Tickets for Frankfurt to Interlaken and back

Hi,

I'll be traveling from Frankfurt Airport to Interlaken/Murren with my two children, ages 8 and 10, and back again. We arrive August 2 on a Tuesday at 0900, and depart 3 days later on Friday at 1330. What combination of train tickets is best? Swiss Pass? Swiss Transfer? Family Pass? Point to Point? Regional-Pass Bernese Oberland? FRA to Basel, Basel to Interlaken? Which include local transport? So many options...any help would be appreciated.

Also, would we be able to catch a train Friday morning from Murren? Should we sleep in Interlaken the last night? I'd hate to have to sleep in Frankfurt Thursday night and miss out on one last night in the Berner Oberland...

thanks,

Scott

Hi Scott, welcome to MySwissAlps!

There are quite some pass options indeed, and which is best, ultimately depends on all details of your travel plans. They include the trips you plan to make in the Interlaken/Mürren region. If you want to be sure, you'd have to make detailed calculations according to these guidelines.

Having said that, the Swiss Transfer Ticket Combi makes sense, provided that you actually have to get to Mürren and not just to Interlaken (to Interlaken it would be a shorter and less expensive ride, meaning the Swiss Transfer Ticket Combi wouldn't be worth its money). This pass will offer a free trip Basel-Mürren and Mürren-Basel, plus a 50% discount on all trips you plan to make in between. Your children will travel along for free with you on all trips with the free Swiss Family Card.

You can leave Mürren as early as about 6 am if you want, so you'll have plenty of time to reach Frankfurt on Friday August 5. The entire journey Mürren-Fankfurt takes about 6 hours. The timetable shows all options.

Thanks for the links Annika and advice. We've looked though them and finalized our schedule with the first night in Interlaken and the next two in Lauterbrunnen:

Day 1 - FRA Airport - Interlaken

Day 1 - Harder Kulm (return)

Day 2 - Interlaken - Lauterbrunnen

Day 2 - Lauterbrunnen - Murren

Day 2 - Allmenhubel and hike to Murren

Day 2 - Murren - Schilthorn (return) and walk to Gimmelwald

Day 2 - Gimmelwald - Stechelberg

Day 2 - Stechelberg - Lauterbrunnen

Day 3 - Lauterbrunnen - Wengen

Day 3 - Wengen - Mannlichen and walk to Kleine Scheidegg

Day 3 - Kleine Scheidegg-Grindelwald and walk to Pfingstegg for toboggan

Day 3 - Pfingstegg (return)

Day 3 - Grindelwald - Lauterbrunnen

Day 4 - Lauterbrunnen - FRA airport.

So basically, a day on each side of the valley. Based on the above, would the 4-day BO pass make sense w/ FRA-Bern add-on? Or a 4-day Swiss Pass w/ FRA-Basel add-on? Or still the Swiss Transfer Ticket Combi you mentioned above?

Thanks in advance for your help...

Scott

Hi Scott,

If you're arriving in Interlaken and leaving from Lauterbrunnen, the Swiss Transfer Ticket Combi wouldn't be worth its money. In that case I think a 4 day Regional-Pass Bernese Oberland with additional tickets to and from Bern is a good alternative. The Regional-Pass actually covers more than what you need, but a Jungfrau Travel Pass wouldn't be ideal either, as that doesn't include Pfingstegg and the bus to Stechelberg. And a larger validity area is certainly an advantage, as it allows you to change or extend trips (e.g. due to weather circumstances) while you're there.

Thanks Annika!

Annika,

Sorry, a few more:

Apart from the summit to the Schilthorn and the roundtrip ticket from FRA to Bern, would the Regional-Pass Bernese Oberland cover everything else mentioned above? And my my children, there are add-on tickets for them for CHF30 each, correct? Would the Regional-Pass Bernese Oberland save us having to wait in line at the ticket office? Do we just get on?

thanks,

Scott

Hi Scott,

Yes, the Regional-Pass covers the rest of your plans. Please find validity details here. Your children can travel along for free with the Junior Travelcards. In most cases you can just board with your Regional-Pass without having to get tickets, but you'll need to get (free or discounted tickets) for cable cars such as Mürren/Gimmelwald/Stechelberg. It's explained here too.

thanks Annika!