[Removed user]

10 March 2020 at 17:33:18 #825447

We have the Swiss Travel Pass and are staying in Berne. If we get an early start can we visit Interlaken, Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, and Thun all in 1 day? We mostly just want to see some beautiful places and do a little shopping.

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[CabinJon]

10 March 2020 at 17:52:52 #931342

You can do that. You’re looking at 3.5 – 4 hours train travel from Bern to Thun via Grindelwald & Lauterbrunnen, plus a 20 minute train ride back to Bern from Thun on one of the IC trains. So figure 4 – 4.5 hours total travel time, that leaves you a lot of hours to spend in one town or another. I haven’t been to Thun, but think Lauterbrunnen & Grindelwald are more interesting than Interlaken. I wouldn’t try to do all those towns, you could do a bit of research on each one using this website, or just make a snap decision based on what you see when you pull into the train station.

[Slowpoke]

11 March 2020 at 2:18:22 #931343

HiMichael –

Welcome to MySwiss Alps!

When are you traveling?

Slowpoke

[Removed user]

11 March 2020 at 2:22:07 #931344

This week! I probably will do this trip on Friday or Saturday.

[Slowpoke]

11 March 2020 at 2:28:57 #931345

HI Michele-

Maybe i’ll get your name right this time. Sorry. ;-(

Ski season.

You can do it. Maybe you could modify it…

I’d recommend Lauterbrunnen/Mürren/Wengen, or some of same, instead of Grindelwald. GW is more commercial, and more spread out.

Look here for stuff on each of the towns:

http://www.myswissalps.com/jungfrauregion

Scroll down and look on the right.

As Cabin Jon noted, Interlaken is not a scenic place.. and, you can shop in Bern.

Use the SBB timetable to do your scheduling:

http://www.myswissalps.com/timetable

Very useful instructions there. Don’t skip.

If you are already familiar with the timetable you can visit the SBB timetable directly.

Slowpoke

[Virgingorda]

11 March 2020 at 8:36:34 #931346

Not worth it to run around so much in one day. I would drop Interlaken and Thun.

[Virgingorda]

11 March 2020 at 8:38:54 #931347

You won’t even have enough time for Lauterbrunnen by itself and a couple of nearby villages.

[Slowpoke]

11 March 2020 at 9:47:23 #931348

Hi VirginGorda-

Here is the original request –

<<“If we get an early start can we visit Interlaken, Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, and Thun all in 1 day? “>>

We’ve uniformly suggested merely passing through Interlaken. I’ve suggested dropping Grindelwald.

Noting the words “early start,” I’ll comment that a train from Bern at 0704 can get them to Wengen at 0825 for breakfast. That would give them most of the day to quickly explore in a superficial way Wengen, Lauterbrunnen, the valley floor and Mürren, depart Lauterbrunnen at 1532, arrive Thun at 1632, (service every 3o minutes) walk down toward the river and look around a bit. Sunset is at 1830. Eat at Thun , or look around a bit and go back to Bern by one of the frequent trains taking 20 to 30 minutes. They could certainly, if briefly, <<“see some beautiful places and do a little shopping”>>

Who knows, they may be from the Netherlands, where the highest mountain is Vaalserberg at 322.4 meters, and it is practically in Germany or Belgium, anyway. ;-). Or, from Florida…highest hill at 95 meters, or Virgin Gorda at about 415 meters. So, any of the high Alps might be a treat. 😉

See picture here:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaalserberg

Since the higher elevations are mostly for skiers ( although a few paths are groomed for hiking) it seems unlikely that hiking will be on the agenda.

And, if they really mean “early start,” the first train from Bern is at 0604.

So, it is possible. It is a personal judgement whether it is worthwhile.

However, since a good exploration would take days, not hours, and possibly include a trip up to Schilthorn, or other time consuming events, your comments are exactly right if you take that approach.

More than likely, they’ll see enough to make a return trip a probability….in September.

😉

Slowpoke