Two night visit April 2; considering Interlaken

We will be arriving in Basel by riverboat on Sunday AM April 02, 2017. As it turns out we will only have several days to get a taste of Switzerland. We are thinking that we could get the train from Basel to Interlaken, check into a modest hotel for 2 nights, do the complete Jungfrau trip, return to Interlaken and take the first train back to Zurich airport the next AM.

How long does the round trip take from Interlaken to Jungfrau?

Hi,

There are two major routes to travel between Interlaken OST to the top at Jungfrauch.

1a. Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen

1b. Lauterbrunnen to Kleine Scheidegg

1c. Kleine Scheidegg to Jungfraujoch

OR

2a. Interlaken to Grindelwald

2b. Grindelwald to Kleine Scheidegg

2c. Kleine Scheidegg to Jungfraujoch

Either route's train journey takes 2 hours, 17 mins -- considering you are just jumping trains without spending time at the stations or nearby areas. Although with a Swiss Travel Pass you can get down at any station, spend sometime and board any incoming trains.

An ideal suggestion would be to start your day early, say, 8am or 9am. Train timetables changes every December so for your trip in April next year, you should check for new train timings after Dec 10, 2016 at www.sbb.ch/en

This is a good site to check about Jungfrau for all activities you can do and all that is open / closed during that time. I went to Swiss this year in the 3rd week of April and pretty much things were open, though could not make it to the Jungfrau but went to Titlis and Pilatus. Few things might be closed due to snow. April is a cross-over between Winter and Spring, ideally Spring season. So things like cogwheels, or activities like zip-lining etc might be closed. Check here : www.jungfrau.ch/en

Hi Kickin904,

Apart from Interlaken, the Lucerne area sskundu visited would also be a good option, and closer to Zurich.

Good evening,

Thanks to both of you who replied. We liked the idea of using Lucerne as the base of our travels.

We hope to get the 0904 train on Sunday in Basel, arriving 1004 in Lucerne an hour later. We would use the rest of the day doing as much as we can in the area, based on what is open in April.

On Monday we will do Jungfrau from Interlaken using one route up and another route down and then return to Lucerne. In case the weather is not suitable for Jungfrau, we would like alternate suggestions as to where and what we could do to maximize our sightseeing?

Tuesday, we will take the train to Zurich, check our bags in a locker at the station and do as much bus touring as we can of the city. After dinner, we will take the train out to our hotel in Kloten and prepare for our 0700 flight back to the USA

After the train schedules and fares are updated for 2017, we will be asking for advice on rail cards, dining and tour details.

This is a fantastic site and by watching the posts the rest of the year, I am sure we will be well prepared for our 2017 travels.

Kickin904

Hi Kickin904,

Sounds good, but please note that it takes 4h17 one-way to reach Jungfraujoch from Luzern, so that day trip will take at least 11 hours. There are many excursions closer to Lucerne, and bad weather activities too. The links Arno gave you have all the details.

I am not sure which bus tour you have in mind for Zurich. The town center is quite small and exploring it on foot is the best way to properly see it. There are some guided (bus) tours that include Zurich plus something else. Please see www.myswissalps.com/zu rich/activities.

I'm glad you like our website! Feel free to ask, read, and use the search box in the top of the screen. I'm sure you'll find lots of information.

Good evening everyone from Texas USA,

I think you have convinced us that to try and visit Jungfrau, we would be better off staying in Interlaken as our base. We have found several hotels at the top end of our budget, but close to the train station.

Now even though I am getting pretty good reading the Swiss timetables, I do have a few questions. As we will be arriving in Basil Sunday morning 02.04.17 and we are leaving from Zurich early morning 04.04.17 we are trying to maximize our sightseeing.

• Sunday, 02.04.17 taking the trains to Zweisimnen, connecting with the Golden Pass and ending in Montreux, having a leisurely lunch for a couple of hours and then taking the train back to Interlaken for the night. Even though it will be a long day, the time tables seem to say it can be done. The question is; how can we tell which train to Zweisimnen goes over the mountain instead of through the new tunnel?
• On Monday 03.04.16 we will hopefully be able to do Jungfrau in decent weather. If not, we are sure we can get a lot of good local advice as to alternative activities, day trips, etc in Interlaken
• Tuesday 03.04.17 we will be traveling to Zurich. Our original thought was to spend most of the day touring the city, but many have suggested we do not need a lot whole lot of time to get a panoramic idea of the city, by using the "hop on Hop off " bus for several hours. Rather than just taking the train directly to Zurich, would you suggest routes we could take that would allow us to drop off in one or more towns, spending an hour or so sightseeing around, eating, etc and ending up arriving evening at our hotel in Kloten. i understand that the train stations have lockers where we can store our luggage.

Thank you again for all the advice you provide on this site.

Kickin904

Hi Kickling1904-

Hello to the Lone Star State, from the state where Colt revolvers were created -

Connecticut.

<<" The question is; how can we tell which train to Zweisimnen goes over the mountain instead of through the new tunnel?">

You are confusing two routes. Please look this map before correcting your routing:

map.search.ch/?x=-15728m&y=29776m&z=2

Zoom in for rail lines.

The timetable will give you a lot of information if you click on the "+" sign to the left of each journey. Including maps.

Luzern and Bern can both reward a short stop.

www.myswissalps.com/be rn

www.myswissalps.com/lu cerne

Slowpoke

Good afternoon, please disregard my previous question re: new tunnel.

Regards, Kickin904