Travel

Is it a good time to go to Switzerland in early September?

I'm hoping for a Apline week of trekking in Europe and to see the all the sights. The Eiger etc...

And has anyone heard or been to Wengen? I hear its quite cheap for Switzerland.

Erm, not particularly though it can be okay if the exchange rate's good.

Have been to Switzerland a lot recently. Have camped in Lauterbrunnen in early September before (just below Wengen). It was very nice, but the weather was not so hot (on-off rain and fairly chilly at times). However it's pot luck then.

We then went to Ticino (south of the Alps) and it was lovely and warm, and sunny.

Lucerne area was mixed with snow on Pilatus but decent walking weather on some of the lower peaks (Rigi, etc.).

www.myswitzerland.com
www.sbb.ch (there's a button to get the English version of the site - look into the several day rail passes)

Don't assume the cheap airlines will always have the cheapest flights (Swiss & BA can sometimes beat them).

Let me know if there's any other info. or sites (I have a few in my favourites). Normally though the local tourist offices are great at sorting out accommodation (of any sort).

Sorry, I meant "not particularly" cheap. I think September's a great time to go there (the weather's lottery in the mountains any time).

So as for the weather early September could be a bit dodgy?

If not all the hiking I just want to see the sites as it were, the Eiger etc..

Whats the cheapest way to get there, can I fly Ryan Air or Easy Jet?

Various budget airlines fly from the UK to Geneva including Easyjet from Liverpool, Gatwick and Luton I think. Time to browse the budget airline sites plus www.cheapflights.com

Ryanair dont fly to Switzerland. Easyjet does however. Also look at BA or Swiss for offers depending on where you live. Factor in costs of getting to your UK airport.
A Swiss Card ( ~£75) gives free travel from airport to you destination, free travel back and half price for everything else including cable cars and mountain railways (including Jungfraujoch).

Early September is as good atime as any to go for the weather. After Mid Sept some mountain huts, hotels and buses close down. www.sbb.ch has bus timetables as well. All connect well with trains.

Easy Jet go to Geneva and Zurich, RyanAir have been talking about flights to Basle (don't know if they've started).

This site: http://www.whichbudget.com/ can be useful for this (though don't know how well it's kept up to date).

BA & Swiss also fly to Geneva & Zurich and can be cheaper than EasyJet so it's worth checking.

Weather could be a bit dodgy, but the only peak we didn't see was Pilatus, which is not unusual, apparently.

If you go, I recommend a stopover at Bern. If you fly to Zurich then to get to Wengen you change at Bern anyway and you can see the Eiger, Munsch & Jungfrau from the city if the weather's clear. If you do go there, take a trip up the Minster tower on the hour and catch the main bell ringing - it's an impressive sound.

Recommendations:

Zurich, Bern, Lucerne (inc. Rigi, Pilatus and paddle steamer trips), Wengen & Murren (Eiger, Munsch & Jungfrau & Luaterbrunnen), Schaffhausen (Rhinefallen and the Rhine), St. Gotthard pass and northen Ticino, The Glacier Express, Zermatt (Matterhorn), and the trip over the passes from Interlaken to Lucern, Arosa and the rail journey up there, and the rail trip through Italy to Lugano.

Obviously you won't have time to do all of those, but they're all worth checking out. There's plenty of lifts and railways, but also plenty of scope for walking, too (whilst seeing the sites).

Finally, if you do go to northern Ticino, stop off at Giornico and visit the "Grotti dei duo Ponti" for dinner. You won't regret it.

Sorry, went on a bit there.

Its a bugger really as the wife can only get leave near the end of September now so the weather could be a bit tricky come then as you say.

Thanks guys for all the info though, will defo be going next year if I don't manage it this time around.

I'm certainly looking into Switzerland/Austria this September myself.

I'm currently looking at flying to Zurich with a view to taking the train (upto 2hrs journey time) to the base of some decent mountain paths. I'm not into touristy things - I prefer to keep costs down.

Beyond that I don't know where to start. I need a website/guidebook - one with illustrated english descriptions, maps etc.... any suggestions?

Speaking of maps, what can be bought for hiking purposes? 1:50,000? 1:25,000 - how big an area does each map cover?

Norway has been my expert foreign domain for the last 7 years, so it's a little scary to start out on a brand new country. I'm normally used to wild camping, something I believe is forbidden in Switzerland. So mountain huts are my next cheapest/convienient option. Where can I get info on these (including costs?).

Any help much appreciated.

http://www.myswitzerland.com has a good overview to start with. Once you know where you want to go, you can contact the local tourist office, they are normally very helpful.

I've only ever bought maps there - the Swiss ones are very good, but can't remember the names of any of them (they're all at home in a box somewhere). Otherwise you could try Stanfords. There are specific hiking maps.

Can't help on huts, I've only ever B&B's or camped in campsites there.

Don't rule out northern Ticino as an area to go walking in - it's often emptier than the northen side of the St. Gotthard and the weather's often better. There's some great areas there, too. Also finally, going east or north east from Zurich has been recommended to me by a Swiss national - though I've not actually been there myself.

Otherwise you can't go wrong in Graubunden or the Bernese Oberland. If you know either French, German or Italian you might want to start in any of those regions first.

Use the 1 in 50000 T series maps (yellow cover) they have paths marked on in red. The Map Shop in Upton on Severn stocks them and have a good online catalogue.
For mountain huts try the Swiss Alpine Club web site. There is also a Marcia lieberman book on Swiss mountain hotels published by mountaineers I think.
Cicerone publish some good walking guides to various parts of Switzerland and there is a Lonely Planet Walking in Switzerland that has idea. It is not as comprehensive as the Cicerone guides but might be more readily available to browse.

When are you thinking of going out of interest?

Now being only able to go at the end of September I'm worried its a bit late weather wise.

Departing Friday 3rd September

Returning Sunday 12th September

Currently I'm looking at:
Easyjet: Liverpool - Geneva (#100 return)
Swiss: Manchester - Zurich (#151 return)
Austrian: Gatwick - Innsbruck (#120 return)

These seem to be the cheapest means of accessing Austria (whilst leaving my car at home in Preston or my parents home in sussex).

Innsbruck looks tempting, partially because membership of the Austrian Alpine Club looks tempting - £30 including mountain rescue insurance.

not that bloody ian again!the last two years have been to chamonix and eiger way in early sept and the weather has been o.k.A bit of everythink really.snow at 8500 feet, storms, torrential rain but quite a lot of clear weather with good visability aswell.A few tents got laid flat(lucky Iwas in my motor home)but all in all o.k
I found the ride up jungfrau not only mega smegin expensive but not a tenth as good as
aiguil de midi in chamonix.
next sept im off to zermatt.

Ian I know it's not anything to do with mountains but you have to go to Lausanne, a beautiful city, great chocolate, view of the lake and the Olympic mueseum. They actually have Jesse Owens running shoes!!!

Sorry Julian, I wasn't aware I was getting on your nerves so much.

of course not old chap.intresting people make this site great!just pulling youre leg!

Ian, my experience is that Switzerland in early September is good, but as it's now October I don't even know why I'm bothering with this thread!!!!!.