canopus

Dear Fodorites
This is my first post so maybe I am not posting in the right section or in right way.
If that's the case please excuse me!

I am planning a trip to Switzerland with my parents (60+)
and my wife and 3 year old from Netherlands.

We wish to enjoy scenic alps (bernese oberland?) with some scenic train rides.
No hiking and museums possible unfortunately.

I am thinking of buying Swiss 4day rail pass and don't
want (also can not afford) to spend much more than that on travel.
So no Jungfrau or etc .

Can you please advise on

1.what should be my base? I have narrowed on some accommodations in
Biel,Zurich, Grindelwald (in ascending order of cost)

2. the trip is going to be 4 nights/5 days so is rail pass (4 days 193 EUR)
worth? I am planning to stay at one place and travel to Lucerne,Zweimissen, Lauterbrunnen etc

3. Is there a cheap way to go from Paris to Basel other than French trains?

4. Any suggested itinerary will be gratefully acknowledged

Thanks and regards
SM

PalenQ

Well I'd take Grindelwald if you want the awesome Alpine Switzerland perhaps ethched in your mind's eye - glacier-girdled peaks, toylike mountain trains, thrilling gondola rides, hiking for all degrees of difficulty - Zurich and Biel are nice cities but they are just cities -anyway for lots of great info on Swiss trains I always spotlight these IMO fine sources - www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.ricksteves.com and http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/id3.html.

One excursion in the Jungfrau Region you can easily do with a Swiss Pass is to me the best one - take a train to Lauterbrunnen then a thrilling aerial gondola to Grutschalp, then train along the cliff edge to Murren - hop one of the longest gondola rides in the Alps to Schilthorn and Piz Gloria (of James Bond fame - On Her Majesty's Service) and then gondolas back to Murren and down to Gimmelwald - a remote farming village that has become a tourist spot and then a thrilling cabel car plunge back down to the Lauterbrunnen Valley at Stechleberg to get a postal bus to Lauterbrunnen and train to Grindelwald via Zweilutschenen - all transport is 100% covered by a Swiss Pass save the Murren to Schilthorn gondola and that is 50% off.

No only French trains do the Paris to Basel run though from Holland you could come down thru Germany to Basel via Cologne and Frankfurt.

PalenQ

2. the trip is going to be 4 nights/5 days so is rail pass (4 days 193 EUR)
worth? I am planning to stay at one place and travel to Lucerne,Zweimissen, Lauterbrunnen etc

go to www.sbb.ch for all the fares but keep in mind that even from a base you may take more trips than expected - like on a whim doing a boat ride on either of the two lakes that bookend Interlaken or On lovely Lake Lucerne, tc.

But you may want to check into the Jungfraubahn Pass if just staying the whole time in say Grindelwald and that will take you up to the Jungfraujoch.

Dukey1

I think it is rather foolish top take some roundabout route to get from Paris to Basel as opposed to the direct one.

Pepper_von_snoot

I would not go to Grindelwald, I would go to Luzern if I wanted scenic beauty without walking.

I think it is foolish to visit the Bernese Oberland if you aren't interested in walking.

You can visit Titlus, Pilatus, take boat cruise in Luzern.


Thin

swandav2000

Hi canopus,

You haven't said when you're travelling, but if it's in the summer (July or August), I would avoid Grindelwald entirely. Unfortunately, in the summertime, the town fills up with lines and lines of tour busses and the off-loaded day-tripping passengers. The small town is just too small to absorb all those people, and they throng down the sidewalks and clog up the entrances to all the stores. Because Grindelwald is as high as the tour busses can drive to, that's where they go!

You can avoid that mess if you stay in one of the car-free villages such as Wengen or Mürren, or if you stay in a town on the lake such as Thun or Spiez.

Have fun as you plan!

s

PalenQ

This is subjective - I actually enjoy a town with a hubbub of tourists - I only use it as a base to sleep in - otherwise I am well above the fray and out by myself - I would never stay in say a Wengen where the sidewalks roll up at night - Grindelwald hops and yes that is for some a con and some a plus - depends on you

Pepper_von_snoot

I also do not like Grindelwald.

I would rather stay in Wengen.

If you want to party in the BO you can always take the train into Interlaken to visit Hooters.


Thin

canopus

Thanks to all of you for replying
and each of your replies have been very helpful.

@PalenQ I would keep in mind your trip suggestion

Parents and also a 3 year old can not walk for long
but I guess thats why the trains are there for
people to enjoy scenes without hours of walk.

As for Grindelwald its the only place I could find
an affordable accommodation for 4 people at this last hour
for a trip in 1st week of August.
Any suggestions to look for apartments in Wengen/Murren?

Also is day trip to Lucerne from Grindelwald very exhausting?

Thanks for all your time
Regards
SM

Dukey1

Don't get all worried about the tour buses in Grindelwald. The place is plenty big and there are a LOT of things to do. Just be aware that like some of those other towns mentioned above there may be a LOT of visitors there. You just might not see a bunch of buses.

waggis

I second Dukey's comments.

To get from Grindelwald to Luzern, you go by train to Interlaken, where you switch onto a train over the Brünig to Luzern. It is a beautiful ride and not exhausting IMHO.

waggis

BTW, there are inexpensive flights available on easyjet from Amsterdam to Geneva or Basel.

Keep in mind that the summer school holidays in Luzern are from July 6th to August 18th and in Grindelwald from July 6th to August 11th. There will be more travelers to deal with.

Will you be in Grindelwald on August 1st? If so, it's the Swiss National Day, which is nice to experience in the mountains.

swandav2000

Hi again,

No, there are not really a lot of visitors in the car-free towns, not on the scale of the hordes in Grindelwald. Honestly, one cannot even stay on the sidewalk for the crowding; the town truly cannot absorb them.

There may be some crowding around the train stations in Wengen and Mürren as the folks wait for a connecting train. But walk 20 meters in any direction, and you will be peacefully and blissfully alone. My mother and I were staying in Grindelwald one August, and we found the crowding to be unattractive and pleasant. Then we went to Wengen one day for lunch, and it was like another world. the difference was quite dramatic.

To find accommodation at all ranges, look at

www.myjungfrau.ch

s

PalenQ

Honestly, one cannot even stay on the sidewalk for the crowding; the town truly cannot absorb them.>

I have been in Grindelwald and stayed there in August and I did not see this huge overcrowding - I think this is a bit of hyperbole - can't even stay on the sidewalk! That's not what I've seen in many visits to Grindelwald in summer.

swandav2000

No hyperbole, Pal, just different experiences.

Wonder if travelers want to bet their vacation on which experience they'll share?

s

PalenQ

Way different expereiences - yes Grindelwald has a lot of hikers and bus groups - especially now from Asia - but they clustered just in a small area by the car parks on western edge of town - the whole town is not overrun by any stretch of the imagination - like any street off the main drag.

I think you may have an Interlaken moment here - throwing the baby out with the bathwater because of a clogged tourist-Schlocked main street - there is a lovely car-less road that runs high above the main street for a few miles with just a few strollers on it.

tipsygus

I have to agree with PalenQ about Grindelwald in August, yes it's busy but not as busy as has been suggested. In my opinion the same goes for Interlaken, it all depends which part of Interlaken you are in.

canopus

@swandav2000 thank you very much for the link.
Sent mail to couple of places in Lauterbrunnen and Murren.
What about Stechelberg? Is it easy to travel to and from there?


Thanks again to all of you.
I am really grateful for your suggestions.

And in the end I think I can bear the crowd
if they can bear me!

Regards
SM

canopus

Any suggestions on this?

http://jungfrauregion.ch/en/Holidays...nd_5_mountains

PalenQ

What about Stechelberg? Is it easy to travel to and from there?>

there is nothing at Stechelberg really except the lower station of the thrilling aerial gondola to Gimmelwald and onto Murren - postal buses scoot the few miles there from Lauterbrunnen's train station regularly.

why are you going to Stechleberg - if going to Murren take another thrilling gondolas from Lauterbrunnen's train station up to Grutschalp then a train along the edge of a cliff to Murren - think a quicker route and may have later service at night.