Switzerland 4 days in mid-September -feasible plan

Short summary – read this first

A traveler named Fenojleslie is planning a trip to Switzerland with two friends during the second week of September for 3 to 4 nights. They want to visit scenic places like Grindelwald, Interlaken, and Jungfrau, focusing on easy hikes and nature photography while relying on public transport from Zurich or Geneva. They’re looking for advice on the feasibility of their itinerary and the best travel options.

Key takeaways:

Consider staying in Lauterbrunnen or Grindelwald for better access to nature and hiking trails.
The Swiss Travel Pass is a great option for convenient travel within the Bernese Oberland region.
Plan to book train tickets for airport transfers, but other trips can often be purchased on the spot.
Take a boat ride on Lake Thun or Lake Brienz for lovely views and easy strolls.
Explore the Schynige Platte trail for stunning scenery without the strenuous effort of the Hardergrat trail.

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AI-generated summary

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16 June 2018 at 19:58:42 #816685

hello all,

lucky to have found you all,

myself and 2 other friends will be visiting switzerland during september 2nd week for 3- 4 nights,we are mainly planning to visit a mountain,a lake and the alps and perhaps some outdoor activity,wefound the following places reasonable- grindelwald ,interlaken and junfau, i believe these places are close to each other and fits the category of our needs,we will be mostly doing easy hikes and more nature photography,and also we will be travelling from london so we thought zurich or geneva would be an option to fly in and then may be catch a train to those mentioned areas,

my questions are

1.does this plan and the places looks faesible considering our needs from the trip for the time period of 3-4 nights,

2 are these places interconnected thorugh train,will there be any problem ,we will be using only public transport for all of our trip

3,any suggestions that you would like to add

thanks a lot

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Reply 1 of 7 • 17 June 2018 at 13:25:21 #888479

Hi Fenojleslie and welcome to MySwissAlps!
1. Yes, a very feasible plan. The 3 main airports are Basel, Zurich and Geneva. The first 2 a bit more convenient to reach the Interlaken area but not drastically more. I’d go for whichever has the best flight deal: https://www.myswissalp s.com/travel/toswitzer land/plane/tickets
2. Interlaken (https://www.myswissalp s.com/interlaken) is the main train station for the Jungfrau region (https://www.myswissalp s.com/jungfrauregion) so it is great for that. Grindelwald (https://www.myswissalp s.com/grindelwald) isn’t too far from Interlaken and I think the nicer town for your stay.
3. I think Grindelwald or nearby Lauterbrunnen or Wengen are good towns to base yourself in (prettier than Interlaken). From those towns you can easily reach Jungfraujoch or other mountains nearby (https://www.myswissalp s.com/jungfrauregion/a ctivities) as well as lake Thun which is a nice lake option nearby (https://www.myswissalp s.com/lakethun).
You’ll want to look at rail passes as well. The 4 day Swiss Travel Pass is a good option, as is the Jungfrau Travel Pass if you stay in that region the whole time (although you’ll need to buy a ticket from the airport to the Jungfrau region and back). Have a look at the two passes here to compare:

https://www.myswissalp s.com/swisstravelpass
https://www.myswissalp s.com/jungfrautravelpa ss
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Reply 2 of 7 • 2 July 2018 at 0:13:32 #888480

thanks Lucas,sorry for the late response,a few more questions if u dont mind

1. can we base ourselves in interlaken to see lake brienz and lake thun,is it worth to spend 1 and half days exploring interlaken and both the lakes considering we are mostly interested in nature ,easy strolls .

2.and then we will be going to gimmelwald from interlaken and then to jungfau and back to zurich for the return flight,

considering all this ,we will be using public transport,do you think we might benefit from some sort of rail passes

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Reply 3 of 7 • 2 July 2018 at 11:31:56 #888481

I’d stay in a mountain village like Lauterbrunnen (close to mountains and can easily get to Interlaken and Lake Brienz and Thun.

Are you planning to stay in Gimmelwald? very small village…a couple of buildings only. Or do you mean Grindelwald? If you want a town closer to the lakes consider Thun over Interlaken.

https://www.myswissalp s.com/lauterbrunnen
https://www.myswissalp s.com/boatlakebrienz
https://www.myswissalp s.com/boatlakethun
https://www.myswissalp s.com/thun

once you have your daily itinerary planned out, you can then figure out which rail pass is most economical for your plans. Read here for help: https://www.myswissalp s.com/train/ticketspas ses/practical/choosera ilpass

For simplicity sake I’d look at the Swiss Travel Pass for 4 days: https://www.myswissalp s.com/swisstravelpass – it is always the most convenient and often the most economical. Another option is the Regional Pass – Bernese Oberland: https://www.myswissalp s.com/regionalpassbern eseoberland
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Reply 4 of 7 • 2 July 2018 at 13:50:20 #888482

<<“thanks Lucas,sorry for the late response,a few more questions if u dont mind

1. can we base ourselves in interlaken to see lake brienz and lake thun,is it worth to spend 1 and half days exploring interlaken and both the lakes considering we are mostly interested in nature ,easy strolls .

2.and then we will be going to gimmelwald from interlaken and then to jungfau and back to zurich for the return flight,”>>

Hi Fenojleslie –

With your stated goal, I suggest that you would be better off staying in Lauterbrunnen, Wengen or Grindelwald or possibly Mürren.

The lake trip options are nice, but no where near as nice as some of the gentle hikes nearer the Jungfrau.

In my opinion, shared more politely by others on the forum, Interlaken itself is worth about an hour…add time for Harder Kulm. Interlaken is not scenic destination. I’d spend half a day on a boat ride on either Lake Thun or Lake Brienz. Both have some nice places to get off the boat and explore, with pleasant walks if you choose. That’s because I believe that there are better scenic opportunities to appreciate nature nearer the Jungfrau.

Gimmelwald has nothing but a few houses and a whole bunch of tourists carrying Rick Steve’s book. The views from there are nice, but there are a lot of similar views from other places, too.

You were not explicitly linked to the timetable. It will help you understand the times between locations:

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

Combine it with this map:

map.search.ch/?pos=638568,159704&z=32

I have zoomed it in to zoom level 32, to show the rail lines clearly. Zoom out for the surroundings.

This report is by an experienced traveler who likes Wengen, but discusses other places.

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

I like Wengen, too, but Lauterbrunnen could be a better base for you, as Lucas noted. However, it is only 20 minutes by train from Wengen..

The pictures are taken on the easy and magnificent trail from Männlichen to Kleine Scheidegg, easily accessed from Wengen.

http://www.myswissalps.com/hi king/maennlichen-kleinescheidegg

Slowpoke
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Reply 5 of 7 • 4 July 2018 at 13:34:52 #888483

Thanks Slowpoke and Lucas for your much valuable input,so here”s my final itinerary

we are leaving from london on the 10th sep to reach zurich by 0900 hrs

1. train from zurich to grindelwald or lauterbrunnen to reach either of those places by afternoon,to spend the night there

2.leave grindel/lauter for interlaken to see lake brienz,may be do some cruise trips and explore interlaken

3.back to lauter /grindel for the night ,12th morning leave for jungfrau for the top of europe exp

4.13th eve leave for zurich

somemore questions:-

1.which among grindel or lauter would be good to stay considering the views of nature?

2.is it possible to do the Hardergratt trail from interlaken and also see the lakes,i understand the full trail is strenous ,is there anything like sections of the trail that we can do?

3.we also plan some paragliding ,which place is best to do it among the places that we are staying?

4.finally,about train passes ,we are doing much of the travel in berneese oberland ,only the airport trips to zurich will be outside of this,which one can we opt?, and do we need to book the tickets prior for all these train trips or just turn up on the station ?

Thanks very much
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Reply 6 of 7 • 4 July 2018 at 19:08:27 #888484

Hi Fenojleslie,
1. Both are great towns. I’d choose Wengen! https://www.myswissalp s.com/wengen
2. Read bout that trail here to help you decide! Looks tough https://www.alpsinsigh t.com/trip/hardergrat-trail/
3. There are 2 options we recommend. Lauterbrunnen here & Interlaken.
4. I’d look at the Regional Pass – Bernese Oberland: https://www.myswissalp s.com/regionalpassbern eseoberland – tickets for trips that aren’tfully covered can be bought on the spot yes.
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Reply 7 of 7 • 4 July 2018 at 19:43:30 #888485

Hi Lucas-

<<“Read bout that trail here to help you decide! Looks tough”>>

For sure. And, long, with no way down except at the ends, as far as I can tell.

I’ve hiked short stretches on such a ridgeline trail, and I find that the concentration and care required to not slide of to your dearth is very tiring.

A safer option with many similar views is the trail around Schynige Platte, discussed many times in this forum. https://www.myswissalp s.com/hiking/schynigep latte

Slowpoke