Holidays in Switzerland
Planning you Holiday in Switzerland
One of the great pleasures of your holiday in Switzerland is often planning where and when to go. Holidays in Switzerland offer such variety of climates and regional differences that there can be few countries that offer so much choice.
When to travel to Switzerland is the first choice. Clearly the main winter sports period from December to April has the mountain resorts in full swing. However the towns and cities are mostly without snow and they offer the charm of out of season resorts. December is a great time to experience the Christmas markets in Lucerne and Montreux.
Spring and autumn offer the clear blue skies and views that have a clarity that you don't often experience in the high summer months of July and August, when the warm temperatures mean the living is easy.
In the mountains the summer season is shorter and only begins in May/June until the end of September.
Where in Switzerland, you have a choice of idyllic lakeside villages, charming mountain villages or the pleasures of Switzerland towns and cities. These can all be found in the different regions of Switzerland. The main areas are in the German speaking Bernese Oberland and Central Switzerland, the French atmosphere around Lake Geneva, the high Alps dominating the Valais and Grisons and the charm of the Italian Ticino area. Click for map
Getting to Switzerland
Flying to Switzerland. We can arrange flights into Zurich and Geneva airports both of which have their own mainline railway stations under the terminals. These connect to the whole of Switzerland and whilst Geneva is good for the Valais and Lake Geneva areas, Zurich has connections to the rest of Switzerland.
Flights from the UK are available with the national carriers to Geneva and Zurich from London, Manchester and Birmingham. Low cost airlines operate a more limited summer service into Geneva from Bristol, East Midlands, Liverpool, Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Travel to Switzerland by Rail. The new fast service by Eurostar to Paris and onward rail by the French TGV trains has created excellent connections into Switzerland. Click for further information.
Travel to Switzerland by Car. Using Eurotunnel or P&O Ferries is a good alternative means of travel, especially for families or if you like to take your own ski equipment. Travel from Calais to the Swiss boarder is around 8-9 hours and overnight stops can be arranged. Click for further information.
Travel within Switzerland and two centre holidays
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Fly Luggage. Swiss Railways, together with the airlines, have a unique system which means that you can check-in your luggage at the UK airport and the next time you see it is in your resort. For the return journey luggage goes direct from your resort to the UK airport. For you to get the maximum benefit from this great system you need to consider your flight times as the luggage travels on different trains to you and time is needed to move your luggage. This service is not available on flights via Basel.
For your outward journey, if your flight lands later than midday, your luggage will probably not arrive in resort until the following day. We suggest you carry an overnight bag with your essentials in case of flight delays.
On your return journey, if your flight takes off before 7pm, you will probably need to register and deposit your luggage the day before departure.
The cost of this service is £12 per item in each direction.
First Class Rail travel is available at a supplement of £25 (no additional charge for children under 16). This will also give you the benefit of first class on your half fare card.
Switzerland is a small country, which measures at its longest 220km (136 miles) north to south and 346km (215 miles) east to west. However, because or the terrain many of the journeys could not be considered high speed and rail and lake steamer journeys are leisurely - for example Zurich airport to Interlaken by train will take around 2½ hours.
Scenic Rail Journeys. The highlight of a Swiss holiday is to travel along one of the many scenic routes which cross Switzerland. These journeys are a great way of combining resorts to create your own two centre or multi-stay holiday and we show a few suggestions but are happy to help you with your individual requirements.
The main scenic routes are;
Wilhelm Tell Express Lucerne to Locarno or Lugano by lake steamer and train
Glacier Express Zermatt to St Moritz or Zermatt
GoldenPass Line Lucerne to Interlaken and Interlaken to Montreux
Bernina Express Chur, Davos or St Moritz to Lugano by train and bus
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Half fare card. Your holiday includes this exceptional card, which entitles you to half or reduced price travel on the Swiss transport network. This includes most lake steamers, railways, post buses as well as reductions on most cable cars, gondolas and mountain railways. To demonstrate the value of this card we show a selection of trips from all destinations with a price guide. See Bernese Oberland, Central Switzerland, Lake Geneva, Ticino, Valais, Alpes Vaudoises and Grisons.
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