10 days in Switzerland, Austria and Czech Republic - Lucerne, Interlaken, Salzburg, Vienna & Prague

We spent 10 days in Europe in the first week of July 2023 and it was one of the most extensively planned holiday we had ever had. Mahak spent months planning it to perfection. Also, because we planned in advance we got some amazing deals on stays and travel. If you're incorporating Switzerland in your itinerary the earlier you plan more money you'll save! And when I say early, I mean we made all the hotel bookings in March, applied for visa in April and closed the entire travel plans with tickets by April end.

So here is the itinerary we followed with last day kept for travel.

DAY 1: Lucerne, Switzerland

DAY 2: Interlaken, Switzerland

DAY 3: Interlaken, Switzerland

DAY 4: Salzburg, Austria

DAY 5: Salzburg, Austria

DAY 6: Vienna, Austria

DAY 7: Vienna, Austria

DAY 8: Prague, Czech Republic

DAY 9: Prague, Czech Republic

DAY 10: Travel back to India

Here is a day wise breakdown of what we did:

DAY 1: Lucerne, Switzerland

I took the red-eye from Mumbai and landed in Zurich at 6 AM in the morning.

Lucerne is 1 hour train-ride away from Zurich. The train station is a really short walk from the airport and I bought the ticket from the ticket counter there.

I was in Lucerne at 7:30 AM which gave me an entire day to explore this city.

We stayed in Baslertor Summer Pool Hotel which is a 15 minute-walk from the Lucerne train station and a short walk from the iconic Chapel Bridge. This hotel is amazing, our room had a balcony where we did a Coles dinner of cheese, fruits and wine.

Lucerne is a charming little town which can be entirely explored on foot. By 10 AM, I had walked across all the main attractions like Chapel Bridge, Lion Monument, Old Town of Lucerne and walk along Lake Lucerne. Read the detailed blog post on Lucerne here.

We had also booked the Golden Round Trip from Lucerne to Pilatus where we got to travel in a boat, bus, cog wheel. It was the most amazing experience and 100% recommended. We left at 1 PM and were back in Lucerne by 5 PM. If you’re interested you can buy the tickets here.

DAY 2: Interlaken, Switzerland

We had booked Super Saver ticket to Interlaken which left at 7:06 AM, yes EXACTLY 7:06 AM and we reached Interlaken at 8:55 AM. It helped that our hotel was walking distance from the station as no public transportation was available this early in the morning.

Super Saver ticket is a super cheap ticket for the journey you want to make. The only catch is that you CAN NOT miss your train as the ticket is only valid for the time it’s purchased for. If you purchase a regular ticket you can travel on the next train as well. However, the cost difference is significant, specially if you’re travelling across cities hence its worth being on time and booking a Super Saver.  You can book your tickets from the SBB official site.

PRO TIP: Book all trains using the Swiss Half Fare Card which you can purchase online. You’ll get discounts across trains, golden round trip, ferries and more! I highly recommended buying the half-pass.

Today we checked in at Hotel Tell & Apartments, Interlaken. The bust stop is right opposite this hotel and it’s a 15 minutes walk from Interlaken OST station which was a boon, you’ll know why.

We left our luggage (had to carry it up 2 flights of stairs) and took a train to Schilthorn - Piz Gloria. We took a bus to Wilderswil, took a train to Lauterbrunnen, from where we took a bus to Schilthornbahn. Don’t worry, you don’t need to memorise this - Google maps is extremely handy.

Highly recommend taking this journey to the summit. We spent ample time in Lauterbrunnen - a small town with over 70 waterfalls. We absolutely fell in love with this town. We also explored Murren - another quaint town. Don’t rush, visit the cafes, walk around, take a hike and explore at your own pace. The gondola to Schilthorn offers amazing views and vistas of the valley. You get gorgeous views of mountains and peaks from the summit. Have a meal at the revolving Piz Gloria like 007 did in his time.

PRO TIP: Buy the Jungfraujoch Pass if you intend to visit Jungfraujoch like we did. You’ll get additional discounts with Half Fare Card on this pass moreover all the trains in Jungfraujoch region will be covered. We bought all these tickets from the ticket counter at Interlaken OST.

DAY 3: Jungfraujoch, Switzerland

You can book an easy tour if you like things planned for yourself Jungfraujoch Top of Europe Day Trip from Interlaken.

If you're on a budget here are 10-FREE activties for you to do in Interlaken.

One of the most expensive yet the most epic day of our trip was the journey to Jungfraoujoch. If you search online 100 people will have 100 views on whether you should spend so much on this or not. My take - yes, 100% yes, it’s a once in a lifetime trip to admire and experience an engineering marvel - the Jungfraujoch Train, spend time in an Ice Palace and see the most breath-taking views of Switzerland. You can spend an entire day here and not feel like going back!

On our way back we hiked 10 kms of the Eiger Ultra Trail till Grindelwald and experience the best of Swiss towns, villages and countryside on the way. Highly recommend to do a hike and visit all the small towns like Wengen, Gimmewald, Lauterbrunnen, and more.

DAY 4-5: Salzburg, Austria

We had booked a Super Saver ticket from Interlaken to Austria. This was the longest journey we took - 9 hours and we had to switch trains twice. Also, our train from Interlaken OST was at 7:00 AM on a Sunday when public buses start at 7:30 AM. We lugged our trolleys till the station which was 15 minutes away. A super smart decision to book stays as close to the station as possible.

We reached Salzburg at 3 PM and checked-in at Motel One in Salzburg Süd. Again the bus stop was right outside the hotel. To travel in Salzburg, you can buy a 48-hour pass from the bus stop to get full access to bus and tram.

Here is the detailed itinerary for DAY 4 & DAY 5 in Salzburg Austria.

We booked this Hallstatt Half-Day Tour from Salzburg as well!

DAY 6: Vienna, Austria

We took a bus from Salzburg, reached Vienna in the evening and checked-in at Hotel Daniel, Vienna which was just beside Belvedere Palace. We did a walking tour of the city from Belvedere Palace to Hochstrahlbrunnen to Resselpark and all the way to Prater. To travel in Vienna, you can again take a 48 hour ticket which gives full access to bus and train which is readily available at bus stops or convenience stores.

You can also walk to Karlplatz, look at the Museum Quartier and walk back to the hotel.

PRO TIP: You should book a free walking tour of Vienna here.

DAY 7: Vienna, Austria

One of the best days in the city - we had booked a tour to Schönbrunn Palace which is an absolute must see.

Skip the lines guys, they can get SUPER long! Buy Vienna: Skip-the-Line Schonbrunn Palace & Gardens with Guide - its totally worth it!

We took a guided tour and deep-dived into the pages of European history. Post the tour, we walked till Gloriette and had a smashing lunch at this grandiose restaurant. Vienna greeted us to a volatile weather and we were caught in a hail-storm in the middle of July. We took a bus to the Museum Quartier to say hi to dinosaurs in the Natural Museum of History. You can easily spend half a day here and still have more to see. We witnessed a rainbow from the window as we came out of the museum and took a bus to the iconic Cafe Sacher to taste the most amazing Sachertorte. We spent the evening at Stephenplatz where you can shop, dine and spend a leisurely evening.

DAY 8-9: Prague, Czech Republic

We took a morning bus from Vienna to Prague and reached Prague by afternoon. We stated at Gold Bank Hotel, honestly this was the most cramped hotel of the lot but the location was superb as we didn’t need to buy any bus card because all the tourist spots were walking distance.

We covered entire Prague with FREE Walking tours by 100 Spires City Tours. We booked 3 tours and had the most amazing time exploring the city and its stories with our guide Nico. Do take the Ghosts and Legends tour which let’s you experience the night beauty of this city. One regret we have is not booking this Prague 5 Courses Medieval Dinner and Live Performances. It was sold out when we went - you should definitely opt for this.

DAY 10: Prague to Mumbai

Took a flight back to Mumbai which landed in the night hence an entire day wasted on travelling.

This was our 10 day itinerary to Europe - with 1 day of travel. I’ll create individual posts for Vienna and Prague as well. It was an idyllic trip where we covered multiple cities and countries. Another iterations which you can chose:

1. Switzerland, France & Italy - less travel time from Switzerland to France however more expensive as eastern Europe is cheaper.

2. Switzerland, Luxembourg, Amsterdam & Belgium - Similar travel time to Luxembourg however tad more expensive than Vienna and Prague.

Hope this helps and share your itineraries with us as well!