7 days Interlaken-Lauterbrunnen: best train pass?

  • vicjim
    Participant
    2 posts
    14 July 2021 at 3:24:03 #825935

    Hello,

    I’m planning a trip to Switzerland for 7 days and below is what I’m thinking. Is it too much to try to do all that each day? Which train pass should I get if any? The more I read about the train passes the more confusing as to which is the right pass to choose from or how many passes do I need?

    Day 1: Zurich to Interlaken. Interlaken to lake brienz, Iseltwald, lugerrn, and back to Interlaken. (All train/bus/ferry)

    Day 2: Interlaken to Thun, bern, siigriswil and back to Interlacken. (All train/bus/ferry)

    Day 3: Interlaken to zermatt/matterhorn and back to Interlaken. (Train and cable car)

    Day 4: Interlaken or Lauterbrunnen to Schilthorn, Jungfrau, Klein Scheidegg, Griindelwald then back to Interlaken or Lauterbrunnen. (If from Lauterbrunnen then it’s all cable car? If it’s from Interlaken then I would have to take the train to Lauterbrunnen and then cable car?)

    Day 5: Lauterbrunnen, waterfalls (walk)

    Day 6: Lauterbrunnen to wengen (cable car?)

    Day 7: Lauterbrunnen to Zurich (train)

    We will be staying at hotels in Interlaken and Lauterbrunnen. I read some hotels will give you a visitor’s pass that’ll cover trains, buses, ferry rides and discounts for cable car. If that’s correct then I wouldn’t need to get any train passes except for arriving/leaving to the airport? Would you know if these two locations fall into the Canton categories to provide those free visitor’s passes?

    Thanks in advance!

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    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    14 July 2021 at 12:54:04 #935689

    Hi Vicjim and welcome to MySwissAlps!

    Great that you are coming to Switzerland! I think your itinerary is OK, I have just a few thoughts. First of all, if you are coming from overseas, you might have jetlag. So do not plan much for the first day 🙂

    It depends on what you want to do in Thun or Bern. You can easily spend a day or even more just in Bern (http://www.myswissalps.com/bern/activities).

    Same about Zermatt. Interlaken – Zermatt is at least 2 hours by train if you go through the Lötschberg-tunnel. I would recommend avoiding it and travel via Kandersteg and Brig, although it makes the route much longer – 3,5 hours. Zermatt is – in my opinion – just as beautiful as the Jungfrau region. It would worth sleeping there for at least 1 night, so you could visit the mountains (Gornergrat, Klein Matterhorn at least). More info: http://www.myswissalps.com/zermatt

    Here you can find out how you can reach Jungfraujoch: http://www.myswissalps.com/jungfraujoch/gettingthere. Regarding Schilthorn: http://www.myswissalps.com/schilthorn/gettingthere.

    Day 5 and 6 are lighter than the previous ones, if you want you can do these in 1 day so you have a bit more time for Zermatt – if you wish. 🙂
    Some recommended hotels and rentals in Interlaken: http://www.myswissalps.com/interlaken/hotels and http://www.myswissalps.com/interlaken/rentals. And same for Lauterbrunnen: http://www.myswissalps.com/lauterbrunnen/hotels and http://www.myswissalps.com/lauterbrunnen/rentals.

    If you are staying in Interlaken, your hotel will provide a free guest card, which allows free transport in the town. But note, this is just a very small range. I recommend you getting a rail pass to get a discount on our train trips. Swiss Travel Pass (http://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass) or Swiss Half Fare Card (http://www.myswissalps.com/swisshalffarecard) are usually the most popular and best options. It depends on your itinerary. You’ll find a useful guide with a calculation spreadsheet, which helps you to choose your rail pass in 5 steps at http://www.myswissalps.com/train/ticketspasses/practical/chooserailpass. The downloadable spreadsheet also includes links to the “Where it’s valid” page for all available passes, be sure to study it carefully.

    I hope I’ve answered all of your questions. In case if I missed something or you have further questions, please let me know.

    Happy planning,

    Ildiko

    Annika
    Moderator
    7104 posts
    14 July 2021 at 14:23:56 #935690

    Hi Vicjim! I don’t know when you’ll be traveling, but if it’s between now and May/June 2022, this Swiss Travel Pass promotion might be interesting: http://www.myswissalps.com/forum/topic/swiss-travel-pass-25-off-for-trips-in-20212022. If you’re comparing several passes price-wise, it’s good to know about this offer.

    You may also like the Regional-Pass Bernese Oberland: http://www.myswissalps.com/regionalpassberneseoberland. Note that parts of the route from/to Zurich and Zermatt aren’t covered though.

    The “How to choose” page linked to by Ildikó will hopefully help you find the best option.

    Danielsan
    Participant
    628 posts
    15 July 2021 at 1:25:42 #935691

    Hi vicjim,

    I wholly agree with Ildiko, in that just going to Zermatt for a cup of coffee just doesn’t do it any justice. Stay for at least a night….maybe even two….just my humble opinion. There is much to do and see in Zermatt. Maybe stay there on the beginning, or end of trip, you won’t regret it, I promise. While there is much to see in the Bernese Oberland region, it would be worth it to spend two days in Zermatt.

    On day 4, it may be a stretch to try to see both the Schilthorn and Jungfrau, unless you mean seeing the Jungfrau FROM the Schilthorn. That’s doable. Going to the Jungfrau from the Schilthorn, you have to get back to Lauterbrunnen, then get to Kleine Scheidegg, via either Grindelwald or Wengen. Its a lot of traveling. Possible, but starting out very early would be a must. Just some food for thought. Look into the links that were posted by Ildiko (and Annika) and you should be ok. Chime in if you have more questions. The experts here are very helpful. Have fun planning.

    Danielsan

    vicjim
    Participant
    2 posts
    21 July 2021 at 0:47:04 #935692

    Hello,

    Thank you @Ildiko, @Annika, @Danielsan for your replies. These are all great suggestions and useful information. I am debating on getting the Swiss Travel Pass along with the Jungfrau 3 day pass, since the STP can be use for all trains/bus/ferries and the Jungfrau would be for all the cable car rides from Lauterbrunnen to Schilthorn, Jungfrau, Klein Scheidegg, Griindelwald, Wengen and then back to Lauterbrunnen.

    Would you suggest on getting both passes? These 2 passes would basically cover all the commutes except for the cable car lifts from Mürren to Schilthorn and Zermatt to Gornergrat and Klein Matterhorn right?

    Thanks,

    Vicjim

    Danielsan
    Participant
    628 posts
    21 July 2021 at 4:05:10 #935693

    Hi Vicjim,

    I believe the Schilthorn is included in the STP. It was 3 yrs ago when I was there. It may have changed since then, but The STP does offer discounts in Zermatt on the KM and Gornergrat.

    Danielsan

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    21 July 2021 at 9:19:06 #935694

    Hi there,

    Schilthorn is included in the Swiss Travel Pass: you get 50 off from Mürren to Schilthorn by cable car. For the train from Zermatt to Gornergrat you get 50% off and also 50% off from Zermatt to Klein Matterhorn. You can check the validity of the Swiss Travel pass at http://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass/validity

    The validity map of the Jungfrau Travel Pass can be found here: http://www.myswissalps.com/jungfrautravelpass/validity. Regarding Schilthorn: cable car from Stechelberg to Mürren and Mürren to Schilthorn: 25% off. It does not give any discount outside of the region – like Zermatt.

    If you buy the Swiss Travel Pass AND the Jungfrau Travel Pass, a 25% discount applies to the Jungfrau Travel Pass price if you have a valid Swiss Travel Pass at the time of travelling: http://www.myswissalps.com/jungfrautravelpass/price.

    To compare the passes and pass combination options prise-wise, the spreadsheet I recommended above will help you. And do not forget the 25% Swiss Travel Pass promotion – Annika mentioned it – the promotion ends soon!

    Take care,
    Ildiko

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