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| I wanted to ask what different place you can take your parents during their stay in Switzerland.
I want some suggestions.
In addition to that, what kind of travelling tickets do you take from SBB? | |
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Tribhovan,
When deciding where to take your folks, key IME is not only what kinds of things they like to do but also how active they are. Sightseeing around Switzerland is easy peasy if you enjoy walking and hills are no problem. But for some older folks, especially those from flatter lands or who are not used to so much walking, plans and schedules need to be realistically set with physical ability in mind.
Travel around Switzerland can be a challenge for those who are disabled. Certainly do-able, but more planning is needed.
One mistake many of us have made with older visitors is planning too much to do in one day. I often need to plan for activities only every other day, or two days out of three, giving my older visitors down days in between to relax.
My US visitors are always jet lagged on arrival, and so end up sleeping until noon and beyond. But Swiss mountain transport often stops at 17:00, so you really need to set off early in the morning to make a day of it. So I've learned to leave the first two days unplanned, let visitors get over jet lag, at most have nice meals out and a small spontneous outing nearby. Then hit the ground running on day 3.
Since many cultural attractions are closed on Mondays, I encourage my visitors to arrive on a sunday or Monday so you don't 'waste' jet lag days.
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So with that in mind, in order to answer your first question, what do your folks like doing, and how active will they want to be?
For instance, if you want to see beautiful scenery, are your folks up for walking up the mountain, or would taking a cable car be more fun? Once on the mountain, would they want to hike around - and what level difficulty - or would a nice lunch overlooking a beautiful vista be more their thing? Do they prefer city sightseeing? What kind of cultural things do they enjoy - museums, concerts, etc?
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Be aware that Switzerland is not really a spontaneous country, sometimes one needs to plan or book in advance. Also be aware that many mountain cable cars shut down in November for maintenance, so if your folks are here then some of the popular attractions might not be possible.
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I ask all my guests to make a list of places they want to see. At least that gives me a start to my planning. Once you know where your folks want to go and understand their activity level, the nuts and bolts of travel planning are much easier.
A good start for a first time visitor to Switzerland is the My Switzerland tourism site. Have your folks take a look, see what catches their fancy;
https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-ch/
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Tickets: It all depends on your itinerary. So draw that up first, then come back here and we can help you plan the best train tickets.
I usually just get one of the all-Switzerland passes. It might work out more expensive, but honestly, many of my visitors are not too travel-savvy, don't speak German or French, making figuring out the correct ticket for each journey confusing. Fines for having the wrong ticket are expensive, too! The passes mean they can hop on and off trains without worrying. (And without me!) For older visitors I get the flex passes, as then they can take days off in between travel:
https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-ch/...lic-transport/
Scroll down to Tickets for Foreign Guests.
But if you have a set itinerary, you can probably spend less by buying specific tickets.
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BTW, you might ask a mod to move this to a more general travel thread, or start one of your own. This thread is more about the visa process, so some of the people with good travel tips might not see your question.
Hope you and your folks have an enjoyable Swiss adventure!
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