Holidays to Switzerland Travel Podcast Episode 167 Transcript

5 Smart Itinerary Tips for Your Trip to Switzerland

You can see the full show notes and listen to this episode > here.

Welcome to the Holidays to Switzerland podcast. If you’re planning a trip to Switzerland, this is the podcast for you. I’m your host, Carolyn Schönafinger, the founder of holidaystoswitzerland.com, and in each episode, my expert guests and I share practical tips to help you plan your dream trip to Switzerland. You’ll get helpful advice about traveling around Switzerland and hear about the most popular destinations as well as some hidden gems. And we’ll introduce you to plenty of wonderful experiences that you can enjoy as part of your Swiss vacation. Each episode is packed with expert tips, itinerary ideas, and inspiration to help make your Swiss vacation planning easy. So let’s dive in.

I’m so glad that you’re joining me today for part two in our four-part series all about planning your perfect Swiss vacation. Last week, in part one, I talked about choosing your travel dates and booking your flights, and of course, getting your travel insurance sorted. That’s the foundation for your trip. Today, we’re going to move on to something that a lot of travelers say is the hardest part of planning their trip, and that’s choosing their itinerary. Where should you go? How long should you stay? What’s realistic, and how do you make sure you’re not cramming too much into your days? All these things can be pretty overwhelming, but don’t worry, I’m going to walk you through all of that today.

So, let’s start with the basics. Where should you actually look to get itinerary ideas? There are so many options out there, and the internet is just exploding with Swiss travel inspiration. There is so much that you just want to try and fit into your itinerary that it can just be so overwhelming knowing exactly what is realistic.

So a great place to start is the Switzerland Tourism website. It’s fantastic. It’s got suggested routes for everything from scenic road trips to hiking holidays and winter escapes and so much more. And regional tourism websites are great too, because they go into much more detail about local attractions and day trips. And you’ll probably find suggestions of things that you didn’t even know were available.

If you’re more of a visual person, YouTube, Pinterest, and Instagram are great for visual inspiration and for giving you a sense of what a destination actually looks and feels like. But just keep in mind that beautiful photos and videos don’t always accurately represent the travel logistics involved in getting from one place to another.

And of course, on the Holidays to Switzerland website, I’ve got a whole range of suggested itineraries for different trip lengths. So there’s something there to suit you, whether you want a five-day trip or a one-month trip. And there are also itineraries for specific regions as well. So they’re a very good place to start.

I know a lot of you are probably thinking about using AI tools to help with your planning. And they can be incredibly useful for brainstorming. You can ask for ideas, get lists of destinations, or suggestions for what to see in a particular region. But just a word of warning: please don’t rely solely on AI to create your final itinerary. AI can get things wrong. It often underestimates travel times, particularly with mountain transport. It might tell you that you can visit three different mountain peaks in one day or hop from Zermatt to Appenzell in time for dinner, which you possibly could, but it’s just not realistic. It can also recommend itineraries that are far too rushed, because AI doesn’t understand travel fatigue. And sometimes it suggests places that look close on a map but are really not easy to reach because there’s a huge mountain range in the middle. So, AI is great for ideas, but it’s not great as your final planner.

And speaking of travel times, this is so important. Switzerland has an incredible transport system. You’ve heard me talk about it so often before. Trains, buses, boats, and cable cars, they all just seamlessly connect. But traveling through the mountains can take longer than you might expect. So using the fantastic SBB Mobile app, and if you’re driving, something like Google Maps, they’re your best friends here to help you find realistic travel times to get between places.

A good rule that I keep at hand when I’m planning out my itineraries is to avoid one-night stays unless they are absolutely necessary. Packing, unpacking, checking in, checking out, and then traveling between destinations means you’ll lose so much time. So I always recommend spending at least two or three nights if you can in most destinations, especially in the Alpine areas. And as I get older and like to travel a bit slower, four nights is a really good minimum for me these days. You’ll enjoy it more if you stay longer and you’re not feeling as rushed.

One of the biggest mistakes I see travelers make, especially first-time visitors, is trying to fit too much into their itinerary. Switzerland is stunning, there’s no doubt about that. And it’s easy to think, “Oh, I can just squeeze in one more town,” or “Oh, I think I could do two mountain excursions in one day.” But trust me, slower is better. Leave room for a relaxed stroll, a long lunch, a boat ride, a chat with a local, or even just a quiet afternoon admiring the view. And remember that the weather in the mountains can change quickly. So having a bit of flexibility in your itinerary with an extra night or two makes it much easier to swap activities between days.

Another great way to plan your itinerary is to browse trips offered by tour operators. So this might be rail holidays or coach tour operators or even self-guided packages that you can find online. These pre-designed itineraries are usually pretty well-balanced. They’ve been tested for pace and logistics, so they’re a really good reference point even if you plan to travel independently. But there is just one thing to be aware of here. Sometimes you’ll find in the itinerary the mention of an included attraction, and this could just be a drive-by or a quick photo stop. So you might see Lake Thun or Chillon Castle listed on your itinerary, but that might simply mean that the bus that’s operating the tour just drives past it or stops very briefly for a quick photo stop. So if you’re particularly wanting to see a site or a destination, and if you’re using one of these itineraries for inspiration, make sure you read the fine print and understand exactly what’s included so that you can allow additional time in your itinerary to stop off at all these places that you want to explore.

Now, if all of this still feels overwhelming, and it does for many people, this next option might be just what you’re looking for. Holidays to Switzerland has a wonderful partner named Hannah, a friend of mine who lives in Switzerland, and Hannah specializes in crafting itineraries just for travelers heading to Switzerland. She’s super knowledgeable. She travels around Switzerland very, very frequently, and she’s covered much of the country. And she’s very realistic about what you can comfortably fit into each day.

Hannah offers two types of services. So she has an itinerary review service, so if you have already made a draft itinerary and you just want an expert to look over it and make sure it’s workable and practical, she can do that for you. And she also offers a fully tailor-made itinerary planning service. So you tell her your interests and how much time you’ve got, how you want to travel around, and she’ll put together an itinerary just for you. So both of those services are really helpful if you’re struggling with your itinerary. And as a special offer to podcast listeners, Hannah offers a 5% discount when you use the Holidays to Switzerland promo code when you book one of those services with her. I’ll include the link for the discount and more details about Hannah’s itinerary planning services in the show notes.

And don’t forget, we’ve also got a number of suggested itineraries on the Holidays to Switzerland website. They’re totally free and cover different trip lengths, seasons, and different regions. And you can follow them exactly or just use them as a guide and adapt them to whatever works for you.

So to recap today’s episode:

• Start with sample itineraries for inspiration, but watch out that what’s listed in the itinerary is actually being visited and it’s not just a drive-by sighting that you see something as the bus drives past.
• Use AI for ideas and inspiration, but make sure you double-check everything; it’s not always 100% accurate.
• Allow enough time to travel between your destinations.
• And don’t pack your days too full; leave room for spontaneity and for weather changes.
• Make sure you check out those free itineraries on our website, and if you want expert help, Hannah’s itinerary services are a fantastic option.

Next week in part three of the series, we’re going to get right into the fun stuff: booking your accommodation and your transport. Trains, passes, rental cars, all of that fun and enjoyable stuff that really makes you feel like your trip is coming together. So I hope you’ll join me then. And until then, tschüss!

You can see the full show notes and listen to this episode > here.