the ultimate guide to backpacking in switzerland

6 days backpacking in switzerland

Let me just start by saying that travelling to Switzerland has been my dream for a long time.
A land known for its chocolate, crystal clear waters, waterfalls and stunning scenery always sounded like heaven to me. 

I hadn't travelled in a while and was planning to go backpacking somewhere for my birthday.
Until one morning I came across a flight to Geneva for 30 pounds. 
My heart started pounding and I thought: THIS IS IT.  My dream trip to Switzerland....
Surely I can just go and rough it. right?  Stay in cheap hostels, cook...  
Bought the ticket. 

The next few weeks I have started studying everything I could about Switzerland. Where to go, what to eat...
And so I came up with my itinerary:
1 day in Lausanne.
1 day on the panoramic train to Interlaken then get a train to Bern.
2 days in  in Bern (and explore around)
2 days in Lauterbrunnen (and explore around)

I have read about how expensive Switzerland is so I had a daily budget which I organised in different envelopes (pretty sad how organised I am travelling haha). So each morning I would wake up, open my envelope and put only the daily money on my wallet so I knew how much I could spend. I also bought the interrail pass for 3 days to save money with trains.

Some other money saving tips:

- I took some coffee sachets with milk and sugar (all included) so in the morning all I had to do was mix it with hot water to have breakfast and took some cereal bars as snacks to save money.
A coffee at the supermarket costs 3.50 (Swiss Francs) and at Starbucks 8.00!  So if you just NEED your coffee in the morning like me it is a good idea and it saves a lot of money. 

- Some hostels offer a transport card for free which allows you to use all the transport around the town.        
Ask at the reception.

And this is how my experience was: 

day 1 - lausanne 

I have arrived at Geneva Airport and got the train to Lausanne. 
All very easy and very straightforward. You can buy the tickets at the airport and get the train from there. 
Switzerland is the most organised place you will ever go to. And if you need help everyone is very friendly and speak fluent English. English, French, German, Spanish... Everyone seems to be  fluent in everything hahaha
Even the homeless man. Although I haven't seen one homeless man I am sure he would even speak Italian haha 

So I have arrived at my hostel in Lausanne ( Lausanne Guesthouse and Backpacker) at 12:15. 
Unfortunately you can only check in after 15:00 ( same in all the hostels I have been in Switzerland!!!) so I felt a bit stuck. 
But the lady working there was very helpful and let me keep my big backpack on the luggage room.
I would definitely recommend this hostel. It is very clean, modern, and a 5 minute walk to the train station. 
They also give you a transport pass at the reception which allows you to use all transport in Lausanne for free ( bonus!!) 

But I have just decided to walk around on my own to get a feel for the place. The main part of the town, uphill,  is pretty but nothing special. So I decided to follow the signs to Lausanne Ouchy ( the port) because I was trying to go by boat to Montreux. 

Unfortunately there weren't any boats going to Montreux that day so I decided to walk around the promenade. 

I sat there for hours  making videos and I just couldn't believe how pretty it was. 
If you see my video at the end you will see that a lot of it was shot on that promenade. 

day 2: montreux, golden pass line and thun

On day two I woke up really early and got the train to Montreux.
My plans for the day were to get the Golden Pass Line to Interlaken but first I have decided to buy my breakfast somewhere in Montreux and walk around the promenade before getting my train. 

Now..
There is something about Montreux. 
The energy, the beauty.. 
All straight out of a fairytale (including a castle!!!!)  but with a cosmopolitan vibe. 
I really regret not spending a whole day there. But I promised myself I would come back one day in June for the Jazz Festival. If you are there in June please let me know how it is like!!!! 

Some pictures in Montreux:

So after that lovely walk in Montreux I walked back to the train station to get the panoramic train to Interlaken. 
You can go in the train for free if you have the Interrail Pass (Bonus!!!) and so I went. 

4 hours of breathtaking scenery...

So once I've arrived in Interlaken I decided to make the most of my Interrail pass and go to Thun to walk around the town.

Switzerland is already my new favourite place on earth and it is only day 2!!!!

day 3:  murten 

So day 3 was Good Friday and everything was closed in Bern so I've decided to get the train and go explore Murten.
(about 30 minutes from Bern by train)

Murten is a historic medieval town. The town's outer walls and decorated arcades are stunning

day 4: bern 

Ok, so before I even start talking about Bern let me just talk about the hostel:
I have stayed at the Hostel Glocke in Bern and it is great!! It is right at the center of the old town and you can just walk everywhere. Don't ask for a transport card. I have asked and got a funny look from the receptionist who never heard of a transport card haha
Laussane had spoiled me haha But you know, as a backpacker who always travels on a budget, I HAD to try!! haha

So anyway, from there I went to explore Bern and my first stop was at Bärengraben. A park full of brown bears:

And from Bärengraben I went to see Einstein's house. 
According to his diary the years he spent in Bern were the happiest of his life.
And legend says that when Einstein looked back at Bern's clock from a tram it triggered the creation of the Relativity Theory. 
Pretty Special...

And walking around Bern:

day 5: interlaken and ringgenberg

Rule number one of backpacking: 
Be flexible and just enjoy the ride.

Here was my initial plan for the day: Go from Bern to Jungfraujoch.
Innocent me thought that interrail would cover it.
I got in ok in Lauterbrunnen (although I found out later that the interrail doesn't cover the train from Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen either) and from there on the next train up I was informed that my pass didn't cover the train to Jungfraujoch.
So I asked how much it would cost to go all the way there and he said: You couldn't afford it. 
And with my pride hurt I challenged him: Try me, how much? 
160 euros.
Ok,I can't afford it hahahahahaha

So I just got the next train back and went to Interlaken instead. It wasn't my plan. I didn't know anything about Interlaken but ended up having the best day!!!!

I started by just walking around the town, all very nice, very fancy.. But I just wanted to explore the lakes and everything around so I walked to the other side of the lake:

So from there I went to Harder Kulm (8 minutes with the cable car).

And  from the top, got this amazing view:

Back at Interlaken I just kept walking and exploring...
I turned into a side street and kept walking... Until I realised I was in the middle of a hike leading somewhere else. I thought, I might as well just keep going and see what is on the other side. So after half hour I arrive at this little town in the middle of nowhere called Ringgenberg. 

I walk towards the coast and find this amazing ruins with the most breathtaking views.

Priceless.

day 6: lauterbrunnen

Lauterbrunnen is the valley of the 72 waterfalls and I have to say that  it is one of the most special places on earth.

Let me start by my hostel (Valley Hostel) I have paid  90 pounds for 2 nights for a private room (fits 3) and look at the view from my room:

So from the hostel I decided to walk around the town:

Just your average fairytale house under a MASSIVE waterfall..

So from there I got the bus to the Trummelbach Falls (you can walk there if you prefer) which are a series of ten glacier-waterfalls inside a mountain made accessible by a tunnel.
You pay 11 swiss Francs to go inside but the feeling to be that close to such a powerful waterfall is indescribable.

So those were my 6 days in Switzerland. The most beautiful and magical place on Earth.

If you have any questions I will be happy to help :) :) 
And here is the video I have made to share some of the beautiful things I have seen

https://vimeo.com/93135089