I have heard so many good things about Rail travel in Switzerland. (the first week in June).
I am however, concerned about making 3 transfers with four adults and all of our luggage from Basel to Wengen. I would love to hear if anyone has rented a car and done that instead of rail travel. We have driven before in Austria and Germany and did fine. Thanks in advance!!
We rented a car in Milan and drove to Grindelwald, Switzerland and then drove over to Pontresina before returning the car in Bellagio, Italy, a two week trip.. No problems at all driving on Switzerland or Italy's roads or highways.We had to buy a Swiss Vignette for the car.
What a shame not to use one of the best rail systems in the world
You can’t travel to Wengen by car. They are not allowed. You would need to park the car in Lauterbrunnen and then take the train anyway.
The trains are very easy to navigate. Especially at Lauterbrunnen, which is the end of the line. You get off the train, walk across the platform 10 feet, and get on the awaiting train.
If you use the SBB app, it will tell you which platform you will arrive at, and which one the next train leaves from. If you miss your train, just get on the next one. The concerns about luggage are valid. Just be ready to get off the train (standing by the door with your luggage) a few minutes before it arrives at your station.
Driving in Switzerland is easy. The problem is that you’ll probably end up getting a train pass anyway, since all the best views require you to go up into the mountains, either by train or cable car.
It's two changes from Basel to Wengen most of the time. And the changes are easy. You will find out that they are a non issue. And that 4 adults change trains as fast as 1 adult or 100 adult.
You can't use your car in Wengen anyway. So you will be buying either a pass or tickets. And as soon as you buy a non trivial amount of tickets you can save money by getting the Half Fare Card and once you have the the car makes even less sense.
Especially since you do not want to take a car in to Luzern. Or Zurich. And the train ride from Interlaken to Luzern is rather scenic. You'd miss that when driving.
So you're asking if it's a good idea to rent a car in order to get to a car free village?
No, it's a very bad idea.
Transfers on Swiss trains are very easy, so please put your concerns aside. It makes no sense to rent a car and pay to park in Lauterbrunnen in order to get to Wengen. We thoroughly enjoyed the fact that Wengen was car free for our stay there. Download the SBB app and you will be good to go.
Try to keep “all that luggage” to a minimum. Make sure everyone can handle their own bags, ideally a smallish rolling bag and a daypack. Be ready to get off the train when it stops and go directly to you next train. You can identify the arrival an departure tracks on the SBB app so you won’t have to spend time figuring that out once off the train.
It really is amazingly easy. We were worried the first time we went to Switzerland and it took us 4 trains to get to Lauterbrunnen from Rome. Piece of cake!
It takes 2-3 minutes to change in Interlaken Ost and at least half of the passengers arriving with you will be making the same connection. The train staff are well aware of this and during busy times they even have people standing on the platform helping you know which section of the train to go in.
There are ramps at the station, if you happen to exit the train near stairs, just look for the overhead signs as to where the ramp is. This will be faster and easier than lugging your suitcases down and up the stairs.
Switzerland has been working hard towards becoming barrier free; ramps or escalators at train stations and platforms raised to be level with the floor of the train - just pull your luggage on. This is not the case for all trains, but for sure the Interlaken-Lauterbrunnen-Wengen as well as the Interlaken-Luzern routes are like this.
Thank you all!! Such good information!
I am downloading the SBB app now. Can't wait to adventure in beautiful Switzerland!!
Using the trains in Switzerland was part of the fun experience for me. Yes, the luggage is a bit of a drag, but you figure it out.
