Frankfurt-LauterBrunnen (need help on how to get here)

Basel SBB is the main railway station in the city, while Basel Bad Bhf refers to Basel Badische Bahnhof, which is run by the German railways and serves trains to Germany. Many trains stop at both stations, but you might have to take a different train or city tram between the two. You can use your Swiss Travel Pass to reach Basel Badischer Bahnhof.

For details of how to get from Basel to Frankfurt you should search for times and buy tickets at www.bahn.com. Tickets don't go on sale until 92 days before travel date but you can check times now as they probably won't change much. If you buy as soon as tickets go on sale you can get big discounts, but they limit you to one specific train so give yourself plenty of time to change in Basel. Don't look specifically for trains from Basel Badischer Bahnhof, just put in Basel. Make sure you select Frankfurt (Main) as destination as there is a completely different town in Germany called Frankfurt an der Oder, near the Polish border.

Frankfurt >> Basel >> Interlaken >> Lauterbrunnen

Thank you so much Philip and David! i will keep that in mind, about the discount. That's really a huge help. I'm heading to Lauterbrunnen from Frankfurt actually, the train from Frankfurt will make a stop in Bahnhof Basel SBB, meaning from there i can start using my Swiss Travel Pass from Basel > Interlaken > Lauterbrunnen. Am i right?

You don't need to ask what train routes are, or look it up on Google (which is not designed for train travel). Just go to your favourite train time website (German railways: https://www.bahn.de/p_en/view/index.shtml or Swiss railways: http://www.sbb.ch/en/home.html ) and do a search from Frankfurt ("Frankfurt (Main) HBF") to Lauterbrunnen. These will both find you the quickest route, and show you where you have to change trains, and give prices.

The route will actually be Frankfurt - Karlsruhe - Basel - Bern - Interlaken - Lauterbrunnen. Where you have to change depends on which train you take. In Basel, trains from Frankfurt call at both "Basel Badischer Bahnhof" and "Basel SBB". Trains from Germany either terminate there or continue further into Switzerland. You will probably change at Basel SBB, but you may be lucky and get a through train to Interlaken.
Basel SBB is the boundary between the two railway companies. If you buy a Swiss Pass, it starts there and you then buy a ticket from "Frankfurt (Main) HBF" to Basel SBB. Otherwise you just buy a ticket from Frankfurt to Lauterbrunnen.

A Swiss travel pass covers all trains and buses and city transport in Switzerland, except mountain railways. Lauterbrunnen to Zürich airport is by train, there are no intercity buses within Switzerland, it is all train.

Aww, Chris. I love the postbuses. I guess you'd call them "inter-town buses" or "inter-village buses", though.

Scha, if you do end up buying a Swiss pass, it will cover rides on the lake boats. If you happen to have time (or if you get some foggy weather not suitable for mountain walking), you could take advantage of that to see a bit of Lake Thun or Lake Brienz. They are both a short train ride from Lauterbrunnen.

scha,

It would help to have a bit more information......

Are you arriving in Frankfurt via an international flight, and if so what is your arrival time? Note that there are two rail stations at the airport and for a trip to Lauterbrunnen you'll likely be using the Fernbahnhof (long distance trains).

Which "Swiss Pass" were you thinking of getting. Here's a list....

https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/switzerland-rail-passes

Note that the Swiss Passes only cover part of the cost on the mountain lifts, so if you're planning to take those you'll need to budget a bit extra.

With a few more details, it would be easier to offer more specific suggestions.

For any train pass decisions, the key is figuring out what train trips (and lifts) you want to take and how much those trips would cost full fare point-to-point versus using a Half Price Card versus a pass. Lifts such as going up the Schilthorn or Jungfrau from Lauterbrennen can be pricey.

Oh dear, i'm so happy for all your helps and suggestions. Thank you so much!

Chris, ya now i get the picture already, i will buy a ticket from "Frankfurt (Main) HBF" to Basel SBB and from Basel i will use my Swiss Travel Pass. It's because it's my first time travelling alone in foreign country, i'm a bit worried if i got into the wrong route and it will definitely add on my budget which is already tight! lol.

Acraven, ya the post bus! it's the yellow bus right? Does my Swiss Travel Pass covered me to get on that post bus too? Ya, as i will spend my time only around Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald, i will definitely visit Lake Thun or Lake Brienz. Thank you so much for the suggestion! I really appreciate that.

Ken, yes i will be arriving Frankfurt via an international flight, but i will spend 2 days in Frankfurt before heading to Switzerland. I will be taking Single-Country Swiss Travel Pass for 4 days. Ya Fernbahnhof (long distance trains) i will look into that.

Laura, i'm still researching bout the passes actually. As i will only be using the pass from my trip from Basel-Lauterbrunnen, Lauterbrunnen-Grindelwald, and taking the First Flyer (First Grindelwald) and maybe go on a boat trip to Lake Thun or Lake Brienz, and my return trip from Lauterbrunnen - Zurich Airport on my last day.

Please give me some other information or suggestions that i might need. This is my first ever trip to Europe. Thanks a lot guys. :)

If you're staying in Frankfurt you will almost certainly get your train from the city-centre Hauptbahnhof. The "Fernbahnhof" refers to the two stations at Frankfurt Airport, in case you intended to fly in and immediately go to Basel - the Airport has a Fernbahnhof for long-distance trains and a Regionalbahnhof for local ones.

Scha, Yes, a Swiss pass does include the yellow postbuses. The main post-bus routes are shown in yellow on the Swiss Travel Pass map which you say you have already got, if not it is here: https://www.swisspasses.com/railpass/overviewmap_en.pdf
Also covered is city transport (city buses and trams), and lake boats.

Also consider the "Berner Oberland Pass", which just covers the Berner Oberland area, but has better coverage of mountain railways. In that case you would need to buy a ticket from Frankfurt to the edge of the Berner Oberland coverage (Bern?).

I assumed you would be travelling from Frankfurt city centre (because you just said "Frankfurt"), that is why I said the station was "Frankfurt (Main) HBF". If you are coming from the airport, the stations are "Frankfurt (Main) Flughafen Regionalbahnhof" and "Frankfurt (Main) Flughafen Fernbahnhof". The second one also has trains to Basel SBB. Local trains to the city (HBF) leave from the Regionalbahnhof.

acraven, by "Intercity bus" I mean a long distance bus between cities, say Bern-Zürich, which does not exist because the trains are so extensive. The Post buses are local feeder buses, connect with the trains to reach villages without stations, and fill in gaps in the train nertwork. To me "City" refers to a big place, over about 100,000 people. Interlaken is a town, not a city, and Lauterbrunnen is even smaller.

Ah..is that so? Then i most probably will take the train from the city-centre Hauptbahnhof. Then i can save my time a bit, no need to go back to airport. Thank you Philip!

Dear Chris,
Ya, i will be travelling from Frankfurt city to Switzerland, my friend recently visited Switzerland and also recommended "Berner Oberland Pass", this is possible if i take the Post Bus? Is it? If that so then i might have to take train to Bern first before i continue my journey to Lauterbrunnen. Is that possible? From Bern to Lauterbrunnen also got trains right? Ya i have the map, but still digesting the routes. lol! thank you!

Scha, yes the Berner Oberland pass does include postbuses. The map for the pass is here: http://www.regiopass-berneroberland.ch/assets/PDF/BLS-RAIL-Regio-BE-XL-16WEB.pdf
The postbus routes are shown in yellow. It also covers a number of mountain railways which the Swiss Pass only gives you a discount for. Therefore it is the better option if you plan to use those mountain railways.

If that so then i might have to take train to Bern first before i continue my journey to Lauterbrunnen. Is that possible? From Bern to Lauterbrunnen also got trains right?

Which pass you get does not affect which route or trains you take to get to Lauterbrunnen, it just affects which tickets you have to buy.
It so happens that most of the trains into the Berner Oberland area stop at Bern (it is the capital of Switzerland!) and that is where a Berner Oberland Pass starts (see map).
So coming from "Frankfurt (Main) HBF", you would search for a train from there to Lauterbrunnen, whichever train is the most convenient. Double-check the train goes via Bern, and buy a ticket from Frankfurt to Bern, plus a Berner Oberland Pass. You do not have to get off the train in Bern.
The same applies when you go back to Zürich airport. You could go via Bern, in which case use the pass up to Bern and buy a ticket from Bern to "Zürich Flughafen". Or, you could take the scenic but slower route via the Brünig Pass railway and Luzern, then you buy a ticket from Luzern to Zürich Flughafen.

Scha,

Thanks for the additional information.

As someone else mentioned, as you're not travelling from the airport you won't be using the Fernbahnhof at the airport, but probably the Frankfurt main Hbf. Which area is your hotel located in? One of the Frankfurt experts on the forum should be able to tell you which station is most convenient to that location.

A few additional thoughts on your trip to Lauterbrunnen......

• assuming there are no schedule changes, the easiest trip will be a direct (no changes) departure at 08:50, arriving Interlaken Ost at 13:57 (time 5H:07M). Note that there are two stations in Interlaken, so "Ost" will be the second one the train stops at.
• when you arrive at Interlaken Ost, you'll need to transfer to the Berner Oberlandbahn for the 20 minute trip to Lauterbrunnen.
  
• before boarding the Berner Oberlandbahn, be sure to check the small digital display in the side of the car, to ensure that car is in fact going to Lauterbrunnen. In some cases the trains "split" at Zweilütschinen and part goes to Lauterbrunnen and part to Grindelwald.

Regarding Swiss rail passes, I'm not sure which Swiss passes cover the Berner Oberlandbahn? You may have to pay extra for that part of the trip, depending on which pass you buy. This website should provide some information on that - https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/switzerland-rail-passes .

If you were to buy the Bernese Oberland Regional Pass, you'd be covered from Bern (with some exceptions for some of the mountain lifts). If you decide to do that, you'd have to buy a ticket from Frankfurt Hbf to Bern, and at that point your Swiss rail pass would take effect (hopefully one of the others can confirm that). If you use the train I suggested above, it arrives in Bern at 13:04.

Have you booked a hotel in Lauterbrunnen yet? I assume you're going to base yourself in one town and do day trips from there. Grindelwald is easily visited as a day trip from Lauterbrunnen. The weather could be "variable" in May, but hopefully nice.

Hi Chris.

Which pass you get does not affect which route or trains you take to
get to Lauterbrunnen, it just affects which tickets you have to buy.

Which ticket i have to buy actually? If i already buy the Swiss Travel Pass, do i still need to buy the Bernese Oberland Regional Pass? If i don't buy the Bernese Oberland Regional Pass, am i still able to take train to Berner Oberland? It should cost me more right? Ah, i answered my own question. Why did i even asked. Sorry, this Pass things are really confusing haha.
But to go to Zurich Airport from Lauterbrunnen i will have to go through Bern again right? So this Bernese Oberland Regional Pass will save my budget right? Or else how much does it will cost me if i do not take any Pass? :)

Hi Ken,
I haven't book any accommodation in Frankfurt yet, but sure will search any that's close to the train station. But for Lauterbrunnen i've already booked a hotel near the train station. There'll be only one train station in Lauterbrunnen right? Yes, i think i will just base in Lauterbrunnen then roam around and visit Grindelwald and Lake Thun.

assuming there are no schedule changes, the easiest trip will be a
direct (no changes) departure at 08:50, arriving Interlaken Ost at
13:57 (time 5H:07M). Note that there are two stations in Interlaken,
so "Ost" will be the second one the train stops at.

is this is from: https://www.bahn.de/p_en/view/index.shtml ??

when you arrive at Interlaken Ost, you'll need to transfer to the
Berner Oberlandbahn for the 20 minute trip to Lauterbrunnen.

If I don't buy the Bernese Oberland Regional Pass, i think i will need to pay extra for this. Do you know from where i can check the price for this?

And do the Swiss Travel Pass is really value for money as i will just be here for 5 days only. What do you think? Thank you so much for your help. :)

Afiza, That is a lot of questions.
You do not want to buy two passes, that would be paying twice as they overlap each other. I am unclear whether you have already bought a Swiss Pass. If you already have a Swiss Pass, do not buy a Berner Oberland Pass.
The Swiss Pass DOES cover the Berner Oberland. You can see that from the Swiss Pass Validity map here: https://www.swisspasses.com/railpass/overviewmap_en.pdf
It just does not cover some of the high mountain railways, but does give you a discount (see map).
When you go to Zürich (that is Zürich Flughafen - the airport station, NOT Zürich HB in the city centre) your Swiss pass will cover you.

If I don't buy the Bernese Oberland Regional Pass, i think i will need to pay extra for this. Do you know from where i can check the price for this?

Both the Swiss Pass and the Berner Oberland Pass cover you all the way to Lauterbrunnen. It is just the "Eurail" pass which stops at Interlaken. If yiu want to find times and prices for trains in Switzerland, use the SBB (Swiss Federal Railways) site: http://www.sbb.ch/en/home.html
That shows one train per hour from Interlaken Ost to Lauterbrunnen, leaving at xx:05, journey time 20 minutes, price (second class full fare) CHF 7.60

Scha,

On the train from Interlaken Ost to Lauterbrunnen, even if you get on the wrong section of the train, when it stops in Zweilütschinen, if you look out the window, you will see signs directing you to Lauterbrunnen portion of the train. Just exit the train and walk to the front of the train. There are normally quite a few people who get on the wrong section of the train.

There is no need to worry about trains. They are simple to find and board in stations. If possible, catch the direct train from Frankfurt to Interlaken Ost. It is easier than having multiple connections for a newbe train traveler.

There is only one station in Lauterbrunnen.

YES!
Thank you guys sooooo much! Finally i understand the Swiss Pass system. I'll get the Swiss Pass then. Thank you for your patience and tolerance to explain all these to me, i will definitely print all this to help me on my journey. Ya i think from Frankfurt i will take the direct train to Interlaken Ost then maybe on the way back to Zurich Airport when i already adapt to the train system then i'll take the scenic route. Thank you! This is the best community EVER! xoxo