Summary of My 1310N Spring Switzerland Trip (2022)

SUMMARY OF MY SWITZERLAND TRIP
Day 1: Kuala Lumpur → Istanbul via Turkish Airlines
Day 2: Istanbul → Zurich→ Lucerne
Day 3: Mount Titlis and Mount Rigi 
Day 4: Colmar (France) + Basel + Bern
Day 5: Lucerne → Interlaken
Day 6: Bernese Oberland (Murren, Lauterbrunnen & Grindelwald)
Day 7: Geneva
Day 8: Interlaken → Zermatt
Day 9: Zermatt
Day 10: Zermatt → St Moritz → Zurich
Day 11: Vaduz (Liechtenstein) 
Day 12: Zurich → Istanbul 
Day 13: Istanbul → Kuala Lumpur  

FLYING IN & OUT

We chosen to fly with Turkish Airlines and our entry and exit point are the same, which is Zurich. However, we didn't book directly from their official website but we booked from Go To Gate website instead cause it's slightly cheaper by at least RM100. I booked from this website before for my trip to Morocco and it's pretty legit. Airfare wise, we managed to book round-trip ticket for RM1,862 per person. 

The journey from Kuala Lumpur to Zurich took nearly 14 hours flight with a short 3-hours transit at New Istanbul Airport. 

Turkish Airline's Amenities & Services: 

• For economy class passenger, each is entitled to check-in luggage per-bag weight of up to 30 kg.
• Access a full range of complimentary in-flight entertainment, onboard food including main meal and breakfast as well as amenity kit which contains a sleep mask, ear plug, socks, toothbrush, toothpaste and lip balm. 
• For our flight, we're served with 3 meals (2 meals for flight from KL to Istanbul and 1 meal for flight from Istanbul to Zurich).

VISA & ENTRY REQUIREMENTS 

Malaysian citizens do no need a visa to travel to Switzerland for up to 90 days. Currently, there are no entry restrictions due to the pandemic and visitors do no need proof of vaccination, recovery nor testing for entry into Switzerland. 

We're considered to be quite lucky that during our travel period, all the travel restrictions were lifted up including performing pre-departure test prior to departure to Malaysia. All we need to do is just to fill up the Traveller's Card in MySejahtera apps but beginning from 1st August 2022, inbound travellers to Malaysia will no longer need to do so anymore. 

CURRENCY & CARDS 
The official currency for Switzerland is Swiss franc (CHF). However, I did notice too that majority of the shops, supermarkets and eateries do accept cards too (both debit and credit card).

My advice? Do bring along both Swiss franc and card(s) if possible cause some shops only accept cash and some places accept cards only. 

Post: Things To Do Before Travelling To Switzerland

SWISS TRAVEL PASS
Don't feel like driving around Switzerland? Then, I would highly recommend to get the Swiss Travel Pass where this pass will give you unlimited travel on the public transportations such as buses, trains, trams and even boats throughout the nation with hassle-free. Not just that this pass applies on the public transportations, you can even get free admission to more than 500 museums as well as get up to 50% discount on most mountain excursions to Swiss peak.

For more info about Swiss Travel Pass, you can check out my post on Swiss Travel Pass Guide.

RECAP OF MY TRAVELOGUES 

Flying To Switzerland With Turkish Airlines


Lucerne, Our First Trip in Switzerland

Snowy Mountain In Mount Titlis


Lake Lucerne & Mount Rigi

Colmar, A French Fairytale 


Half Day in Basel and Bern


Scenic Train Ride from Lucerne To Interlaken & We Did Paragliding


Crash Landing On You In Iseltwald 


Bernese Oberland - Lauterbrunnen, Mürren and Grindelwald


Panorama Bridge Sigriswil 


Day Trip to Vevey & Geneva


Lake Blausee From Interlaken


2 Days 2 Nights in Zermatt, A Car-Free Village


8-Hours Train Ride From Zermatt To St. Moritz With Glacier Express


Zurich, Our Final Stop Before Leaving Switzerland


Half-Day Trip to Vaduz of Liechtenstein from Zurich

TOTAL EXPENSES PER PAX 

PARTICULARS	AMOUNT
	CHF	RM
Air Fares Turkish Airways KL – Zurich – KL   Accommodations Lucerne – Galaxy Serviced Apartments (3 nights) Interlaken – CityChalet historic (3 nights) Zermatt – Residence Patricia (2 nights) Zurich – ibis Budget Zurich City West (2 nights)    Transportation Swiss Travel Pass - Consecutive 15 Days  Glacier Express Reservation (50% Off) Mount Titlis Cable Ride Basel – Colmar – Basel   Attractions & Activities Paragliding in Interlaken Add: Photos & video Sigriswil Panorama Bridge Patek Philippe Museum Geneva Lake Blausee House of Laderach Food and beverages   Others 12GB Travel Prepaid Sim Card MSIG Travel Insurance	-     - - - -     - 39.00 48.00 32.70     160.00 40.00 7.00 15.00 10.00 5.00   -     - -	1,862     849 911 622 495     1,923 180 219 151     733 183 32 68 45 22   710     81 237
	TOTAL	9,323

Exchange Rate as at April 2022: 
CHF 1 = RM4.60 

My souvenirs and travel haul from Switzerland:  

• Chocolates are must buy when visiting Switzerland.
• Spices and herbs bought from supermarkets whereas Victorinox knife (Swiss-made brand)
• Starbucks mug and tumbler. 
• Fridge magnets to add into my collection.   
  

If I had the power to rewind the time, I will try to extend my trip to at least to 15 days as the longest duration for the Swiss Travel Pass is 15 days. There are few attractions which I miss out such as Stein am Rhein, Rhine Falls, Montruex, Chur and more.   

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Half-Day Trip To Vaduz of Liechtenstein From Zurich

 << Previous Post: Zurich, Our Final Stop in Switzerland <<

Aside from Colmar of France, we even did a cross-border trip to Vaduz, the capital city of Liechtenstein while we're travelling around Switzerland. Due to there's no airport within the nation, hence it's an ideal way of planning a trip to this Europe's fourth-smallest country from Zurich since it's easily accessible and the journey takes around an hour and a half.  

HOW TO GET TO VADUZ OF LIECHTENSTEIN FROM ZURICH

For your information, there is no direct train service from Switzerland to Liechtenstein. Therefore, you need to catch a train from Zurich HB to Sargans, and then continue by catching the bright yellow-coloured bus 11 (heading Feldkirch) or bus 12E (heading Vaduz) in order to get to Liechtenstein. If you are travelling with Swiss Travel Pass, this route is fully covered including the public buses in Liechtenstein. Without the pass, one-way bus ride costs CHF8 per passenger and this can be paid directly to the bus driver. 

By the way, there are no border controls between Switzerland and Liechtenstein. However, if you are interested to collect and add additional passport stamps just like me, don't forget to bring along your passport as you can get an authentic Liechtenstein entry stamp from Vaduz Tourism office for CHF3.     

#1: Catching the train from Zurich HB to Sargans 

#2: Continue by hopping on bus 11 (heading Feldkirch) or bus 12E (heading Vaduz)

OUR HALF-DAY TRIP IN VADUZ OF LIECHTENSTEIN 

As usual, both my husband and I woke up pretty early in order to maximise our half-day trip in Vaduz. Right after catching the bus from Sargans to Vaduz, we alighted at Vaduz Post bus stop that sits right in the heart of Vaduz. This will be the best spot for you to start exploring and wandering the capital city of Liechtenstein itself. As we're pressed for time, hence we're only fully focusing on Vaduz.   

Vaduz is pretty small and compact and the main street is kinda short and not that long. Thus, it's easily walking around the city. 

#3: City train with Vaduz Castle behind 

#4: Vaduz Town Hall (Rathaus) 

#5: Liechtenstein Tourism Office (Opening Hours: 9am to 5pm daily)

#6: You can get an authentic Liechtenstein entry stamp from Vaduz Tourism Office for CHF3 

#7: Postmuseum Vaduz - A museum covers postal history with stamp collections and historic equipment. Entrance is free for public(Opening Hours: 9am to 5pm daily)

#8: Main government building of Vaduz 

#9: Vaduz Registry Office

#10: Vaduz Cathedral which built in neo-Gothic style 

#10: Random house in Vaduz

#11: My trip to a certain city or country is incomplete without sending out any postcards 

LANGUAGE & CURRENCY OF LIECHTENSTEIN 

The nation's official language is German but during our trip there, we don't have any communication issues in speaking English with the local.

As for the official currency, the Swiss franc (CHF) is the legal tender since Liechtenstein is in a customs and monetary union with Switzerland. Cards are even acceptable in Liechtenstein. 

#12: And that's concludes my visit to 57th country

12D10N Switzerland Travelogue (2022)

• Sneak Peek 
• Things To Do Before Travelling To Switzerland
• Swiss Travel Pass Guide
• Flying To Switzerland With Turkish Airlines
• Lucerne, Our First Trip
• Snowy Mountains of Mount Titlis
• Lake Lucerne Cruise & Mount Rigi
• Colmar, French Fairytale
• Half Day in Basel & Bern
• Scenic Train Ride From Lucerne To Interlaken & We Did Paragliding 
• Crash Landing On You In Iseltwald  
• Bernese Oberland - Lauterbrunnen, Mürren and Grindelwald 
• Panorama Bridge Sigriswil
• Day Trip to Vevey & Geneva
• Lake Blausee, One of the Most Beautiful Lakes in Switzerland 
• Zermatt, A Car-Free Village
• 8-Hours Train Ride From Zermatt to St. Moritz with Glacier Express
• Zurich, Our Final Stop in Switzerland 

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Zurich, Our Final Stop in Switzerland

 << Previous Post: 8-Hours Train Ride From Zermatt To St. Moritz With Glacier Express <<

11 hours - that's the total number of hours it took us to get from Zermatt to Zurich. From Zermatt to St. Moritz, it took almost 8 hours with Glacier Express, the world's slowest express train and then, we continued by taking another train from St. Moritz to Zurich. What an extremely long day we had, but I'm glad we made it to Zurich in one piece. 

ARRIVING ZURICH

We arrived at Zurich Hauptbahnhof (HB) which is the main railway station that serve suburban (S-Bahn), regional (RE) and long distance trains (IR, IC and ICN) to other part of European countries such as Germany, France and etc. There are even trams situated outside the main station that cover almost the entire city. 

#2: Trams in Zurich 

OUR ACCOMMODATION IN ZURICH 

Ibis Budget Zurich City West

Date Stayed: 4 May - 6 May 2022 (2 nights) 

Room Rate: RM945 for double bed room (Booked from Agoda) 

Nearest Tram Station: Technopark under Line 4

#3: Our stay in Zurich - Ibis Budget Zurich City West. Small and compact but comfortable and convenient

THINGS WE DO & SEE IN ZURICH 

Because we're only in Zurich like one-and-a-half day, therefore we narrowed down few list of things we're really interested to do and see in Switzerland's largest city. 

A trip to Switzerland is incomplete without visiting any of chocolate factories simply because Switzerland is famous for its creamy and high-quality Swiss Chocolate. 

1) House of Läderach in Bilten 

Before embarking to Switzerland, I came across that many people who have been to Switzerland before kept praising about this Läderach. We even bought some to try when we're in Lucerne and turned out, it's indeed incredibly good. 

Though the journey from Zurich to House of Läderach takes more than an hour by train, but it's really worth, especially for the chocolate lovers like my husband. The self-tour costs CHF5 (we didn't do any prebook, we just walked in) and we're given a lanyard with a small spoon for chocolate tasting at the chocolate fountain, a small piece of chocolate and a gift voucher of CHF5 which can be redeemed at the gift shop or the cafe. Definitely worth it.  

#4: House of Läderach in Bilten 

#5: Gigantic chocolate fountain where you can do chocolate testing on the white, milk or dark chocolate by using the complimentary small spoon given earlier. 

#6: We even dropby at their cafe after our self-tour. Believe it or not, this is my first dessert throughout my Switzerland trip. 

How To Get To House of Läderach in Bilten:

From Zurich Hauptbahnhof (HB), catch the train to Ziegelbrücke. Then further by bus 524 to Bilten. Finally, 5 minutes on foot to the House of Läderach.

Opening Hours: 9am to 6pm daily and closed on Christmas Day. 

2) Lindt - Home of Chocolate 

Another chocolate museum not to be missed in Zurich where it's easily reachable by bus and train. And I believe this chocolate needs no introduction as it can be easily spot at anywhere - be it at the airport, souvenir shop, supermarket and more. 

However, we didn't intend to do any chocolate tour here as we just did one earlier in House of Läderach. Therefore, we spent most of our time (as well as our money too) at their shop, which claimed to be the largest chocolate shop not just in Switzerland but in the world too. I have to admit that I was more attracted to its colourful packaging. 

#7: Lindt - Home of Chocolate

#8: Over nine meters tall chocolate fountain with 1,500kg of chocolate flowing through it  

How To Get To Lindt - Home of Chocolate:

From Zurich Hauptbahnhof (HB), catch the train to Kilchberg ZH. Then 9-10 minutes on foot to Lindt - Home of Chocolate.

Opening Hours: For more info, you can check our their official website here. 

3) Exploring the city of Zurich 

Since our flight was scheduled to depart in the evening, we still have extra spare of hours to spend by exploring around the Zurich city centre on our last day.

#9: Lake Zurich 

 

#10: Limmat River Waterfront 

#11: St. Peter, one of the four main churches of the old town of Zurich 

#12: Lindenhof, where you can get a bird's eye view of Zurich Old Town 

#13: Altstadt (Old Town of Zurich)

#14: Altstadt (Old Town of Zurich)

4) Half day trip to Vaduz of Liechtenstein 

We even managed to do a half-day trip to the capital city of Liechtenstein, Vaduz from Zurich as this route is covered under Swiss Travel Pass. I will blog and share more in the next upcoming post. 

#15: Vaduz, the capital city of Liechtenstein 

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