MySwissAlps.com features ads, commercial and non-commercial May 2017-Glacier 3000 and Golden Pass
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I need some advice for the train from Montreux to Lauterbrunnen. Copied this information:
Train from Montreux to Lauterbrunnen:
The full route of the GoldenPass scenic line actually goes from Montreux to Lucerne, not Lauterbrunnen. The connection from Montreux to Lucerne on the GoldenPass line involves 2 train changes en route; once in Zweisimmen and then once in Interlaken. You can take a connection from Montreux to Lauterbrunnen that goes via Zweisimmen and Interlaken, in which case you would be on the GoldenPass scenic route until you get to Interlaken. Interlaken is then just a short train ride from Lauterbrunnen. In its entirety, this connection from Montreux to Lauterbrunnen would take just over 3.5 hours in duration. More details about reservations at this link.
(community.raileurope.c om/raileurope/topics/g oldenpass-reservation-from-montreux-to-lauterbrunnen) (We have the Swiss Pass.)
We can book the trip from Montreux to Lauterbrunnen the day before, so I don’t think that we need to book online now??
Glacier 3000
Another piece to this day is Glacier 3000, which we would love to experience if the weather is clear enough. I read that you take the train from Montreux to Les Diablerets, and then a postbus(can’t find the cost on this) to the cable car station in Col du Pillon and on to Glacier 3000. (We will have the Swiss Pass). I have been trying to figure out Glacier 3000. The tickets are sold as return or one way. I assume return is another way of saying round trip. We would be there for the views, the Peak Walk looks amazing, walking or snow bus on the glacier. Although that may be my husband only on the Peak Walk, will have to see it to decide for me! :):)
I have read some pretty negative reviews for Glacier 3000, with one comment that it was going out of business. I would love to hear from the forum on the topic of Glacier 3000, opinions and tips.
If we stop at Glacier 3000, is there a way to take the Golden Pass Train from there to Interlaken? We started the trip with the Cable car at Col du Pilon, we would return there. I could sure use some help right now. How to get from there to the Golden Pass and Interlaken. From Interlaken we will take the train to Lauterbrunnen.
It is 1 hour and 22 minutes from Montreux to Les Diablerets. We start the day early at Glacier 3000. I think we need several hours there, you opinion. We need to get a train to Interlaken. I have looked and haven’t quite figured it out yet. I don’t think there is any way to ride the Golden Pass from Les Diablerets to Interlaken. When I googled it, I found routes that had a taxi and then a bus and then a train. Can someone send me in the right direction?:)
Thank you for your advice.
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Hi travlplanner-
For almost all train rides in Switzerland (not those that go outside the country, and not certain special panoramic trains) ) no reservations are need. Just get on and go. (Better have a ticket or a rail pass, of course. ;-))
For certain special scenic trains, including the Glacier Express, and only the special cars on the Golden Pass route, reservations are NOT necessary.
If you want to ride in the special cars on the Golden Pass route, reservations are certainly a good idea.
http://www.myswissalps.com/go ldenpass
To find your way around, use the map:
(use the menus and zoom in for train lines) and the timetable, in combination.
http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable
Slowpoke
I continued searching and finally found what had eluded me. I found that we can get a bus from Les Diablerets (I think that is where we end the cable car ride at the end of the day, that is where we started.) to Gstaad, time about an hour. From Gstaad we can take a train to Interlaken (about two hours) and last a train to Interlaken (30 minutes). We would start the day in Montreux and take the train to Glacier 3000, arriving approximately when it opens that morning.
I hope this is at least close! If the weather is good we could make this a day. It is looking like a really long day of buses and trains. I’m questioning whether it fits. I don’t know how much time we need at Glacier 3000, but thinking 4 hours would be okay. Any thoughts on this. The option would be to go straight to Lauterbrunnen.
This website was a great help with the train schedules.
Hi Travelplannr,
If I read correctly, you want to start the day in Montreux, go to the Glacier 3000 and then end the day in Interlaken or was it Luzern? You typed Interlaken twice as a destination.
If you want to take the Golden Pass route, the yes, take the train to Gstaad from the Glacier 3000 and start the trip there to Interlaken and then on to another town if that is your wish.
I think an average of 3 hours would be about right at the Glacier 3000: http://www.myswissalps.com/glacier3000.
The Swiss railways website is indeed a good website to find train connections – you will use it a lot!
Regards,
Lucas
Hi travelplannr –
First- a correction to my earlier post- I wrote mistakenly –
<<“For certain special scenic trains, including the Glacier Express, and only the special cars on the Golden Pass route, reservations are NOT necessary. If you want to ride in the special cars on the Golden Pass route, reservations are certainly a good idea.”>>
I should have written <<” EXCEPT for……”>>
I apologize if I caused any confusion.
Second –
I notice that you chose April 10th for your schedule check.
It is good idea to check the actual date that you plan to travel, especially as there may be seasonal changes in May.
I looked up the Glacier3000 website and note that the Winter activities are listed for October through May. In most high alpine areas, the snow at the end of may is not too good for skiing….don’t know about conditions at Glacier 3000. It may be at high enough altitude to be OK for what you want to do.
I have looked at some maps, including one from the Glacier 3000 web site, which is a *.PDF;
http://www.glacier3000.ch/en/ information/flyers-and-maps.
Good panoramic map.
This link from Mapsearch.ch shows the general location. If you zoom in, you can see the train line details. If you turn on “Traffic” in the “Points of Interest” menu, you can display public transport stops.
map.search.ch/Col-du-Pillon,Glacier-3000-Station-Stop?pos=595520,139392&z=4& poi=default
Mouse over the icon for the public transport stops, and you get transport schedules at that stop in the near future.
Mapsearch.ch for some reason does not show altitudes, useful for judging weather ….colder at higher altitudes and Winter lasts longer than in the valleys. So, I added a link to SwissTopo, the most comprehensive map with many optional details:
That will give you the lay of the land. As you note, Col du Pillon and les Diablerets are not on the main “Golden Pass ” route between Montreux and Interlaken.
The rail line to les Diablerets is a branch line from the main line in the Rhone Valley running up from Aigle. Many of those lines are very scenic. I have riden the one up to Villars a few times, but not the one to les Diablerets.
The bus #180 runs from les Diablerets past Col-du-Pillon, with a stop at the cable car for Glacier 3000, and onward to Gstaad and Saanen. ( The “Navette” is a small bus on some routes when there are few passengers. One definition that I found is “shuttle bus” Maybe the Glacier 3000 place has a shuttle bus? I did not look further.)
If you spend time on the Mapsearch.CH map, using the menus, with Traffic and Public Transport Stops turnd on, you can see the stop at the cable car. It is most likely a “halt on demand” stop….I did not easily find it on the on-line timetable.
Bus #180 seems to run about once per hour, only during midday hours. Limited service! –
So, you are right about the bus, but it may not be available when you want it.
I note that Glacier 3000 has a “contact” form. I’d ask them about the bus connections.
Slowpoke
Slowpoke, thank you for the detailed information. I will spend time checking out the transportation. At this point, I think we are ready to think about Switzerland. This trip is not as detail planned as I like, but then again part of the adventure is just figuring it out as you go. I know people there will be generous in offering advice and help. Because of the time of year I’m sure weather will also dictate part of our decisions. With help from Fodor’s Forum I have learned so much and you have started me in the right direction.
I have one final question. If we stop at Glacier 3000, we will have to use the service that takes our baggage ahead of us to Laurterbrunnen. We have not done this anywhere before. Are the security issues with you baggage? Maybe a better way to ask, Has anyone encountered problems using this service that we need to be aware of when we set up having our luggage travel from Montreux to Lauterbrunnen without us?
Thank you all! We look forward to our first trip to Switzerland, the culture, the adventure, the beauty!
Hi travelplannr,
I haven’t used the SBB’s luggage service that often, but when I did it worked perfectly. The Swiss railways generally work in a reliable and efficient way, so if I were you I wouldn’t hesitate to use it. Please find more information and links at myswissalps.com/train/ practical/luggage.
Hi travelplannr –
I have used the service routinely. It works well and has always been secure for me.
No one is perfect, but one of the things that I really like about travel in Switzerland is that it works as advertised. The luggage service has never failed me
You should take care to note the different prices and timing.
Since they stopped sending your luggage along on the same train you were riding….sometime in the 90’s .. I have only used the “two day process.” What the My Swiss Alps link from Annika calls the Basic service.
Cheaper, and it works for me because I carry a light bag or backpack with overnight necessities.
I have sent heavy luggage on ahead and had it held for 3 or 4 days before i picked it up, too.
And, when I used to travel on business, followed by some hiking, I sent my business clothes and papers ahead to the airport, then picked them up on the day that I flew out.
All of those worked perfectly.
Slowpoke
Many thanks, Annika and Slowpoke!
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