Our river cruise ends in Basel. My wife and I want extend our vacation by 2-3 days to ride a scenic train (Bernina or Glacier Express?) and spend a day or two in a relatively small Swiss town. We're in our 70's, and so don't want to be dragging all our cruise luggage on multiple train trips. Any suggestions?
Posted by
Bend, Oregon
2322 posts
Are you flying out of Basel? If so, I would store your big bags at the hotel in Basel where you will spend your last night. If you’re flying from somewhere else, look at storing your big bags at the train station. Then just bring what you need for 2-3 days. Then hop on a train to Wengen. Instead of just taking a scenic train ride, you will be surrounded by gorgeous scenery continually. You can be there in less than 3 hours. I recommend staying close to the train station if you don’t like hills.
You could also take a longer route via Lucerne and travel the Golden Pass route from Lucerne to Interlaken. This would take closer to 5 hours.
Download the SBB app for all the train options.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thanks for the good info travel4fun. We're now looking at the Bernese Oberland area. We'll be in Switzerland in the middle of May and I'm a little concerned about the weather in the higher elevations. Also, I'm not yet ready to give up on the idea of a train ride through the high mountains. I'm now considering traveling to Chur (or Andermatt) from Basel, then take the train to Andermatt (or Chur), Spend the night there, and take the train to Interlaken the next day. Stay in Interlaken or Lauterbrunnen for two nights. Anyone have comments on this itinerary?
Posted by
Bainbridge Island
3099 posts
That might work. Take a look at the Swiss rail map to see the route.
Basel to Chur is 2+ hours, and Chur to Andermatt about 2.5+. Add wait time between trains and say 6 total. You might have to change trains on one or both legs, depending on your schedule.
From Andermatt to Lauterbrunnen, the best route is via Lucerne. You could stay there for two nights instead of continuing to Lauterbrunnen.
(The other route to Lauterbrunnen goes down to Visp, changing there for the train thru the long tunnel to Spiez, changing there to get to Interlaken where you change yet again to reach Lauterbrunnen. So 3 changes minimum.)
Posted by
Green Bay
20103 posts
A little less ambitious would be to go from Basel to Lauterbrunnen via Luzern. That way you could take the Luzern-Interlaken Express which is quite scenic over the Brunig Pass. Spend 3 nights in Lauterbrunnen before taking a more direct route back to Basel.