Four days in Mürren – suggestions for hikes please

  • Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    1 June 2016 at 19:06:57 #809329

    Good afternoon,

    My family is traveling to Switzerland in two weeks after an extended family trip to celebrate my parents 55th wedding anniversary. They are taking us on a Viking River Cruise that ends in Basel on June 26. My immediate family (me, my husband and our three girls ages 17, 15 and 12) plan to spend the next five days hiking in Switzerland. We are headed straight to Mürren where we will stay for 4 nights. On the fifth day we head to Geneva and spend one last night; on July 1 we return to the states. I have a few questions I am hoping you can help me with:

    • I think the best pass for our family is the Swiss Transfer Ticket Combi for three of us which will give us the family pass for my younger two. Does that make sense?
    • Can you please suggest some short and some long hikes for our family? I would love to explore the area but we don’t want to spend half our day on trains/cable cars. We want to be out and about enjoying the beautiful scenery.
    • My husband is determined for us to hike up to the Schilthorn but I’m a bit nervous about this. Is this too ambitious for us?
    • Any other suggestions of places to eat, things to do, etc are appreciated!
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    Slowpoke
    Participant
    7567 posts
    1 June 2016 at 23:35:38 #852529

    Hi Eavigda1 –

    Welcome to the forum. You have picked a very nice area to visit in June. Early June might still be snowy, but your dates are likely to be OK (mid June, right?). Lots of wild flowers in the meadows at lower elevations; probably some up where you will be

    Here is a start, with a small report from a forum member:

    http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/tips-about-wengen-and-the-jungfrau-region-by-kim

    Check this link, too.

    http://www.myswissalps.com/be rneseoberland

    And,

    http://www.jungfrau.ch/en/tou rism/destinations/klei ne-scheidegg/hiking-trails/

    That hike up to Schilthorn could well be fine if you are accommodated to mile high ( and much higher ) hiking, will have no problem with breathing in the thin air at those altitudes, and have hiking staffs and good boots. Plan to start at 1638 meters ( one mile high) and go up to Schilthorn at 2970 meters ( a bit short of two miles high) on steep mountain trails. That is approximately a one mile climb. Plan to pant a lot, unless you have been practicing at high altitudes. However, at the highest altitudes, the trails might be closed…snow and ice.

    The forum moderators ( Arno and Annika) can comment if those high trails will be open for the summer season when you are there. Might till be unsafe at the highest altitudes, or closed.

    <<“I would love to explore the area but we don’t want to spend half our day on trains/cable cars. We want to be out and about enjoying the beautiful scenery.””>

    The trains and cable cars offer beautiful scenery. However, there are lots of trails, too.

    Check the Bernese Oberland link above, and particularly, the Jungfrau Region link within..

    This map can help:

    map.search.ch/.en.html ?x=-25144m&y=-33024m&z=64

    if you combine it with the timetable:

    http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable

    Slowpoke

    Arno
    Moderator
    15471 posts
    2 June 2016 at 6:08:01 #852530

    Hi Eavigad1,

    The Swiss Transfer Ticket Combi indeed sounds like a good fit for your plans. Basel to Mürren and Mürren to Geneva is included, other trips will be discounted, and the 12 and 15 year old travel along for free everywhere.

    Please see myswissalps.com/ swisstransferticket/ price for where to obtain the tickets. Be sure to select “Swiss Transfer Ticket Combi” from the “Rail product” box and click “Show results”.

    Enjoy Mürren!

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    2 June 2016 at 23:11:20 #852531

    Thanks for all your help!

    So now I have a problem. I went online to word the Swiss Combi ticket and it does not seem to give the option to print online. We are leaving in a week for Copenhagen and I worry that this will not arrive before we leave. And we are not flying into an airport for that pick up option. Does anyone know a way to have online delivery?

    HELP!

    Slowpoke
    Participant
    7567 posts
    3 June 2016 at 0:43:45 #852532

    <<“And we are not flying into an airport for that pick up option.”>>

    Stop in Basel main station and buy the pass.

    Arno/Annika can tell you if there is any constraint on doing that.

    Slowoke

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    3 June 2016 at 1:21:49 #852533

    Is this one of the passes you can buy there? For some reason I thought it had to be purchased prior to our arrival….

    Slowpoke
    Participant
    7567 posts
    3 June 2016 at 1:29:38 #852534

    Arno or Annika has to answer. I don’t know.

    Slowpoke

    Arno
    Moderator
    15471 posts
    3 June 2016 at 7:09:19 #852535

    The Swiss Transfer Ticket (or Combi) has to be purchased in advance, and the Combi variant indeed can’t be printed at home. From the US, you can buy it through http://www.raileurope.com/rai l-tickets-passes/swiss-transfer-ticket-with-half-fare-card-combi/index.html or http://www.swissrailways.com/ en. They will deliver it in time but you’d better not wait much longer. The first site is based in the US and will actually ask when you depart for Europe in order to pick the best shipping option. The second site has a Notes field where you can enter when you need to receive it at the latest (they also show a confusing message about them holding on to orders purchased more than 2 weeks before traveling, but that does not apply to you).

    Let me know if it worked out please!

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    3 June 2016 at 22:43:39 #852536

    We emailed them and they wrote back that there is just not enough time for us to get these passes. So they are refunding me the $. Do you think we can get the half price pass online with print at home or even purchase it at the train station?

    Annika
    Moderator
    7103 posts
    4 June 2016 at 11:08:55 #852537

    Hi Eavigad1,

    Yes, you can certainly print the Swiss Half Fare Cards and Swiss Family Cards (for 12 and 15 year old) at home. I’d recommend to do so as soon as possible. You can buy them in Basel as well, but it will take some time (they will need to check all passports and enter passenger details). It would be a shame to miss the first available train just to get the cards. Here’s how to do it: please visit http://www.swissrailways.com/ en. After filling out your address, they will show the delivery options. Pick “Online Ticket” from the bottom of the list. They will e-mail the cards within a few business days (no delivery fees) so you can print them at home. As Arno mentioned, you can use the Notes field to let them know when you need to receive them at the latest as you’ll be in Europe well before you start using the cards. They will take care of that.

    I just wondered: which of the websites Arno mentioned did you contact? It would normally not be a problem at all to get a physical ticket delivered within a week.

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    4 June 2016 at 11:25:28 #852538

    It’s my fault. I had actually ordered them late at night prior to your reply at the Swiss Railways website realizing how close we were to departure. After I got your email, I sent them an email and got the reply that it was too late. I’m going to take care of the half fare cards now. It’s not a huge loss. When I filled out your spreadsheet on the various options the combi ticket was a very small difference from the half price ticket.

    Thanks again for your help!

    Slowpoke
    Participant
    7567 posts
    4 June 2016 at 15:04:21 #852539

    I use a half-fare card routinely. I don’t find it much of a bother to have to buy the tickets for journeys before boarding the train….the ticket machines give you the option of buying half-fare tickets, and they are fast.

    Sometime I choose to buy for the next day, if i have an early trip or am worried about a tight connection.

    Slowpoke

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