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Hi Joejax, no worries. Feel free to ask if you have further questions. The moderators and fellow travellers like myself are more than happy to share.
Hi Danielsan, thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and advice.
Re Zermatt:
We found our hotel which suits our taste (we are ok with a higher budget for alpine mt experiences if the views are gorgeous) and most important very highly rated (the main priority for us because our stays are usually around 4-8N when we travel). It’s Hotel Couer Des Alpes and we chose the standard suite which has a balcony view of the Mattherhorn. So that’s settled. Unfortunately no half board.
We don’t intend to venture out of Zermatt for day trips and yes I looked at the cable cars schedule before confirming my stay in Zermatt. The only ones that will not be running will be the Sunegga cars but Gornergrat and Glacier Paradise are open. We are more than happy to just chill out at Zermatt since it should be less crowded.
From many videos, I did notice that the Matterhorn area is more “rugged” and rocky as compared to the Jungfrau region and from definitely more expensive than Wengen or Murren.. Well, will wait for our own experience this coming Nov and share my thoughts on Zermatt.
Re: Gelmerbahn – I am a little puzzled when you mentioned the toboggan ride for Gelmerbahn. The ride is more like a very (and I really mean steeeeep) open air slow funicular that only seats 24 ppl. It’s not a toboggan or alpine coast. Have you viewed videos of what to expect? Here’s an eg.
The station that you key in the sbb app will be Handegg, Gelmerbahn. I noticed that it’s a 2hr 8min journey from Wengen (excluding the walk from your hotel (Edelweiss ?) to the station. The bus ride is a very pleasant scenic one from Innerkirchen, Grimseltor and takes around 25mins.
It takes quite a bit of planning to time the visit to catch the timing for the ride up to Gelmersee from the Gerlmerbahn station and back down plus catching the bus back to Innerkirchen and train to Meiringen. Bear in mind that you need to book the rides via their website in advance, otherwise you may make a wasted trip because it’s very popular.
My suggestion if you are planning to take the Gelmerbahn: is:
1) check the weather for Gelmersee or Handegg when you arrive in Wengen. It’s no point if there is forecast for rain all day.
2) Plan your train and bus journey to Handegg, Gelmerbahn using the sbb app.
3) Look at the arrival time and give yourself 15mins to walk up the slope from the bus stop to the Gelmerbahn ticket booth.
Factor another 20 or 30mins to exchange your ticket voucher for the actual ticket before the time of your ride. There is no discount for STP or BO Pass or Half Fare if I remember. Tickets are sold for the EXACT TIME and you can’t just hop on like the cable cars. Miss the time and that’s it – no refunds whatsoever. That’s why you should arrive early to exchange your online ticket voucher for the actual paper ticket at the booth. Buy the ticket for the ride down at the same time when you do it online or you will find yourself stranded up at the lake.
The time you want to spend up there depends – we only needed 1hr up there to walk to the dam as didn’t do the the hike round the lake. According to latest reviewers, suggests some steep sections which can land you falling off if not one is not careful – so that’s why we gave the walk a miss. You can always have a little picnic there and give yourself more time – the only setback is reaching there and suddenly the weather changes. Then you are stuck up there waiting to come down only at the stipulated time of your ticket.
4) If you want to be sure of getting the 1st row in the front (which makes it super thrilling as you can a full unobstructed view of the wow scenery and steep ride), then you should factor another 10-15 mins to be in the Q.
For us, we timed our arrival at the Handegg bus stop 45mins to an hour BEFORE our actual ride. That’s just us because from our experience, we always arrive early to ensure we don’t get too behind in the Q. It gave us about 10mins grace before boarding.
Feel free to ask for more feedback should you decide to take this ride. Is it worth it? To us – definitely because the experience of going up (esp if you get the front row or at least the 2nd row) and gazing at the surroundings is wonderful, plus a particular section when you look down at how steep it is is thrilling.
Re: Glacier 3000
Actually I was wondering whether I want to include this in our Nov itinerary. Having done Mt. Titlis and practically all of the Jungfrau region and then Zermatt in Nov, I don’t know if we need to make it to Glacie 3000 – will the experience will be vastly different to warrant the cost. Maybe you can share after your trip if you make it there?. Then I will hopefully be able to decide.
Did you know there is a alpine coaster ride up in Glacier 3000? It’s open in summer depending on the weather so maybe you may wish to check it out.
Others: I stumbled on the longest mt. Coaster ride of 3km called CHURWALDEN PRADASCHIER. It’s a 20 min bus ride from Chur to the Churwalden Bergbahnen station and is open during your visit in Sept. Google search and you should be able to get a Youtube video and the official website. Unfortunately it’s closed during my Nov visit but maybe you want to check it out.
I shall put Churwalden Pradaschier, Stoos on my bucket list.
We did stay in Bettmeralp on our 2nd trip and remember going up to the Aletsch Glacier. Thankfully the clouds parted for a while for us to view the Glacier. It was a pleasant trip and tho it was nice in Bettmeralp, I think the views were pretty faraway and not as spectacular as the Jungfrau region. The only other place we felt was really different was the Engadine area when we were based in Sils Maria – the horse carriage ride all the way into the Fex Valley is a must and one of the experiences that will be forever etched in our memories of Switzerland.
I did read your trip report and recall your 1N experience up in Mt. Pilatus – hope it works out for you and be even more spectacular this time round.
St. Gallen esp the area where the abbey is – you must visit the stunning and beautiful St. Gall’s Abbey Library STIFTSBIBLIOTHEK. We found the surrounding Abbey precinct impressive and would highly recommend it esp the library. Appenzell is another nice town with its frescoes on the buildings and very picturesque main street – something different. I remember the folk museum outside of town near the cheese factory that was very informative. We are not really fans of museums and prefer the outdoors, but the audio guide did a great job with the folk museum. However if short of time, just a visit to the little town of Appenzell is enough if you are looking for something different from the wooden houses in the Bernese Oberland.
From your itinerary, I see you are comfortable enough to have 2N stays and making the best of your days. Our is minimum 3N in a place because we have the luxury of time to give some leeway for the weather and basically we just love to take our time and usually start our day trips around 10:30am after a good breakfast. We realise just one outing takes up to 5pm and by then we prefer to go back to the hotel to freshen or rest or have a pre-dinner drink in the room before having dinner in the hotel if we have half board.
Hi Leanne, regarding your question on the decision to do half board. Perhaps I will share my reasons for doing so in Wengen and then offer some advice.
Our stay in Wengen for the past 3 trips has always been Hotel Alpenrose because of the gorgeous views from the room balcony that overlooks the Lauterbrunnen valley. You can google for their website to take a look at the view. Their half board for hotel guests is CHF 20 for a 3 course dinner including coffee/tea at the end. This is a fantastic offer because there is no no no way we can get a 3 course meal (starter, main and dessert plus coffeetea) for only CHF 20 – not in Wengen and likely not in any restuarants of Switzerland.
Do you mind sharing which hotel you are staying at and how much are they charging for their Half Board?
1) Our hotel takes around 15mins to walk back from the station (it’s an uphill to the station so once we get back to the hotel after a day’s outing, we don’t want to walk out again). After a day out, we prefer to get back to the hotel, freshen up or rest with a pre-dinner drink in the room and munch on some nuts if we are a little hungry, before heading down to the hotel restaurant. Have a nice 3 course meal, take the coffee/tea out to the garden after dinner. Then back to the room. It’s way more relaxing for us this way. Most important is the Half Board dinner was good and varied each night – definitely value for money – no way we can get that outside.
2) Check if your hotel serves a good breakfast. Ours sometimes lasted us up to 4pm or 5pm. In between if we felt a little peckish, we just stopped at a cafe during the day for a light snack or drink or ice cream. We like the idea as Yolanda mentioned, of having a nice hot meal waiting for us at the end of a long day out. This cuts the need to look for a restaurant or checking out opening times and reservations.
I think the Jungfrau region esp Wengen seems to be less expensive that many other places we have been to. In some cities it can cost 2px CHF 80-100 in a mid range restaurant. So CHF 20 at our hotel is an amazing deal. Hotel Meiringen which we stayed on our last trip (before going to Wengen) charged CHF 45 for a 3 course dinner which was very substantial and good value too. Just mains alone can cost CHF45 so half board with 3 courses is a way of the hotels “rewarding” their guests.
Suggestion: Some hotels with Half Board allow you to let them know one day in advance if you intend to have the Half Board so yes, do check what your hotel policies are. I strongly recommend you take the Half Board on the arrival night as you will be tired after a long day of travel and the last thing you want is to go looking for a restaurant. In addition, you may also wish to consider having the Half Board the night before departure if it’s an early departure. So that leaves you 3 nights to eat out if you wish.
As you still have time, do look up the restaurants in Wengen/Murren/Grindelwald and check out their websites for:
(1) menu prices. So it’s good for you to take a look at the prices and that way you can work out your meal budget and decide.
(2) opening days and times: many outlets close on Sundays so you may wish to consider having dinner at your hotel if your stay includes a Sunday. Also some are shut after lunch and only open up at dinner time. That’s why it’s crucial you do your homework beforehand on opening days and times. Also make sure if eating outside of Wengen, that you have enough time to return, if you need to take any cable cars or trains back to Wengen and not be stranded.
(3) Check if reservations are required to avoid being turned away.
(4) how far is the restaurant in Wengen to your hotel if you see yourself walking back at night.
Recommendations:
As we were not dining out for dinner, there is only one restaurant that we can recommend should you wish to stop for a meal. It’s GRINDELWALD BLICK (they have a website). This is during your tail end of the PANORAMIC WALK from Mannlichen, just before you reach K.Scheidegg. The beef goulash is tasty – that plus a ginger beer soda will cost around CHF 25.
and I recall the rosti with sausage many years back was pretty decent. Just make sure you have enough time to catch the rides back to Wengen if you intend to have a full meal there as sometimes service can be slow.
Another restaurant you can try whilst up in Murren is at Hotel Alpenblick Murren – I think they only open from 5pm to 20:30pm and are closed on Mon.. Please check to be sure. We stayed in the hotel on our 2nd visit years back and the food was pretty good and prices were not frightfully expensive. They are known for their fried chicken and pork. Reviews still seem to be favourable.
We did try some restaurants up in the mts like the one near the Grindelwald First Cliff bridge – it was very expensive and self catering. Did not enjoy the quality of the dishes. But again, sometimes it’s a hit and miss with the food or service, depending who is on duty.
For Reviews on Hotels and Restaurants: we get a good idea from comparing opinions. But sometimes it can be subjective and rather mixed so I try to see what is the main gripe by most about a particular hotel. In my trips, As much as possible I look for hotels or establishments that have reviews which are rated average and higher with no poor or unsatisfactory as we usually stay at least 4N.
I usually book directly with the hotels to ensure there is no miscommunication with going through a 3rd party esp when there are changes to dates or cancellations. The hotel websites these days have direct online booking which allows us to make cancellations or changes and the information on the rooms are usually more detailed and accurate. Hotels are actually much happier if we book direct as they don’t need to pay commission fees to these 3rd parties. I can also email the hotels directly for enquiries more easily
So my suggestion is to check reviews on these 3 links:
(1) Google map app
(2) Tripadvisor
(3) Booking.com for hotel reviews.. I only use Booking.com for reviews. However, again this is a personal choice as some find it more convenient to use a 3rd party.
IMP: Always settle your hotel bill the day or night before the checkout day – this gives you time to sort out any problems with the billing and look through the items carefully.
I think I have tried my best to cover as much as possible for you to ponder over….
If you don’t mind sharing which hotel you are staying in Wengen – we have an idea of the distance.
Regards
Hi TravelJet,
We are booked in for 3N at Hotel Baren, Wengen & our room rate does include breakfast though I haven’t looked into what that might include. Their Halfboard is 48CHF pp.
When I booked that hotel I was focused on reviews which are all very positive. I’ve since had a look at their restaurant menu and I’d have to say my Foodie friends would likely be rather envious. I would describe their menus as a fine dining style which is great for a treat but not necessarily something we would enjoy every day. I’ve communicated with the Hotel today to see if we can extend our stay because we now have an additional 2 days since changing our plans in relation to Zermatt and the panoramic trains. Their Halfboard offer is something we would have to commit to for the duration of our stay, so we aren’t able to select it for part of our stay, perhaps thats because we aren’ there for long. Anyhow I’m off to look for accommodation in the area for the final nights before we transit to Italy.
Cheers, Leanne
Hi Leanne, we have passed Hotel Baren every time we walked from the station to Hotel Alpenrose. There is a short incline going down to Hotel Baren and up to the station – did you check if they have a shuttle to bring your luggages during check in and out? It can be tiring esp uphill if you have larger suitcases and hand carry bags as well. Doable but still a slight huff and puff up to the station with luggages and tho there may be wheels on the bags, it’s still much better to have their hotel shuttle esp for retirees or seniors. It’s not a long uphill walk but still something to think about if you have luggages to deal with at a particular section of the slope.
Sorry, I am not sure what you meant by not being able to select Half Board for part of your stay because you aren’t there for long. They won’t allow you to have just 2 or 3 Half Boards during your 5N stay? Is there a minimum requirement?
Alternatively, why don’t you just book the rooms without Half Board and decide when you are there, whether you want to just order ala carte directly from the restaurant on days you want to dine in? But the downside is that you have to pay the ala carte prices on the menu instead of enjoying a pretty big discount on the 3 course set meal.
It is a waste of precious time for you to stay 3N in one hotel and 2N in another because you lose part of the day checking in and out of 2 hotels if they are in Wengen. That time could be better used for your full day trip. Perhaps you can look at the reviews of the other hotels near the station and rebook for 5N (assuming you booked a free cancellation option and not a non-refundable booking).
But before you decide to do any rebookings or booking – I suggest you look at your dining options first. You don’t want to end up having difficulty getting a restaurant after a long hard day of activity.
The alternative to 5N in one hotel in Wengen is :
(1) remain 3N at Hotel Baren – stick to your Half Board at Hotel Baren. Essentially, you only have 2 full days in Wengen out of the 3N. Do the rides to Mannlichen, the Panoramic Walk to Kleine Scheidegg, take Eiger Express to Grindelwald Terminal and back to Mannlichen down to Wengen. Next day do the Grindelwald First cable cars using the route I mentioned in my earlier post (where you take the bus from Grindelwald Terminal). After a long day, it will be nice to just go back to the hotel to relax and have a good dinner. I can’t remember about the street lights on the way to Hotel Baren since we did not venture out at night.. Maybe that’s why we always opt for the Half Board to cut out the hassle. We are not big eaters and the Half Board portions were always just nice.
(2) For the extra 2N, book those 2N in Lauterbrunnen where you can do the activities at Murren during those 2 days. Try to get a hotel near the Lauterbrunnen train station so it’s more convenient for ease of movement. The station for the rides up to Grutschalp to Murren is just opposite the Lauterbrunnen train station. It will be very convenient for you to go up to Murren from Lauterbrunnen.
Get an early start when you check out of Hotel Baren. Then leave your bags at the hotel in Lauterbrunnen – walk the valley to the Staubbach falls etc. The next day you can spend a full day up in Murren eg. Go up to Allmendhubel; take the walk down to little Gimmelwald and walk around that little halmlet, then take the ride up Murren to buy your tickets for Birg to take the Thrill walk and Schilthorn.
Please check the sbb app for the routes and webcams for the weather and cloud cover.
Remember those tips I gave you on what to check when looking online for restaurants to dine out – esp opening hours, days and menu prices, menu selections. You can try having dinner at Hotel Alpbenblick Murren or any restaurants up there or down at Lauterbrunnen.
The plus point in having 2N in Lauterbrunnen is that on check out day to Zurich, you have one less train transfer to make on that day. If you were coming from Wengen to Zurich, you would have to change trains at Lauterbrunnen anyway.
So in a nutshell, 3N in Hotel Baren and another 2N in Lauterbrunnen since you would still be there to do the Murren activities even if you had stayed put in Wengen.
Again, it’s just my suggestion – trust you will do what is necessary to decide what’s best for you.
Thanks Traveljet,
Lucky we have been doing altitude training in anticipation of this trip, it sonds like it will come in handy when we arepushing our lugggage up the hills 🙂 Yes, it is correct that our first hotel seems to have an all or nothing approach to half-board, you can’t have it for some nights of your stay, you have to either select it or not and it’s global to the entire stay. Perhaps if it’s attached to the room rate then that probably makes their accounts easier to manage. I’m guessing that might be why. We aren’t that worried about not having halfboard as it seems like a lot more food than we would normally eat (3 or 4 courses) . We will take our chances on finding tasty morsels on our daily adventures and will probably treat ourselves to one or two ‘special’ meals if we find something that appeals. Food isn’t really our focus while we are in the Alps, I’m sure we will find plenty of options to make sure we can spend our days rambling as far and wide as we please. We leave Switzerland for Italy so we can catch up on lost calories there!
Hi Leanne, so that means you will be looking for alternative hotels or you will be able to book Hotel Baren without the Half Board? I am not sure whether you managed to secure the extra 2N at the same hotel.
As for pushing the luggages uphill, it would not hurt to just email and ask them whether they supply the hotel shuttles to pick and drop you off. I usually let the hotel know that I will email them when I am on the train – then they can expect the time of our arrival and have the shuttle at the station.
Regards.
Hi TravelJet,
Correct, we will split our wengen stay between the hotels and we won’t change our booking with Baron to add the halfboard and I don’t think Jungfraublick offer evening meals but I may be mixed up there … I’ve been looking at so many hotels tonight!
I’m approaching our hotel transfer as an adventure where we get to see the village and valley from a slightly different angle. As we will already be in town, we will be able to scope out where our second hotel is located (Hotel Jungfraublick) and decide whether we will use their shuttle to move our luggage up the hill or consider pushing them uphill to be part of our daily exercise. We can store our luggage at the hotel prior to check-in so it shouldn’t be a problem to check out from Baren early in the morning and check in to leave our luggage at Hotel Jungfraublick before setting of on our daily adventure. Thats the plan, if it unfolds differently, we will bend and flex like yoga guru’s and adapt to whatever the situation is. Cheers
Perfect LeanneSamAU,
Yes, bend and flex like yoga guru’s. 😉
Have a great trip ahead. I am sure you will.
Kind regards,
Yolanda
Hi Leanne, ok so looks like you have decided. We saw Hotel Jungfraublick at the end of the main street when we took a walk to the church.
There is a local grocer along the main street heading to Jungfraublick as well as a coop supermarket on the way to Hotel Baren. Bring your own bag as they don’t provide any.
Start carrying weights to build the arm and biceps for carrying luggages during the trains and to the hotels. Strengthen the legs for the amazing walks in the region. 😁
Hope to hear from you after your trip.
Hey TravelJet,
I will definitely let you know how we get on. We have been doing Altitude training at a gym called ‘Air Locker’ where you do a group high intensity workout in a simulated altitude atmosphere of about 3600m or there abouts.. Some days it’s higher & some lower. We pretty much live at sea level so we didn’t want to waste any time feeling a bit unwell if we should be susceptible to altitude sickness. We modify quite a few of the activities that all the fit youngsters are doing to better suit our condition but even so, I do think we are toning our ‘luggage’ muscles and ‘hiking legs’ quite well. I’ll let you know how deluded we are once we face the real thing 🤣
Hi Leanne, LOL ok will wait for your trip report once you have completed your circuit of Europe. Frankly, there should not be any issues with altitude sickness unless you are going up to Jungfraujoch station. The other sections are easy peasy where altitude sickness is concerned, so says this 68yo. Hahaha. What you need more is to tone your muscles to carry, pull and push those luggages up the train platforms and hotel slopes. Our daily walk up the slight steep incline (that short section which you will encounter from Hotel Baren to the station) without luggages resulted in toned butt cheeks😂
All the best!
Hi traveljet,
Sorry for the delay in responding.
As far as the Gelmerbahn goes, I believe I am going to play that one by ear. Being in Meiringen, as you were, it sounds a l⁹ot less complicated and obviously a lot c99loser than from Wengen. So we’ll see how it goes. When I went 5 years ago, I9 was given some brochures of the BO area, and there was a photo of people in what I now see is the Gelmerbahn. Only by reading your trip report and going to look it up on Google maps had I realized that is what the photo was of since the brochure never did specify. Anyway, thank you for the very idea.
Yes, I am familiar with the toboggan run up at the Glacier 3000. As you probably had read in my report, I was very close to seeing it. I will definitely get there this time around!
The closest I would be getting to either the Graubunden or even Chur would be Stoos on this trip. Thanks for the heads-up on the CHURWALDEN PRADASCHIER, which I will look into on my next trip. That and the eastern/southern Graubunden and southern part of the country. I want to see/hike around in the Swiss Nat Park area as well. Again, next trip. I read a little on your trip report about that area. Between you and Marc, (?,) I believe it looks like enough info to get around the area).
I do want to see St Gall and the abbey there and the library. I am thinking of making a day of going there and the falls, with a stop at Stein am Rein along the way. Again, we’ll see how that goes, weather dictating things. Also, I’m thinking about a day trip to Bern for one last hoo-rah before departing. We’ll save the Appenzell area for the next trip as well….There is so much to see.
I’m definitely looking forward to spending the night up on Pilatus again. The peacefulness and serenity up there after the crowds leave for the night, and before returning in the morning, the gazillion stars, it’s just hard to put into words.
As far as Zermatt goes, I looked at the hotel you’re at. I almost changed my reserves, but I can’t quite justify a suite for just me. (Does that include breakfast, it was hard to tell.) I know you said it didn’t include halfboard, which I know you like. There are so many places to eat in Zermatt that you shouldn’t have any problem at all. One persons opinion of food can vary so much (and being a cook for some forty years) that one basically has to try their own place to eat. One place was the Victoria directly across from the Gornergrat rail station. (Again, in my report.)
You can’t go wrong with the Gornergrat while you’re there. Even if you don’t hike so much, you can still buy the ticket, and basically hike from/to any of the stops along the way. Or just hang out up there. Your choice, of course. Again, being November, I just don’t know if it will be green or snow-white. But you do have the luxury of staying there for 8 nights and playing things by ear. I did go to (as you read in my trip report) to both the Glacier Paradise as well as the Gornagrat on the same day. That (the Gornergrat) was my 2nd highlight. Stunning. Many folks like to go the Gornergrat earlier due to better lighting of the Matterhorn. Just so happens I did the reverse, and I have no regrets seeing the sun go down over the Matterhorn. Again, I don’t know how things will be in Nov, as I was there in Sept. Dont forget to walk around the village and take it in. In 1975, it was just a sleepy, beautiful little village. It still is, but just so much more than that now.
I will be back online after this trip. Thanks for all your info/tips along the way.
Regards,
Danielsan
Hi Danielsan, thanks for the reply and we look forward to your report after your Sept Trip. In answer to my Zermatt accomodation Coeur Des Alps – unfortunately no half board. You could always choose a normal hotel room rather than a suite as they have options. But I suppose it’s rather late to do that. Wish you a great journey and safe travel!
Anna, I tried to see that tab on both the SBB app on iphone and also the SBB.CH website , clicking on the journey, but can see no train configuration tab at the top. Any chance you could attach a screen shot of it? Thanks in advance.
Hi PlymouthGus!
Would you mind opening a new thread for this question? It will be noticed much better than in this trip report thread. Thanks in advance :-)!
Hi traveljet,
Yes, I saw no halfboard at the Couer des Alps. Bummer, but I wanted to know if breakfast was included. I did see it eventually. As half board is to you, breakfast is to me. Anyway, I am holding on to my reserve at the Phoenix hotel. A bit away from it all, but no worries, as I have no problem walking at all through the village. It is closer to the Sunnegga, which is a detinite destination this time around.
Regards,
Danielsan
I enjoyed reading your detailed trip report! We will leave from US to Zurich for our three week trip in Switzerland ( will visit Milano for one day on our way from zermatt to Lugano ) ! we are originally from Singapore ! You are so lucky able to visit such a beautiful country many times and hope you enjoy your next trip with Christmas Market ! I will enjoy reading the report about Christmas and zermatt in winter as well 😄
Thanks Fiona. Enjoy your trip and if hiccups happen along the way, it’s part and parcel of the travel so don’t let that spoil the fun. As long as you have your notes to look up in case of a change of plans.
We look forward to your trip report too.
Hi! Thank you for your advise! Very useful. That was exactly what i was worried about travelling from montreux to zermatt since the glacier express isnt available in November. Can i ask if this would be a trip with many many stops and each rushing from platform to platform? I am travelling with my husband and a child of 12 and we each hv a luggage which is min. 26 inches. Any advise on this situation? Thank you!
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