Trip to Jungfrau area, 4 days in Grindelwald

  • Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    21 October 2015 at 13:23:32 #808052

    Hello everybody,

    My husband & I are planning a trip to the Jungfrau area so we really need some advices & suggestions from all experienced travellers/consultants.

    We will be arriving at Basel then taking a train to Grindelwald and will be staying there for 4 days (25/11-29/11). We are going to explore the Jungfraujoch as well as the Schilthorn as they seem to be the most popular places that everybody keeps talking about.

    Apart from that, is there any other places that can be recommended to complete our 4 days stay, e.g, a boat trip or any other scenic route…..that has an easy access from Grindelwald?

    Also the train tickets seem to be quite expensive so we would appreciate if someone can help with a cost-effective transport itinerary.

    many thanks

  • Effortlessly learn from the questions and answers in the forum. Receive a daily e-mail with new discussions.

    Slowpoke
    Participant
    7567 posts
    22 October 2015 at 1:12:09 #846627

    Hi Kimuk –

    Welcome to the forum.

    I can see that you have done your homework and picked Grindelwald instead of Interlaken. 😉

    You have picked the time of year that is “between seasons” in the Alpine resort areas. Many hotels and “ski ” lifts will be closed, and hiking trails will be snowed in at high altitudes. Not so much at lower altitudes. Public transport in alpine regions and major attractions are open, but many hotels are closed until the opening of the ski season on about December 15th. The train to the Jungfraujoch will run from Grindelwald. (it is one of those very expensive ones ;-o )

    Check the Schilthorn schedules to be sure.

    At lower altitudes, in main cities, this does not apply…it relates primarily to the altitudes and the ski resorts towns.

    So, you might consider starting or spending time in Luzern. It is a good starting point for first time visitors.

    http://www.myswissalps.com/lu cerne

    (Sorry if I spell it Luzern…same pronunciation… but it is in the German-speaking region and the German name is Luzern.)

    Here are some useful links:

    http://www.myswissalps.com/ge ttingstarted

    http://www.myswissalps.com/wh eretogo

    map.classic.search.ch/

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

    http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses

    Arno and Annika, the forum moderators are experts on economical rail passes. Once you have an idea of your itinerary for the full trip worked out, or at least a rough idea, they can advise possible travel passes to reduce costs compared to “regular” train fares….often substantially.

    Slowpoke

    kim11
    Participant
    604 posts
    22 October 2015 at 17:20:19 #846628

    Unfortunately the Schilthorn gondola will be closed for maintenance from 9 November until 4 December

    Annika
    Moderator
    7103 posts
    24 October 2015 at 8:24:20 #846629

    Hi Kimuk,

    As mentioned, which rail pass is best depends on the details of your final itinerary. Were you able to make a more detailed plan with the links provided above? Then you can start looking into passes. This page can be of help: myswissalps.com/train/ ticketspasses/practica l/chooserailpass.

    I think you may want to look into the Swiss Transfer Ticket Combi (which is especially a good choice if you’ll be making a long and thus expensive inbound/outbound trip like Basel-Grindelwald) or a Swiss Half Fare Card. If you’ll be making a return trip Basel-Grindelwald, the Swiss Transfer Ticket Combi would still be slightly more expensive than the Swiss Half Fare Card (about GBP 7), but easier as you won’t have to buy tickets for these trips.

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    3 November 2015 at 21:25:06 #846630

    Hi Annika,

    Thanks a lot for your advice.

    As most mountain attractions are about to close for maintenance at the end of Nov ( which is very disappointed) so we are actually planning to visit Jungfraujoch and Interlaken only.

    We will be taking a train from Basel euro airport to Grindelwald and return.

    Then grindelwald to Jungfraujoch and return

    Then train from grindelwald- Interlaken and return

    I have a look around and see half fare card seems to be the cheapest saving option. Please advise what you think Annika. Also how to buy the half fare card online and how to use it combined with the all the train tickets.

    Many thanks

    Kim

    Slowpoke
    Participant
    7567 posts
    3 November 2015 at 22:04:33 #846631

    <<“As most mountain attractions are about to close for maintenance at the end of Nov ( which is very disappointed) so we are actually planning to visit Jungfraujoch and Interlaken only.”>>

    There are options near Luzern. See attached.

    Re- rail pass-

    Once you have a half fare card, you must buy also a ticket for each journey. The ticket machine allow you to chose a half-fare ticket, since most Swiss residents have half fare cards.

    Then when a conductor on a train comes down the aisle asks to see your ticket, you show both the ticket and the half fare card.

    Arno
    Moderator
    15471 posts
    4 November 2015 at 6:26:50 #846632

    Hi Kim,

    The Swiss Half Fare Card would be a good choice. Did you take a look at the page Annika linked to? It’s all explained there: where to buy online, how it works, which discounts you’ll get, etc. How did you like the video?

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    4 November 2015 at 15:24:02 #846633

    Thanks for all helpful information, Slowpoke.

    Will definitely have a look at these attachment.

    Cheers

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    4 November 2015 at 19:44:25 #846634

    Just have a look at the link attached by Slowpoke for Pilatus from Lucerne. It looks amazing indeed.

    However, Im just wondering if we are going to visit the Jungfraujoch, would it be sort of similar scenery/experience to visit Pilatus as I can see the silver round trip is still not cheap though and on top of that, we need to take a train from grindelwald to Lucerne as well.

    Any advice is great.

    many thanks

    Arno
    Moderator
    15471 posts
    5 November 2015 at 9:32:30 #846635

    Hi Kimuk,

    Both these trips are very different. If you want to do one of them, the best you can do is read the details and see which one appeals to you most:

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    12 November 2015 at 19:53:52 #846636

    Thanks for your advice Arno.

    Just a quick question, we will be staying in Grindelwald from 25/11-29/11 and will go to the Jungfraujoch probably half of any day during our stay, please advise us on what clothes/shoes/essentials that we need to bring with us as this is the 1st time to visit some places like swiss alps.

    Many thanks

    Arno
    Moderator
    15471 posts
    12 November 2015 at 20:15:55 #846637

    Hi Kimuk,

    You can find tips on the linked Jungfraujoch page, under “Preparation”. More about how to prepare for the Alpine weather can be found here: myswissalps.com/ weather.

    If anything remains unclear, feel free to ask!

  • The thread ‘Trip to Jungfrau area, 4 days in Grindelwald’ is closed to new replies.

About MySwissAlps

We’re passionate tourists and locals. We share tips about how to plan a trip to Switzerland. MySwissAlps was founded in 2002.

Get a free account for a worry-free trip

  • Join our 10730 members and ask us questions in the forum
  • Access to member-only promotions
  • Detailed maps and weather forecasts

Planning your first Switzerland adventure?

Get a jump-start with Annika’s 20-minute e-mail course, “Switzerland for beginners”. Subscribe to our newsletter to unlock the course.