Trip to Jungfrau area, 4 days in Grindelwald

Hello everybody,

My husband & I are planning a trip to the Jungfrau area so we really need some advices & suggestions from all experienced travellers/consultants.

We will be arriving at Basel then taking a train to Grindelwald and will be staying there for 4 days (25/11-29/11). We are going to explore the Jungfraujoch as well as the Schilthorn as they seem to be the most popular places that everybody keeps talking about.

Apart from that, is there any other places that can be recommended to complete our 4 days stay, e.g, a boat trip or any other scenic route.....that has an easy access from Grindelwald?

Also the train tickets seem to be quite expensive so we would appreciate if someone can help with a cost-effective transport itinerary.

many thanks

Hi Kimuk -

Welcome to the forum.

I can see that you have done your homework and picked Grindelwald instead of Interlaken. ;-)

You have picked the time of year that is "between seasons" in the Alpine resort areas. Many hotels and "ski " lifts will be closed, and hiking trails will be snowed in at high altitudes. Not so much at lower altitudes. Public transport in alpine regions and major attractions are open, but many hotels are closed until the opening of the ski season on about December 15th. The train to the Jungfraujoch will run from Grindelwald. (it is one of those very expensive ones ;-o )

Check the Schilthorn schedules to be sure.

At lower altitudes, in main cities, this does not apply...it relates primarily to the altitudes and the ski resorts towns.

So, you might consider starting or spending time in Luzern. It is a good starting point for first time visitors.

www.myswissalps.com/lu cerne

(Sorry if I spell it Luzern...same pronunciation... but it is in the German-speaking region and the German name is Luzern.)

Here are some useful links:

www.myswissalps.com/ge ttingstarted

www.myswissalps.com/wh eretogo

map.classic.search.ch/

www.myswissalps.com/ti metable

www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses

Arno and Annika, the forum moderators are experts on economical rail passes. Once you have an idea of your itinerary for the full trip worked out, or at least a rough idea, they can advise possible travel passes to reduce costs compared to "regular" train fares....often substantially.

Slowpoke

Unfortunately the Schilthorn gondola will be closed for maintenance from 9 November until 4 December

Hi Kimuk,

As mentioned, which rail pass is best depends on the details of your final itinerary. Were you able to make a more detailed plan with the links provided above? Then you can start looking into passes. This page can be of help: myswissalps.com/train/ ticketspasses/practica l/chooserailpass.

I think you may want to look into the Swiss Transfer Ticket Combi (which is especially a good choice if you'll be making a long and thus expensive inbound/outbound trip like Basel-Grindelwald) or a Swiss Half Fare Card. If you'll be making a return trip Basel-Grindelwald, the Swiss Transfer Ticket Combi would still be slightly more expensive than the Swiss Half Fare Card (about GBP 7), but easier as you won't have to buy tickets for these trips.

Hi Annika,

Thanks a lot for your advice.

As most mountain attractions are about to close for maintenance at the end of Nov ( which is very disappointed) so we are actually planning to visit Jungfraujoch and Interlaken only.

We will be taking a train from Basel euro airport to Grindelwald and return.

Then grindelwald to Jungfraujoch and return

Then train from grindelwald- Interlaken and return

I have a look around and see half fare card seems to be the cheapest saving option. Please advise what you think Annika. Also how to buy the half fare card online and how to use it combined with the all the train tickets.

Many thanks

Kim

<<"As most mountain attractions are about to close for maintenance at the end of Nov ( which is very disappointed) so we are actually planning to visit Jungfraujoch and Interlaken only.">>

There are options near Luzern. See attached.

Re- rail pass-

Once you have a half fare card, you must buy also a ticket for each journey. The ticket machine allow you to chose a half-fare ticket, since most Swiss residents have half fare cards.

Then when a conductor on a train comes down the aisle asks to see your ticket, you show both the ticket and the half fare card.

Hi Kim,

The Swiss Half Fare Card would be a good choice. Did you take a look at the page Annika linked to? It's all explained there: where to buy online, how it works, which discounts you'll get, etc. How did you like the video?

Thanks for all helpful information, Slowpoke.

Will definitely have a look at these attachment.

Cheers

Just have a look at the link attached by Slowpoke for Pilatus from Lucerne. It looks amazing indeed.

However, Im just wondering if we are going to visit the Jungfraujoch, would it be sort of similar scenery/experience to visit Pilatus as I can see the silver round trip is still not cheap though and on top of that, we need to take a train from grindelwald to Lucerne as well.

Any advice is great.

many thanks

Hi Kimuk,

Both these trips are very different. If you want to do one of them, the best you can do is read the details and see which one appeals to you most:

• myswissalps.com/ pilatus (note that the cogwheel train will be closed; only the cable car is available)
• myswissalps.com/ jungfraujoch

Thanks for your advice Arno.

Just a quick question, we will be staying in Grindelwald from 25/11-29/11 and will go to the Jungfraujoch probably half of any day during our stay, please advise us on what clothes/shoes/essentials that we need to bring with us as this is the 1st time to visit some places like swiss alps.

Many thanks

Hi Kimuk,

You can find tips on the linked Jungfraujoch page, under "Preparation". More about how to prepare for the Alpine weather can be found here: myswissalps.com/ weather.

If anything remains unclear, feel free to ask!