Switzerland Budget Couple Tour Package

Check-in: Three nights in Interlaken, double bed, between the two lakes and walking distance from both stations.

Evening: Unterseen, the old quarter across the river, and the Lake Thun shore beyond it. Both free and both quieter than the main street.

Rail: Zurich to Interlaken Ost, about two hours with one change at Bern. Hourly through the day.

Afternoon: The Hohematte, a protected open meadow in the middle of town kept free of buildings so the Jungfrau stays in view. Paragliders land on it through the afternoon.

Morning: Short train to Wilderswil, then the Schynige Platte cog railway - running since 1893, in open-sided wooden-benched carriages, about fifty minutes up to a ridge at 1,967m. Included.

At the top: The Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau stand in a row directly opposite, with Lake Thun and Lake Brienz behind you. It is the view people go to Jungfraujoch hoping for, from the other side and at a fraction of the price.

Alpine garden: Several hundred species of Alpine plants grown on the ridge itself, free to walk through with your railway ticket.

Panorama Way: A gentle loop of about an hour around the ridge, on a clear path in ordinary shoes, with the three peaks on one side and both lakes on the other.

Morning: A Lake Brienz steamer from Interlaken Ost. This is the turquoise lake from the photographs, and the older Belle Epoque boats still run the route in summer. Included.

Giessbach: The boat stops at the foot of the Giessbach Falls, where a funicular from 1879 - the oldest public funicular in Europe - carries you up to the grand hotel beside them. Included.

The falls: Fourteen drops down the mountainside, with a footpath that runs behind one of them. All the paths up there are free once you have arrived.

Afternoon: Back on the boat to Iseltwald, a small stone village on a headland with a jetty, clear water and almost nothing to do. That is the point of it.

Check-in: One night in Lucerne, double bed, near the lake and the old town.

Evening: The Musegg Wall towers are open in season and free to climb. Best view in Lucerne without a ticket, and usually empty at dusk.

Morning: The Luzern-Interlaken Express over the Brunig Pass, with Lake Lungern below - the turquoise lake on half the Switzerland postcards sold in India. Two hours, no supplement and no reservation.

Afternoon: The Chapel Bridge, the oldest surviving wooden covered bridge in Europe, and the Lion Monument ten minutes away. Both free.

Breakfast: At the hotel - the fifth and last one.

Rail: Direct train Lucerne to Zurich Airport, about an hour and ten minutes, arriving directly under the terminal.

Timing: Leave Lucerne at least three and a half hours before your flight. Short leg, no changes - one of the reasons the trip ends here rather than in the mountains.

Early flights: For a departure before 9 AM we add an airport-side Zurich night the evening before. Quoted on request.