Travel to Zurich, Switzerland

[blueocean]

hey friends,

I'm thinking to travel to zurich for holiday beginning of Oct, for about 10 days, any swiss in this forum? Any suggestion and information can share with me?

I'm concern about the safety cos i travel alone, foods, places to visit, near by countries to travel to as well.

Pls help. Thanks

[Barczar]

I'm not Swiss, but am actually sitting in beautiful Zurich right now! I love this country, the food, the beer, the bars, the lake...very safe, very sterile, very pretty. it is a wonderful mixture of old classic architecture mixed with ultra modern thoughts and ideas.

Easy to travel anywhere around in Zurich, public transport works better than Singapore, it is a very short drive or train ride to France, Italy etc. Nice place, can get boring fast though on your own as the Swiss are not known for their good time party personalities! Like they say, the curse of the world is a Swiss Lover!

Don't let that throw you off though, as far as this side of Europe is concerned, it is one of the better places to check out! Happy Travels

[blueocean]

Thanks a lot for the quick reply.

If there is a train to bring me to France that will be good, I love Italy. nice place to visit, but as i say i'm very concern about the safety cos i travel alone.

Furthermore, are they speak english? What should i bring with me to this country?

I heard the foods are very expensive, how much for a meal? At least i can plan my budget =)

Anyone can helps = )

[changes]

[quote]If there is a train to bring me to France that will be good, I love Italy. nice place to visit, but as i say i'm very concern about the safety cos i travel alone.

Furthermore, are they speak english? What should i bring with me to this country?

I heard the foods are very expensive, how much for a meal? At least i can plan my budget =)

Anyone can helps = )[/quote]

Advise to plan your trip and itinerary
1) borrow / buy a travel book
2) log onto a travel forum
3) google search the destination information.

I have been Zurich few times on my own. Switerzland is a lovely country but it is nothing much to see in Zurich. Do some research if you travel alone. Otherwise, please join the tour where it plan all for you.

Have fun!!!

[M_Aurelius]

It is the only country that is safer than Singapore & Japan in the whole world, give us a break...and people are very helpful and friendly, just bit on the reserve / bland side. Your only concern is to bring a BIG FULL wallet, because you will be spending LOTs of money to enjoy the bau amenity that the land has to offer, but they are very nice, from nature reserves, ski/hiking, High brow french cuisines to homemade Fondues and of course the cheese.


The Euro-line connecting France, Italy and Zurich is fantastic in term of view. It is very safe in terrm of personal health in Italy also, but if you go to Rome, watch for the pickpockets (but you might not have to worry due to the swiss spending!)

[blueocean]

thanks a lot =)

I tot Sg is very safe to go around didn't know Swiss is better. That is good. I visit Rome alone b4 as well, and almost pickpocket by the local. But they are gentle robber =)

I really wanna try the Euro-line, it is something that I can’t find it here. I have started to read the tour books about Swiss, yap agree to have a proper plan before I travel, travel alone has limitation on foods, place to stay, transportation, etc …

As for the Euro-line, where can I go the ticket? From the Internet?

I heard from friend almost of the things there are very expensive, including the food! Really have to spend a lot of money if I travel to Zurich. Travel with tour is good but if I register it alone, the price is abt the same as I travel a lone, unless I could find some one to travel with.

Is there any thing I must buy? Sound like Zurich is a boring place to visit? =(

Sorry prompt too many question.

[leesg]

yes, Barczar & M_Aurelius' inputs are very accurate...zurich is very very safe, i think switzerland on the whole is...the swiss are indeed very helpful, just ask and you'll get help (my encounters with the austrians are even better, extremely helpful and they take the initiative to offer help, without asking)...and most have no problem with english....to make your trip more memorable, do mingle around with the locals or other travel mates.... hostels offer a good avenue to make frens... rome is beautiful but the cars are faster and language is a little bit of a problem...btw, there're some forums where you can hook up with some frens there...travelling alone can be rather boring...

from zurich, you can go to all nearby countries/cities... but do travel as light you possibly can... since it's probably autumn. and given 10days, to make it economical, stick to 1-2 countries to make it worthwhile with a pass...

as to what food you can bring over, using australian custom rules as a guide... you can bring canned food, no seeds/beans stuff, your products better be made in singapore or other developed countries (some thai/china stuff got rejected), instant noodles, no fresh fruits (even within Oz) or dairy products... anyway, just make the declaration and let them pick and dump...if you love chilly, please bring your own.. your own tidbits as well cos over there, more of chips, gums, chocolates... not the sweet/sour preserved stuff like in asia... whatever you wana bring over, make sure they've all the labels in english at least... anyway, dont bring too much own food there cos experimenting with the food there will give you a better total experience of that country...

[Superglide]

yes, Barczar & M_Aurelius' inputs are very accurate...zurich is very very safe, i think switzerland on the whole is...

Gimme a break please!

All generalisations about how safe it is, how clean.

And Rome full of pickpockets, oh oh oh...

Is that all that people here can say, stereotyping?

To OP, do a google search on Zuerich, read about its history, buy a travel book and do some further research, learn to discover what interests you on beforehand, makes much more a decent preparation and a far more valuable one than listening to the shallow observations of a few here.

You'd be helped with facts, not generalisations, I'd say.

Discover it for yourself, you'll be having a far better time.

Back to the topic: France is actually not that close to Zuerich at all, it will take you quite a while to reach by train. And which part of France are you looking at?

One fact, indeed be prepared it is gonna cost you, Switzerland has a very high standard of living and prices are accordingly, even for the basic needs such as (public) transport and food.

Bringing over food? Adding weight to your luggage? Better check the customs regulations on that before you do it (again, google "Switzerland customs"). (and please don't take the above posters' advice on taking Australian customs as an example, how foolish: Switzerland like evry country, has its own regulations).

May I ask you, what in the first place made you decide to go to Zuerich?

[muratkorman]

Switzerland is a beautiful country with a protected nature. Swiss Alps and lakes are worth to see. As far as I know, there are local trains which go around the Alps. When it comes to planning your holiday, you have to consider your budget. Switzerland is more expensive than many Western Europe countries. I would suggest www.virtualtourist.com for many tips from people who actually visited the places. Check the pages prepared for Zurich or Switzerland. You will find many tips which could be helpful for your travel planning. From Zurich, you will be closer to Germany rather than Italy. But you can take a direct train to Milano. Try to keep your train journeys short, otherwise you would spend most of your time in the train travelling from one place to another without enjoying the place itself.

[cutiebutie]

I wen to hotel management finishing school in Zurich and never had any probs. None of my frens had any probs either.

I think it's very safe.