Appenzell to Murren

Correct, except that after the cablecar (which lands you at Grutschalp) you board another train for the short ride to Mürren. If you have luggage you put it in the basket before boarding the cablecar and it will be carried up and transferred to the train for pickup in Mürren.

Yes. More like 5 hours. At Lauterbrunnen, you have the option of either taking the cable car (gondola really) to Gruetschalp, then a train to Muerren, or taking a bus to Stechelberg, then a cable car to Muerren. That route goes Appenzell to Gossau to Zurich to Bern to Interlaken Ost.

An alternate route from Appenzell goes to Luzern to Lauterbrunnen. This route takes 6 to 6 1/2 hours, is a bit more scenic, and if you are not traveling on a pass, will be about 18 CHF cheaper with full fare tickets. You have to specify "via Luzern" to see this route.

Thank you both! We plan on purchasing a travel pass and just bring carry on size luggage. How easy will this be to tackle with 5-6 stops? Hubby and I (46, 51) and 16 y/o daughter in good health and have travelled to EU before.

These connections go extremely smoothly. And the train stations even have ramps instead of stairs to the boarding platforms.

Carry on size, and with a healthy 16-year-old. No problem. A lot less walking than most airports.
5 or 6 changes, about 5 hours.

If you look up your trains on the SBB website ( https://www.sbb.ch/en ), it will show you all the connections, and the platform numbers, so you know ahead of time. Just look up Appenzell to Mürren, and it will find the quickest route.
And you can also look that up on the SBB app (recommended).
Or you can ask the ticket inspector when (s)he checks your tickets.

BTW, Switzerland is not in the EU.

I'll just run through these connections for the 7:30 departure via Zurich and Bern.

At Gossau, it is 13 minutes, which is forever in Switzerland. Arrive on Track 11 and depart on Track 4, so you will need to use the underground pedestrian tunnel to do this. Will take 3 or 4 minutes at the most.

At Zurich Hbf, it is 9 minutes, arrive on Track 31 and depart on Track 32, so that means you are just crossing to the other side of the platform. As easy as it gets.

At Bern, it is 6 minutes, arrive on Track 6 and depart on Track 5. Again, easy cross-platform change.

At Interlaken Ost, it is 7 minutes, arrive on Track 5 and depart on track 2A. You take the underground pedestrian tunnel to get to the new track. Take care that you board the correct part of the train, as it splits at Zweiluetschinen and the other half goes to Grindelwald. The destination is marked on each carriage. This is the tightest connection, but worry not. If you miss it, there is another train in 30 minutes.

At Lauterbrunnen, the cable car runs continually, so just wait your turn a get on board. At the top is the train to Muerren. If you miss it, there is another in 15 minutes.

In Switzerland, if you miss a train, just wait, there will be another one coming by, worst case, in 1 hour.

Thanks so much all! Much appreciated!

NC,

One minor point to add to the information provided, is that when you buy tickets from Lauterbrunnen to Mürren, you must specify Mürren BLM as that's the route that uses the cable car to Grütschalp and then the small mountain railway to Mürren. The cable car station is directly across the street from the rail station. Look for a stone arch with a blue & white sign above the door that says "Bergbahn Lauterbrunnen-Mürren."

When you arrive in Mürren, you'll be at the opposite end of town to the other arrival point, the Schilthornbahn. You can easily walk to your hotel from the station.

If you're making any trips back down into the valley during your stay, you could certainly try the other route using the Schilthornbahn down to Gimmelwald, then down to Stechelberg and finally the Post Bus to Lauterbrunnen.

A little further on Ken's addition:- or stroll down to Gimmelwald (down hill mostly quite gentle) on a fully paved path (farmer's road).

Also, it is difficult for anybody to miss the cable car - train connection at Grütschalp because the single car train is adjacent (90 degrees perpendicular) to the top of the cable car, and everybody steps off the cable car, walks about 15 feet, and gets on the little train, settles into the little seats, and off it goes after the last person gets on.

You've gotten great information. I'll just add that I know these connections seem confusing before you've been there. Once you're there, it's quite easy. In particular, the route from Interlaken Ost to Muerren involves lots of changes, but the transit is coordinated, the next stop is easy to find once you're in the station, and lots of people will be going the same way. If at any point you're lost or confused, just ask for help.

A tip no one else has given: at the Muerren BLM station, there's no need to go up the stairs with your luggage. Instead, go out the "back" of the station (walk back the way the train came), and outside the station you'll see a ramp up to town.

Thank you all! I’ll be sure to have lots of Swiss cheese and chocolate on your behalf 😁

I’m in Mürren right now and I’ll underscore the comment that although taking 5-6 vehicles sounds daunting, it’s surprisingly easy because the Swiss transportation system is so well organized.

Have a great trip. I was in Appenzell a couple of weeks ago and loved it, and the Lauterbrunnen Valley is unbelievably beautiful. Photos cannot do it justice.