TheAwesomes12

We are reaching Zermatt by Glacier express on June 30th at 4 pm. Can we drive from Zermatt to Grindelwald? after 4 pm?

We have only 2 days. Is this itinerary doable:

June 30th Glacier express to Zermatt. Reach at 4 pm. Drive from Zermatt to Grindelwald. Stay overnight at Grindelwald. If yes can you suggest some places to stay in Grindelwald?

July 1: Take the cable car to Mannlichen, hike from Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg and then take a train to Jungfrau. Come back to Grindelwald and stay overnight. Is it possible to do it in 1 day if the weather is good?
Which route has cable car rides and which are gondola rides? What is the difference?

Thanks,
Dipti

greg

Not possible. You are not allowed to drive a car into/out of Zermatt. www.zermatt.ch/en/arrival

What is the reason for a car for this route? Zermatt to Grindelwald is connected by frequent trains. If you look at www.sbb.ch, there are at least one connection every hour taking 3 hours between these two towns.

For Jungfrau routing, putting Jungfrau later means more chance of cloud covered top than if you went up the first thing in the morning.

neckervd

You got all answers concerning train timetables in your previous thread.
I don't think that you can rent a car at Zermatt, but at Taesch (Hertzt for example).

So, you will arrive at Zermatt at 16.10, change immediately to the Taesch shuttle dp 16.35 and backtrack up to Taesch ar 16.47. Rent your car there. Leave Taesch at 17.00 and backtrack all along the Glacier Express line up to Visp ar 18.00 and go on to Gampel - Goppenstein ar 18.50. Charge your car to the Loetschber train car shuttle dp 19.20. Arrive at Kandersteg at 19.40 and continue on local roads to Spiez - Interlaken - Grindelwald ar 21.20

Pepper_von_snoot

I have been at Kleine Scheidegg at 11 AM on a nice summer day and have seen the Jungfraujoch excursion SOLD OUT! So be aware.

You take a cable car from Wengen (in the UK we call this a gondola) to
Mannlichen. Probably can hold 50? people.

You take a sky-ride type vehicle (I think fits 4 people) from Grindelwald to Mannlichen.

You can YouTube Grindelwald to Mannlichen gondola to see the difference.

Thin

PalenQ

Yes why car between two places where cars must be parked on edges of towns likein Tasch for Zermatt or on approach to Grindelwald and can't be driven into the soaring peaks above these areas- rent a car in Interlaken maybe for the rest of your trip but to drive between two areas where you must pay a lot to park your car? And even to go under the Lotschberg you must put your car on a train - the only way thru this high mountainous area - at more expense plus have to buy the Swiss vignette for autoroutes and pay a lot for fuel - etc. For lots on Swiss trains in these areas check www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

You may even want to look at a Swiss Pass or Half-Fare Card if doing both areas by train and going between them - passes cover lake boats - sweet ride on either of two lakes bookending Interlaken - trains above Grindelwald and 50% discounts on trains to mountain tops and aerial gondolas (trains fully covered by the pass to Grindelwald and Wengen - above that 25% off which is still a lot if talking about the Jungfraujoch train.)

Dukey1

Since it sounds as if you aren't going to stay In Zermatt at all except to turn right around and drive elsewhere, why even go up that far?

Take the Glacier to Brig and change trains there for the BO.

TheAwesomes12

I now understand that driving is not a good option. My question is where do we stay overnight if we want to do three activities:

cable car ride
Jungfrau
hike from Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg

Thanks for all the replies so far.

neckervd

All your questions (and much more) have already been answered.

PalenQ

Wengen would be a perfect place to stay for all those - has cableway to The Mannlichen, trains to Kleine Scheidegg- change there for Jungfraujoch trains - Grindelwald has the same so would also be perfect.

Pepper_von_snoot

You could stay in any of the towns around the Jungfrau and be fine.

Interlaken, Lauterbrunnen, Murren (you have to take a cable car to get up there), Wengen, Grindelwald are all fine for your plans.

I like Wengen best, but Indian people seem to like Interlaken because of the ethnic restaurants.

Thin

PalenQ

Murren however is too isolated from what the OP wants to do - involves about a half-hour just to get down to Lauterbrunnen- Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, Grindelwald make the best located bases -Interlaken again adds on travel time just to get to these places - Wengen is the closest by train or gondola to the Mannlichen and the Jungfraujoch.

So no to Murren or Gimmelwald nearby.