Switzerland Travel Forum

Hello all,
As I am planning for Switzerland trip (5-7 days), I have few questions. We are family of 4 (2 adults and 2 kids 8 years and 2 years)
1.What kind of activities available for Kids?
2.If we want to drive, is car seat manatory for my 2 year old?
3.Any places "not to miss" with kids?
4.How are strollers accepted in trains, buses, walk ways?

Other than the kids questions
1.What are the important(not to miss) places to visit?
2.How far is from Zuric to Geneva in train or by road?
3.Are hotels equipped with WI-FI?
4.How well credit cards are accepted, especially in small places?
5.Any other suggestions would be great as I am still thinking about more questions.

Any help would be appreciated.

-Sai.

Hopefully the Swiss will log on and verify this but I'm pretty sure you will need a child seat or restraint for the 2-year-old. You can get them with your car rental if you request it ahead. It's cheaper to book your rental ahead so request the child seat when you book the car.

With an 8 and a 2-year-old, I'd strongly recommend you visit Ballenberg. They have saved historic buildings from all over Switzerland and put them on an 80 hectare park in the Alps. It is a living history museum with costumed docents, craft demonstrations, typical foods, lots of animals wandering around. You can walk the entire thing or you can take a horse and wagon tour. We walked the entire park and then took a city bus back to the car park. All the kids we saw were having a great time and the scenery is just spectacular. We spent a wonderful day there and had a picnic in the park. ehttp://www.ballenberg.ch/en/Welcome

You can find Swiss train info at http://www.sbb.ch/en/index.htm

Many hotels have wifi but you need to check your particular hotel.

Credit cards are readily accepted but some have minimum charges so it's good to have some cash with you. You can easily get what you need at any bank machine. It's usually cheaper to get cash using your bank debit card rather than a credit card. You will want to call you bank and credit card carriers and tell them where you will be and give them dates. Often they do not honor a card that appears far from home because they think it's been stolen. If they know you will be traveling, they will honor it. Easier to call than lose the use of the card.

One other link you may find helpful. http://www.viamichelin.com/

You can get mileage and maps on this web site. It gives you a choice of fast or scenic routes or even walking routes. It will tell you mileage, tolls, construction slowdowns and you can print out directions if you like. We often use it to find hotels at our destination too. They will refer you to venere.com or booking.com for hotels, but first they give you a list of hotels to review. It saves a little time when you can do maps and hotels at the same web site. The toll information is also useful.

Hello Sai,
Dont miss the Miniature railway museum in Le Bolevard which is accessabile from Geneva.It is a superb trip for kids(has a whole park modeled on a miniature railway network-- trains,stations,shops,castles et al.There is also a water park near by.You could check it out on the net by google searching.
Also the cheese factories in Guyere is a good outing.Like the previous vt said the Ballenburg museum.The zoo at Zurich is ok(perhaps a little overrated)but worth a visit in case you go to Zurich.
I would stongly recommend you to use the trains.The connectivity is good and you could avoid the hassle of finding and paying for parking lots.Just carry along a pram in case your younger one is not able to walk much.
Hope this helps.
Have a good trip.
Vpas

Hello again sai,
Just wanted to add that dont miss Trummelbach falls(near Interlaken area) and Schauffhausen falls(near Zurich)Both are lovely to see.However there is some amount of climbing involved for Trummelbach falls.You could manage it.The schauffhausen falls also has boat rides that take you very close to the falls and it is not to be missed.
Till soon,
Vpas

hi,
I misspelt the place with miniature trains,it is Le bouveret,swiss vapeur parc..It is truly amazing for the kids.I have attached the website to your email.Also visit Tripack's travel pages,they are very informative.
hope this helps,
vpas