Wife and I will be staying 2 nights in Gimmelwald and 1 in Lauterbrunnen. We want to do Schilthorn, Trummelbach Falls and Jungfrau. And paragliding off of Gimmelwald.
Is there a Swiss pass we should buy for this short itinerary?
Trying to figure out how much I would spend on trains, buses, and gondolas for this region is a little difficult.
Thanks in advance.
where are you coming from and where are you going to? How will you get from wherever those are to and from the Lauterbrunnen Valley?
and since they are so close to each other, why are you wasting time changing lodgings?
So we are coming from Frankfurt. When we leave we will be heading to Venice. The morning we come down and check in to the Lauterbrunnen hotel, we will drop off our bags and meet up with the Paragliding group. Go back up again and paraglide down yet again. Then from there we will head up to Jungfrau.
Thanks again,
Matt & Shannon
If you have more than 240 chf of train tickets, The one-month Half Fare Card for 120 chf is often the best deal. Since a round trip to the Jungfraujoch runs about 200 chf and the Round trip to Schilthorn is 77 chf, you are there. In addition, you will get half fare on all other train, bus, and local transport while in Switzerland.
Chris from Basel posted on your other thread, so take a look at his suggestion. Flying from Venice to Barcelona is a good idea. Less time riding trains, and more time at destinations.
Edit, There are 3 nonstop flights every day from Venice to Barcelona on Vueling. May 30, prices run from 58 to 90 euro in Optima class with one free checked bag for a 2 hour flight.
Matt & Shannon
Thanks for the clarification but I still don't see how you are traveling from Frankfurt and to Venice.
Is it by your own car, or a hire car, or train, or some other way. Upon that lies the answer.
Conventional wisdom is to take the train up to the Jungfraujoch in good clear weather, especially at the summit.
Usually the best weather at the summit is in the morning or around noon. Because of the air currents created as the earth warms up cloud begins to billow up and around the summit on many days after late morning, or there can be rain on any day. There are television screens in your hotel and in the train stations which show summit conditions.
If you arrive in the morning (all the way from Frankfurt - that's quite a long way?) and then check in and then paraglide and then start a 2 hour trip up the mountain, you may find that the best weather has left.
Sam, thanks again for good info. The 1/2 price pass was what I was really wondering about and it seems that is the way to go. Regarding the Venice to Barcelona trip; the man in seat 61 recommends this train ride with a hotel night in Geneva. (less than 100 Euros if you book far enough in advance). One of my bucket list items is a tour of the LHC at CERN. So that's the reasoning behind the long train ride.
Nigel, sorry for not being a little more specific, i'm a little dense sometimes ;-)
We will be taking the ICE from Amsterdam to Frankfurt, and again to Interlaken. (Or as close as that gets) I have learned that you can get really cheap tickets on ICE if it starts or ends in Germany. But not if you use the same train without stopping in Germany... So an early train from Frankfurt puts us in Interlaken around noon. I'm not exactly sure what train we take out of Interlaken to get to Venice.
We have 3 nights in the Lauterbrunnen Valley, so I need to figure out our itinerary so that we get up to the peaks early and do the other things later in the day.
Thank you all very much! This forum is AWESOME!
Matt & Shannon
My wife and I have just returned (June 28) from a week based in Lauterbrunnen. We bought a six day Jungfraubahnen Pass (CHF 255), which allowed us unlimited access to MOST of the trains, buses and lifts in the area. (Although NOT from Gimmelwald, which is on the Schilthorn line, and operated by another company. The lift from Gimmelwald to Stechelberg cost us an additional CHF 4.20). Also not included were the last leg to Jungfraujoch from Kleine Scheidegg, or the lift from Wengen to Schilthorn. Each of these would add about CHF60, after included discount. We hiked extensively on four of our six days (the other two were rainy), and the pass more than paid for itself, compared to pay-as-you-go. For a three day stay, look into the Jungfraubahnen VIP pass (CHF245), which gives similar advantages for three consecutive days, but includes ONE trip to the top of Jungfraujoch. The passes can be purchased at any of the rail stations in the area, and I believe discounts are available if you already have a Swiss pass of some sort.
As for splitting your time between Gimmelwald and Lauterbrunnen, the latter offers much better access to the majority of the trails, being a transportation hub for the area.
