Alps to Amalfi: A European Honeymoon

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Anything I have chosen to add on post-trip, I will put in bold.

Tips, tricks, hacks, and big expenses for this entire trip are all listed on the bottom

June 24th (Tuesday):

Arrive in Zurich at 1:05pm
Get rental car around 2:30pm from the Airport. Once you get off your flight, follow signs that say Mietwagen / Rental Car at Airport until you reach the destination.
- Car rental is booked through Enterprise, but will cost $457 at the counter
- Average price per day: ($91.4)
Drive to Lucerne (48 minute drive, arrive around 4pm)
MAKE SURE you go the speed limit at all times. We never saw one cop car on the roads, and that is because they have a ton of cameras and radar guns that will give you hefty fines for going over the speed limit. I would always set my car on cruise control just in case so I never went over.
Your rental car will have a sticker for tolls, so there is no need to worry about buying those separately.
Find a grocery store on the way to Lucerne or in Lucerne to get food through the next day (snacks and other foods that are already made).
SAVE EATING OUT FOR ITALY AND LONDON. Switzerland is insanely overpriced, and to be honest, the food is not that great there anyway
We ended up going to Aldi and it was very cheap. Do not make our mistake and get the cheapest meat you could find. We ended up getting this meat that was a downgrade from bologna… Besides that night our dinners and lunches we ate were very good. They got the job done, and allowed us to splurge while in Italy.
A general outline would be walk throughout the city and explore from 4-6:30, and then from 6:30 till sunset explore Meggenhorn Castle, then Bireggwald, and finish with Gutsch for sunset!! (We ended up skipping the castles. After flying through the night and barely sleeping, we were ready to go to bed)
- Lion Monument
- Old Town
- Chapel Bridge – Super cool and can see Hotel Gutsch while on it
- Painted City Squares (all 5 close together) These squares were gorgeous and full of so much life. People eating around every corner and musicians playing all types of instruments. Beautiful architecture as well.
  - Weinmarkt
    - Hirschenplatz
    - Kornmarkt (town hall and clock tower)
    - Kapellplatz (cool fountain)
    - Sternenplatz (best paintings by far)
- Musegg wall and towers (Museggmauer) – BEST VIEW OF THE TOWN HANDS DOWN. Calves will get a workout with walking around these towers. Completely free activity!
  - Mannliturm is the tower with the best view of city and mountains
- Cool Churches
  - Jesuit Church
  - Hofkirche St. Leodegar
- Cheap restaurants to eat at
  - Ass Bar (50% off pastries!!!) STOP HERE IF ON A BUDGET! Pastries were about $1-$2 each and so good. This spot I put on Google Maps is right by Lake Lucerne. We enjoyed our pastries while looking at this crazy view of the town, mountains, and lake!
  - Cheese Store – Cheese Barmettler
  - Gelati and cafe (Near the chapel bridge)
- Gutsch
  - Ride the Gutsch Funicular ($6 each) (really pretty views of city, mountains, and crazy hotel (château gütsch))
- Meggenhorn Castle
- Bireggwald
- Sunset at 9:31pm (If enough energy go to chapel bridge at night, or just go straight to air b and b)
Lucerne is a MUST VISIT!!! It was absolutely breathtaking. Here is a link of how to walk to some of the coolest parts of town in the best order: https://maps.app.goo.gl/38gUR9VicLg62Brj8 (All 5 painted city squares are right next to one another, so I only listed one on Google Maps to get you in the right area) all in all, we walked around 2 miles with this route that I created. After the Museggmauer, we walked back towards our car which was parked in a parking garage near the Lion Monument. On the way from the Museggmauer to the parking garage there was an Aldi where we got our groceries before the drive to Interlaken. MAKE SURE to scan the QR code that is necessary to pay for the parking garage BEFORE leaving. We thought we could pay at the gate, but when we got there it said we needed to pay through the QR code. When we tried to do that, conveniently there was no data in that location and a line started to form behind us. I had to ask the people to reverse so we could go park again, and then run back outside to get service and pay for the parking before leaving again. Again, we skipped touring the castles due to a lack of sleep, but I would definitely recommend checking them out if you have time.

Leave around 10pm and arrive at air b and b near 10:45pm (45 min drive)
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/50712686?check_in=2025-06-24&check_out=2025-06-28&guests=1&adults=2&s=67&unique_share_id=33d3e62b-d954-49db-9e8e-e9f90eb04fd8 in the countryside, 20 min from Interlaken
This Air B & B was the perfect location for us. If your home base is near Interlaken , you will be set up great. We were able to see pretty much all of the best parts of Switzerland in under an hour.

These were the views on the drive from Lucerne to our Air B & B in Interlaken

June 25th (Wednesday):

Wake up at 7:15am, leave Air B and B at 7:30am
Drive to Stechelberg and arrive at 8:20am (50 min drive from Air B and B)
The cable car station is called Stechelberg LSMS (Stechelberg Station) and the cable car line is known as Schilthornbahn (About $25 round trip)(Takes 30 minutes to get up). They have parking available at the station.
Arrive in Murren around 8:50am, walk right to Intersport Mürren-Schilthorn (Opens at 9am) Rentals reserved. Make sure to reserve ahead of time!
Intersport Mürren-Schilthorn rents via ferrata equipment in Mürren, Switzerland for CHF 30 per day. (https://intersport-muerren.ch/bikes-via-ferrata/?lang=en)
BEGIN MURREN VIA FERRATA SWITZERLAND around 9:30am
Finish hike around noon
ONE OF THE COOLEST EXPERIENCES OF MY LIFE. It was about $40 each to rent harness equipment. They will also inspect your shoes to make sure they are good enough to go on the “hike”. I was wearing some beat up Hokas, and they considered it good enough. I would recommend real hiking shoes though. If they think your shoes are unsafe, you will have to rent a pair from them.
Trail ends in Gimmelwald station of the Schilthorn cable car.
Explore Gimmelwald
There was not a ton to do in Gimmelwald, but it was a pretty little car-free village that had such a cool hostel/bar where we got some delicious espresso while looking at the mountains. I think we peaked mentally in this moment. Conquered our fears, sitting in the heart of the Swiss Alps, sipping some bean!
Will have to take the cable car back over to Murren in order to return our gear
Explore Murren till around 4pm
Take cable car back down to Stechelberg, and then drive to Lauterbrunnen (Additional $$, I cannot remember exactly, but I think it was between $5-$10 each). Only other option is a 50 minute hike between villages to get back… And after the hike we just did we thought it was definitely worth it to take the cable car
Arrive at Lauterbrunnen around 4:30pm and explore
- Staubbach Falls (most iconic one, walk around so the cool church is in the shot with the waterfall)
- About a 10 minute walk throughout the whole town

Hit the small icon above for my Via Ferrata TikTok!

Leave Lauterbrunnen when ready, and head back to Interlaken to get real groceries! (Swiss restaurants are next level expensive, so we will cook our own meals for the majority of our time in Switzerland)
Bring them back to the air b and b and hang out till sunset
Swim in Lake Brienz for sunset!! (Prettier than Lake Thun)
Go to Iseltwald for the swim! It is a small fishing village along Lake Brienz
EXTRMELY AUTHENTIC SWISS EXPERIENCE. Must go to Iseltwald! There are a bunch of old Swiss homes lining the water and the water is unreal. I have never seen such turquois water. Claire and I jumped in across the lake from an old mansion in the center of the lake. I will say though, there is one spot here that ruins the “authentic” vibe. I had seen it on TikTok before coming on the trip. It is near one of the prettiest views of the lake, and when I saw it I actually laughed. Right next to the view, there is a dock with a gate at the entrance, and in order to go out on the dock to get the “perfect Instagram shot” you have to pay with Apple Pay. Claire and I went just to the right of it and took in the views on our own. We both could not believe there are people in this world that spend money on that bologna.
Sunset is at 9:31pm