Glacier Express options from Interlaken
Hiten is a traveler planning a family trip to Switzerland for 9 days in June, starting in Zurich and spending time in Lucerne and Interlaken. He wants advice on how to experience the Glacier Express route from Interlaken, exploring options for driving, park safety, and whether Zermatt is worth two days of their itinerary.
- You can drive from Interlaken to Andermatt and park safely at the station during the day.
- Consider taking the train for a more scenic journey and check out the Golden Pass route.
- Booking an 8-day Swiss Travel Pass might save costs, especially for Hiten's daughters who may travel for free.
- Staying in Zermatt for two nights offers a unique atmosphere and makes accessing the Matterhorn easier.
AI-generated summary-
Hi,
I need advise how to experience Glacier Express route (half) from Interlaken. Family of 4 visiting Switzerland for 9 days in June with rental car from Zurich. Planned activities 2 days in Lucerne and 4 days in Interlaken. Like mountains and moderate hikes. Need to plan last 3 days to experience Glacier Express and / or Bernina express.
Questions:
1 – Dat trip from Interlaken to Chur: Is there any option to drive from Interlaken to Andermatt and get GCX to Chur? Can we come back from Chur to Andermatt via normal train on same day? Is it safe to park car at Andermatt rail station during day?
2 – What other options to experience Glacier Express from Interlaken in 2 days and come back to Interlaken? We have rental car and will be going back to Zurich after Interlaken.
3 – Is it worth to spend two days in Zermatt from Interlaken and go to Matterhorn?
4 – Can we drive from Interlaken to Zermatt, spend 2 days and drive back to Zurich? In this option we can visit Matterhorn one day and second day Glacier Express half route till Andermatt.
Thank you in advance and appreciate any advise.
Hiten
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Please see this : http://www.rhb.ch/en/panoramic-trains/glacier-express#info
Bookable sections of line
Zermatt is a car free village. You cannot drive into Zermatt.
Hi Hiten and welcome to MySwissAlps.com!
May I ask why would you like to drive? Is there any specific reason? Usually, we recommend travelling by train in Switzerland, we have an amazing rail system. Clean and comfortable and also eco-friendly. (For more details, please visit: http://www.myswissalps.com/carversustrain).
You can drive to Andermatt from Interlaken. Switzerland is a safe country in general, so you should not worry about parking in Andermatt.
However you can take the train from Interlaken to Lucerne (part of the Golden Pass route), then take the boat to Füelen and continue to Göschenen ( part of the Gotthard Panorama Express route), then continue to Andermatt, from there to Chur (part of the Glacier Express route). Although make sure to check the timetable, it might require more time to do this whole route, so you might want to do this in 2 days.
In my opinion, Zermatt is wonderful, my personal fav is Gornergrat in the region. You can find activity tips here: http://www.myswissalps.com/zermatt/activities.
Zermatt is car free, you can only drive until Tasch (parking is quite expensive): http://www.myswissalps.com/zermatt/travel.
I hope this helps,
Ildiko
Beware of being drawn in by the ‘hype’ that surrounds the Glacier Express these days. There are a few things to take into consideration:
Glacier Express mythbuster
Take a moment to understand the Glacier Express concept. It requires careful thought as it is not the only way to see the Swiss Alps!
Neither Luzern nor Interlaken /Jungfrau area are a good base from which to go and travel on the Glacier Express. The Glacier Express runs East – West across the southern edge of Switzerland, and Luzern is to the north.
The modern day Glacier Express brand is extremely well (some might say far far too well) marketed to overseas tourists, but that masks some facts, the most important one being that it doesn’t go past any major glaciers! Geographically it runs East – West across the southern extremity of Switzerland, so does not fit in to all Swiss holiday itineraries. Just because the train exists doesn’t mean it is necessary to travel on it – there are dozens of other ways to see the same or similar Swiss alpine scenery.
The Glacier Express suits organised tours that rush you to Zermatt, then put you on the Glacier Express all day, then rush you off from St Moritz to somewhere else. But for independent tourists, there are a plenty of regular trains on these and all the other Swiss railways, so there are a zillion other sights to see in Switzerland which are ‘not’ on the Glacier Express!
If you already have lots of mountains and mountain peaks in your planned itinerary there is little point in adding the Glacier Express trip
The Glacier Express trains are special trains on the Rhaetische Bahn (RhB) and Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn (MGB) railway company lines which run in addition to normal ordinary service trains. The ‘panoramic’ coaches on these trains require a reservation or supplementary fare to be paid in addition to the normal fare. In all cases ordinary trains can be travelled on on the RhB/MGB network without paying any additional fare.
In all cases if you choose (or find yourself on) an ordinary train you won’t miss the scenery as all Swiss train carriages on these lines have large windows giving good views.
The Glacier Express started as a single train once a day each way many years ago, running slightly (but not much) faster than the regular trains and conveying a restaurant car for the wealthy to travel between the two ‘elite’ resorts of Zermatt and St Moritz.
The Glacier Express trains now are such a money spinner that they operate as ‘exclusive’ trains on otherwise ‘normal’ railway; ie the Rhaetische Bahn (RhB) and Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn (MGB) railway company lines which run in addition to normal ordinary service trains. The ‘panoramic’ coaches on these trains require a reservation or supplementary fare to be paid in addition to the normal fare. In all cases ordinary trains can be travelled on on the RhB/MGB network without paying any additional fare.
Hi Hiten!
In addition to Ildikó’s suggestions: an option for a day trip with part of the Glacier Express from Interlaken is described under “Don’t have time to do the full route?” at http://www.myswissalps.com/glacierexpress. So yes, this can be done. The differences between normal and panoramic trains are described under “Regular trains versus Glacier Express”.
Scenic train routes easier to reach from Interlaken include the GoldenPass (https://www.myswissalps.com/goldenpass) and the RegioExpress Lötschberger (https://www.myswissalps.com/lotschberger). You can consider the Regio-Express Lötschberger when making a (day) trip to Zermatt. Just as Ildikó, I’d recommend this over car traveling.
Hi Ildiko / Annika,
This group is amazing and very helpful to plan. I love just to travel by train and know it’s very good system. This trip we are four as family with 2 teen age girls. Will have 4 small carry one plus one check-in size bags, because after 9 days in swiss, we are going to Italy for 8 days. (total 20 days trip from US).
Problem with all luggage is to transfer in train or luggage transfer service from Zurich – Lucerne – Interlaken – Zermatt – Zurich. Our family also likes to spare some time on the way with nice scenery breaks. Also with car, we can stay 4 days in Grindelwald Air B&B and save time to cover more hikes / mountains.
With your info and Annika’s reply, I decided not to go Andermatt – chur Glacier express route and rather will spend two days in Zermatt after Interlaken. Will spare 1 day for train either Goldenpass express or may take train from Zermatt to Brig and back.
Where do you suggest to book accommodation around Tasch (for Zermatt)?
Drive from Interlaken to Zermatt and Zermatt to Zurich says “this route includes car transport”. What is that? Is driving straight on road or includes car transport in tunnel?
Thank you and have a nice day
Hiten
Hi Hiten,
thank you for your kind words on the forum and MySwissAlps.com. 🙂
Some people say that it is worth staying in Zermatt if you are visiting Zermatt as it has a unique atmosphere. Once I stayed in Tasch and it was also OK, not the same feeling but a cost-effective solution.
At http://www.myswissalps.com/zermatt/hotels and http://www.myswissalps.com/zermatt/rentals you can search for accommodation. I hope that will help you.
Regarding car transport, that is the Lötschberg Tunnel: http://www.myswissalps.com/car/cartrains.
Take care,
Ildiko
Hi HITEN PATEL,
It sounds like you are starting your journey in Zurich, which is north, going to Interlaken via Lucerne (somewhat south and central) down to Zermatt, which is south, and then all the way back up north to Zurich, only to go back down south to go to Italy. Perhaps I am a bit confused in your description/itinerary. Also, not sure it would be worth it to both drive, and take trains. If you’re going from Interlaken to Visp, (or Brig) just to ride part of the Glacier Express, you should consider just continuing on to Zermatt. No real reason to either drive or take train to Andermatt, only to go to Chur, and return to Andermatt in the same day just to ride on the Glacier Express. Thats almost half a day of traveling out and back (to and from Chur) when you could easily spend that time in Zermatt. (From Visp, Zermatt is only about an hour train ride.) Yes, it is definitely worth it to stay 2 nights there in Zermatt. From Zermatt you can take a train to Lugano, via Domodossola, and then (either spend the night there, or) from Lugano its only an hour and fifteen minute train to Milan, to start your journey in Italy. This way you don’t have to travel all the way back north to Zurich. You’re basically going in one direction, (from north to south) as versus backtracking from north, south, north and back south again.
I would recommend an 8 day Swiss Travel Pass (personally) as your teenage daughters should be included free of charge, I believe. (Perhaps the experts may correct me if I’m wrong on that.) You won’t have any problem what so ever transporting any luggage on the trains, as there is plenty of room on board. I hope this may help in some way. Enjoy your trip.
Regards,
Danielsan
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