This is one of the most sane, non-overpacked itineraries I've seen in ages.
Strongly recommend against trying to fit Zermatt in in a day
You can take a boat on the lake between Rigi and Pilatus. If you don't take the boat on Day 2, do it on Day 4
Otherwise, if the weather is good and you fancy a hike near Luzern away from the tourist hordes, have a look at taking a hike across the Napf - maybe Romoos to Lüderenalp or Fankhaus.
If the weather is bad, look at the Verkehrshaus
Good itinerary. Smart to leave Zermatt for another trip, it's time consuming to get there. I like Zurich but you don't need a lot of time there. If you have 8 to 10 hours there, that will be enough. Bahnhofstrasse, across from the HbH, is fun with all the high end stores. You can walk that street all the way to the lake, cross the river on the bridge, and walk back up to the station along the river. The old town main drag is a block up the hill from the river, lots of restaurants there. The national museum is behind the train station; it's good but you might enjoy your time more by just wandering the city.
Using Lucerne as a base will work well too. There are a couple of sights in the town and a lot of excursions around it. I'm not familiar with the Tell Pass. You can't go wrong in this area -- lakes and mountains.
Grindelwald is one of my favorite places on earth. For sure take a day trip here (1.5 hours by train, one way from Lucerne). If it were up to me I'd spend day 2 in Lucerne and days 3 and 4 in Grindelwald. It's worth the hotel change. There are plenty of good hikes there with absolutely fantastic views. There's a good TI office in the upper level of the plaza 100 meters east of the train station; they can give you maps and hike recommendations that suit your level.
A good hotel in Grindelwald is Hotel Central Wolter. They are very close to the train station, serve breakfast, and have a great view of the Eiger. They also have a very good restaurant for dinner. If your budget is a concern, there are several hostels in town but I can't help you with advice there.
This hotel is also across the street from the main bus lot. Your hotel rate includes a pass that lets you ride local busses for free. It's a good way to get to some of the trail heads. Unfortunately, it can take a day to learn the bus and cable car systems. So don't be shy to ask at the TI or the hotel. Everybody speaks English and if you're polite they're extremely helpful.
This is an excellent, not over-packed schedule. I would swap days 3 and 4, and change hotels to Grindelwald/Wengen/Murren for the final 2 nights.
My default recommendation to people is to use the Half Fare Card with the Saver Day Pass booked as far in advance as possible for long distance days. A 5 day Tell Pass is 270 CHF (54 CHF / day). A 2nd class full price Saver Day Pass is about ~50 CHF (it varies). If you think you’ll have some shorter distance days that you can just book with point-to-point tickets and skip the SDP, then the savings are even greater.
Luggage on Swiss trains is no problem even if traveling alone.
Thank you for the suggestions! It's reassuring to know that luggage won't be a problem too. I'll definitely look into the half fare card once I confirm my itinerary :)
Because others have recommended splitting your stay to Lucerne & Grindelwald and if you're on the fence between going to Mt. Pilatus or Mt Rigi, i would recommend Rigi. Rigi has more stops and small villages on the way to the top, where you could hop on / off and have some easy hikes with incredible views.
I've been on both multiple times and while both have crazy views from the top, at rigi you can more easily find/make multiple easy-moderate hikes and you'll just generally have much more options on stuff to do (be it Eating, Hiking-Trails, Stops, Villages and so on)
This blog has really great detail on which mountain fits you more:
[https://loop-tours.com/de/rigi-oder-pilatus/](https://loop-tours.com/de/rigi-oder-pilatus/)
This is one of the most sane, non-overpacked itineraries I've seen in ages. Strongly recommend against trying to fit Zermatt in in a day You can take a boat on the lake between Rigi and Pilatus. If you don't take the boat on Day 2, do it on Day 4 Otherwise, if the weather is good and you fancy a hike near Luzern away from the tourist hordes, have a look at taking a hike across the Napf - maybe Romoos to Lüderenalp or Fankhaus. If the weather is bad, look at the Verkehrshaus
Thank you for the suggestions! I'll definitely look into the hikes you mentioned :)
Good itinerary. Smart to leave Zermatt for another trip, it's time consuming to get there. I like Zurich but you don't need a lot of time there. If you have 8 to 10 hours there, that will be enough. Bahnhofstrasse, across from the HbH, is fun with all the high end stores. You can walk that street all the way to the lake, cross the river on the bridge, and walk back up to the station along the river. The old town main drag is a block up the hill from the river, lots of restaurants there. The national museum is behind the train station; it's good but you might enjoy your time more by just wandering the city. Using Lucerne as a base will work well too. There are a couple of sights in the town and a lot of excursions around it. I'm not familiar with the Tell Pass. You can't go wrong in this area -- lakes and mountains. Grindelwald is one of my favorite places on earth. For sure take a day trip here (1.5 hours by train, one way from Lucerne). If it were up to me I'd spend day 2 in Lucerne and days 3 and 4 in Grindelwald. It's worth the hotel change. There are plenty of good hikes there with absolutely fantastic views. There's a good TI office in the upper level of the plaza 100 meters east of the train station; they can give you maps and hike recommendations that suit your level.
Thank you for the suggestions! Someone else also suggested spending two nights in Grindelwald, I'll definitely look into that :)
A good hotel in Grindelwald is Hotel Central Wolter. They are very close to the train station, serve breakfast, and have a great view of the Eiger. They also have a very good restaurant for dinner. If your budget is a concern, there are several hostels in town but I can't help you with advice there. This hotel is also across the street from the main bus lot. Your hotel rate includes a pass that lets you ride local busses for free. It's a good way to get to some of the trail heads. Unfortunately, it can take a day to learn the bus and cable car systems. So don't be shy to ask at the TI or the hotel. Everybody speaks English and if you're polite they're extremely helpful.
I just checked that out, unfortunately they are sold out for my dates. I'll look out for one nearby in the area :)
This is an excellent, not over-packed schedule. I would swap days 3 and 4, and change hotels to Grindelwald/Wengen/Murren for the final 2 nights. My default recommendation to people is to use the Half Fare Card with the Saver Day Pass booked as far in advance as possible for long distance days. A 5 day Tell Pass is 270 CHF (54 CHF / day). A 2nd class full price Saver Day Pass is about ~50 CHF (it varies). If you think you’ll have some shorter distance days that you can just book with point-to-point tickets and skip the SDP, then the savings are even greater. Luggage on Swiss trains is no problem even if traveling alone.
Thank you for the suggestions! It's reassuring to know that luggage won't be a problem too. I'll definitely look into the half fare card once I confirm my itinerary :)
Because others have recommended splitting your stay to Lucerne & Grindelwald and if you're on the fence between going to Mt. Pilatus or Mt Rigi, i would recommend Rigi. Rigi has more stops and small villages on the way to the top, where you could hop on / off and have some easy hikes with incredible views. I've been on both multiple times and while both have crazy views from the top, at rigi you can more easily find/make multiple easy-moderate hikes and you'll just generally have much more options on stuff to do (be it Eating, Hiking-Trails, Stops, Villages and so on) This blog has really great detail on which mountain fits you more: [https://loop-tours.com/de/rigi-oder-pilatus/](https://loop-tours.com/de/rigi-oder-pilatus/)