How to get from Chamonix France to Grindelwald Switzerland

Hello nol,

"BEST...considering trade off" is a continuum on which every person will have different preferences.

If you plot cost and time, you can see what your choices are and pick the one that is best for YOU.

Here is an example: If you pick up in France and drop of in Switzerland, you will very like incur a substantial drop-off fee.

Is it worth it? Only you can say. But if you pick up in the Swiss section of Geneva, there should be no drop-off fee.

You can get there 2 hours faster, but that means using the Loetschberg Base Tunnel, which does not have very good views. The route described by scythian includes the "Golden Pass" train that is a popular tourist route, because of the views.

Where to after Grindelwald? If returning to France, you could hang on to the car while in Grindelwald. Either way, one of the costs will be to purchase a Swiss vignette, a toll sticker that allows you to drive on motorways.

The fastest driving route is about 3 1/4 hours. The "fast way" on the rails is 4 1/4 hours.

If you're using a Swiss Travel Pass, it starts working from Chamonix to cover the whole train route described above. If using a Swiss Half-Fare Card, then the 50% discounts kick in slightly later, from the border station at Le Chatelard. You're bound to want one or the other for the rest of your time in Switzerland, so these costs will get bundled into that decision.

The transfers will certainly be easier if each traveler has just one airline-carry-on-sized bag and perhaps a smaller purse or daypack that they can handle themselves. FYI, the Swiss railway can offer luggage transfers for a price, but they don't have that option in Chamonix.

You don't say what airport you are flying into - however, are you aware that if you use the Geneva airport you can pick up either a French rental car OR a Swiss rental car? Depending on where you want to return it, that option could save you the "different country return" rental penalty. We reserved through Auto Europe and the rental company was Europecar.