Visiting Schilthorn

So when we went in 2019, we were able to get tickets all the way up to our hotel in Murren. Then you needed a seperate ticket to get to the Schiltorn mountain.

Take an aerial cable car from the Lauterbrunnen Cable Car station (called the “Bergbahn Lauterbrunnen-Mürren” – it is located right across the street from the train station) to Grütschalp. Once you get to Grütschalp, you’ll board the train to Mürren BLM, which is the station on the north end of Mürren.

You could park your car at the Stechelberg cable car lot, cable car up to Murren and stay there. It’s a lovely village and there are places to stay a close walk to the Schilthornbahn (which runs Stechelberg > Gimmelwald > Murren > Birg > Schilthorn). Keep in mind that you’re visiting during the late winter season so there will still likely be snow around and it will limit activities you can do outside of the Schilthorn and walking the villages. I’d recommend staying up in the car free village for a unique and beautiful experience, as opposed to Wilderswil, which is more of an “on the way” type of location.

Hotel Alpenruh in Murren, close to cable car and operated by the same company. You can stay the night and opt for breakfast at the hotel or at the Schilthorn rotating restaurant with a discounted cable ticket. My experience is a few years old so make sure to confirm with hotel.

By spending only one night in the Schilthorn area, you greatly reduce your chances of getting a nice day to visit the Schilthorn. We stayed in Wengen for 5 nights in June. The weather was clear only enough only one morning. We went to Jungfraujoch that morning.

If you are spending only one night, I would park at Stechelberg, take the cable car up to Murren and stay in Murren. You will need to pay separate fares for Stechelberg to Murren, then Murren to Schilthorn.

The rotating restaurant makes dining even more expensive than usual in Switzerland, and you can get the same views by just standing outside and looking around.

Research the forum for railpass and discount card options, in CH they are kinda complicated.

@ Phred. That is why staying at the Hotel Alpenruh makes sense. The breakfast is included in the room rate. You simply pay for the cable car ride up.

It would help to have more specific information about your trip. A few questions and comments......

• Where in the Canton of Ticino are you going to be staying during Easter week?
• Are you renting the van in Munich and then using it for the duration of the trip? If that's the case, you'll have to ensure that you have the Swiss highway tax vignette (hefty fines if caught without it).
• One night is not going to allow you much time to see the area or "enjoy the villages and activities". By the time you drive up from Ticino, get to your hotel and then get checked in, you probably won't have time to visit the Schilthorn. Seeing it the next morning will be rushed, as you'll have to check out of your hotel before you go up the mountain, store the bags, get down to Stechelberg at the conclusion of the visit and then drive to your next destination. It would really help if you could plan for two nights there, as that would provide a slightly more relaxing look at the stunning beauty of that area.
• Given the mobility problems you mentioned, your best bet would be to stay in Mürren. Park the van at the large lot in Stechelberg, and then take the cable car up to Mürren (you'll have to change cars in Gimmelwald, which is the first stop). Other comments in this thread have suggested hotels, or you could check the RS Switzerland guidebook.
• You could also stay in Lauterbrunnen, which has parking. However with that option you'd likely be taking the BLM route to Mürren which involves a walk through Mürren to reach the cable car station.
• If your budget will allow, you might enjoy a fine hot meal in the revolving restaurant at the Schilthorn as the views are incredible.
• Given the fact that you'll only be there for a short time, I'm not sure if one of the Swiss passes would be of much benefit.
• This website provides the current rates for the Schilthornbahn - https://schilthorn.ch/en/Infos/Timetable__and__Tariff .

Good luck with your planning!

Grandparents mobility is a little limited especially on uphill climbs with luggage

Some additional info that might help you in your decision making:

Mürren has hills and in the winter the roads are not cleared of snow so that people can sled on them (hills and snow make for good sledding, but more difficult walking). Just so you are aware of this - shoes/boots with good traction are a must.

It was fun for me to see school children in nearby Wengen sledding home on the roads for their lunch break. Of course it will depend on how the season goes, but there is still a good chance of snow at this time of year.

With only one night’s stay, you are probably more looking for somewhere to drop off your luggage and then spend your short amount of time exploring. For this you could easily stay in Wilderswil or Lauterbrunnen. You will not have the same views from your hotel/b&b as you would from Mürren…but only you can say if that matters for this particular trip or not.

One additional thought: over 25 years ago we were in Interlaken and had some Canadian friends with young teens visit us. We took them up the Schilthorn for breakfast and it is still something that they talk about. We also ate breakfasts elsewhere, but this is the one that they remember.

It will still be ski season when you visit, and the cable car at Stechelberg might be crazy with skiers. Also consider that they're building a new tramway from Stechelberg to Mürren and then on to Birg/Schilthorn, and so there is a lot of construction equipment and cranes at the south end of Mürren (and the Hotel Alpenruh). Not pretty.

Because of this, I would recommend taking the lift from Lauterbrunnen to Grütschalp and connecting to the BLM train that travels along the cliffs to the north end of Mürren. From the Mürren station it's a 200 yard (or so) walk over a level road to what I'd call "Main Street." It's another ten minutes or so over a mostly-level road to the south end of the village and the Schilthornbahn lift station.

There is a huge parking garage in Lauterbrunnen, but I don't know what it would take to get you and your luggage to the lift. If there is free parking in Wilderswil as you say, I'd recommend parking there, taking the train to Lauterbrunnen, transfering to the Grütschalp lift (a little walking, not bad) and then to the BLM train (basically across the platform). One through-ticket will get you to Mürren.

At the beginning of what I'm calling Main Street is the Hotel Alpina. If you can book it, do so. The views across the valley to Eiger/Mönch/Jungfrau are jaw-dropping. (The village views, not so much.) The breakfast spread is included in the room rate. The restaurant serves excellent food very competitively priced compared to the rest of town. The staff is attentive, and everyone speaks English. Right next door is the Hotel Edelweiss, similarly spectacularly situated. They've got a restaurant, too.

All that having been said, I suspect it would be MUCH cheaper to stay in Wilderswil. You could do a somewhat circular day trip up to the Schilthorn and back. Go into Mürren as I've described above, walk through the town to the cable car station, get a round-trip ticket Mürren-Schilthorn. When you return to Mürren, get a one-way ticket to Stechelberg, and when you get to Gimmelwald, leave the station and have a small tour of Gimmelwald. It's pretty hilly though, and you won't want to wander too far. Return to the station and use the rest of your ticket to get to Stechelberg. From there, walk over to the "Postauto" (bus) station to buy tickets for Lauterbrunnen, which will leave you at the train station for your return to Wilderswil.

I understand that time is tight, but if you can book a second day in the area, you should. There is no point in going up Schilthorn if it's weather-bound. But whatever you decide, book as quickly as possible since you're looking at ski season. And if you can, book directly with the hotel.

Have you considered Junfraujoch? I visited both last year and enjoyed Junfraujoch more. Schilthorn is cheaper but seemed more worn. Jungfraujoch logistics for your group may be easier with the parking options shared by others.

Hi again, as you can see you get a lot of varied opinions here, which is great and just shows that you can likely do a number of things and be happy with the result.

As @FitSenior says there is indeed a flatter route through Mürren…I always go the other way on my day trips there because I like it better. Funny because I have always thought of the higher road is the ‘main road’ in that it has the TI, churches, Sports centre etc. I am sure WengenK or others from the area can set us all straight. 😅

In my experience you do not need to purchase separate tickets for the stages of your travel. On the SBB app or website enter Lauterbrunnen via Setchelberg (Schilthornhahn) ending at Schilthorn, for example.

When you take a look at the stages of the route you can see bus ride plus several gondolas with their changes. If you click on “2’min walk” you will then get a map showing where you need to walk to catch the next section of your journey. You can even use this live as you travel and it will show you the way as you walk (like Google maps does).

Always enter the starting point and ending point of your journey and buy the ticket for the whole route, not sections at a time. Easier and sometimes cheaper - for me the bus ride home from the train station in Thun adds no additional cost, but only when I purchase the entire journey as one ticket. Lauterbrunnen - Thun (name of bus stop). Not: Lauterbrunnen - Thun, plus second ticket Thun (train station) - bus stop in Thun.

If all this is too complicated, and since you will be mostly driving, not taking the train on this trip, just get your tickets at the train station and they will sort you out.

Are all 3 of the grandchildren the children of one of the adults? If so, one the parents can buy the Half Fare Card for 120 CHF and receive a free Family Card, then the grandchildren can travel with you free.

With 5 adults and 3 children (ages 6 to 15) the cost for a round trip on the Schilthornbahn to the top from Stechelberg will be 702 CHF (5X108 plus 3X54). With one adult with the Half Fare Card, the cost will be 606 CHF (4X108+54+120).

https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-ch/planning/transport-accommodation/tickets-public-transport/swiss-family-card/

Also available with the Half Fare Card.
https://www.sbb.ch/en/leisure-holidays/inspiration/international-guests/swiss-halffare-card.html

Thank you to all for your helpful suggestions. This forum is a wonderful resource and I appreciate the time taken by you to help make our family trip a success. Safe travels to all.