Jungfrau hiking trip, how to include Glacier Gorge and other trails?
A traveler is planning a hut-to-hut trip in the Bernese Oberland from September 1 to 11. They need advice on their tight itinerary, including whether to add a canyon swing and which travel pass is best for their journey. They're also concerned about the difficulty of the hikes based on their fitness level.
- Consider adding the canyon swing at Glacier Gorge on Day 4, staying flexible with your plans for hikes.
- Use the Swiss Half Fare Card and Berner Oberland Pass for cost-effective travel in the area.
- Account for booking accommodations in advance for huts, especially during busy times.
- Check the weather daily to ensure safe hiking conditions.
AI-generated summary-
We fly into Zurich on September 1 and out of Zurich on the 11th.This trip was set up to be a hut to hut in the Bernese Oberland area. This is what I have currently. At the end, I will tell you what I need help with. We will be traveling with just a back pack.
Day 1: Flight arrives @ 1040. Travel to Schynige Platte. If we aren’t jet lagged we may try to stop in Interlaken and see Giessbach Falls
Day 2: Hike from Schynige Platte to First.
Day 3: First to Glecksteinhutte. I’m not sure if we will hike the whole way or take gondola down or a scooter. We would possibly add on Chrinnenhorn after we arrive at Glecksteinhutte.
Day 4: Glecksteinhutte to Baregg. Original plan was to drop off our bags and possibly hike towards Schreckhorn. This may be too technical of a hike for us.
Day 5: Baregg then Staying in Wengen: Hike from Baregg to Eiger Trail then most likely take train to Wengen
Day 6 and 7 in Murren: There are so many trails I want to do around here. I will write more about this below
Day 8: Murren to Obersteinberg. I would really like to explore the waterfalls and other trails around Obersteinberg
Day 9: Obersteinberg to Lucerne.
Day 10: Explore Lucerne
Day 11: Lucerne to Zurich. We fly out at 1240
Were I am struggling…I would like to add the canyon swing at Glacier Gorge. Could this be done on day 4 or 5?I don’t feel like I have enough time around Lauterbrunnen. Trails I would like to do are1. Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg2. North Face Trail by Murren3. Trummelbach Falls4. Chilchbalm (Sefinental Valley)5. Schithorn (can this be added on the the North Face Trail)6. I would like to do the Via Ferrate however I don’t think I can talk my boyfriend into doing that7. Anything we should not miss?
Should I skip Baregg or Lucerne and stay another day in Murren/Lauterbrunnen/Wengen?We are middle aged and in average shape. Is this itinerary to strenuous for us?
Thank you in advance for any and all suggestionsAny suggestions on if we should get a travel pass or just pay as we go?
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Hi NDgirl,
Thank you for sharing your itinerary.
I would include the hike to the Glacier Gorge on Day 4. From Bäregg, continue hiking for another 5km to get to the Glacier Gorge. Just follow the sign to Gletscherschlucht. To get back to Wengen, take a bus or walk to Grindelwald station where you’ll find regular connection to Wengen.
I would recommend getting a Jungfrau Travel Pass (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/jungfrau-travel-pass/) if you are staying and exploring the Jungfrau region for a few days.
Regards,
Anna
Thank you Anna for your recommendation. I was leaning toward the swiss half fare pass and the berner oberland pass. Is the Jungfrau pass better for us?
Hi NDgirl,
Using the Berner Oberland Pass and the Swiss Half Fare Card is definitely a better option! Certainly more practical when you are travelling not just in the Jungfrau region. You can find more information in the links below:
Swiss Half Fare Card: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-half-fare-card/
Berner Oberland Pass: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/berner-oberland-pass/
Regards,
Anna
Hi NDGirl!
You’re certainly going to visit some of the most spectacular places in Switzerland, but I fear you may be trying to pack in to much. It’s usually better to do less and savor the experience more.
Another problem, the huts in Switzerland don’t always lend themselves to hut-to-hut hiking. A lot of them are at a higher elevation than say the huts of the Tour de Mont Blanc and are there for mountaineers to access higher peaks rather than as way points on a longer trip. Going to the Gleckstein is a magical experience, but there’s no direct connection to another hut. The Berghaus Bäregg is the same unless you want to climb up to the Schreckhornhütte, but that’s more of a base for climbers doing the high peaks. A more hut-to-hut experience would be to start from the Hotel Obersteinberg near Mürren, walk to the Rotstockhütte, cross the Seffinefurgga pass (Bit of a slog up a scree slope) walk to the Blüemlisalphütte, then down to Griesalp in the Kiental Valley.
My wife and I bought the Half Fare card (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-half-fare-card/) and used it to buy the Oberland Pass (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/berner-oberland-pass/) last year and they worked great!
Some other tips; If you’re going to spend any time in the hills, it’s a good idea to have insurance that includes medical evacuation. The full cost of a helicopter rescue is almost as painful as the broken leg.
Put emergency numbers in your phone: 112 is the International Emergency number and the operator will connect you to the service you need. 1414 is for Air Rescue.
You will need to book ahead to stay in most huts, especially during the European holidays and take a torch or head lamp as a lot of huts don’t have electricity and check out the rules for the specific huts you intend to stay in. The SAC (Swiss Alpine Club) website is a good place to look for any info as they own most of the huts.
Check the weather with SwissMeteo everyday as well as any webcams in your area to make sure it is safe to travel.
And finally, there are more places to visit in the Jungfrau region than you can fit into a short trip, the trick is not to try and see them all. Besides, it gives you a reason to go back!
Have Fun,
Alan.
Thank you for your response. I do have all of my accommodations booked. However, I did change to staying another night in Lauterbrunnen after Obersteinberg. We will just go to Lucerne on the last day, see Chapel Bridge and the lake. Then head leave from Lucerne in the morning to head back to Zurich in the morning. I do understand that this isn’t a true hut to hut and we are going to have to be flexible. If we are truly too tired to hike the whole ways, we can take transportation part of the way. Or if weather is super bad, we may need to figure something else out. I really didn’t want to just stay in a town and do day hikes for the whole trip. I have my heart set on staying at Gleckstein and Obersteinberg. The other places were just places that I thought would be fun along the way.
Is it really going to cost us 872 CHF for 2 people? I see the swiss half fare pass is 120CHF per person and the Berner Oberland pass is 632CHF for 10 days…574 for 8 days (I think we could get by with 8 days). That seems like a lot of money. When I was looking for trains that we may potentially need, it seemed like it wouldn’t be that much.
Hi NDgirl,
Further to Alan’s advice about having insurance that includes helicopter rescue, here is an option if your normal travel insurance doesn’t explicitly cover mountain rescue / helicopter rescue:
A Rega “patronage” costs CHF 40. It’s an annual subscription – shorter periods are not available. It doesn’t renew automatically, so you don’t need to remember to cancel it.
Hope this info is useful!
Alpenrose
Alpenrose,
Does the membership include insurance if needing rescue? I didn’t see anything on the website that eludes to this. It just says what the rega does. Or at least not that I found.
Hi NDgirl,
Rega patronage is not insurance. Generally speaking, if you are a patron, Rega will provide you with its rescue services free of charge if your insurance is not liable to pay.
The “fine print” is here:
https://www.rega.ch/en/rega-patron/become-a-patron/conditions-of-patronage
Hope this clarifies things!
Alpenrose
Hi NDgirl,
Is it really going to cost us 872 CHF for 2 people? I see the swiss half fare pass is 120CHF per person and the Berner Oberland pass is 632CHF for 10 days…574 for 8 days (I think we could get by with 8 days).
The Berner Oberland Pass covers public transport and mountain transportation so you won’t have to worry about purchasing tickets to use the gondola/ cable cars. But if you’re only using a few mountain transportation maybe you can get away with just getting a Swiss Half Fare Card and pay for the gondola/ cable cars as you go. You have to do the math to determine if that would in fact be more cost-effective. You can find useful tips on how to choose the best railpass here: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel/tickets/compare/
Regards,
Anna
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