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Hi guys,
I am arriving in Basel Airport on July 19 at 8:35am from UK, I will travel by train from Basel to Interlaken OST, so about 12:30noon I will be in Interlaken. Can you suggest what place to visit from 13:00 to 20:00 or anything to do around Interlaken. Can i do boating Lake Thun and Brienz?
On July 20, I will leave the hotel at 7:30am and will visit Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, Murren, Klein Scheidegg and the Jungfrau top of Europe. Is this doable from 7:30am to 8pm from Interlaken using public transport?
July 21, I will take the Glacier Express from Interlaken to Brig to Chur and Back to Interlaken, I assume this tour will take one full day.
On July 22, I will visit Grindewald, Grindewald First, Schilthorn from Interlaken. Any suggestion or ideas what place to visit, I think i still have plenty of times.
July 23, I will visit Mt. Titlis from Interlaken, do I still have the time to visit Luzern after Mt. Titlis or any places to explore after Titlis.
July 24 – visit Bern for a whole day
July 25 – no plans yet
July 26 will depart at 7pm to Basel airport
Do I need a Swiss travel pass or any pass that will cover my itinerary and how many days.
Thank you very much.
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Hi NannyNorman,
Here are some of my feedback:
July 19 – On the first day in Interlaken, you can do boat trips on Lake Thun combined with excursion to St Beatus’ Hohlen, NIederhorn or Spiez. Details here: http://www.myswissalps.com/boatlakethun
July 20 – Yes, this is possible. Best to do Jungfraujoch in the morning after checking the weather forecast. Then spend the rest of the day exploring Wengen, Lauterbrunnen and Mürren.
July 21 – Day trip on the Glacier Express from Interlaken to Chur via Brig is possible. Based on the SBB timetable, if you take the 8am train from Interlaken West to Brig via Spiez, you’ll be on time to board the Glacier Express from Brig at 9.18am. This will get you to Chur by 13.30. This gives you enough time to return via Zurich to Interlaken. Be sure to book your Glacier Express seat ahead of your trip: http://www.myswissalps.com/glacierexpress/tickets
July 23 – You’ll be taking the train from Lucerne to get to Engelberg anyway so I recommend you do a quick tour of the city on the way back. www-myswissalps.com/hiking/lucerne
Based on your plans, I think you should probably be looking at getting the 6 or 8 day Swiss Travel Pass, depending on where you plan to stay on the final night. This pass is valid nationwide and would cover most of your train and boat trips including the Glacier Express. However you do need to arrange for discounted tickets for all your mountain excursions.
Thank you Anna, really appreciate your effort in giving tips to travel Switzerland
I have to question the logic of attempting to fit in the Glacier Express from a base in Interlaken. I recommend trying to avoid being taken in by the hyperbole surrounding the Glacier Express brand. – see my ‘mythbuster’ below. But the salient points are that the Glacier Express doesn’t suit all itineraries and shouldn’t necessarily be part of an itinerary ‘just because it exists’
The Brig – Andermatt section of the Glacier express is not the most scenic section of the Glacier Express route, which lies west of Andermatt towards Chur. The Andermatt – Chur section of the Glacier Express contains three of the six ‘best bits’ of the Glacier Express.
A better alternative might be to take the bus over the spectacular Grimsel Pass to Oberwald where you can pick up any MGB train to Andermatt
http://www.fahrplanfelder.ch/fileadmin/fap_pdf_fields/2022/31.161.pdf
Glacier Express mythbuster
Take a moment to understand the Glacier Express concept. It requires careful thought as it is not the only way to see the Swiss Alps!
Neither Luzern nor Interlaken /Jungfrau area are a good base from which to go and travel on the Glacier Express. The Glacier Express runs East – West across the southern edge of Switzerland, and Luzern and Interlaken are to the north.
The modern day Glacier Express brand is extremely well (some might say far far too well) marketed to overseas tourists, but that masks some facts, the most important one being that it doesn’t go past any glaciers! Geographically it runs East – West across the southern extremity of Switzerland, so does not fit in to all Swiss holiday itineraries. Just because the train exists doesn’t mean it is necessary to travel on it – there are dozens of other ways to see the same or similar Swiss alpine scenery.
The Glacier Express suits organised tours that rush you to Zermatt, then put you on the Glacier Express all day, then rush you off from St Moritz to somewhere else. But for independent tourists, there are a plenty of regular trains on these and all the other Swiss railways, so there are a zillion other sights to see in Switzerland which are ‘not’ on the Glacier Express!
If you already have lots of mountains and mountain peaks in your planned itinerary there is little point in adding the Glacier Express trip
The Glacier Express trains are special trains on the Rhaetische Bahn (RhB) and Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn (MGB) railway company lines which run in addition to normal ordinary service trains. The ‘panoramic’ coaches on these trains require a reservation or supplementary fare to be paid in addition to the normal fare. In all cases ordinary trains can be travelled on on the RhB/MGB network without paying any additional fare.
In all cases if you choose (or find yourself on) an ordinary train you won’t miss the scenery as all Swiss train carriages on these lines have large windows giving good views.
The Glacier Express started as a single train once a day each way many years ago, running slightly (but not much) faster than the regular trains and conveying a restaurant car for the wealthy to travel between the two ‘elite’ resorts of Zermatt and St Moritz.
The Glacier Express trains now are such a money spinner that they operate as ‘exclusive’ trains on otherwise ‘normal’ railway; ie the Rhaetische Bahn (RhB) and Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn (MGB) railway company lines which run in addition to normal ordinary service trains. The ‘panoramic’ coaches on these trains require a reservation or supplementary fare to be paid in addition to the normal fare. In all cases ordinary trains can be travelled on on the RhB/MGB network without paying any additional fare.
Thank you for your well explanation of Glacier Express, can you give me please an alternative using local trains, I am living interlaken at 7am and will come back at 10pm, so i have 15 hours travelling.
It looks like you can leave Interlaken at 07.30 and travel via Spiez, Kandersteg and Brig, then on MGB regio train 526 at 10.23, Andermatt 12.20
Then you can go Andermatt 12.28 – Disentis, connecting into RhB RE1744 to Chur arrive 15.02
Returning via Zurich and Bern you would be in Interlaken at 18.25
However, using local trains would give the opportunity to break the journey for an hour at Oberalp Pass to see the lovely lake and great mountain views (there is a nice terrace cafe as well at the pass). Just add 1 hour (or even 2) to the Andermatt – Disentis – Chur – Interlaken times above
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