Holidays to Switzerland Travel Podcast Episode 183 Transcript

Summer in Switzerland: Top Activities, Weather Tips, and How to Beat the Crowds

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

Carolyn Schönafinger: 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 travelling 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.

Grüezi, welcome to this week’s episode. Today we’re joined by Christen Fleming, a Switzerland travel expert and passionate Swiss superfan. I’ve invited Christen to the podcast to share her love and insider knowledge of experiencing Switzerland in the Summertime. While Switzerland’s snow capped peaks are a draw all year round, there’s something truly special about summer in this beautiful country. In this episode, Christen discusses why summer is the most popular time to visit, what makes it unique, and she shares invaluable tips for planning a trip during the busy summer season.

Carolyn Schönafinger: If you’re dreaming of hiking through picturesque Alpine scenery, taking relaxing lake cruises, enjoying local festivals, or seeking out lesser known mountain excursions, you’ll love all of Christen’s suggestions and her third thoughtful advice on how to embrace the magic of Switzerland in summer. Whether you’re planning your first visit or you’re returning to explore even more, this episode will help you plan an unforgettable Swiss adventure in the summertime. So get ready to be inspired and let’s hear from Christen. Hello Christen, I’m super excited to have you on the podcast today. I have found someone who loves Switzerland just as much as me and can talk about it as much as I can. So it’s great to have you here. I’m really looking forward to our conversation today. Could you introduce yourself to our listeners please and tell us how you came to be such a Swiss fanatic?

Christen Fleming: I guess absolutely Carolyn. I am so excited and I hope everyone has, you know, three hours to just listen to us chat now. So I live in the US but I am a dual citizen of the US and Switzerland and I grew up just with my family here and their passion for Switzerland. As a little kid I didn’t really get it, but as I got older and I started travelling there myself, I started really kind of being curious and excited to visit again and learn as much as possible. And of course, now that I have my own family and my children have been able to retain citizenship as well, I feel it’s important to teach them that as well. And luckily I actually am able to work in tourism now and I get to spend all of my days learning about Switzerland and talking about Switzerland and it’s just kind of the perfect job for me. So, yeah, I like to try to be that person who’s the Swiss super fan. I call myself. I’m a Switzerland travel expert, but I’m really just a super fan of the country and want to learn as much as possible.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, excellent. Now, the Swiss citizenship part, you know, you said you’re a dual citizen. How did that come about if you’re born in America?

Christen Fleming: I’m going to be completely transparent. I don’t know the workings of it. I just remember when I was about 13, my mum said, do you want me to follow through with the paperwork for your Swiss citizenship? And as anyone typical 13 year old would say,

Carolyn Schönafinger: I guess your grandparents were born in Switzerland, is that correct?

Christen Fleming: Exactly. My grandmother and my grandfather were both from Glarus, from neighbouring villages. But funnily enough, they did not know each other in Glarus. They met here in the States. So yeah, and then my grandfather was the only one to come over and he had a bunch of siblings who had stayed over in Switzerland. So I still have plenty of family over there that we’re always thrilled to visit and my children have cousins their same ages so that they can, you know, have, have that bond and connection continue between the countries.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, well, how special! That’s wonderful. Okay, so today we’re going to talk about visiting Switzerland in summer, which is definitely the most popular time for tourists to visit Switzerland. In your opinion, why is summer such a good time to visit this beautiful country?

Christen Fleming: I think all the seasons are wonderful. It’s definitely a year round destination. But what I find most appealing is that pretty much everything is open and available. Mountain excursions especially, you’re able to go on just about everything. The lakes are open, everyone’s active and swimming and picnicking. And as much as winter is active as well, I think you just have so many more options of things to do when you’re there.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, that’s so true. And of course you get the long days with the summertime, so you know, it can be light till almost 10 at night, which is great for those people who really want to make the most of their time in Switzerland.

Christen Fleming: Now, before that’s a Big difference.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, yeah. Now, before we dive into some of the great things that you can experience in Switzerland in summer, can you share some of the important things that our listeners should know if they’re planning a summer vacation?

Christen Fleming: Absolutely. So of course we said everything’s open. That’s when everybody’s travelling now. So you kind of have longer lines. You want to make sure that you’re padding in time for that. It’s also, you’re in the mountains and weather can change, but it can be a lot warmer than maybe you would think. I love the word that they use, changeable. The weather is very changeable. So it could be really warm and then all of a sudden there’s a storm that comes from out of nowhere. So important to be flexible and ready for all of that weather. And yeah, I think flexible is the key word to be prepared for travel in Switzerland in the summer.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay. And what about trains? Is that a particularly busy time for the panoramic trains and even the regular trains?

Christen Fleming: Yes, I would recommend, especially if you’re booking the panoramic trains, obviously you have some that you must book in advance that’s required to have a seat reservation. You’ll have your ticket, but then also you have to book your seat reservation to make sure that you are guaranteed to have a place to sit. But even on the regular trains, they can get busy. I’ve personally found that second class is typically busier than first class. And especially, you know, when you’re bringing luggage to really consider how much you’re bringing. Because while they do have lots of space for luggage for that peak season, a lot of people will have their luggage. So it’s important to consider those things, whether it’s having your seat reservations or maybe even booking your luggage transfer if you’ve got a good amount. That’s something to certainly consider for the summer that you might not consider for other seasons.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, yeah, good point. Okay. So one thing I think that a lot of people are surprised by is that not all hotels have air conditioning. And as you mentioned, it can be warmer than probably many people expect, even in the mountains. Do you agree that it’s more difficult to get rooms with that air conditioning if you’re not booking well in advance?

Christen Fleming: Yes, I think air conditioning. And also there’s different levels of air conditioning in Switzerland, as you know, there’s some that have that. True. I mostly have people that I, you know, talk to Switzerland from the US So I compare you’re not going to have your Texas or Florida or Southern air conditioning in Most places, sometimes you’ll have kind of an air circulation unit that will lower the temperature maybe 10 degrees, but you’re not going to get that major air conditioning. And part of that is the charm of travelling abroad and experiencing new things. But that’s also one of the reasons why Switzerland is as naturally beautiful as it is. But there are certainly ways to work around that. I recommend when you wake up in the morning, close all of your blinds, your shutters, anything that you can to keep the room as dark as possible. And then you head out for the day, of course, so that when you come back it’s nice and cool. And then in the evenings you can, you can sleep with the windows open, hear the cowbells in the distance. And it’s not going to be, you know, Fahrenheit, you know, 60 degrees at night if it’s a heat wave.

Christen Fleming: But you can certainly significantly cool the room just by making sure that it’s prepped before you leave. So even if you don’t book something with air conditioning, you’ll be okay. And then typically most hotels will have fans at the front desk that you can ask for as well.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, yeah, definitely good advice there. So you, you mentioned earlier about padding in some time for, for lines. What are some of the attractions or places where you’ve noticed in summer that there couldn’t be. That there can be lines that might take you a while to, you know, to get to the front of in order to take part in an activity.

Christen Fleming: Most of it’s mostly mountain excursions that you’re going to find lines or a lot of places I know popular now are all the mountain coasters or the trotty bike activities, any. Anything like that certainly in the Jungfrau region has become very popular. So I would just say make sure you get up early. If those are on your must do, get up early, get those done as soon as you can before any tour buses it. But if you’re going to Mount Jungfrau, Grindelwald First, those, definitely, you want to make sure that you’re getting there early. And even I, I know Mount Jungfrau now requires a seat reservation from May through October, so you have to get that booked in advance because they were seeing such long lines. So the other one that I would say definitely make sure that you have a seat reservation for Brienzer Rothorn also in that same Interlaken Jungfrau region, personal experience, definitely make sure you have a seat reservation because they’re not kidding once if, if it’s full and you’re the last train going down. What are you gonna do? So I know they have a hotel up there. One time we were there and we got on the last train, but there was a good amount of people who didn’t.

Christen Fleming: And I’m still not quite sure what happened. I know they had hiking gear, so maybe they had some solution. But definitely find, find places that you can reserve. The one tip that I would say, and I hope it’s okay to say it, specifically for Mount Jungfrau. What I’ve been saying is to make sure that you get your seat reservation first and maybe not necessarily book your ticket. All of the mountain excursions don’t necessarily sell out, with the exception, like I said, for Mount Jungfrau, Brienzer Rothorn. But the weather could be really bad. So I would rather spend. I think the seat reservation is about 10 Swiss francs per person for Mount Jungfrau, but the ticket is significantly more expensive. So I would personally rather have purchased that seat reservation and then, you know, know for sure that morning the weather’s going to be good and purchase my ticket. But for the most part, mountain excursions, I say wait till the morning of. Unless there’s something that needs to have a seat reservation just to make sure those webcams show clear skies.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, yeah, no, that’s, that’s very good advice. As you say, it’s better to, let’s say, waste 10 Swiss franc per person on a seat reservation that you’re not using than waste 2 or 300 Swiss franc per person on the actual ticket for the mountain excursion itself. So, yeah, that’s, that’s great advice. Okay, so let’s talk a bit more about temperatures. And we’ve already discussed that the weather can be very changeable, even in summer. But what temperatures can visitors expect during the summer?

Christen Fleming: In general? You’ll have warmer temperatures, obviously in the lowlands, in the cities, Zurich, Lucerne, anywhere that’s not on the mountain, obviously those are going to be warmer. In the mountains, it’ll be much cooler, you’ll have more variable temperatures, or you could expect a rainstorm in the middle of the day, that can certainly make the temperatures vary more. You’re not going to need winter clothes, but certainly I would say if you’re planning between 70 degrees and it can get even up to 90 degrees in the summer as well, Fahrenheit. So just be prepared for, again, changeable weather.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, I think we say this so often on the podcast, but layers are the way to go. Always have something that you can put on or something that you can take off to help meet the current temperature. So if someone is flexible with their summer travel dates, is there one month that you would recommend over another in terms of, you know, when, when they should actually plan their trip?

Christen Fleming: I don’t personally, and maybe you’ll have a different perspective, but it’s high season no matter what. I think if you’re looking at the beginning of June, not everything could be open yet. If they have a late snowfall and something may not be open, I would kind of stay away from that personally, if there were particular mountain excursions that I wanted to definitely see and they weren’t open yet. But I think crowd level, if you’re looking at it from that perspective, both July and August are going to be pretty, pretty busy. End of August can start to slow down a little, but I find even going into September is still really busy. So pick some time that works best for your schedule, especially if you’re planning with multiple people. But I wouldn’t say that there’s a particular time that I would recommend over others. Or if you go on the Switzerland tourism website, you can see if there’s any festivals that you’d want to take a look at that you want to be there for. If you want to be there for the 1st of August, which is the National Day, sometimes there could be some really fun events to be a part of then.

Christen Fleming: But yeah, they’ve got a great list too up on their website. Maybe there’s something that you’d like to check out.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, and I think, as you say, it’s whatever time suits the traveller best, fits in with their other commitments. All the months are going to be great. So, yeah, just pick something. But obviously if you’re travelling during the summer, book well ahead so that you can get the reservations at the places that you want to stay at and the seat reservations on the trains and plan all that well ahead so that you’re all organised. So what about packing for a summer trip? What’s your advice? There’s.

Christen Fleming: Well, we’ve already established layers, definitely, and also rain gear, waterproof shoes, definitely. But yeah, a nice light rain jacket that you can throw in your bag. I’ve been on a big merino wool kick lately for layers because it kind of helps ventilate and otherwise. Water bottle, definitely bring a water refillable water bottle. My whole family gets so excited now to bring our water bottles in that first fountain. It’s like, oh, we finally, we’re back in Switzerland and we get to have, you know, the Swiss Fountain water. And that’s always been a little bit of a gain to find that. But I think if you’ve got your raincoat and a water bottle and some good shoes, you’re. You’re good to go in Switzerland.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, yeah, definitely. And perhaps one other thing we should mention maybe is sun cream, because even up on the mountain peaks, it’s quite intense. So we don’t want people getting sunburnt. And all year round. That’s a good idea. Winter, spring, summer, fall, always the sunscreen in Switzerland. Yeah.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, so we’ve established that summer is a great time to visit and everything’s open and there’s plenty of things to do. What are some of your favourite activities that you and your family always look forward to when you’re in Switzerland?

Christen Fleming: Number one thing for us is definitely hiking. Well, maybe not my little ones, not quite as much. They’re getting, they’re getting better with it. And of course there are so many different types of trails that you can take. But just being able to get outside, whether that is a hike up to a beautiful viewpoint or you take a mountain excursion to that same beautiful viewpoint, I think that’s one of the big perks of Switzerland that it’s so accessible. And if somebody maybe doesn’t have quite the mobility that they want to have, you can still see beautiful viewpoints. Just park it right at one of those mountain restaurants and with a cup of coffee or glass of wine and take it all in. I think that’s the best thing that we like to do. Lake cruises and just being on the lake is wonderful as well. I think you get an opportunity when you’re on a boat. You have to stop. You know, you can’t, you can’t go anywhere. You can finally just stop and just observe and take it all in, which I love to be able to do as well. And picnics anywhere, such a, such a summer, summer thing for us over there is just to have picnics.

Christen Fleming: And then I think my family’s newest, favourite thing is we’re now trying to find all of the different mountain coasters and fly lines and that’s in ropes parks. So all that stuff we can’t really do during the winter time. So that’s a new, new favourite for us. A little bit more active.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah. And Switzerland definitely excels at those types of activities, doesn’t it? Like, you know, you come to a. Well, I guess some random mountain and. And here you are with a, a coaster and, and a fly line and you think, wow.

Christen Fleming: Yeah, some are definitely, well, more well marketed than others. So that when you. Exactly. You kind of show up somewhere that you’ve heard about and then you’re like, wow, this, this happens to be the longest toboggan run in all of. Okay, yeah, yeah.

Carolyn Schönafinger: And yeah, one. One place that I visited on my last trip was in the Appenzell region. And I’d heard of this mountain, Kronberg before, but hadn’t been there. And we went there and wow. The facilities that they have there are just incredible. Same like a coaster and rope park and fly lines and everything. It was. Yeah, it was amazing.

Christen Fleming: They know how to do summer. Summer really well over there. Yeah, they do.

Carolyn Schönafinger: So what are some of your particular favourites when it comes to mountain excursions? Are they the. The real well known ones or do you have some that perhaps people may not have heard of?

Christen Fleming: That’s really tough. I’m really glad that you said favourites and not favourite because there’s so many different ones and so many different reasons to love them. I think my top favourites, Mount Schilthorn again in the Jungfrau region, will always be a favourite for me, both for nostalgia reasons. That was one of the first ones we went to as a family and it truly has the Most beautiful viewpoints. 360 degree views and especially they just redid the cable cars and the stations. It’s just. It’s such a beautiful and also really cool mountain excursion. I know we’re both in the same boat with cable cars.

Carolyn Schönafinger: I’m not a huge fan of.

Christen Fleming: No, no, I am not. But I’m slowly getting more brave. It’s.

Carolyn Schönafinger: It’s amazing what we’ve put ourselves through for all our listeners, isn’t it? We fight the fear of going on these cable cars so we can see these amazing mountain views and share it all with our listeners.

Christen Fleming: It’s a sacrifice that we do for something we’re passionate about.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Absolutely.

Christen Fleming: But yeah, Mount Chilthorn is great. I would say also Mount Pilatus I really like because it has that golden round trip. So you. If somebody’s coming to Switzerland and they’ve never had all those different types of transportation because of it. You go by boat, you go by cogwheel train, you go by Gonda. It’s every form of transportation that you can get. So you kind of. If you have limited time, that’s great. And then of course you get to the top and the views are outstanding. You have Lake Lucerne, you’ve got the mountains around. I still have yet to see a dragon. They keep telling me that there’s Dragons up there. I haven’t seen one, but I think that’s a great one. One that I think that people may not have heard of. On all of the lists that is one of my absolute favourites is over near Pontresina is Muertas Marai. I don’t know if you’ve been there, but you take the funicular up and very steep funicular as a heads up, but that point, the sunset there, we were lucky enough to go in the autumn with all the little arches turning that beautiful shade of gold.

Christen Fleming: With the sun setting there was like a little mist coming in. There had been a snowfall, so we had a little snow, a little. It was just the most magical viewpoint. And I know that there’s some excellent hikes from there as well that I must try out, but I would highly recommend. I mean that whole area in particular I don’t think gets enough, enough love over in the Engadine, but to check out Muertas Marai over over there.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I know the Swiss themselves love it. The Engadine is a really popular region for them to go within their own country. But yeah, as you say, for international tourists, it’s, it’s very. Yeah, it’s, it’s not a hidden gem, but it’s, it’s certainly less, less, less known. And yes, I did do that excursion last September. The large trees weren’t quite changing colour and it was actually a beautiful, bright, sunny day. So the views were just amazing. And yeah, definitely somewhere I want to return to as well to try some hiking. So yeah, that’s, that’s another one for the list.

Christen Fleming: The other one that I wanted to mention too, kind of in a popular area, but again, I don’t think gets as much love as the others is Shinnega Plata over in again, the Jungfrau region. It’s another beautiful viewpoint to see the same. You know, the Eiger Monch Jungfrau. It’s really beautiful and they’ve got anyone who’s into kind of nature, botanicals. Their alpine flower garden is outstanding. It’s. It’s. I think it’s one of the best ones that I’ve seen in Switzerland at least. And they did a really good job there. And you have the Elkhorn performances and it’s just really nice. They’ve got a new playground and. Oh, and also a new viewpoint that they just put on recently too. So highly recommend that if somebody kind of wants to stay away from the big, big crowds that are staying in that area.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah. And that one’s accessible by train too. So for people that aren’t that fond of cable cars, that’s a great option. Yeah. So with all these mountain excursions, I mean you touched on it before but do they need to be booked in advance?

Christen Fleming: So my general advice is no, they don’t need to be booked in advance. So make sure that you check the webcams the night before the morning to make sure that you’re not going to buy a ticket and then you’re sitting up in a cloud because I’m sure you’ve been there too where you’re like oh, you know, maybe it’ll clear. No, if it shows there’s a cloud you’re going to not see anything. But again the exception would be Mount Jungfrau which you need a reservation, you have to have reservations for between May and October. And I know the last time I checked they were saying to make sure that you get your seat reservations at least three days in advance. And I was seeing kind of about that last summer when I was checking to that that was something good to do. And then the other one that I know off the top of my head, 3anzer roadhoorn definitely needs seat reservations for that and that, that does sell out fairly quickly. The other option for that, just so people know so they’re not stuck there’s you can take the cable car down the other side as well.

Christen Fleming: So it’s not just one way up and down. You can go down towards Sorenberg. And so in case they don’t see reservations for that check out the descent that way. And then in terms of required seat reservations I would say you can get a priority boarding, something like that for Mount Pilatus would highly recommend. I know those lines have been really long. Mount Gornergrat, same thing. You can get priority boarding. So the more popular ones check to see if there’s priority boarding. And again you know, I, I, I hope it’s okay to say to maybe if you can book it separately, maybe get the boarding and maybe won’t be too bad if it’s crowded or if it’s, if the weather’s bad then they won’t be sold out anyway. You’re not taking a seat away from somebody but maybe book that seat reservation before the ticket itself.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, yeah, great advice. Okay, so let’s move on to lake cruises. As you said before there’s nothing so relaxing as being on a, on a cruise on a lake, on any lake in Switzerland. Have you got any particular favourites again? Too many.

Christen Fleming: That’s, that’s definitely one of my, my favourites to do something about. There’s something striking about the Swiss flag, the red and white against that blue of the lake or that turquoise of the lake. Something about that colour just visually to me is just so striking and beautiful that yeah, I could just sit on a cruise and look at that all day. But again, glad you asked me. Multiples, I would say Lake Lucerne is definitely a favourite. They have that Legends of Lake Lucerne cruise now. We were lucky, lucky enough to do that last summer. It’s definitely a premium experience and you just feel so relaxed. You get wonderful food, you get this storytelling about the region which was so unique and not overdone. It was really tasteful and just a really enjoyable relaxing day. And then of course you have beautiful Lake Lucerne. Then I think another favourite going down to Ticino. I don’t know if I could say if Lake Lugano or Lago Maggiore is my favourite, but both of them are just beautiful and different. Different from all of the lakes. You know, in the German speaking area you have these little fishing villages that just. It’s so Italian. Then it’s, it’s a much different experience. So I’d say it’s hard to compare because yes, you’re both on a lake, but there’s such a different experience. And then I’d say maybe not quite the same lake experience, but still an outstanding one. We went to Ocean and Se and got a rowboat. So not really the lake steamer, but to be out there on the water. Speaking of sunscreen. Definitely. But to be out there on that lake was outstanding for sure.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah. So there’s options for everyone, isn’t there? Steamboats to rowboats and modern cruise vessels. Yeah, so there’s so many. Yeah, yeah, wonderful. What about other experiences that you’ve enjoyed during summer? I mean, everyone that goes will probably do at least one mountain excursion and hopefully one lake cruise. But what other sorts of activities can they look forward to in the summertime?

Christen Fleming: I think I touched on it before, but definitely keep an eye out to see if there’s any sort of festivals or markets. You know, speaking of Detino, down in Bellanzona they’ve got that great market every Saturday to go to. Just kind of just. I would pop into the tourist office of whatever town you’re visiting and just see if there’s any local events going on because it’s so everybody’s outside, there’s always something going on. So to kind of get their insight on what. What’s happening, I, I think, would just take your experience up that next level to really feel like you’re getting a local, local experience when you’re. When you’re in Switzerland.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, definitely. And summertime’s also a very popular time for the local folklore evenings. And a couple of years ago, I went to one for the first time in Wengen. They actually have it, I think, every second Tuesday night or Wednesday night. And it was just fantastic. Local people there played the Alp horn and yodel and there was dancing and ringing. It was just fantastic. And it was not only tourists there, but the locals came along to catch up with their friends as well and have a drink and something to eat. So it was just amazing. So I highly recommend people to look out for those sorts of experiences and events as well.

Christen Fleming: Yeah, I think the other thing, too, a lot of people talk about mountain excursions or lake cruises and hiking, but I feel like not enough attention gets drawn to the glaciers, too. They’re like, people want to see the mountain peaks, they want to see the Matterhorn, they want to, you know, they want to see certain lakes. But, you know, we have so many beautiful glaciers to see, and now is certainly the time to see them. Like going to see the Aletscha, the whole Aletsch arena with the Aletsch Glacier, not just from the Jungfrau region, but it stretches so wide to see that. Or down in SaaS Bay, the glaciers there are such. And that’s definitely a different experience to see those in summertime, obviously, because you don’t have as much snow, but I would definitely say to take a moment to seek out some glacier views when you’re in Switzerland as well.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, absolutely. And we want to see them now while we still can, because sadly, they are shrinking. Hmm. Okay. So if you were advising a friend, and I’m sure you have advised many friends who are planning their first trip to Switzerland and they’re going in summer, what would you tell them? There are the must do experiences.

Christen Fleming: I get this a lot, but probably not enough, because I. I would talk about it to anyone who’s even not asking you the question, but I think it’s different for different people. But I would say you kind of fit into one of two categories. The traveller who has been so inspired by everything that they’ve seen and they’ve got a list that they are dreaming of seeing. And for those people, I’d say hit those points. Hit those popular destinations. They’re popular for a reason, because they’re beautiful and they’re outstanding. But be prepared. It’s going to be busy. Go get up early. Make sure that you’ve got somewhat of a plan that can be flexible, maybe even consult an expert. A lot of different resources that they can reach out to, whether it’s through the Facebook group or through one of your partners. But definitely have a bit of a plan in place. But also make sure you gotta be flexible. So hit those places, but wake up early. And then I think the other, the other kind of team is the people who want to experience Switzerland and don’t really feel like they have to see exact spots.

Christen Fleming: So for that I would say, you know, take. Take inspiration from the places you’ve seen online, but, you know, pick and choose a couple of your favourites. And I even think of one of the. Not to sound too much like a holidays to Switzerland nerd, but I think one of your podcasts talked about how to pick out those places and plot them on a map. And do they really look like you can visit them in one trip? And if so, good. So pick a couple of those. But allow yourself some time to find that bakery that’s around the corner that you wouldn’t have hit if all you did was go the other way to the mountain excursion. Allow yourself to have time in those, those places that, you know, that’s. That’s where the magic can happen. You know, we travel to, to be curious and to have new experiences, but if you’re so locked into experiencing the things that you’ve seen online, you could miss out on some really cool things. Some other cool experiences. So, again, not to, not to put down all of the popular sites because they truly are spectacular and they’re spectacular for a reason.

Christen Fleming: But I would recommend to just give yourself a little bit of time, both logistically for a busy summer and just to find your own magic and stumble upon something that is truly your own.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, absolutely. And I think, you know, just taking the time that, as you said, that’s where the magic happens. Sometimes the most memorable part of a trip is from something that you didn’t plan, you didn’t expect. And, you know, being open to those experiences is. Can be so rewarding and, yeah, something that sticks with you for such a long time. All right, so have you got any other tips for our listeners who are planning a trip to Switzerland in the summertime?

Christen Fleming: I would say, you know, I’m on all of those Facebook groups too, or on those websites and still trying to learn as much as possible. And I see so many people say, you know, I want to have somebody help me plan my trip or I’m feeling overwhelmed and people are saying, no, you can do it, you can do it, and, yeah, you can do it. Absolutely. But don’t be afraid to ask for help. I think you and I know firsthand we could spend months in Switzerland and still feel like we’re missing things. So to have somebody who doesn’t know the country as much, trying to find all that out on their own can be really overwhelming. And some people find that fun and a challenge, and that’s amazing. But don’t feel bad if you want to reach out for other resources, whether it’s going to a provider for an itinerary or having somebody just truly book the whole thing after a phone consultation. I think she’s been really getting a lot of value out of your time for that, because these are people who spend so much time in these places, researching these places and can really help you with that.

Christen Fleming: So don’t be hesitant. If you feel at all like you want some help, definitely reach out for it.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, you’re so right, because even, you know, if you’re asking a question online, yes, the people that are responding are responding in good faith and with what experiences they’ve had. But they may have only been in Switzerland for a week themselves. You know, they may have just hit those popular spots, so. And they may have had perfect weather every single day, so they haven’t had to deal with, you know, changeable weather or plans being disrupted. And they don’t know Switzerland in depth, you know, like yourself, like. Like myself and like many other experts and travel providers out there. So, yeah, reaching out to someone for some advice doesn’t make it, you know, doesn’t make you a bad travel planner. It just means that, yeah, you’re. You’re looking to. To get a true perspective of Switzerland, I guess.

Christen Fleming: Yeah. And I think you have a little bit more of a chance to find something unique and magical, so you have your own stories to share with people and to inspire other people as well. And, I mean, I know there’s all the AI help now, but I would just say don’t always trust that without backing it up. Like, I was somebody, somebody came to me and they said, I want to take a trip from. A day trip from Grindelwald. I’m going to go to Appenzell for the day. Which, if you look at it on the map, it doesn’t look too far away. Right. But there’s mountains and you have to kind of go around them. And this was something that chatgpt had said. Yes, this is a very easy thing to do, but if you talk to a human who has been there and knows these places, we’re going to say no. First of all, not possible for a day trip. Second of all, you got to really be in Appenzell for a few days to experience it. So yeah, it has a place for being useful, but definitely consult the experts if you’re looking for help.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, absolutely. Okay. So any last words, anything else you’d like to share about Switzerland with us before I let you go?

Christen Fleming: It’s amazing. Whatever you do, it’s going to be a wonderful time. If you expect to have a certain experience and you have to have that experience, yeah, there is a chance for disappointment. But if you go and you just want to be able to experience the food, the culture and specifically, especially the landscape, the beauty of the nature there, it’s going to be amazing. Whether you sit in one spot for two weeks or you hopefully don’t go to a new place every single day. But it’s an amazing country and I’m excited to talk about it anytime that I can.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, well, we’ll definitely have you back on the podcast, and I’m sure we’ll be arranging our own private zoom chats too, to talk more about Switzerland in the very near future. So thank you so much, Christen. It’s been fantastic having you on the show.

Christen Fleming: Oh, it’s been my pleasure, Carolyn. Thank you so much.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Well, what a fantastic chat about summer in Switzerland. I think today’s episode really showcased how much there is to see and do during the warmer months, from breathtaking mountain excursions and relaxing lake cruises to hiking festivals and so much more. As Christen reminded us, being flexible, prepared for changeable weather and not over planning your itinerary will make for a truly magical Swiss adventure. Don’t forget, some activities and train journeys are especially popular during summer, so booking in advance is a must. For more information and helpful resources mentioned in today’s episode, be sure to check out the show notes@holidaystoswitzerland.com episode 183. There you’ll find links to useful guides to help you start planning your perfect Swiss summer holiday, and a link to get my Summer in Switzerland checklist, which you can download for free. Thank you so much for joining us today. I’ll be back again next week with more Swiss travel tips and inspiration. Until then, Tschüss.

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