Transport from Zurich to Grindelwald this winter

Hello, I'm traveling with my wife and children ages 17 and 15 from the United States to the Jungfrau region from Sunday December 26 to Sunday January 10. We are landing in Zurich and want to use the train system for the entire trip. The first week we will be staying in Grindelwald and the second week we will be in Wengen. This is a ski trip and we'd like to explore the entire area and not have to worry about buying train tickets while we are there. Do you think I should buy 3 Swiss transfer tickets for everyone except my 15 year old and we get him a Swiss family card? Also once we are in Grindelwald I was thinking we buy 4 sportspasses and that will include unlimited train rides in the Jungfrau as well as take care of our lift ticket needs? I'm a bit overwhelmed by all the different options and will happily accept any recommendations. Thank you in advance for your help.

Welcome harry103, thanks for joining us!

You're right, there's a large choice of rail passes and tickets, and that can get confusing. However, I think you managed to pick the best option for your travel party. Swiss Transfer Tickets will cover the journeys from Zurich to Grindelwald and from Wengen to Zurich, and the 15 year old will travel for free with the free Swiss Family Card. Information and retailers are listed at www.myswissalps.com/sw isstransferticket/pric e. For US residents, the cheapest option is www.raileurope-world.com.

I too would recommend the Sportpass for your specific plans. If you plan to focus on the Jungfrau region and plan to use public transportation and ski lifts intensively, it should be worth buying them. Note that there are three variants: all of the Jungfrau region, Grindelwald-Wengen (which excludes the western side of the Lauterbrunnen valley) and Mürren (which excludes the Grindelwald side). You should either pick the Grindelwald-Wengen variant or the Jungfrau variant. If you want to tell for sure which option is best, you should try to make calculations as explained at www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses/prac tical/chooserailpass.

Thank you for your quick and detailed response. A couple more question regarding the Jungfrau region sportspass. Can I use the sportspass for the trains anytime they are running or are the hours restricted? For example if we decide to have dinner in Grindewald after skiing can I take the train back to Wengen?

Also does the sportspass allow me to travel to and from Interlaken on the train?

Thanks again.

Hello harry103!

Whether or not the journey to Interlaken is covered depends on the type of Sportpass you pick. The Grindelwald-Wengen version doesn't cover it all the way, the Jungfrau variant does. As far as I can tell, the Sportpass is valid during 24 hours, so there are no time restrictions. An overview of variants, prices, terms and conditions can be found at the Jungfrau website.