School Trip - May 3

Hi mmbacad, and welcome! The Lauterbrunnen valley is absolutely beautiful, and it's definitely worth spending a day there when staying in Lucerne. Yes, the cog railway to Kleine Scheidegg and Grindelwald will be open. The cable car to the Männlichen won't be operating yet. Timetables and fares can be found at the Jungfrau Railways website. A round trip allowing you to get some of the best views could look like this:

- from Lauterbrunnen, get up to Grütschalp. Take the short and easy scenic hike to Mürren (about 1h30) or get there by train. Next, get down again to Stechelberg by cable car, or walk to Gimmelwald (the intermediate stop between Mürren and Stechelberg) and get on the cable car there;
- take the bus from Stechelberg back to Lauterbrunnen. Or alternatively, walk back to Lauterbrunnen (about 1h45) through the valley;
- get up to Wengen and Kleine Scheidegg by cog railway;
- get down to Grindelwald by cog railway;
- travel back from Grindelwald to Lucerne via Zweilütschinen, Interlaken and Meiringen, over the Brünig pass.

This itinerary would result in a long travel day of course. If you leave early (say around 7 am), you could get back to Lucerne at 6pm or 7pm, depending on how much time you'd like to spend on hiking, enjoying the views, and so on. If it's too much, you can skip part of the plan and concentrate on either the Lauterbrunnen valley or the Kleine Scheidegg trip. It's hard to choose, as is such a beautiful region!

The Jungfrau Railways timetable and the general Swiss timetable can be used to find out about connections and travelling times. Our day trip overview of the Bernese Oberland, and especially the roundabout tours that are described, may provide further tips.

I hope this will help you plan your trip!