Crowds and reservations for Interlaken trips, June
A traveler named Swisstcs is visiting Switzerland with their family from June 10 for 6 days, based in Interlaken. They have an 8-day Swiss Travel Pass and plan to visit Montreux, Grindelwald, Schilthorn, and Matterhorn but are unsure about making train reservations and dealing with potential crowds. They seek advice on their itinerary and travel tips.
- You do not need to make seat reservations on most Swiss trains; it's optional on the Golden Pass line.
- With the Swiss Travel Pass, you receive discounts on mountain excursions, so show it at ticket booths for reduced prices.
- Expect some lines for cable cars in June, but purchasing tickets in advance can help skip the queues.
- Your proposed itinerary may be ambitious, especially on Day 2; start early to ensure you have enough time for each site.
AI-generated summary-
Hi,
we (family of four) plan to visit swiss on the 10 of June . I have an 8 day swiss travel pass for 4 of us .We plan to stay near Interlaken West .
We plan to do the following . for all these trains when should i make my reservation and how ?
1. Take the Golden Pass to Montreaux
2. Go to Grindewald and then to First
3. Schittlehorn
4. Matterhorn
is there anything else that i should be considering ? Please advise. Will crowd be a problem during that time ?
thanks.
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Hi Swisstcs,
Welcome to MySwissAlps.
It think it’s great that you have opted for the Swiss Travel Pass for your trip. I’m sure it will make travelling with the train much more convenient. For your information, there is no need to make seat reservations when you travel on Swiss trains. Exceptions are panoramic trains such as the Glacier Express and Bernina Express. Even on the Golden Pass trains between Interlaken to Montreux, seat reservation is not compulsory but optional. If you wish to reserve seats, you can find more details here: http://www.myswissalps.com/goldenpass/tickets
More information about seat reservations on Swiss trains: http://www.myswissalps.com/train/reservations
With the Swiss Travel Pass, you get discounted travel on mountain excursions to Grindelwald First, Schilthorn and Gornergrat and Klein Matterhorn (in Zermatt). Options to purchase the discounted tickets in advance here.
There might be long lines for the cable cars and mountain railways in June but I reckon you won’t have to wait too long. The train and cable car operators will usually run extra services to meet the extra demand. Sometimes you can skip the lines if you purchase the tickets in advance.
Let us know if you need more info.
Regards,
Anna
In my estimation , you shouldn’t need to make any reservations. As you will have an STP you can remain flexible to changes of weather etc. I very much doubt any of the routes to the places you list will be too busy as 10 June is very early in the European tourist season.
Of the specific places you mention are either train all the way or train then cable car. In all cases the trains are free to board without reservation. Most cable cars (and other pure ‘tourist day trip’ mountain lines) are 50% off with the STP, so you find the base station, go to the ticket booth and show your STP to get a discounted ticket. Then you take your place in the line and you will get on the next available cable car.
Specifically for the places you mention:
1) Golden Pass to Montreux
This a train all the way (Change at Spiez and Zweisimmen)- free with STP
2) Grindewald and then to First
short hop on main line train Interlaken West to Interlaken Ost, BOB railway train to Grindelwald, (all free with STP) cable car to First ( 50% reduced)
3) Schilthorn
There are two routes
a) Train to Lauterbrunnen, cable car /train link Lauterbrunnen – Grutschalp – Murren (all free with STP)
b) Train to Laterbrunnen, bus to Stechelberg, cable car to Murren (all free with STP)
Murren – Schilthorn – 50% discount with STP
4) Matterhorn
Train Interlaken – Spiez – Visp (change to narrow gauge MGB at Visp) – Zermatt (all free on STP)
Zermatt – Gornergrat (train – 50% reduction with STP)
Swisstcs.
I don’t know if you have seen about the VIP tickets for the Golden Pass line from Zweisimmen to Lausanne or vice versa. They are an addition to your regular ticket, but very reasonably priced and allow you to travel in the front with the driver. It gives a very different perspective. It was a highlight of our trip on that line. It is not available on all trains, so you would need to do some research.
Thank you all the response. That was really helpful. I noticed on the SBB timetable for Golden pass from Interlaken OST to Montreux doesn’t go through Zweisimmen . I may have to take a train from Interlaken OST to Zweisimmen and then take the PE from Zweisimmen to Montreux.
That was good information . Do you think I’ll have enough time to visit the Chillon Castle in Montreux and then visit the chocolate factory in Broc ?
Also which of the four should i avoid when its cloudy ?
Hi Swisstcs,
If you only fill out “from Interlaken Ost to Montreux” in the timetable, it will give you the quickest options by default, which is not via the GoldenPass/Zweisimmen. If you enter Zweisimmen as a “via-station” it will work:
If you get off the train in Montbovon you can go to Broc, then back to Montbovon and via the remainder of the GoldenPass line to Montreux to visit the castle. It’s a bit much but it can work if you plan it well and start early:
Thank you Anna & 1960man for your response. I have slightly modified my itinerary based on what i read in this forum from several people . Please see my itinerary below and let me know if any changes are required . I’ve set Interlaken as my base for 6 days and 1 day in Zurich . I have Swiss travel pass which should help me in most of my travel .
Day 1. (June10) – Arrival at 10:30 am in Zurich . Take train to Interlaken west
Day 2. – Take the early train from Interlaken to GRUYÈRE (Visit Castle , Cheese Factory , Chocolate Factory )
Then take the Golden pass Train to Montreux (Visit Castle and spend few hours )
Return to Interlaken west
Day 3 – Visit Schilthorn (based on weather ) and spend rest of day in Lauterbrunnen or Grindelwald
Day 4 – Take train to Zermatt and visit Gornergrat (Cogwheel train) . Return to Interlaken west
Day 5 – Visit Lucerne and then to Titlis and spend rest of the day in Lucerne
Day 6 – Spend the entire day in Zurich visiting FIFA Museum , Lindt , Bahnhofstrasse . Overnight stay in Zurich hotel
Day 7 – Depart in the afternoon
Let me know your thoughts on this.
Thanks.
Staying in Interlaken and doing all the trips from there is convenient but you will need to be prepared for early starts and late finishes, and to check the weather for a single day visit to any of the mountain tops (ie Titlis and Zermatt). Day 2 looks like it might not be possible. The journey times plus around 2 hours at each location (if ‘castle’ means Chillon then that is not in Montreux itself…) would mount up to a very long day
Thank you 1960man. Do you think other than Day 2 , the rest of the schedule looks good ?
For Day 2 , Can i take a regular train to Montreux . Spend time in Montreux and return in the afternoon through Golden Pass to GRUYÈRE .
Thanks.
Hi Swisstcs,
In my opinion, it’s certainly possible but it might take you the whole day to complete the excursion. The train travel from Interlaken to Montreux will take about 2 hours. I recommend allocating about 1-2 hours in Montreux to visit the castle and maybe explore the city before travelling to Gruyeres via Montbovon. This might take 1.5 hours. You could be spending up to 1-2 hours in Gruyeres. In total that’s roughly 6-7 hours, not including the trip back to Interlaken via the Golden Pass (abt 4 hours). So still reasonably doable if you don’t mind a long day.
A good tip is to start our early and use the SBB timetable to plan your journey carefully.
Regards,
Anna
Yes, the rest looks OK
Yes for Day 2 you can travel by express trains – the fastest route is Interlaken – Spiez – Visp – Montreux.
Alternatively take the express route Interlaken – Bern – Lausanne – Montreux. The latter route would give you bonus views of Bern city, the beautiful rural agricultural land on the Bern – Fribourg – Palezieux section, views of Romont (a hilltop fort town), and the superb view of the vineyards and l ake Geneva on the descent to Lausanne (look left).
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