Amsterdam-Basel or Basel-Amsterdam?

[caviargal]

I personally would not spend any time in Zurich. Although a pretty city, it did not appeal to me overall.

 

I would spend it all in Lucerne or do 2 nights in Lucerne and one in Basel.

 

Look at the Gotthard in Basel.

 

JB, I will be interested to read what you think of Avalon after sailing with AMA.

[jpalbny]

3 nights in Zurich is more than I would spend. It's pretty, but there are nicer options close by. One day was plenty. It's a good place to fly into and stay one night to adjust to the time change. Enjoy the view of the Zurichsee from the Old Town and relax. Get a good night's sleep.

 

Definitely visit Lucerne. It's gorgeous. We spent half a day there and could have spent more. Take the train from Zurich, and spend the rest of the day (at least half a day) to wander the old town. Stay over in Lucerne. Then the next day, do a boat / train tour of Mt. Pilatus. You could leave that evening, or the next morning, for Basel by train, so you can catch the boat.

 

Trains in Europe are fast, reliable, and super easy to use. Do not be afraid of them! Everyone uses them and you shouldn't need a tour guide to visit these places. Get a guidebook, know the general layout of the towns you'll be visiting, and have a great time! You can get info on the Swiss train at their website, sbb.ch. I'd also recommend that you look at a website called The Man in Seat 61 - lots of great info there.

Edited February 13, 2015 by jpalbny

[sueajp]

Hi everyone,

We are going Amsterdam to Basel... sorry about the confusion. So you think stay in Basel or go right to Zurich with the ship transfer to Zurich and explore from there? I am going to get an actual book today of Switzerland and see the options After awhile reading on line gets overwhelming! Hope to navigate the train system then! Must book today or very early tomorrow AM. Keep the opinions coming!This is on Avalon BTW since our original AMA booked up before we decided!

[jpalbny]

Oops! Haven't finished my coffee yet this morning. Sorry I missed that...

 

If you end in Basel, I would definitely not go straight to Zurich for 3 days. Here is what I would do:

 

Day 1: Have a nice leisurely breakfast on board. Take a cab from the boat to the Basel train station. Leave bags in a locker there, and get a train ticket to Lucerne for later that evening. Make sure your train ticket includes public transport in Basel (you can add this as an extra option to any train ticket for a few extra Francs). Spend the day in Basel, exploring using the tram. A few hours of sightseeing, and a few hours in a museum or two of your choice. Take the train to Lucerne and spend the night there.

 

Day 2: If the weather is good, take a boat/train trip on the lake and up Mt. Pilatus. If not, spend the day exploring Lucerne. It's better (I think) to get Mt. Pilatus in today if you can, as you can get an overview of the town of Lucerne in 1/2 day if you must. Overnight Lucerne.

 

Day 3: do what you didn't do on day 2. If you finish up in time, take an early afternoon train to Zurich. Stay at the airport (if you have an early flight the next day) or in town (if you have a later flight). Either way, spend the afternoon/evening in the Old Town.

 

If you have to delay Mt. Pilatus until Day 3, you may not get to Zurich until evening - though I am not sure exactly how long these tours take. Between Basel, Lucerne, and Zurich, it's probably OK to shortchange your time in Zurich in favor of getting more time in the other two.

 

Plenty of ways to tweak this itinerary; you could overnight in Basel near the train station and go to Lucerne in the morning of Day 2, etc... But I personally would not skip time in Basel to take a ship's transfer to Zurich.

Edited February 13, 2015 by jpalbny

[DrivesLikeMario]

I am about to pull the trigger for our Avalon Amsterdam to Basel. I have some questions about Zurich. We were thinking of staying 3 nights there. Is that too much time? We wont have any time to see Basel.But could we go to Lucerne on our own for a day? Is the train easy to negotiate or would you find a tour company? The cruise offers the Movenpick Hotel but that is closer to the airport than the city center. Other recommendations? Thanks everyone!

 

That's exactly what we're doing: 3 nights in Zurich. Here's why:

 

Night 1 - We get in really late - like 10:30 or 11pm. Night 1 is shot.

Daytime - We plan to sleep in, do a chocolate tour thru Viator, walk around the shops in Zurich and people watch.

Night 2 - Have a typical Swiss dinner and hit the sack.

Daytime - We're taking another Viator tour to Schaffhausen/Rhine Falls where my father's paternal side is originally from.

Night 3 - Getting to sleep early for tomorrow -

Daytime - Wake early, pack up and head out for the all-day tour thru Avalon to Mt. Pilatus and on to the ship.

 

It's a little more leisurely than we usually do things. I've learned (the hard way - in Rome) that it's better to take things a little slowly at first and get some good sleep so we get on their time schedule ASAP.

[YoungDubFan]

Just to comment for anyone who is using Avalon's hotel in Zurich - it is the Movenpick but there is a train station about a 5 min walk from the hotel. The trains in Switzerland are very easy to use. We went in 1 day early for our Zurich (Basel) to Amsterdam cruise. We stayed at the Movenpick. It was about a 22 min train ride to the Opera House stop, which put us right at Old Town. We returned to the hotel from the main train station. We found everyone to be very helpful. We did have the hotel write down the name of the train station that we were using to make sure we got back on the correct train, going the correct direction.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Just to comment for anyone who is using Avalon's hotel in Zurich - it is the Movenpick but there is a train station about a 5 min walk from the hotel. The trains in Switzerland are very easy to use. We went in 1 day early for our Zurich (Basel) to Amsterdam cruise. We stayed at the Movenpick. It was about a 22 min train ride to the Opera House stop, which put us right at Old Town. We returned to the hotel from the main train station. We found everyone to be very helpful. We did have the hotel write down the name of the train station that we were using to make sure we got back on the correct train, going the correct direction.

 

That sounds a lot easier than what I've heard from other people. They took the hotel's shuttle back to the airport, then took the train from there into Zurich. Thanks for the tip!

[YoungDubFan]

DrivesLikeMario - the train from the hotel was super easy. As mentioned, it was about 22 min - no transfers needed. We were given plenty of help from the locals. They made sure we got off on the stop that we needed. On the return, because we were using the main train station, which is huge, I went to the information desk to make sure we got on the correct platform. Again - everyone was very helpful. There is no reason to go back to the airport.

[DrivesLikeMario]

DrivesLikeMario - the train from the hotel was super easy. As mentioned, it was about 22 min - no transfers needed. We were given plenty of help from the locals. They made sure we got off on the stop that we needed. On the return, because we were using the main train station, which is huge, I went to the information desk to make sure we got on the correct platform. Again - everyone was very helpful. There is no reason to go back to the airport.

 

Perfect, thank you! Will definitely do that then, thanks! :)

[VanCleave]

We are going from Basel to Amsterdam on Viking in August 2015. The Rhine splits into two major branches after crossing into Holland on the way to Kinderdijk. The Nederrein goes north past Arnhem. The Waal river goes South through Nijmegen. Can anyone tell me which way the Rhine Getaway cruise goes? I can't tell from maps and itineraries. Thanks!

[Host Jazzbeau]

The cruise takes the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal, which starts from the Waal near Tiel.

[VanCleave]

Host Jazzbeau - Thanks! So does the Rhine Getaway cruise take the Waal to Kinderdijk for the last stop before Amsterdam?...and then go back to the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal at Tiel? I'm looking at the map and trying to figure it out. My interest is that I want to know if the cruise ship is going past Nijmegen. My uncle was a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne and helped capture the bridges in Nijmegen during WWII.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Sorry, I can't answer that for this Viking itinerary. The Viking map doesn't correlate very well with the Google map. My guess would be that Viking takes the canal from the Waal to the Nederrijn to get to Kinderjik, so you would pass Nijmegen (but you won't stop there).

[banditoo]

We are going from Basel to Amsterdam on Viking in August 2015. The Rhine splits into two major branches after crossing into Holland on the way to Kinderdijk. The Nederrein goes north past Arnhem. The Waal river goes South through Nijmegen. Can anyone tell me which way the Rhine Getaway cruise goes? I can't tell from maps and itineraries. Thanks!

Van Cleave

I see you are new to posting on the boards. Welcome! You may wish to join us on the 2015 roll call for Viking Rhine Getaway. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1952390 There might be someone on your sailing and even if not, we are sharing info as we all share the same itinerary. There are some great photo reviews for the itinerary that I have posted links to and one of the authors of those reviews might be able to answer your question about that part of the Rhine.

[ourcruise777]

Just to comment for anyone who is using Avalon's hotel in Zurich - it is the Movenpick but there is a train station about a 5 min walk from the hotel. The trains in Switzerland are very easy to use. We went in 1 day early for our Zurich (Basel) to Amsterdam cruise. We stayed at the Movenpick. It was about a 22 min train ride to the Opera House stop, which put us right at Old Town. We returned to the hotel from the main train station. We found everyone to be very helpful. We did have the hotel write down the name of the train station that we were using to make sure we got back on the correct train, going the correct direction.

 

Hi YoungDubFan

Thanks for your Avalon Basel-Ams review. That helped us greatly as we are going for the same cruise in Sept, 12-night Rhine & Moselle cruise.

We are also staying pre-cruise at Avalon’s meeting hotel – Movenpick. Question – when you moved about on the first day, did you buy the Zurich card or day pass that covers train, bus and boat rides. How did you pay for the train and bus rides?

 

Thanks

[captjohn]

Thanks again for everyone's comments and ideas. They will all be a great help as we finalize our plans. We've made all of our pre and post hotel reservations, so now its on to the fun stuff.

 

JP and Host Jazzbeau - I followed both of your Rhine trip reports when we were still just considering the cruise. Now I'll have to go back and reread them (and a number of others) since I have a much better idea of what we'll be seeing and doing.

 

Steve, I just found this page so a little late to the party ! My wife Christina + a friend and I will be on AMA departing on Sept.21,2015 from Basel. Is this the same cruise you will be on ? If so will look forward to meeting you on board.

John

[SteveU]

Steve, I just found this page so a little late to the party ! My wife Christina + a friend and I will be on AMA departing on Sept.21,2015 from Basel. Is this the same cruise you will be on ? If so will look forward to meeting you on board.

John

 

Hi John - Yes, that's the date. I started a thread for our dates in the Roll Call Forum, but hadn't heard from anyone else yet. Why don't you join that discussion. I was beginning to worry that maybe we'd be the only ones on board!