I am trying to provide my family with a budget for planning our June, 2004 trip to Switzerland. I will begin by saying that I am aware that any information I get on airline travel for that time is anybody's guess this far in advance. But, some family members need to start putting a certain amount aside a month in order to have enough for the trip. So, looking at fares that will be for this June, 2003, it seems a flight from Tampa to Zurich will be $1000.00 per person, or there 'bouts. I did a search on this site for travel agents and read past threads about travel agents and booking via internet sites. My dilemma is traveling over there with so many people and trying not to spend 15,000 to do it. I know we can get to other European country's for less, ie;Germany for around $700.00/person, but I'm not sure the best way to get to Kandersteg from there. I'm at a loss as to the best way to go about doing this. Travel to Paris, Milan, Frankfurt, London? and then another flight to Zurich or Geneva bearing in mind there will be 4 children traveling with us over the age of 5 at the time. I'm about to think it is too much of a daunting task to take on and attempt to find a travel agent to help us. Then again, I don't know where to look for a good travel agent who could get us all over there for a much better rate. I guess my biggest question is how to travel to Kandersteg from one of the other countries I've listed above. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks
I would get Sally Watkins on this. She is a Swiss Travel Expert (as well as Italy). www.sallywatkins.com . She charges for her time for booking your trip, but she can probably find good prices.
From Zurich to Kandersteg is about a 3 hour drive. You could fly to Zurich and then take the train to Kandersteg. You don't really need a car in Kandersteg - we had one but didn't use it much. There is a thing with the airlines where you can check your baggage all the way to your destination in Switzerland - the bags go on the train. It is called Fly/Train and you purchase tickets for the bags here: http://www.raileurope.com/us/ . I have not used this, but Sally will know all about it.
We always fly into Zurich, but I think you could fly into Germany and take the train. Consider the extra time this will take and that your group will be tired.
Pauline, thanks for your response. We intend to take full advantage of the transportation that Switzerland has to offer, and will not be renting a car for the duration of our stay. We've done this before, and find it enjoyable and easy to do. And, we have flown into Zurich in the past, it just seems to be expensive for that time of the year. I know that their season starts in mid June, but we would be arriving just before that starts, so I'm surprised to see the fares be that high. I think I'm going to take your advice and talk to Sally, as I've looked at a lot of her posts and see how knowledgeable she is. Thanks, Beth
Topic Closed
