I am going to be traveling from Innsbruck, Austria and am hoping to stop and explore Vaduz, Lichtenstien for around an hour before continuing on to Grindelwald, Switzerland however this is too long of a travel day for me as it seems to be best to connect in Zurich before heading on. I'm looking for somewhere that is along that route to stay the night, probably near or before Zurich where I could find cheap (~50 euros for a night) housing to split this day of travel up. I plan to stay two or three nights in Grindelwald and do some hiking there before taking a train that connects through Visp to Chur so I can ride the Bernina route south out of Switzerland, so I figure it would be nice to at least take the train through the northern part of Switzerland to get to see it on my way to Grindelwald, but if there's a cheaper or quicker way of getting there from Innsbruck please let me know.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17284 posts
I will suggest you take a look at a rail map of Switzerland. You do not need to go through Visp to reach Chur from Grindelwald. And you could look at the route between Innsbruck and where you will head to Vaduz, to see the towns en route and look for a possible place to stay (it might be in Austria, which is generally less expensive than Switzerland).
Posted by
OP
7 posts
I did try looking at the rail map and other websites to plan my routes and it's possible I've been looking at it too long today and have missed something obvious, but I didn't think there was a direct route that runs south of the alps from Grindelwald to Chur which is why I though connecting through Visp was a good idea.
I've also been trying to find accommodation along the route to Grindelwald and have struggled as the towns are so small I have no way of knowing from looking at them if they'll have any options for lodging much less some sort of cheap dorm accommodation like I am looking for. I am worried that something in Austria would be a wasted day as it would still be roughly four hours to get to Grindelwald so I am hoping for something an hour or so past the border of Lichtenstein to at least get me a good chunk of the way towards Grindelwald so I can still have time for a quick day hike or something out of there.
Posted by
Twin Cities of MN
6294 posts
Try google.maps. Put in your travel from Vaduz to Grindelwald. I'm assuming you are traveling by train? If so, use the train mode. Then you can see the route. Zero in on towns that you think might work and then click "Nearby" and hotels. I just looked at Thalwil. There are hotels, at a quick glance they seem well over your targeted price. Relative to Austria and other Countries in Europe, Switzerland is quite expensive.
You know, Chur is quite close to Vaduz. You are basically backtracking to go to Chur
Posted by
Wengen
2448 posts
What are your expectations regarding Liechtenstein? It is easily one of the most forgettable places in Europe. I would just skip that, and just travel Innnsbruck - Grindelwald. That is a pretty straightforward trip.
Regarding getting to Chur afterwards: The fastest route would indeed stay north of the Alps, so you would basically backtrack most of the same route you already did on the way to Grindelwald. For an alternastive you can indeed take the Glacier Express route, but that will be a lot slower.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17284 posts
Grindelwald is itself on the north side of the Alps, and as you found there are no train routes going directly south from there through the mountains.
If you want to travel to Chur on the south side of the main Alps massif you could head from Grindelwald to Meiringen and take a Postbus from there over the Grimsel Pass to one of the towns that is a stop on the Glacier Express route to Chur. The Postbus routes (which are covered by the Swiss Travel Pass) are the yellow roads on the rail map. The actual Glacier Express only stops at Andermatt, but the regional trains running on the same tracks stops at the smaller towns.
Postbus map route 162 Meiringen to Andermatt:
Of course there are other ways to get there from Grindelwald, by train, heading first east or west from Interlaken before going south. One is via Luzern and the Gotthard Pass to Göschenen (change there to Andermatt), or via Spiez to Brig if you want to ride longer on the Glacier Express. Going via Visp would involve a long deep tunnel between Spiez and Visp. Check the prices for the various routes before you decide, or buy a Saver Day Pass. The fast trains through the tunnels tend to be more expensive than the regional trains.
The “dorm style” rooms with multiple beds are characteristic of hostels, mountain huts and some mountain inns, so you will have to search specifically for those types.
Posted by
Fort Myers, FL
1849 posts
There is a youth hostel in Zug for about $65 in a 6 bed dormitory. Other than that, you will have a tough time finding a cheap place on the train route to Zurich. Zug is about 25 minutes from Zurich by train.
Posted by
Nashville, TN
601 posts
Skip Vaduz and do the 6 hr 23 min train trip from Innsbruck to Grindelwald in one day. It’s really not that long (I’ve done longer in a day) and you’re adding a lot of complication trying to go to a forgettable place. Your time in Switzerland is already so short, make the most out of it by getting there as efficiently as possible.