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Hi everyone, I’m going to Switzerland in early Feb for 4 days with my boyfriend. We will arrive at Zurich airport at around 6:30am and we have booked our first two nights’ stay at Grindelwald. We are both not skiers and if we want to make a day trip at Zermatt (to go to Gornergrat and enjoy the town), train back to Grindelwald for check in at night, would that be too rush? I searched on Google and it seems both legs of travel by train will take around 3 hours but I dont know if delays are expected. And also, would I need to make any train reservation in advance (planning to get the 3 day swiss travel pass or half fare pass)? I also read online that during Feb when there is no snowfall, the Matterhorn will not be visible, is there any way I can check prior going or is it still worthwhile to check it out with snow? Thanks alot for all your help in advance. I’ve been reading a lot online but most information is really targeted to summer travels or ski trips in winter.
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Hello Qqkk and Welcome to MySwissAlps
You can do it but it will be a longish day and you’ll probably not get back in daylight.
Google is OK for a rough guide but the bible is the SBB Timetable (http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable) to plan your travel. If you are not familiar with using the timetable it will pay to first read the instructions on that page.
If you have time consider following the scenic route via Kandersteg and brig and coming back the more direct route (Visp to Spiez) offered by default by the timetable search.
You won’t need reservations on any of the trains.
You should keep a close watch on the weather forecast. Whether you will get a clear day or not is pretty unpredictable any time further out than about 24 hours. Even if the forecast is favourable it is likely that the Matterhorn may only be visible intermittently.
Have a look at http://www.matterhornparadise .ch/en/Current-news/Live-up-to-date/Weather.
To help you decide on what sort of pass to get have a read of “How to choose the best travel pass” (http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses/prac tical/chooserailpass), download the handy spreadsheet calculator and do the math.
Thanks @Rockoyster. Sorry for the late reply and I only had the time to check out the SBB timetable. In that case, I should probably skip Zermatt. Since I will be staying 2 nights at Grindelwald, I plan to spend a whole day to get to Jungfrau, would that be too much? For the other day, do you have any suggestion what to do around that area? On the third day, we plan to head out early and stop by lucerne (mount titlis/pilatus) on our way to Zurich. Would you have any suggestion as to which one is better taking into account the scenery, things to go, and convenience? Thanks again.
From Grindelwald you could have a look at First and the Cliff Walk or see http://www.myswissalps.com/gr indelwald/activities.
If you get over to Lauterbrunnen a very nice circuit to do is to Grütschalp (cable car), Mürren (train), Gimmelwald (cable car), Stechelberg (cable car), Lauterbrunnen (bus). From Mürren you can easily visit Schilthorn if you have time.
A visit to Pilatus will take less time than Titlis. Hard to choose between the two. Rigi is another alternative and is free with Swiss Travel Pass though not a big mountain quite lovely scenery on sunny day.
Thanks so much, this is beyond helpful. For your suggestions, are these all do-able / open during winter time i.e. Feb?
Hi Qqkk,
Yes, all of that is perfectly doable in winter. The links in Rockoyster’s post get you all the details: what to expect, routes, maps, opening season, etc. There are two ways to reach the top of the Pilatus, only one of them is open in winter. You’ll find information like that on those pages.
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