bhavi

Hello Friends,
I am planning a trip to Switzerland April 22nd to May 8th with my Husband and a 2 yr old kid. This is our first trip to this country and my dream vacation. We plan to spend 17 days but I am getting confused about weather the more I read so I would like some thoughts from locals or anyone who has visited in April on what to expect. I am looking forward to seeing wildflower, meadows, scenery and just experiencing the beautiful Spring weather with colorful flowers. My favorite part of the trip is the time I spend in Lauterbrunen and the valleys above and Gstaad and Zermatt

My Itinerary
Day 1-2 Arrive in Zurich and head to Luzern
Day 3-4 Interlaken/ Harder Kulum
Day 5-7 - Lauterbrunen/ Grindelwald/ Wengen/ Murren
Day 8-10 - Montreux/ Gstaad/ Gruyere
Day 11-12 - Zermatt
Day 13-14 - Chur/Flims
Day 15 - 17 - Zurich

Please help me decide if i should visit in April end or move my trip one month up and visit May end

Thanks,
Bhavi

Melnq8

We often visit Switzerland in the off season and I would never discourage anyone from doing so. Just keep in mind that some mountain excursions may be closed, so do your research on the various transport websites such as:

https://www.jungfrau.ch/en-gb/

Train and bus transport runs year round to any inhabited place, it's just the tourist type excursions that are affected.

After Easter, mountain villages pretty much shut down for tourism, but that's a good thing in my book; less expensive accommodation, fewer people, etc. Whether or not the shut downs will impact your trip solely depends on what you hope to do while you're there.

Here's a trip report from a trip we took to Switzerland in April several years ago, it might give you an idea of what to expect:

April in the Alps: A Swiss Walkabout

Here's a excerpt from the above trip report regarding closures:

A note regarding closures and budgeting:

As off season travelers, we fully expect closures. I’d e-mailed the respective tourist offices to determine what would be open in April and then planned our itinerary accordingly. I learned that Kandersteg would be practically shut down, but a few apartments could be had for less than a week at good rates.

I also learned that April was still high season in Zermatt, where hotel rates remain stupidly expensive until well after Easter, and renting an apartment for less than a week was virtually impossible until May. Through sheer perseverance I located a hotel in Zermatt that offered low season rates immediately following Easter.

I also discovered that apartment rates in Lauterbrunnen dropped significantly the week following Easter, as many hotels and restaurants close until early summer.

neckervd

The weather is always unpredictable in Switzerland.
Wild flowers: endless white narcissus flower fields above Montreux (Les Avants) and Chatel St-Denis (Les Paccots) in the first 2 weeks of May.
Interlaken - Gstaad - Gruyeres - Montreux woud be a more logical itinerary.
The snow line will not be much above Zermatt end April/early May.

Melnq8

We often visit Switzerland in the off season and I would never discourage anyone from doing so. Just keep in mind that some mountains excursions may be closed, so do your research on the various transport websites such as:

https://www.jungfrau.ch/en-gb/

Train and bus transport runs year round to any inhabited place, it's just the tourist type excursions that are affected.

After Easter, mountain villages pretty much shut down for tourism, but that's a good thing in my book; less expensive accommodation, fewer people, etc. Whether or not the shut downs will impact your trip solely depends on what you hope to do while you're there.

Here's a trip report from a trip we took to Switzerland in April several years ago, it might give you an idea of what to expect:

April in the Alps: A Swiss Walkabout

An excerpt from my trip report regarding closures:A note regarding closures and budgeting:

As off season travelers, we fully expect closures. I’d e-mailed the respective tourist offices to determine what would be open in April and then planned our itinerary accordingly. I learned that Kandersteg would be practically shut down, but a few apartments could be had for less than a week at good rates.

I also learned that April was still high season in Zermatt, where hotel rates remain stupidly expensive until well after Easter, and renting an apartment for less than a week was virtually impossible until May. Through sheer perseverance I located a hotel in Zermatt that offered low season rates immediately following Easter.

I also discovered that apartment rates in Lauterbrunnen dropped significantly the week following Easter, as many hotels and restaurants close until early summer.

Edward2005

You're likely to encounter snow in April in the mountain towns such as Murren or Wengen.

Melnq8

Sorry for the duplicate post; Fodors was being temperamental yesterday.

bhavi

Thank you everyone for your input. . It definitely helped me decide to move my trip up by a month.

Bhavi