Help! It’s the October vacation and I don’t know what to do.

Tags

fun for kids, October vacation, swiss holiday ideas, train trips, vacation with kids

It’s the October school holiday. I should be packing right now but I thought I would quickly post some October vacation ideas. These are all places (unless I say otherwise) that my family has loved over the past 18 years.

Autumn Colors: Hiking in the Swiss Alps in autumn is great. I happened to be in the Valais yesterday. The colors are magnificent and the larch trees aren’t even at their peak, yet. If you want to travel while enjoying the view, reserve your seat on a panorama train (see below for more information about trains).

The only picture I managed to take before my phone died on Thursday in the Quatre Valais area.

Natural Hot Springs: Here you can find a list of the nearby hot springs in Valais. My favorite is Leukerbad. I like HOT and one of the hotels has a naturally HOT, hot spring. I can also recommend a hot spring within 1 1/2 hours called Lavey les Bains. The views up into the Alps are spectacular but it can get a bit crowded and the water isn’t as hot as I would prefer.

Fun Parks: At the end of the lake (1 1/4 hours by car) is the Swiss Vapor Park which has miniature trains young kids love to ride on and Aqua Parc for older children. Fifteen minutes further is the Labyrinthe Aventure and a bit further up the valley from there is Happy Land. Our family always visited these places going to and from our mountain holidays.

Happy Land is amateuristic for adults but kids love that there are no lines.

Trains and Boats: My favorite way to see Switzerland is by train. Granted it’s more expensive than driving but not only do you enjoy the views without fear of running off the road, you enjoy time with your family face to face playing cards, talking or just letting your kids roam the train.

This week I stopped by the train station to see what deals they have during the holiday. The “carte journalière plus” is on sale until November 6 at the price of CHF 89 for two, CHF 109 for three and CHF 129 for four (plus you receive a CHF 25 coupon if you decide to purchase a Swiss Pass/demi tariff card). The day card gives you access to all public busses, boats and trains. You also can receive discounts on some mountain lifts and privately run trains. I have purchased this ticket in the past to visit Neuchâtel and tour the lake by steam boat; as well as travel by panorama train to Zermatt.

For more information about how to use the trains visit our blogs Swiss Train Specials and Swiss Trains: The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread.

A few places I love:

• A four canton tour: Valais, Aargau, Schaffhausen and Fribourg: Part One and Part Two. This blog describes a trip hiking along the bisse, a trip through a tunnel, hot springs and the largest waterfall in Europe.
• Discovering Lucerne, on and off the beaten path by my friend Cortney.
• A Day Trip to Château de Chillon also by my friend Cortney.
• The Jongfraujoch.
• The Olympic Museum in Lausanne.

What are your favorite autumn trips and activities in Switzerland?

The Ice Park at the Jongfraujoch.

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