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Getting from Salzburg to Lauterbrunnen

Hello all. We are needing to get from Salzburg to Lauterbrunnen for our stay in Wengen. Train schedules look pretty complicated and a long journey. I dont want to rent a car because I have been told they are expensive to rent in one country and return in another. I'm looking for the best solution to potentially save time and money. So, a few questions for the experts:
1. What is the easiest way to get there?
2. Is there a scenic train route that at least we can better enjoy the journey if we go by train?
3. How much are return fees for drop off in another country? Maybe it will still be less than the train and faster?
4 Any suggestions on getting a driver to take us? What website and any idea how much that would cost?
5. Is traveling to Vienna first and flying to Zurich, then a train to Lauterbrunnen a better option?
Thanks everybody!

Posted by
6177 posts

That is not a short trip, so it will take time. It is a bit over 400 km as the crow flies, and straight through the Alps. All those mountains slow down travel.

  1. By train
  2. The route through the Alps (via Innsbruck) will be very scenic.
  3. Don't know, but you can get an estimate at most rental car companies websites.
  4. I guess it will cost somewhere in the vicinity of "If you have to ask about the price, you can't afford it". Neither Austria nor Switzerland are cheap countries.
  5. No. If you think a train trip with 2 or 3 changes is complicated, going to Vienna to fly to Zürich will probably exhaust you. As well as cost more and take longer.
Posted by
32523 posts

q1 not that difficult. Long because of all those Alps you came to see getting in the way all the time. Imagine trying to get from the Canadian border to the Royal Gorge but you had to stay flat and level (trains don't work well if it isn't flat and level) and not leave the Rockies for the whole trip. Get on a train heading west from Salzburg, in the direction of Innsbruck. Keep going in a relatively straight line (it wobbles a lot and even goes through a part of Germany, but that's those mountains again) until you get to the Swiss border and its biggest city Zürich. Change trains for Interlaken Ost which is the gateway to the Lauterbrunnen Valley. You may have to change again either in Luzern (for a really scenic trip over the Brünig Pass) or Bern (and yet again in Spiez if you didn't pick a train direct to Interlaken). Then up the hill on the narrow gauge cograil train to Lauterbrunnen. Walk from one train to the other in Lauterbrunnen for the short run up to Wengen. Yup, sounds complicated, but like the old proverb of how do you eat an elephant (a metophorical one I stress) - one bite at a time. Connections are straightforward, the trains run frequently and timings are good. Changing trains is good for you - it forces you to stand up and move around, and stations are brimming with food stands - and everybody takes food on the trains....

q2. The route from Salzburg to Zürich is pretty good scenery. If you route to Interlaken Ost from Zürich via Luzern, that is excellently scenic - sit on the right hand side leaving Luzern and the best scenery is on that side all the way, even when you change ends in Meiringen don't change sides but you will be goig backwards for that bit... The trains from Interlaken Ost to Wengen are very scenic.

q3. No clue. But the toll for the Arlberg Tunnel will eat your lunch.

q4. No clue, but I expect you would have to sell several children and be inheriting a small fortune.

q5. wow. NO.

Posted by
16028 posts

You cannot drive a car to Wengen, so even if you rent a car you will have to finish by train.

There are direct trains from Salzburg to Zurich. Start with that. To reach Wengen from there, you head to Interlaken Ost, likely with a change at Bern. From Interlaken Ost, you take a train to Lauterbrunnen, where you will find the train to Wengen.

You can buy the whole ticket on the Swiss train site, SBB.ch.

Posted by
205 posts

Thank you all! Super helpful! A train (or several) it is!
I am grateful for the very thorough and specific replies here.
That is a huge help!
Sounds like the journey will be wonderful, like the destination!

Posted by
205 posts

One more question. Obviously a long travel day. If we wanted to break it up and stay somewhere for one afternoon/evening before resuming the journey, where would you recommend? Is Bern a good option for one night? I would like most of the journey to be behinf]d us, but might be nice to take a breather and see a little something before continuing.
Or….is it better to get to Wengen to have one more full day there?
Thoughts?

Posted by
16028 posts

We would break up the journey—-I meant to suggest that but was running out of cell coverage (typing in car with my husband driving). The logical choices, to me, would be Luzern or Bern. Both are just about an hour beyond Zurich, and both are right on the way to Interlaken for your trains to Wengen. But by different routes. Bern is the faster, less scenic route. If you choose Luzern ( which I recommend) you can use the scenic Brunig Pass route described by Nigel to go straight to Interlaken Ost the next day, passing mountains, lakes, and waterfalls on the way.

That route is truly a “journey is the destination” one. Lots of nice hotels in Luzern right close to the train station, some with views of the water from rooms.

Posted by
205 posts

Thank you! We were planning 2 days in Lucerne after our BO visit before heading to Zurich for our departure. Maybe we should do a day in Lucerne, BO, a second day in Lucerne and then off to Zurich? Or we could spend our 2 days in Lucerne up front, go to BO and then directly from BO to Zurich?

Posted by
6177 posts

If you want to break up the trip, it sounds like somewhere in Switzerland would be a good idea. Salzburg to Zürich is an easy trip on a pretty comfortable Railjet train. Rearranging your plan and go to Luzern first instead of Wengen will make the trip a bit shorter, but you can also spend a few hours in Zürich.

Posted by
32523 posts

there's quite a lot of difference between Wengen to the Zurich airport and Luzern and the airport. From Luzern it is only an hour and a quarter to the airport so unless your flight is very early Luzern is a good last night location.....