How to get to Grindelwald-First from Männlichen
A traveler, Joanna, is planning to visit Grindelwald and wants to know if she can take a cable car from Männlichen to Grindelwald. She seeks advice on the best travel route to combine visiting Männlichen and Grindelwald First in one day.
- You can take a cable car from Männlichen to Grindelwald Terminal, then a train or bus to Grindelwald First.
- Traveling directly by train from Wengen to Grindelwald is faster and simpler.
- If you have a Swiss Travel Pass, check the discounts available for each route, as some mountain excursions may have added costs.
AI-generated summary-
Is it possible to take a cable car from Mannlichen to Grindelwald? We ultimately play to go up to First. Any advice?
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Hi Joanna,
From Männlichen you can take the cable car down to Grindelwald Terminal. From Grindelwald Terminal, take the train to Grindelwald, then take a bus or walk (abt 10 – 15 mins) to the Grindelwald First valley station.
You can find more details on how to travel to Grindelwald First here: http://www.myswissalps.com/grindelwaldfirst/gettingthere
Regards,
Anna
We’re staying in Wengen. Would it be faster to just take the train from Wengen to Grindelwald? Thank you.
Hi Joanna6,
Yes, it would be faster and simpler to just take the train. You can check train schedules on the timetable.
However if you’re planning to combine a trip to Männlichen and Grindelwald First in one day, travelling via the cable car is perhaps convenient and practical.
Regards,
Anna
Hi Joanna6,
There are 3 ways to get from Wengen to Grindelwald:
- By train through Lauterbrunnen and Zweilütschinen. This takes about 55 minutes.
- By cable car to Männlichen and by gondola down to Grindelwald (https://www.myswissalps.com/mannlichen/gettingthere). This too takes about 55 minutes.
- By cogwheel train via Kleine Scheidegg (part of the route towards Jungfraujoch: https://www.myswissalps.com/jungfraujoch/gettingthere). This takes about 1h25.
Options 1 and 2 will be displayed in the timetable by default, as those are the quickest routes: https://www.myswissalps.com/timetable. If you want to find details about 3, enter “Kleine Scheidegg” as a via-station.
Option 1 is perfectly fine and it’s a scenic ride. In terms of scenery I’d prefer option 2 or 3 though: they provide a more up-close view of the mountains.
If you have a rail pass (https://www.myswissalps.com/train/ticketspasses), it’s worth checking how much discount is provided for each route. That could be a decisive factor too.
Hi Joanna6,
A variation to Arno’s ‘number 2’ option is to hike/walk down to Kleine Scheidegg from Mannlichen (the Granny Walk). I realize this isn’t exactly the fast way to get there, (approx. an hour and a half depending on photo/pit stops), but you have a full view of the Eiger in front of you the whole time. The Monch and Jungfrau as well for a lot of it. Very impressive scenery. From Kleine Scheidegg down to Grindelwald its about a half hour train ride. If you start early enough, you shouldn’t have any problem combining this with Grindelwald First.
On ”number 3″, the train portion between Wengen and Kleine Scheidegg is not covered by the Swiss Travel Pass (If you’re using that). After I did the Granny Walk from Mannlichen to K.S., I rode the train back to Wengen and to my surprise it wasn’t covered by my STP. I recall being a wee bit upset and I believe it cost about twenty dollars just for that ride alone. Perhaps it has changed since 2018. (Maybe 1960man, or other experts may know?)
Enjoy your trip.
Regards,
Danielsan
Thanks, everyone! Good options.
Hi Danielsan,
Thanks for your input. Including the Männlichen-Kleine Scheidegg hike is a great idea!
The 25% discount between Wengen/Grindelwald/Kleine Scheidegg/Jungfraujoch with a Swiss Travel Pass exists for a pretty long time. I think this was also the case in 2018. It’s an exception to nearly all other mountain routes, that are discounted by 50% (https://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass/validity) so I understand you were a bit surprised. The exact discounts can vary significantly per pass and route. In many cases, the free traveling offered by the Swiss Travel Pass on all regular train, bus and boat routes makes up for the lower Jungfraujoch discount percentage. I hope this was the case for your as well.
Hi Arno,
I have 2 questions regarding your last post.
1) If I had done the Granny walk TO Kleine Scheidegg, are you saying it would have cost additional to go to Grindelwald from KS as well? (As it did to go to Wengen.)
2) And if so, is that because it is part of the mountain excursion (route) to Jungfraujoch?
That was the only place I did incur additional charges on my whole trip.
Regards,
Danielsan
Hi Danielsan!
1) Yes, Grindelwald-Kleine Scheidegg is and was discounted by 25% as well, so you would have needed an additional ticket: see https://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass/validity and http://www.myswissalps.com/jungfraujoch/tickets.
2) Yes. Basically, the Swiss Travel Pass offers free traveling on all “normal” transportation used to reach Swiss cities, villages, regular facilities, et cetera. Mountain routes are mostly discounted. Those are considered to be additional excursions. Plus, mountain routes are pretty expensive to maintain and keep safe and up-to-date. The exact conditions vary per pass and sometimes per year. The basic rule is 50% off with a Swiss Travel Pass, but there are exceptions. The Jungfraujoch route is 25% discounted from Grindelwald/Wengen, but on the other hand, Rigi (https://www.myswissalps.com/rigi) and Stanserhorn (https://www.myswissalps.com/stanserhorn) are fully covered for example.
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