How to get from Lucerne to Grindelwald to Zurich?

  • CapeCodTeach
    Participant
    6 posts
    29 July 2021 at 7:15:57 #825983

    Four of us (active retirees) have credit from a trip that was cancelled due to COVID, so we are thinking of booking a train tour of Switzerland for early June 2022.

    It goes counterclockwise from Zurich, with our last nights in Lucerne. Unfortunately, it skips the Grindewald area, which sounds so beautiful. IF it isn’t too complicated or exorbitantly expensive, we’d like to extend the trip by a couple days so we could go up the Jungfraujoch (“Top of Europe”) and the Schilthorn.

    Main Question….How difficult (and expensive?) would it be to get ourselves from Lucerne to the Grindewald area and then get back to the Zurich Airport without having to drive? How long would we need to allow?

    Would we need to go back for an overnight again in Lucerne (or maybe Zurich?) before a mid-to- late morning flight, or would we be able to take a train to the airport from the Grindewald area? We plan to pack light, but it would be nice to leave a suitcase somewhere in Lucerne if we’d be going back there en route to the airport (perhaps our last hotel or are there storage lockers in that area?)

    Would we be seeing “more of the same”, or is this area quite different from the areas we will see on the train trip (St. Moritz, Lake Maggiore, Zermatt, Lake Geneva, Lucerne) and worth seeing while we are there?

    (Sidenote: Is it likely that Grindewald would have a lot of wildflowers in early June, or is that too early?)

    Sorry for having so many questions, but we are not used to doing this type of travel without a guide or travel agent to help us with these details! Thanks, in advance, for your help!

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    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    29 July 2021 at 13:55:29 #935922

    Hi CapeCodTeach and welcome to MySwissAlps!

    Grindelwald and the Jungfrau region is wonderful, you are right. It is possible to organise the detour for yourself, here you find some tips on how to start your planning: http://www.myswissalps.com/plantrip/doityourself and http://www.myswissalps.com/plantrip/doityourself/composeitinerary.

    Swiss public transportation is very easy to use and also clean and comfortable, there is no need to be afraid of it. If you have a rail pass like Swiss Travel Pass (valid for several days) or Saver Day Pass (valid for 1 day) it makes your trip even easier. Here you find all the details and prices about these passes: http://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass and http://www.myswissalps.com/saverdaypass. make sure to check all the tabs on these pages.)

    You can use the SBB timetable (you’ll find it on the right side at http://www.myswissalps.com/timetable) to search for the traveling times and costs. If you are not familiar with the SBB timetable, study carefully the http://www.myswissalps.com/timetable page, it will help you a lot. For example from Lucerne to Jungfraujoch it takes about 3,5 hours by train, but trust me, all the train route is amazing. You could stay 1 or 2 nights in the Jungfrau region, like Lauterbrunnen or Interlaken. Interlaken – Zurich airport is a bit less than 2,5 hours away.

    If you would like to read more about the Jungfrau region: http://www.myswissalps.com/jungfrauregion/activities.

    St. Moritz, Lake Maggiore, Zermatt, Lake Geneva, Lucerne are all different regions, they are all very beautiful. Sorry, I cannot really answer your question regarding the difference . 🙂 Are mountains different or similar? For me they are all different 🙂 But for sure, these are all amazing places, worth visiting if you have time for it.

    You could see wildflowers in Grindelwald in June, not on the top but at lower levels for sure. On the top there might be still snow – it depends on the weather.

    You can find some recommended Zurich Airport Hotels at http://www.myswissalps.com/zurichairporthotels.

    I hope I could help you a bit. Here you can find some money saver tips: http://www.myswissalps.com/plantrip/doityourself/savemoney.

    Take care,

    Ildiko

    pvonk
    Participant
    378 posts
    29 July 2021 at 14:11:28 #935923

    I usually go to Zurich the day before a morning transatlantic flight, just to be safe, time-wise. And if you have time the day before, do a boat cruise or a walking tour of Zurich.

    From Lucerne there are a number of mountain trips nearby. Each different. Grindewald, in my opinion, while a lovely town, does not have as spectacular a mountainscape as, say, Wengen.

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    29 July 2021 at 14:16:14 #935924

    Hi Pvonk,

    To be honest I prefer Grindelwald over Wengen, I think all people are different 🙂

    Thanks for sharing your opinion!

    Ildiko

    CapeCodTeach
    Participant
    6 posts
    29 July 2021 at 14:49:50 #935925

    You all are amazingly helpful! I know there are different opinions about what is beautiful or most interesting to see, but everyone’s comments so far have given me lots of good things to consider and research. I may be able to convince my husband and the other couple that we can do this, after all!

    Thank you so much, and keep the suggestions coming 😀!

    Annika
    Moderator
    7104 posts
    30 July 2021 at 7:35:11 #935926

    Hi CapeCodTeach!

    On top of the tips you already received, here are some more :-).

    You can compare the villages in the Jungfrau region using these pages:

    This page explains how to travel to and in Grindelwald: http://www.myswissalps.com/grindelwald/travel.

    And don’t worry about traveling by train. The system is very easy to use: http://www.myswissalps.com/train/practical/howtotravel.

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