A trip to Switzerland had been my mother’s dream long before it was mine. She’d seen the destination in movies and travel videos for years and always said she wanted to see it in person someday.
Every few years, my family would talk about going, compare flights, and then let the idea go. The timing was never right, and the cost was hard to justify for a family of four from India.
When we finally planned a trip for December 2024 as a gift for my mom’s birthday, I knew I wanted to make the most of it. It was one of the most expensive vacations we’d ever taken, so I spent a lot of time thinking about where we’d stay, knowing our base would shape the whole trip.
I had to make some tough decisions when it came to where to stay and what to do to make sure the trip was worthwhile and met all of our expectations, especially my mom’s. I’m happy with the choices I made, especially when it came to which town to stay in.
We didn’t want our dream trip to feel rushed
Like most first-time visitors, I started by looking at tourist hubs like Interlaken and Lucerne. Both seemed like obvious choices — close to the attractions we’d planned to visit and easy to build an itinerary around.
But we were going to spend most of our days out exploring, not sitting in our hotel, and I wasn’t sure it made sense to pay high rates to stay in such a busy tourist town.
We looked for a quieter base without giving up convenience
Through travel articles, Reddit threads, and Instagram, I discovered Thun, a lakeside town in the canton of Bern that many visitors recommended as a day trip from Interlaken.
I mapped out how easily we could reach the places we’d planned to visit from Thun. We had a week in Switzerland, with the final two days already set aside for Zurich, so I wanted to make sure we weren’t losing too much time commuting.
Thun fit our itinerary perfectly.
It turned out to be the more affordable choice, too. We found a hotel overlooking the Aare River, which runs through the historic town, with two rooms for around CHF 1,500 (around $1,800 USD) for four nights — almost half what similar places cost in Interlaken and Lucerne at the time.
Thun gave us the same access, just at a slower pace
Interlaken is the main hub for the Bernese Oberland region, and many places we wanted to visit were easiest to reach from there. From Thun, it only took us 30 minutes to reach Interlaken by bus.
We’d bought the Swiss Half Fare Card in advance, which gave us 50% off most public transportation, which also saved us some money. Our hotel also provided a local travel card with free transportation to Interlaken, making day trips even easier.
One day, we were up in the mountains, riding the world’s steepest cableway from Stechelberg to Mürren; the next, we strolled through the tiny village of Wengen. We also explored Lauterbrunnen Valley, a familiar backdrop from many Bollywood films we’d grown up watching. Seeing these places in person felt surreal.
Thun offered plenty beyond being a convenient base
During our stay, we wandered through the old town, walked along the Aare, and made our way up to Thun Castle. A small Christmas market right beside our hotel meant our evenings often ended with a walk through the stalls before heading in.
One rainy afternoon, we visited the St. Beatus Caves above Lake Thun. The path through the forest followed waterfalls rushing down the cliffs beside us. Despite the rain, we stayed much longer than planned, stopping along the way to take in the views of the Bernese Alps.
Later, we took a two-hour cruise on Lake Thun, passing historic lakeside towns and castles along the shore. My family still talks about that afternoon, it ended up being one of the highlights of our trip.
By the end of our stay, I understood why Thun had felt like the right choice. We saw the Switzerland we’d imagined for years, but Thun gave us the time to slow down and enjoy it together. After waiting so long for this trip, we wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
Nearly two years later, my mom still watches videos of Switzerland. She’ll recognize a village or a lake we’d seen on our trip and immediately start talking about that day. It seems the trip gave her exactly what she’d wanted all those years: not just a picture of Switzerland, but memories of being there.
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