[WanderB]

4 July 2023 at 18:21:37 #830224

Hello MySwissAlps Forum Members,

Thank you for the wealth of information you have already shared through this forum. It has been very helpful and greatly influenced my current plans for a 7 day visit to Interlaken this coming September. FYI, my Interlaken lodging is booked and I will have the benefits of a 15 consecutive day Swiss Travel Pass (STP). My current day trip plans are listed in the order of most interest, but what we do each day will be based on weather conditions:

1) Jungfraujoch

2) Schilthorn (including stops at Birg & Murren on descent)

3) Lake Thun cruise from Interlaken to Spiez, visit town and then walk lakeshore to Faulensee to pickup ferry back to Interlaken

4) Lauterbrunnen & Wengen town visit

5) Grindelwald First (with Grindelwald town visit on descent)

6)Harder Kulm (with maybe town visit to Unterseen, since we have previously visited Interlaken in the winter when the funicular to Harder Kulm was closed).

7) Lake Brienz cruise

My most important question is regarding our day trip to Jungfraujoch. I would like to follow the forum’s suggestion of:

Ascent: Interlaken – Grindelwald – Eigergletscher – Cog wheel train to Jungfraujoch

Descent: Jungfraujoch cog wheel train to Eigergletscher – Kleine Scheidegg – Lauterbrunnen – Interlaken

Is it possible to book this a day or two ahead of time? If so, how? The Jungfraujoch booking website seems to only offer roundtrip tickets forcing you to take the same path for ascent & descent (http://www.jungfrau.ch/en-gb/jungfraujoch-top-of-europe/buy-jungfraujoch-ticket/). I’d like to book the “Grindelwald” ticket for the ascent only and the “Lauterbrunnen” ticket for the descent, taking full advantage of the STP discounts. Also, I considered the Jungfraujoch Travel Pass (JTP) but given the days must be consecutive, the savings seems negligible, if the weather conditions are bad on just 1 of those consecutive days, making it cheaper to just pay as we go with the STP discount.

Additional questions include:

1) How much is reasonable for doing each day, understanding we are not serious hikers, but enjoy easy walks, stunning panoramic mountain views, lakeshore & town walks, making occasional stops for lunch/coffee/glass of wine in a charming Swiss town or atop a mountain.

2) Schilthorn – is the Thrill Walk worthwhile and included in the price of ticket up to mountain?

3) Lake Thun cruise – where is our best lunch option, on the boat or at a lakeshore restaurant in Spiez or Faulensee?

4) Are there any spectacular points of interest in the Interlaken area, that I have failed to discover, that would be better than what I currently have planned?

Thank you in advance for your advice!

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[Anna]

Reply 1 of 5 • 4 July 2023 at 19:32:35 #956191

Hi WanderB,

Welcome to MySwissAlps.

Thanks for sharing your itinerary. With the 15-day Swiss Travel Pass you’re all set to go.

Regarding tickets to Jungfraujoch, you can purchase your tickets a day or 2 in advance online: http://www.myswissalps.com/jungfraujoch/tickets. The return ticket is valid on all routes. So you can basically do a roundtrip like you have in mind which is to travel from Interlaken to Jungfraujoch via Grindelwald and return via Wengen and Lauterbrunnen. Be sure to check the weather forecast and mountain webcam before you purchase the tickets.

To answer the rest of your questions:

1. It’s really up to you how much time you want to spend in each destination. I like to explore and take things slow and prefer to allocate at least 2 to 3 hours for each sightseeing trip. In one day I’d probably stick to just 2 or 3 activities/ excursion. Sometimes it depends on the weather too and the company you have.

2. Admission to the Brig Thrill Walk is included in the ticket price. There is no additional charges. If you are adventurous and not afraid of heights, this is a must-do. Be sure to take some pictures. Information about tickets to Schilthorn is available here: http://www.myswissalps.com/schilthorn/tickets

3. Lake Thun cruise – you can have lunch on board. You can view the menu here: http://www.bls-schiff.ch/en/gastronomy/gastronomy-offer/menu

4. If you have time, you might want to include Männlichen and Mürren in your itinerary. In addition, with the Swiss Travel Pass you can plan day trips to places outside of the Jungfrau region such as Lucerne, Bern and Brig. You can use the SBB timetable to plan ahead.

Let us know if you need more info.

regards,

Anna

[WanderB]

Reply 2 of 5 • 4 July 2023 at 20:29:59 #956192

Hi Anna,

Thank you very much. Your response is perfect, especially clarifying that the flexibility I want is available by buying the Jungfraujoch tickets via the URL you provided. I pondered the Swiss Travel Pass area of validity map repeatedly, but it’s so full of dotted line discount options to the various mountains that I was overwhelmed by the many options and wasn’t sure how to make that ascent/descent sequence work.

I will definitely consider your advice regarding Männlichen, Mürren and Brig. We have been to Lucerne and Bern more than once. We especially love Lucerne, but decided to focus on the Geneva area (1st week) and the Jungfraujoch region (2nd week) for our September 2023 Swiss Adventure.

Thanks again & Kind Regards!

[User]

Reply 3 of 5 • 5 July 2023 at 7:24:05 #956193

Hello WanderB,

Here’s our handy link for activities within the Interlaken area.

• https://www.myswissalps.com/interlaken/activities

Your plans sound great.

Kind regards,

Yolanda

[WanderB]

Reply 4 of 5 • 5 July 2023 at 13:45:17 #956194

Hello Yolanda,

Thank you very much for this link to this great list of Interlaken activities! I didn’t realize there are so many easy hike options in the Interlaken area. I assumed most hiking would difficult in such a mountainous area. This will be a great source of alternative activities, if the weather isn’t great for visiting the mountains.

Thanks again & Kind Regards!

[User]

Reply 5 of 5 • 5 July 2023 at 14:31:55 #956195

Most welcome WanderB,

Yes, we are indeed very fortunate to have all levels of hiking available, not only in the Interlaken area but everywhere in Switzerland. There is for sure, something for everyone.

Exactly, if the weather is not favourable higher up – you may find lower altitude options are still doable.

Have fun!

Kind regards,

Yolanda