Does anyone have suggestions about the need for train reservations (or not) from Zurich to Wengen in late July and from Wengen to Basel in early August? We need to travel on specific days to make connections for other ticketed travel arrangements. Should we purchase tickets for those dates before leaving the US? Or is it easy to purchase tickets once we are there, even in mid Summer? Also, how busy is Wengen in early August? Are the hiking trails tranquil, or completely packed with fellow hikers? Thanks for your advice! It is our first trip to Switzerland.
Posted by
Green Bay
20090 posts
Swiss trains are so frequent that nobody makes reservations. Only certain trains even take reservations. Buying when you arrive is fine. The connections between Interlaken Ost and Wengen are every 30 minutes and unreserved.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Thank you Sam, that is good to know!
Posted by
Nashville, TN
415 posts
Just buy the tickets when you get there, no need to pre-purchase anything like that. It is high season in August but "busy" is relative I guess. Sure, some things will definitely be busy - such as train stations, popular look out points, etc. but you can still find off the beaten path places if you try. If you want to stay away from crowds, avoid things like Jungfraujoch, Harder Kulm, Interlaken, First, etc. and look for some of the hikes that take a little more effort to research. If it takes you a few minutes to find the info about it, it probably means that most people aren't putting forth that effort and thus, there won't be as many people there. I won't give examples, because that would kind of defeat the purpose of keeping them quieter :)
Posted by
11 posts
Wengen is very busy in early August, as is the entire region. That said, you are most likely to encounter LOTS of people at the train stations in the region and, of course, on the hyped "must-do" excursions like Jungfraujoch. If you want to do J'joch you definitely need a seat reservation (10 CHF) for that. But don't buy a ticket (wildly expensive) until the evening before or morning of your trip after you've checked the weather. They are non-refundable and if it's cloudy you see nothing.
The transports to Schilthorn will also be mobbed but now one can make reservations which makes it a bit more palatable.
The adventure activities at First (above Grindelwald) like zip lining and what not will require reservations or arriving very early in the morning. Otherwise the lines can be 1 - 2 hours long. The gorgeous walk from Männlichen to Kleine Scheidegg will also be mobbed but, heck, you gotta do it anyway because it's so darn amazing. Other hikes/walks like the stunning stroll from Lauterbrunnen to Stechelberg will be busy but more strung out so not too bad. Plenty of other hikes in the region -- as previous poster said, the ones you search to find -- will be lovely.
Do not let all this deter you. Just wanting to properly set expectations. IMO, Wengen is the eye candy of the entire country, We've been there 28 times. We prefer September but sometimes schedules (especially with kids and grandkids) dictate we must go in July or August. Not our preference but it's hecka better than not going there at all!!
As for Wengen itself, back to my comment about it being very busy. It's usually packed with tour groups that are on a set schedule and always have dinner at their respective hotels (most tours are all-inclusive). So you see them all coming and going to train station, if kids are involved they sometimes take over the volleyball court in town square for hours, but other than that they keep to themselves. BUT, depending on how many are "we", you want to make dinner reservations in the village in advance.
Posted by
Wengen
1651 posts
Trains in Switzerland are mass transit. Taking the train from Zurich to Wengen is trivial, and most of the people you will see onthose trains are locals going about their every day business. As with mass transit everywhere there is no need to pre book train tickets. Normal train tickets are valid the whole day on the route they are bought for, and allow you to take any train on the route. Such normal train tickets are always available.
Tourists unfamiliar with trains in Europe often worry that they won't be able to get a ticket for their chosen train, but that is like worrying that you won't be able to get a ticket for the NY Subway.. I'll repeat: Trains are mass transit
It does happen (rarely) that more people board a train then there are seats. That is perfectly possible, as tickets are sold in unlimited quantities, and not linked to a particular train departure (hence they are not really "train" tickets, but transport tickets...). So occasionally some people have to stand. You can always move the 1st class and buy a class upgrade on board if you encounter this.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Many thanks to each of you who have responded. Your insights are really helpful, and very reassuring about the trains. No worries now about reservations! And we can hardly wait to explore that spectacular scenery.