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My husband and I are planning a trip to Switzerland next year. We will be there for approximately 8 days and are trying to figure out the most efficient and cheapest way to travel. We plan on going to Appenzell, Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, and Lake Oeschinen. Also any advice as to what hikes to do would be appreciated.
Thanks!
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Possibly not the cheapest ( nothing in Switzerland is ‘cheap’) but the most efficient for a multi centre trip is the Swiss Travel Pass
http://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpassFor hiking, just use the iconic Swiss ‘Wanderweg’ network signed by the legendary yellow signs often with walking time shown. In every part of the country you can just walk out the door of your accommodation and go to the nearest point where a Wanderweg and go from there. Famously, even in the most industrialised zones and town centres you will spot yellow signs !
http://www.myswissalps.com/hikingAppenzell is a superb place for walking – there are many Wanderweg routes little used by other tourists – much less of a ‘motorway’ feel compared with the overcrowded Jungfrau region
one look at this map will show you the unbelievable density of paths:
Hi RW541120.
Welcome to My Swiss Alps!
Here are some useful links, including a bunch under “Getting Started” that are useful for first-timers.
http://www.myswissalps.com/gettingstarted
Perhaps you don’t need all of those..
These are worth a look:
http://www.myswissalps.com/travel/inswitzerland,
especially:
http://www.myswissalps.com/train/ticketspasses
For hiking:
http://www.myswissalps.com/hiking
In that one, you can scroll down for a long and useful list , giving lots of details about many hikes in Switzerland.
What is you skill level for hiking?
And, most important, since hiking availability depends on season of the year as well as altitude, when are you traveling?
Slowpoke
Thanks for your help. Definitely a little overwhelming when you look at everything.
<<“Definitely a little overwhelming when you look at everything.”>>
Definitely. That is why I asked-
<<“What is you skill level for hiking?
And, most important, since hiking availability depends on season of the year as well as altitude, when are you traveling?”>>
That can help us narrow down the information a lot.
And you can search for city/town names in MySwiss Alps, for a starter.
I did not say anything about localities..it saves lot of miscommunication if you let us know the answers to those questions..
Slowpoke
We plan on going the middle of May or end of June whichever is better and hopefully the virus stuff will be over by then. As far as hiking experience we live in Hawaii and have hiked all over the island from stream crossing hikes to overnight hikes to in and out 8 mile hikes with elevation. I do understand the elevation is higher there and the highest elevation we have hiked is probably 4,000 feet in the Waimea Canyon that we have here. Although I prefer hikes that are in and out in a day and no longer than 8 miles.
Warning ! Your 8 days will go by very quickly. Any chance you can stretch out your stay to at least two weeks ? Switzerland is tiny but there is so much variety, physiography and culture packed into just a little over 41 thousand square kilometres. Since you are not planning your visit until the Spring of 2021 you have plenty of time to decide what you want to do, but it’s a good idea to get started with your planning now. Just wondering, will you be traveling with children, and if so, what ages ? I mention this because I consider that Switzerland is one of the best places in the western world to be a child.
<<“We plan on going the middle of May or end of June whichever is better”>>
In the middle of May, essentially all of the interesting trails above about 1500 meters will be closed with snow and potential snow slides, until it is possible and safe to open them in mid-to late June.
If you were to go before the end of March, some would be groomed for Winter hiking.http://www.jungfrau.ch/en-gb/winter-hiking/
An example of an an Alpine Trail –
My favorite very easy and spectacularly scenic trail from Männlichen ( above Wengen) to Kleine Scheidegg has a target opening date of June 15th. It often meets it. These days, maybe a bit earlier.
I’ve attached a picture (the last one) from June 16, 2015, on the day after the trail opened. Quite clear there, but the stretch passing Tschuggen is in shade most of the time and remains blocked until about that date. Images form the trail are attached. It is so easy that the locals have nicknamed it “The Grannies’ Walk.” But, if I wanted certainty, I’d wait until the last week of June. That holds for most Alpine trails.
http://www.myswissalps.com/hiking/maennlichen-kleinescheidegg
It runs from about 2240 meters to about 2060. It demands being walked from Männlichen to Kleine Scheidegg. Especially so if you know anything about the history of the Eiger, whose North Face tower sover you as you walk toward it.
This map is good for altitudes, and i have turned on a layer for hiking trails.
Color coding is explained in the earlier link posted by 1960man:
He pointed you to0ward Switzerland Mobility. I like to start with the menu:
http://www.schweizmobil.ch/en/wanderland/wanderland.html
The map is on that page, too.
Selected hikes have amazing detail available, including altitude profiles, accommodations, etc., etc. For example, on stage of the Via Alpina:
http://www.schweizmobil.ch/en/wanderland/routes/national-routes/route/etappe-01560.html
Follow the links on that page.
Back to the trail description-
If you ride the cableway up from Wengen, you turn right after you get off, to walk to the nearby hotel/restaurant,and onward to Kleine Scheidegg.
If you turn left from the Bergstation ( mountain station, top station) of the cableway, you take a short steep climb to Männlichen Gipfel ( peak, summit) where the panorama attached is visible on a clear day.
There are in fact, so many hundreds…probably thousands of options on the WEnderweg network, that makingg choices is hard.
The hikes listed in My Swiss Alps offer a good variety:
http://www.myswissalps.com/hiking
Here is a more difficult and spectacular trail, best hiked from Schynige Platte to First:
http://www.myswissalps.com/hiking/first-schynigeplatte
At lower altitudes, May is nice.
Here is a nice trail which usually opens around Easter. Not Alpine, but with nice ambience and history.
http://www.myswissalps.com/forum/topic/bls-sudrampe-trail
Slowpoke
Attachments:Wow ok you have so much information thanks for all your time. I will look into all of your sites. Just want to make the most of the time we are there. Also no we don’t have children and are capable of doing longer hikes as we are young and fit and in our 30s.
One last question regarding transportation if we bought the Swiss Travel Pass and Half Fare Card does that give us 50% off the Travel Pass or just other travel as I understand the Travel Pass doesn’t typically cover transportation up the mountain? Also can you buy a Half Fare Card if you are from the United States? Thanks so much again for all your help and time.
<< One last question regarding transportation if we bought the Swiss Travel Pass and Half Fare Card does that give us 50% off the Travel Pass or just other travel as I understand the Travel Pass doesn’t typicallycover transportation up the mountain? >>
There is at least one other contributor to this forum who knows far more about trains than I can ever hope to know, but I will jump in with this response, knowing that I may get corrected. If you have the Swiss Travel Pass you will have no need for a Half Fare Card because your Swiss Travel Pass will entitle you to discounts on your transportation “up the mountain”. In fact, in same cases, your Swiss Travel Pass will entitle to free travel up some mountains. Take a look at http://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass and http://www.myswissalps.com/swisshalffarecard
Hi Rw
As Slowpoke suggests if you want access to the most scenic high alpine trails you should come to Switzerland at the end of June or even better, July. Otherwise they may well be impassable.
You will find the Swiss typically rate their hikes according to time it takes rather than distance, usually based on a very reasonable pace of about 1.5 MPH. They don’t however distinguish between uphill or downhill or allow time for stops on their rating of hikes.
I am most familiar with hiking in the Jungfrau area and around Zermatt. There are a large number of hikes that fit your preferences of day hikes of 8 miles or less. Here are some of my favorites and they can sometimes be done in combination.
In the Jungfrau region
First to Bachalpsee to Waldspitz to Bort. 2.20hrs. Only the first leg to Bachalpsee is likely to be crowded. Easy hike.
First/Bachalpsee/Faulhorn/Bussalp. 4.00hrs. Difficult.
First/Bachalpsee/Feld/Bussalp. 3.00hrs. Moderate.
Mannlichen/Kleine Scheidegg 1.20hrs. Continue from KS to Eigergletscher,1.20hrs. And/or continue KS to Wengernalp, 1.00hr. If you do all 3 legs, moderate
The Eiger Trail, Downhill is Eigergletscher to Alpiglen. 2.50hrs. Moderate.
Schynige Platte to First. 6.10hrs (9 miles). Difficult.
SP loop along Panaramaweg to Laucherhorn and return to SP. 2.30hrs. Easy.
Lauterbrunnen valley. Lauterbrunnen to Stechelberg. 1.5 hrs.
First to Grosse Scheidegg. 1.2hrs. Easy
Note all the above hikes end at a place where transportation by way of cable car, train, or bus is available for return to your base town.
Mark
Hi Peterli
Most assuredly the Swiss Travel Pass is the easiest solution and often the cheapest, especially if one is visiting several Swiss cities. On my last trip we only traveled from Zurich to Wengen to Zermatt to Zurich. So only 3 legs between cities. It was about 100 CHF cheaper for us to buy Swiss Half Fare card, a regional pass (Jungfrau Pass), and point to point tickets. I believe Myswissalps has a spreadsheet to help calculate the cheapest option.
Mark
Hello! My husband and I visited the Jungfrau region for 6 days last September before heading to Germany for Octoberfest. Here are some tips I can share as a fellow American traveling to a country with an exceptional infrastructure (we are not used to that ).
The train system is legit! Do not stress over it one bit. We flew from Austin to Dallas, Dallas to London, London to Zurich. We purchased a day saver train pass for our train journey to Wengen. Download the SBB mobile app to your phone. Super easy to use. Note the trains are always on time. If you miss one, the next one is not long after. During our stay in Wengen we purchased a 4 day Jungfrau train travel pass. This allowed us to use the trains, most furniculars and cable cars with no additional charge. Worth it for the convenience factor alone.
We rented an Air BnB in Wengen for our stay. Wouldn’t recommend this. Air BnB’s in Switzerland are not quite the same as in the states. When my husband and I return this September (hopefully we can still travel with all that is currently going on) we are staying in hotels.
We LOVE to hike and that is the main reason we chose Switzerland and this particular region. And hence the reason we are returning again this year. Pack a refillable water bottle for your travels. Most hikes have water fountains with tubs for the cows to drink from. It is safe to fill your bottle or camel back from the running fountain. Side note…when you eat at restaurants, you will be charged for water. Get up in the morning, pack snacks you purchased from the local Coop, or stop in a bakery on your way to the train station to grab sandwiches for your hike. I can guarantee you will hike all day and enjoy every minute of it. The signs along your hike are super helpful on letting you know where you are and how long it is to your destination. The biggest difference about hiking in Switzerland vs Kauai where you are from (I gathered that based on your previous post saying you hike Waimea Canyon) is that you are in continuous beautiful scenery during the entire hike. I’m not saying Kauai hikes aren’t beautiful because they are, its just hiking in the states is about reaching the destination more so than taking in all the amazing views along the way.
Highly recommend you check out Iz Harris on YouTube. Her and her travel vlogging husband did an amazing video on Switzerland that we found to be hugely helpful during our planning. Oh and if you can you must go paragliding!
Please reach out if you have any questions. Enjoy your trip planning. I cannot wait to get back to Switzerland.
Samantha
The Swiss Travel Pass is by far the best option for an occasional visitor to Switzerland.
Hi there,
here is the link to the calculation spreadsheet, mentioned by Mark: http://www.myswissalps.com/train/ticketspasses/practical/chooserailpass. The downloadable spreadsheet also includes links to the “Where it’s valid” page for all available passes.
Ildiko
Hi, Thanks for momentarily allowing me to escape from the grimness of our current pandemic, by allowing me to share your Swiss hiking experiences, and to plan to eventually replicate them. I (too)? use memories of my Swiss Alps travel, and planning future travel. to psychologically escape from my self-isolation in my NYC apartment.
Hi. Was it you who stated on another thread that you are living up in a high-rise in NYC while all this Covid-19 pandemic is raging on in your city ? My sincere sympathies, as it must be awful to witness at first-hand the ineptitude of we all know who. This man seems to think that 100,000 deaths is so much better than the 2,2 million that had also been mentioned as a possibility.
It may sound impossible at this point, but the world will turn the corner with this pandemic. I have been looking at the Johns Hopkins Covid-19 maps pretty well every day, and a few minutes ago I looked at the situation for Switzerland. There have been 16,605 cases confirmed (one of the highest rates per capita in the whole world) but what is encouraging is that the number of recovered (which was almost nil for many days) has now risen to 1823, which means a recovery rate of 10.98% so far. There are still 14,349 active cases, so we are not out of the woods. What we can hope to see is the number of recovered growing more quickly than new cases confirmed.
There are plenty of excellent videos on YouTube and elsewhere about Switzerland. If you would like, I would come back with a list of some of ones that I like. I have dozens of books about Switzerland on my shelves and in boxes, usually with many photographs, and I wish there was some easy way that I could share them with people on this forum.
Something else that might interest you and others, there is a four-part series on RTS (Radio Télévision Suisse) about the vinyards in different parts of Switzerland: It is in French and there are subtitles that are also in French. When you get further into the video you will see that the French subtitles are because the people being featured are sometimes speaking Swiss-German or Italian. But I think you would still enjoy it, so why not give it a look ? The first segment is 46 minutes long so put your feet up and enjoy. http://www.rts.ch/play/tv/le-doc-feuilleton/video/une-annee-a-la-vigne-les-domaines-du-possible-hiver-14?id=10473893
Bonus video: Ravel’s Boléro, done by the OSR (Orchestre de la Suisse Romande) in Coviv-19 confinement: http://www.rts.ch/play/tv/rtsculture/video/le-bolero-de-ravel-par-losr-en-confinement?id=11211906
“Hi. Was it you who stated on another thread that you are living up in a high-rise in NYC while all this Covid-19 pandemic is raging on in your city ? “
Yes, by myself, but being fairly successful in making the best of it. Lots of time to read, and watch streaming content (I’m fortunate to have it all; endless choices). Also, I occupy myself throughout the day viewing roundshot and live cams of Switzerland; And using Google maps to plan future Swiss itineraries. (I’m the rare Swiss tourist to travel by rental car–I very much appreciate the flexibility, and ability to stop and marvel at the landscapes). I typically travel with no fixed itinerary, and arrange for lodging from the road. I find it easier as a solo traveler.
But thank you for the encouragement, and diversion suggestions. It helps to realize that we are all in this together!!
<<“(I’m the rare Swiss tourist to travel by rental car–I very much
appreciate the flexibility, and ability to stop and marvel at the
landscapes). I typically travel with no fixed itinerary, and arrange for
lodging from the road. I find it easier as a solo traveler.”>>
May I ask how many times you have been to Switzerland?
Slowpoke
Sure; three two week summer trips in the last 18 months; and I have my ticket for mid July, but that will have to be postponed until next July. It’s sorta of an interesting tale of how the ‘driving’ choice came about. I’m a 70yo Separated man living in NYC. I’ve been a college professor and philosopher my entire adult life, but only in my late 50’s did I become passionate about studying Freud, and that led me to an obsession with the study and reading of Nietzsche, which I pretty much engage in every day. So after we sold our beach house three years ago, I decided that I wanted to pursue Swiss hiking because Nietzsche frequently refers in many of books to being inspired by hiking (often 6-8 hours a day) in the Swiss Alps; specifically, he returned to Sils Maria (near St Moritz) during the summers throughout the 1880’s. So I came to Sils Maria to follow in his steps (and visit the Nietzsche museum where he lived).
But long story short, I hadn’t researched Swiss travel that first trip in June, 2018; so I ‘accidently’ presumed that people get around by car,and flew into Lugano, rented a car, to drive to Sils Maria. I LOVED driving in the Alps, and continued to travel by car ever since. I do want to eventually travel by train as well, but I haven’t so far.
Cheers!
It took us 4 trips to Switzerland before discovering Appenzell. We enjoyed it so much we went back last May. A great moderate hike is to magnificent Seealpsee. You just take the short train ride from Appenzell to Wasserauen to access the trail to the lake. Don’t miss the gondola to Ebenalp and the wonderful cliff restaurant. I believe you can also hike down to Seealpsee from the restaurant but I chose hiking from Wasserauen to save my knees. Then on another day if time permits, take the gondola up to Sanits for a wonderful view of Seealpsee from on high.
We’ve gone to Oeschinensee twice and it’s lovely but for my money it doesn’t compare with Seealpsee.
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