Suggestions for day trips from Grindelwald
 

We are traveling to Switzerland at the end of May. We'll have 3 nights near Montreux, and then we are taking the train to Grindelwald where we've rented an apartment for 5 nights. The last day we'll take the train back to Geneva. So we have an afternoon/evening after we get to Grindelwald and then 4 full days.

I know that we want to hope for a clear day and go to the Jungrau. We also want to visit Wengen, Murren, Lauterbrunnen, First, and probably other areas as well. I'm not sure how much time to allocate to each though. swandav pointed me to the www.jungfraubahn page so I can get an idea of costs and schedules and I have a map of the area, but I'd like some specific suggestions for full days. We'd mainly like to enjoy the scenery, hike, and possibly hop on a cruise of one of the lakes.

Thanks for the help!

Hi see the world7,

You haven't asked about day-trips from Montreux, but I'm going to load you up anyway!! Here are "reviews" (w/photos) of my favorite activities from Montreux:

Montreux old town
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...reux_Vaud.html

Lavaux
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...reux_Vaud.html

Promenade Fleuri
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...reux_Vaud.html

Morges
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...rges_Vaud.html

Gruyeres
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR..._Fribourg.html

Saanen
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...wiss_Alps.html

Gstaad
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...wiss_Alps.html

I don't think the vineyards of the Lavaux will be very pretty in May, though the flowered lakeside promenade will be GREAT. Also, the Tulip Festival in Morges will be just ending, so that will be a great thing to see still.

The towns of Saanen and Gstaad are on the Golden Pass route between Montreux and Grindelwald, so you may want to stop enroute on that day. Gruyeres is also in that general area, though getting there will require a change of trains (at Montbovon). You can find the GP route at

www.goldenpass.ch

Hope this gets you started!

s

(ps, I find that even a whole week in Montreux isn't enough!)

Thanks swandav! I just took a quick look and those links are great. Thanks for the reviews. Guyeres looks lovely. I'll have to read them more in detail to decide what to do with our time. I've seen some postings where people mentioned they were planning to make reservations for the scenic trains. I was under the impression we could just pick a train on the day. Is there any reason we need to make a reservation for the Golden Pass route between Montreux and Grindelwald?

We're actually staying outside of Montreux right near Chillon Castle, but I'm told there is a bus to Montreux or we could walk.

Also, I've been looking for ideas of a short boat cruise on Lake Geneva. Not the full day ones, just maybe up to Vevey or something. Are all boats covered by the Swiss Pass? (and 50% off with the HFC?) or only some of them? How will we know which ones are included? Maybe what we are looking at is just considered a ferry. We just want to spend a little time on the water.

Hi again,

There are regular trains that run the same route as the GP route, and even on the "Panoramic" trains, there are some cars that do not have panoramic windows. On those trains and in those cars, you do not need reservations; you just buy your ticket (if you have the HFC) and hop on.

But if you want to sit at a panoramic window, then you will need to make reservations.

Yes, there is a bus (bus #1) that runs all the way from Villeneuve (other sie of Chillon) to Vevey. You'll get a Riviera Card when you arrive at your hotel, and that gives you free use of that bus. It comes about every 10 minutes. The walk is about 45 minutes, and you really MUST do it at least once.

The cruise from Montreux to Vevey isn't that long and may not be enough fun. The best bit I think is to pass the Lavaux between Vevey and Lausanne. But if you don't want to go that far, you could easily walk from Montreux to Villeneuve (I love that village, and it has my favorite restaurant), then take the ferry from Villeneuve to Vevey. Or you can also go from Territet or from Chillon to Vevey.

Ferry schedules are at

www.cgn.ch

Yes, you get 50% off the ferry (all of them) with the HFC or are free with the Pass (and the ferries are more expensive than the trains!).

Have fun!

s

Thanks again. We're staying at a B&B in Veytaux so we do plan to visit Villeneuve. I had looked at the www.cgn.ch site and wasn't sure if all the ferries/boats listed there were covered by the Swiss Pass or not. It seemed that their map had more than was covered by the map on the www.swisstravelsystem.ch page. I thought perhaps they were privately owned and not covered. If everything on the www.cgn.ch site is included on the Swiss Pass or HFC then that's great. That would probably tip the balance toward the Swiss Pass for us since the prices for ferries are more expensive (as you say).

Hi again,

I've ridden those ferries a lot and always paid half price (with HFC). I know the ferries are covered, even over to France. Here's a link to a pdf map of validity:

http://www.swisstravelsystem.com/dow...tskarte_en.pdf

BTW, it's a nice idea to also see the medieval village of Yvoire . . . Too much to see!

s

Hi again,

Yes, all those ferries are covered by either HFC or Pass. Here's a link to a PDF of validity:

\http://www.swisstravelsystem.com/dow...tskarte_en.pdf

Just enlarge it to see the teeny tiny lines (don't mean to insult you but once had someone ask).

Oh, I am always on the lookout for places to stay at that end of the lake! I hope you post a review of your B&B either here or at Trip Advisor. I would *love* to hear!

Have fun!

s

Ok, sorry for the double post. I was posting just as the site went down for maintenance, and I didn't think my post got done.

s

Another possibility out of Montreux would be the rack railway trip up to Rochers de Naye for stunning views.

Yes...that is the map I was looking at on the swisstravelsystem site. Since it didn't contain all of the individual stops on Lake Geneva as on the www.cgn.ch site I thought perhaps only certain ferry trips were covered. Glad to hear otherwise.

I'll be sure to post a review of the B&B when we return. The rate was great for a family room including breakfast, and the owner is picking us up at the Montreux train station. I'm hoping we really enjoy it.

Thanks Dukey. We were considering that as well. About how much time would you allocate for a trip to Rochers de Naye?