the Half-Fare pass and only then you pay half price on the trains and boats.

But not sure if you can use the Half-Fare card with the swiss pass.

Yes, I took the standard room for the Igloo. It wasn't really packed as there's only 3 couples (the other 2 took the romantic Igloo), so we get the standard Igloo all to ourselves.

Your itinerary is really pack, like going with a tour, trying to cover as many places as possible. Agree with the rest that you should spend more time at certain places and enjoy the beautiful scenery and culture.

 

[threasher]

Hi Raymond,

My wife and I are planning a honeymoon to Switzerland. We intend to fly to Geneva airport, then rent a car (for about $1300 for 14 days) and stay in a resort for a duration of 14 days. After that, every morning we will drive to some part of the country, and come back at night to the resort. Does this sound like a good idea? Any suggestion?

Oh, can we drive to say Italy or France too? Any problem?

Thanks.

 

[rtan]

Hi Threasher,

It's a great idea, much better than the "tour as much as I can in x days" sort of tour.

Take note that even though Switzerland is one of the smaller countries in Europe, it is much larger than Singapore and with two thirds of the country covered with the Alps, expect driving time to double. Driving on mountain roads is tiring and you have to get used to driving on the right-side of the road, so it is best to minimize your long-distance driving to a few days. Take the expressways whenever possible.

I suggest having perhaps two or three bases; I think four-five days at each base is enough.

And yes of course you can drive to France or Italy too. Just bring your passport.

 

[threasher]

Hi Raymond,

Thanks for your response. Some questions:

(1) Where can we get the map for driving? The map would have to be detailed enough.

(2) Is the petrol there expensive?

(3) As we have never been to Switzerland before, I am a bit worried that once we are there, we don't know how to get around. We can only depend on a map, and some travel guides.

Also, I would have to depend on my wife for the driving since she is much more experience, and she can't read map but I can.

I have also thought of using the public transport like trains and buses. But I don't really know if they are really that convenient. And I also don't know about where to buy the tickets, etc.

 

[orith]

Hello Raymond, Kwok and Nas

Thank you very much for your advice. Sincerely appreciate it.

After taking in your suggestions, I manage to come out with this new itinerary. Hopefully it's a better version?

Also, can you please advise which Mt is a better choice? Mt Titlis or Pilatus or Rigi? Should i go to Lake Thun?

Please advise. Thank you.

Day 1. Zurich 20/3/07
Arriving Zurich at noon. Spend time touring Zurich.
Overnight at Zurich (1)

Day 2. Zurich – Luzern 21/3/07
Continue going around at Zurich. Travel to Luzern in the afternoon. Then tour around Luzern.
Overnight at Luzern (1)

Day 3. Luzern – Mt Rigi/Titlis/Pilatus 22/3/07
Continue to tour Luzern area. If time permits, go to Mt Rigi/Pilatus/Titlis.
Overnight at Luzern (2)

Day 4. Interlaken 23/3/07
Travel to Interlaken. Tour around the area.
Overnight at Interlaken (1)

Day 5. Jungfraujoch – Lauterbrunnen 24/3/07
Take train to "Top of Europe". Spend one whole day there. If time permits, go to Lauterbrunnen – Valley of Waterfalls (Staubbach Falls, plunging 300 metres)
Overnight at Interlaken. (2)

Day 6. Bern 25/3/07
Travel to Bern. Spend whole day there.
Overnight at Interlaken. (3)

Day 7. Montreux 26/3/07
From Bern, travel to Spiez to continue the Golden Pass Rail to Montreux. Tour around Montreux.
Overnight at Montreux. (1)

Day 8. Gruyere – Fribourg 27/3/07
Go to Gruyere in the morning. Go to Fribourg after lunch.
Overnight at Montreux. (2)

Day 9. Chateau de Chillon – Zermatt 28/3/07
Take a boat trip from Lausanne to Chateau de Chillon. From Montreux, go to Zermatt. Go around Zermatt.
Overnight at Zermatt (1)

Day 10: Glacier Express – St Moritz 29/3/07
Board the Glacier Express to St Moritz.
Overnight at St Moritz. (1)

Day 11. Shaffhausen - Rhine Falls 30/3/07
From St Moritz, go back to Zurich via Chur. At Zurich, pick up rental car then drive to Shaffhausen. Then see Rhine Falls. Go around Schaffhausen.
Stay overnight at Rhine Fall. (1)

Day 12. Black Forest 31/3/07
Drive to Black Forest area
Stay overnight at Black Forest (1)

Day 13. Black Forest, Airport 1/4/07
Continue seeing Black Forest area. Then back to Zurich airport by 1pm.

 

[orith]

Hi Kwok

Do you still remember where did you book the hotels? Do you recommend the hotels u stayed before?

Thanks!

 

[rtan]

Hi Threasher,

(1) You can check out Borders or Kinokuniya for maps. It is cheaper though to buy the maps in Geneva after you arrive. Meanwhile, you can use many online maps to plan your trip, and even to print out different map scales. Check out:

http://www.comp.nus.edu.sg/~rtan/France/fne.html

It talks about France but much of it is applicable to Switzerland as well.

(2) Yes, it is. It is even slightly more expensive than in SG, if I remember correctly.

(3) That's fine, all you need is one experienced driver and one experienced navigator. As long as there are no disagreements, you'll be fine.

There are of course pros and cons to driving around and taking trains. If your driving and navigation are taken care off, it's always better to drive; there is no need to lug your luggage around and it gives you complete flexibility to visit anywhere you wish.

I would recommend trains to those who cannot drive and/or cannot navigate.

 

[threasher]

Hi Raymond,

Thanks again!

Your article on navigation is interesting. How do I know if I can navigate or not? In Singapore, I have no problem using a map to find places.

We are considering staying in a ski resort for the whole 14 days. It is located in Torgon, less than 100km from Geneva airport, near Lake Geneva. From there as base, we can drive to other parts of the country, and even to France or Italy.

 

[threasher]

Renting a car is one thing, but what about the following:

(1) Petrol cost for whole trip?
(2) Toll charges?
(3) Car park charges?

How much can all these 3 add up to?

 

[rtan]

Hi Threasher,

I really don't think you should just stay in one place and travel everywhere else from there, unless it is all very nearby. Even 50km through mountain roads can be very long.

Highway toll charges are free (SF 40 for one year I think so most rental companies have cars that already have the one-year sticker). With regards to the rest, petrol is not cheap, but I don't recall the exact price except that it is more expensive than in SG. Car park charges vary from place to place. We did not visit big cities so we never had to pay for parking.

 

[threasher]

Hi Raymond,

Actually the reason that we want to stay in a resort for the entire trip is because we had previously signed up 3 years trial membership of RCI, which costed us $1800. I think we shouldn't have signed up for that.

Anyway, now with RCI membership, we can stay in that resort for $569 for 7 days. I went to that resort's web site and found that normally for just one day, it would cost more than SF 200. So $569 seems a good deal. I think during winter, it may be more worth it because it is a ski resort after all.

My worries is that the resort is a bit out of the way. It is located in some town called Torgon. For driving, this may not be a big problem, but if taking train, I believe that the train station would be some distance away.

 

[threasher]

I think we kena conned by the RCI thing. It seems so difficult to find available accomodation. They can only find one resort in the whole Switzerland, and it is only available for check in on 5 May. Now I don't given up hope. Just have to treat this as a hard lesson learnt.

If we find hotels ourselves, how expensive would it be? How do we go about it?

 

[rtan]

Hi Threasher,

Yeah, lots of people have problems with Timeshare; oh well, cancel it and stop paying the subscription. You can find more info:

http://www.singaporebrides.com/forumboard/messages/4/72245.html?1173837293

Check out:

http://www.venere.com/

for hotels in Europe, including Switzerland.

If you wish to consider a most charming hotel in a small quiet town with the most amazing genuine Swiss breakfast and friendliest hosts who speak English, and it is on the shores of Lake Lucerne, check out:

http://www.alpina-brunnen.ch/e/index.cfm

We stayed there last year and had a wonderful experience.

From there you can drive to the town of Lucerne itself.

Hope this helps.

 

[threasher]

Hi Raymond,

Thanks for the information. Actually we only paid a total of $1800 for 3 years trial use. I think if we go on one or two trips within these 3 years, it would be worth it. Some more, it can be used by our family too if they want to go on their own.

OK, back to the accomodation thing. The hotel that you recommend seems great. I am going to seriously consider it.

 

[lovetotravel]

Dear Orith,

From your itinerary...u don't have to stay overnight in Zurich. Why don't u do this....
arrive zurich, if its very early in the morning, airport allows storage of luggage but u have to pay. don't worry it is safe. Free of luggage, u can than explore Zurich. u can go back to the airport to claim your luggage and travel to lucern for checkin. overnight in lucern.

If u only have limited days and time...just choose one mountain trip. We choose jungfraujoch and did not do titlus.

U should not limit yourself to which part u want to go. For example...if u decided to spend whole day in Bern and realise nothing much actually, u can take train to other smaller part of town instead. The good thing about swiss pass is u can travel up and down whenever u want.

I love the walk to Chateau De Chillon...pls take time to enjoy it.

Just my suggestion : )

 

[threasher]

Is it better to rent a car that runs on diesel instead of petrol in Switzerland?

 

[rtan]

Hi Threasher,

Diesel is cheaper than petrol and diesel cars are more economical; i.e. more distance covered per liter of diesel. So it can lead to some cost savings. Some car rental companies might charge more to "guarantee" a diesel car.

 

[threasher]

I am actually considering flying to Paris and staying there for a few days. After that, take train to Switzerland, stay there for a few days, then fly back to Singapore from Geneva Airport. How much does it cost to take train from Paris to Switzerland? Does the train go to most part of Switzerland?

 

[rtan]

Hi Threasher,

Take note that your open-jaw plane ticket might cost you extra.

For train tickets from Paris to Geneva, I suggest that you book early. I just checked out from the following website:

http://www.voyages-sncf.com/

and a one way second-class train ticket from Paris to Geneva per person leaving on 20 June 2007 costs EUR 20, 34, or 72 depending on the terms and conditions. The cheapest tickets means you must pay and confirm now, no cancelling is allowed. The more expensive tickets allow cancellations, and of course the cheap tickets are going fast. The earlier you book the cheaper.

Read the terms and conditions for more information.

 

[threasher]

Thanks Raymond. Actually I found that flying to Paris and returning back from Geneva cost $1350 on Turkish Airlines. If I fly to Zurich and fly back from Geneva, the price is the same.

If I take train from Paris to Switzerland, which place in Switzerland would be the destination? Does the web site you gave have English? I am having a problem understanding what to fill in the search fields.

 

[rtan]

Hi Threasher,

I checked out Paris to Geneva; on the website, you will see a UK flag at the bottom left of the web page. You can also check out for e.g., Paris to Bern, Paris to Zurich, etc. etc.

BTW, the cheap deals are offered from 14 - 90 days (I think) prior to the train travel. So when it is three months to the date of your train travel, jump in too book your ticket!

 

[threasher]

Hi Raymond, I tried searching for train leaving Paris on 28 Apr 2007 to Geneva. I don't know why I need to fill in the return date and time. I am going only one way. Anyway, I just choose the same date as the departure date. The result shows that the tickets are more than EUR150.

 

[threasher]

OK, I just found that for single trip from Paris to Geneva station cost at least EUR 100 for two persons:

PARIS GARE DE LYON 10h30 6569 Second Class
Peak period Options

GENEVE GARE 13h58 Reservation required

 

[rtan]

Hi Threasher,

Yes, you're right. The cheapest I saw was also EUR 100 for two persons. I guess booking earlier has its advantages.

If any or both of you are under 26, you can get cheaper tickets. Just choose the "Young Person" option under Advanced Search. Small savings (EUR 92 for two persons), but better than nothing.

 

[threasher]

Hi Raymond, we have confirmed staying in Switzerland in a ski resort for 2 weeks. The accomodation for 14 days costs S$848 for both of us. Air tickets for 2 persons is S$2284. Therefore, total air tickets plus accoumodation cost is S$3132.

Now the next expensive item is car rental. I think it will cost around S$1500 for 14 days. Not sure how much the petrol cost. I was told that petrol and diesel cost about the same in Switzerland. In fact, diesel seems to be a bit more expensive.

 

[rtan]

Hi Threasher,

That's great. Which ski resort are you staying in? Where do you plan to visit during the 14 days?

Diesel cars are more economical than petrol cars, so the same amount of diesel goes further than petrol. Thus, usually a diesel car will have lower fuel costs.

 

[threasher]

Hi Raymond,

This is the resort that we will be staying at:

http://www.lescretes.ch/EN/Default.htm

I know that using 2 or 3 bases is better, but what the heck, we save a lot by staying at this resort! I think in winter, it would be very popular.

Actually, I have considered using public transport. But it seems that it is a bit inconvenient to travel from the resort to the nearest train station. We have to take a bus from the resort town, but the bus does not come frequently, and it seems that the last bus to the resort town leaves before 7pm.

I don't drive although I have a license, and I don't know much about cars. My wife is the one who has more experience in driving. She likes to drive, in fact. Actually, does a car running on petrol has more power? If not, I guess everyone would be driving a diesel car.

 

[rtan]

Hi Threasher,

You're right, Winter resorts are dirt cheap in Summer because it is the low season.

Drive a diesel car if possible; it is cheaper in the long run. And it is fine. We drove all over France using a diesel car, even in the French Alps, along narrow and steep mountain roads.

You definitely need to get a car if you want to be visiting places since Torgon is rather inaccessible by public transport, and you don't want to be always having to rush back by 7pm.

Which places in Switzerland do you intend to visit during your two weeks there? Geneva? Bern? Zurich? Basel? St. Moritz? Lugano?

Do you intend to pop over to France, Italy, Germany, and / or Austria?

 

[threasher]

Hi Raymond, we definitely would want to visit cities like Geneva, Zurich, Bern and Basel, etc. Then there are other places like jungfrau and Zermatt that we would be interested in. I have also consider going over to Italy or France, cities like Milan, etc.

It seems that even if we drive a car, there are still places like Zermatt that are car free. So in the end, we would still end up having the need to take train to that place. For the Swiss Save Pass holders, each ticket for 15 days costs over S$400, but it includes almost all train rides. For people like us who rent car, if we go and take train to Zermatt, wouldn't the train ticket be more expensive?

 

[rtan]

Hi threasher,

You can drive all the way to Tasch, then take a short train ride to Zermatt. It will cost about SF 10 per person (return), and the car park will cost you maybe about SF 10 per day? I can't remember the exact pricing, sorry.

Let me just confirm that you intend to stay at Torgon during the whole trip. I think your wife might be a little tired because if you intend to drive to Geneva / Zurich / Bern / Basel, that is about 1 - 2 hours there, and another 1 - 2 hours back. And then you have to fight the city traffic once you reach the cities, and you have to navigate in an unfamiliar city.

So if you wake up at 8am, leave Torgon at 9am, you can be at Basel at 11am, and you will have all the way till about 7pm at night. Then you must leave and will reach Torgon at 9pm. Avoid driving at night if possible; that means you might have to leave earlier?

Zermatt looks nearby but remember that it is through mountain roads so the going can be slow and tiring; expect to take 1 - 2 hours to drive there.

And you want to go to Milan? Have you checked out any maps of Europe? I think it is about 6-8 hour drive from Torgon, one way, since you must cut through the Swiss / Italian Alps. You have to fight the Milan traffic, and pay tolls on the Italy highways too. Not sure if it is worth it.

Just remember that Switzerland is not Singapore, and the Alps are not like our Bukit Timah hill.

Perhaps after you arrive, you can just try a few nearby places first, then you will know how far is too far.

Trains are feasible; just that you have to follow the schedule, and arrive back before 7pm. That means your dinners will always be at the same place.

Not that I want to spoil your holiday; I am just a little concerned and want the both of you to have the perfect holiday, that's why I'm raising these concerns. I was just there in June last year and we spent a lot of time driving through the Swiss, Italian, and French Alps. Very pretty scenery, but quite tiring mentally and we slightly underestimated the distances. Some of our drives took eight-hours which were a little long for us. Not to mention it could be dangerous too if driver fatigue sets in and you only have one driver. We don't want you to make the same mistake.

My personal take on it is perhaps you can consider exploring the Lake Geneva region, then venture out into the Valais region, then Zermatt. When you get more confident, explore further.

Oh, if you are going to Interlaken, please do take the highway. The mountain roads are shorter but they cut through the mountains so are much slower and more tiring; though the scenery is fabulous.

 

[threasher]

Hi Raymond,

Really thanks for your information!

Actually I am thinking of whether we should arrive in Torgon by public transport first, then see whether we need to rent a car later. I think the best would be to take public transport on some days, and rent car on some days.

However, there is a concern. If I take trains on some days, would I need to buy a Swiss Pass (or Swiss Saver Pass) to save on public transport? Or should I just buy tickets at the train stations?

If renting car, would it be more expensive to rent there instead of arranging the rental in Singapore before hand? Can I rent and decide when to return, or need to let the rental company which day want to return?

 

[rtan]

Hi Threasher,

I was looking at the website of Les Cretes and I noticed that the price for a stay at a Studio (for two persons) from End April to May is CHF 440. Is it per night, or per week? It seems to me that it is per night? Or maybe I am missing something?

I personally think it is just best to rent a car and drive around, for the following reasons:

(1) You don't have to rush back before 7pm every day.

(2) There is no need to bother about bus schedules, which are probably not frequent; maybe one per hour or half-hour? This gives you complete flexibility, i.e. you can leave the resort whenever you like, and return whenever you like.

(3) Driving gives you complete flexibility to stop anywhere there is nice scenery, or to buy fruits from the roadside stall, or to stop at an interesting looking place for lunch, etc. etc.

(4) Car rental is cheaper (per day) if you rent longer, i.e. 2 or 3 days rental is quite expensive (per day), but 13 days rental is cheaper (per day).

(5) Swiss (Saver) Pass is not necesarily cheaper than buying tickets at the train stations, unless you are travelling long distances. But I am not sure about this; it is best if you can double check with some online Swiss rail website. I have never travelled on trains in Switzerland before.

Check out Swiss train tickets at:

http://www.sbb.ch/en/

Seems like a return second class ticket from Aigle to Geneva is CHF 60. More information at the above website!

I think it is best to rent from here through the car rental's websites. You also need to specify the date and time you intend to return the car. Whether it is more expensive or not, I don't know; but I'd rather arrive there knowing there is a car waiting for me. Uncertainty in essential things like transport and accommodation is not a good thing in a foreign country.

 

[threasher]

Hi Raymond,

(1) A Swiss Saver Pass cost US$286 per person for 15 consecutive days of use. So for two of us, it would be more than S$800 for the entire trip.

(2) Taxi fare from Aigle station to Torgon cost SF70. After 9pm, it is SF90.

Disavantage of public transport:
(1) Last bus from Aigle leaves at 6.55pm for Torgon everyday.
(2) Have to stick to bus/train schedules and wait for bus/trains. Example, travelling from Torgon to Zurich takes like more than 3 hours. To catch last bus back to Torgon, have to spend limited time at Zurich.

Disadvantage of car:
(1) More expensive (car rental charge, petrol, car part charges)
(2) Some places are car free (Zermatt), so will still need to transfer to train.
(3) More tiring and can get lost or into accident, or stuck in traffic jam.
(4) Need to navigate, and worry about where to park.

I have some questions:

(1) Do you know about the car park charges? How to pay? Must use cash? How about petrol? Must use cash also?

(2) Is credit card widely used there? I am asking because I don't know how much cash to bring.

 

[threasher]

Oh, and about the Les Cretes charges, I don't really know if it is per day or per week. Per week seems very cheap, so it must be per day. I heard that staying in a ski resort is expensive.

It does come with a kitchen with microwave, fridge, etc, though.

 

[rtan]

Hi Threasher,

Regarding disadvantage of public transport; yes it could be a problem. E.g. if it takes 3 hours to get from Torgon to Zurich, if you leave Torgon at 9am, you will arrive at 12pm. Then, you must leave at say, 5pm from Zurich, to get the 6:55pm bus. That leaves you with five hours at Zurich, and six hours of travelling.

If you drive, it takes two hours to get there, two hours back, so seven hours at Zurich, and four hours of travelling. Plus there is no need to rush back, so that means more time at Zurich?

Pros and cons, I guess.

For disadvantages of car, (2) is no big deal. The train journey is very short. The main issue I think is navigating; you need to be able to navigate well, precisely, with little room for error. Else you end up wasting time, petrol, and there will be frustration and possible conflicts. You need to be confident to ensure smooth travelling. Plus good maps as well.

Regarding car park charges, sorry I don't know because we stayed away from the large cities. Usually roadside parking has meters and you use coins; there are probably the usual multi-storey car parks as well.

The petrol stations in smaller towns may only accept cash; the cheapest petrol is to be found away from highways and away from large cities.

Credit cards are widely used and accepted. Mastercard and Visa, not really American Express.

As I mentioned earlier: to keep your costs down, just visit the area around Torgon. Is there a need to visit every single large city in Switzerland? I think you can just do Geneva, Lausanne, and some of the smaller towns and villages around Lake Geneva, like Montreux. You can even go into the French side of Lake Geneva and visit Evian. Then just revisit those places that you liked; or if you want to explore further, go to Interlaken and Zermatt. I really think there is no need to do all the stressful city driving incurring high costs due to the distances and the parking charges.

Just my CHF 0.02.

 

[rtan]

Hi threasher,

So if it is per day, then perhaps it is a better idea to have two or three bases?

 

[threasher]

Thanks Raymond.

I just found that rental of car, 1.5-1.7 litre, automatic, for 13 days is SF1139. That's about S$1400. Whether it's petrol or diesel is subject to availability. Can request upon collection.

By the way, when you were in Switzerland, did you drive a car with petrol or diesel? How long where you there, and roughly how much you spent on the petrol/diesel?

Even though you stayed away from big cities, surely the places that you went to (smaller towns, etc) still need packing charges, right? I wonder how much they would cost.

Just want to roughly know how much we would spend on the transport beside the car rental.

 

[threasher]

Hi Raymond,

The resort we are staying at was booked via RCI. It is always on a weekly basis. The usual cost is S$449 for one week.

I can even let anyone use my RCI membership. They can book resorts/hotels throughout the world for about S$499 for 7 days. In Asia, it is even cheaper - at most S$200 plus for one whole week.

 

[rtan]

Hi Threasher,

That's about the same price I paid for the car rental. We drove with a petrol car, but I cannot remember the cost. Expect it to be more expensive than in SG. Try to request for diesel car if possible.

Parking in smaller cities are mostly FOC. The smaller the city or town, the higher the chance of free parking.

 

[rtan]

Hi Threasher,

In that case, then it sounds like a good deal, S$449 for one week. But I always say there is no free lunch. You may save on the accommodation, but you will spend part of what you have saved on the extra transportation costs and the daily hassle of having to travel longer distances. It is too restrictive and troublesome for my liking; my wife would never agree to it, no matter how much money we save; it is just not our idea of a holiday; unless we only intend to visit only the surrounding areas, which is actually also fine for a holiday. Just perhaps don't be too ambitious?

But if it works fine for you and your wife, go for it.

 

[rtan]

One suggestion; why not stay one week at Torgon, then the rest of your holiday, move around?

That's the problem I feel with timeshare; cheap, but never good in terms of location. Always in some out-of-the-way place.

 

[threasher]

Hi Raymond,

We have actually booked for 2 weeks already. So can't change now. Both of us are quite cost conscious now because we have already spent a lot on our new home and wedding things.

I am actually not so ambitious. Actually I would prefer seeing those things like small towns, scenery, etc, rather than going to big cities. I think I would prefer to take things easier.

Not sure about my wife though. She may want to get the money worth and visit as many places as possible.

Next time, we will use the RCI thing again and go someplace which is more accessible. Perhaps Paris.

For Torgon, I feel that the place should be quite good because of the scenery.

 

[rtan]

Hi Threasher,

Ok no problem. Just don't be the typical kiasu Singaporean; want to see as many things as possible in as little time as possible; it is too rushed and too stressful. It is far better to just take things easy as you say, and soak in the food, culture, people; the whole experience.

To be honest, while Torgon is not bad in terms of scenery, especially compared to SG, it is not the most scenic part of Switzerland. You just have a very wide valley and Torgon is not that high up (only 1085 metres). To get the really majestic mountain scenary, you need to go further into the Valais region or to Interlaken.

On the other hand, the scenary around Lake Geneva is quite nice. Or you could also hop into the French Alps which is literally in your back yard; just go further west.

If you were really very cost conscious, you should have considered France; quite a bit cheaper than Switzerland. Switzerland isn't known for its low cost of living.

But of course it is nice in its own way; the scenary is incomparable. Not to mention that you get the great French food too since you are in the French-speaking part of Switzerland.

 

[threasher]

Hi Raymond,

Well, cost conscious, yes, but not that cost conscious! My wife have never really been on a trip before. She is Malaysian, and the only places that she has been to is Singapore, and places like Genting Highland in Malaysia. For the time that we were together for these 3 years, the only trip that we have gone together was Genting Highland. So I guess spending a bit more to go Switzerland would make up for all that. Some more, the last time that I have taken a plane was back in 2003, so it has been quite sometime since I have really gone abroad (except Malaysia of course).

So I guess, to my wife, everything on this trip should be quite an experience for her.

 

[threasher]

Hi Raymond,

Is it easy to drive from Torgon to places like Zurich, Luzene or Zermatt? I know that we can take the highway there, but once we reach there, would we know that it is indeed the place? You know, the actual city centre that are shown on those travel guides?

On highway, if we take a wrong route, is it easy to U-turn somewhere?

And for parking, would we have trouble looking for parking place?

Also, for mountain areas like jungfraujoch, I don't even know how to go there! Drive to which place first, etc.

 

[rtan]

Hi Threasher,

For that reason, since your wife is relatively inexperienced in driving, it is advisable to let her take it easy and not have to drive so much on the holiday, especially in the early part of the holiday (just as you had intended).

It is easy to drive to Zurich, Geneva, Luzern, but not Zermatt, as you have to go through mountain roads. Even then, as you said, driving in a city center can be quite stressful especially if one is not used to the traffic rules, and she also has to drive on the right side of the road. That takes a few days to get used to it, and it is very important because you don't want to drive on the wrong side of the road!

If you miss the turn on a highway, the next one can be 10 - 15km down.

Parking is always a problem in big cities, but not impossible. I think it would be costly; maybe CHF 1 to 2 per hour? You should be able to Google for the info, as always.

For Jungfraujoch, you can drive to Interlaken, park at the train station, and buy the train ticket that brings you to the "top of the world". Take note that it is very expensive (over CHF 150 per person).