Ok, I am still reading books and have looked at Schilthorn website,etc. Best I can tell, there are two routes to Schilthorn, multiple legs to them:
1. Interlaken (train) Lauterbrunnen (cable car) Grutschalp (train) Murren (cable car) Schilthorn

2. Interlaken (train) Lauterbrunnen (yellow bus) 'Luftseilbahn' Stechelberg (cable car) Gimmelwald-> Murren-> Schilthorn

Question 1 - can one go up one route and down the other route? (and is either one better to go up vs. down?)

Question 2 - if coming down, can one debark the cable car at Murren, walk to Gimmelwald, then reboard the next avail. cable car to return to Stechelberg?

Question 3 - if one has a Swiss Half-fare Card, is there one single ticket that can be purchased that covers all the segments, or does one
- buy train ticket to Lauterbrunnen
- then buy bus ticket to Stechelberg
- then buy cable car ticket to Schilthorn

Question 4 - same question as #3 but with Swiss Pass

Question 5 - is there one agent / ticket office in Interlaken to buy (all) tickets needed for this trip? or does one buy each part at the beginning of that stage of the excursion?
(perhaps you can tell I'm not a fan of frequent trips to a ticket window).
Thank you for your assistance.

Answer 1 - Yes. Going down from Stechelberg is interesting as there's a big drop off when the cable car leaves the station, which can result in a deep intake of breath. I haven't visited Murren since they installed the new cable car from Lauterbrunnen, so not sure if it makes for an interesting descent or not. When buying your tickets, you'll need to indicate you want to return differently so you'll be ticketed properly (assuming you buy return tickets).

Answer 2 - Yes. This is a good way to go - it's a nice walk from Murren to Gimmelwald. If you've purchased all your tickets up front, you'll want to let them know you plan to walk this section so you're not charged for the cablecar to Gimmelwald.

Answer 3 - There's a BO regional pass one can buy, but I'm not sure how it works in conjunction with the Half Fare card. Someone else will have the answer.

Answer 4 - With the Swiss Pass you just buy the segements you need as you need them. The Swiss Pass covers all transportation as far as Murren and as far as Wengen, so no tickets needed there -just show your Swiss Pass. You will need to buy your ticket to the Schilthorn and for any stops beyond Wengen (Jungfrau railway), for which you'll get a 50% discount when you show your Swiss Pass.

Answer 5 - You can buy tickets at any train station - Interlaken, Lauterbrunnen, Grindelwald, Murren, etc. It's usually a little cheaper to buy a return ticket, so if you know you want to go to the Jungfrau and back, just show your Swiss pass and buy a return ticket right before you get on the train. I wouldn't buy any sooner than needed so you can see what the weather is like the day you go up - there are TV monitors in the stations showing the conditions at the top of the mountain excursions.

You can also go to the Jungfrau from one side and depart from the other - say leave from Grindelwald and return from the Wengen side (there is a price difference in tickets though).

Hope this helps.

Correction to Answer 1 - should read 'going down from Murren and Gimmelwald'.

Thank you, Melnq8... I looked at the B-O pass but more expensive than I need for this short trip.

on this answer:
Answer 5 - You can buy tickets at any train station
- - please clarify if you mean train tickets only, or a ticket that covers the entire route (train, bus, cable cars)

I meant tickets that cover the entire route.

Missed the part about the bus - not sure about that one. If you have a Swiss Pass, most buses are covered. Otherwise, I believe you need to buy your bus ticket from the bus driver. I can't swear to this though as I haven't taken many buses in Switzerland.

Thanks for your answers..
I'm leaning toward a Half-Fare card for the savings -but- also toward a Swiss Saverpass (4 day) for the convenience of buying fewer tickets (and still some savings)... The passes do cover the buses - if I go that way, then not sure above Lauterbrunnen where our surcharge kicks in.
- is the cable car from Lauterbrunnen to Grutschalp covered by the Swiss pass, or a surcharge?
- is the train from Grutschalp to Murren covered or extra?
- I'm pretty sure the extra charge starts at Stechelberg for the 4-leg cable car to the Schilthorn peak

- for any part of the excursion NOT covered in full by the Swiss pass -- do we buy that ticket in advance at the Interlaken train station or when we reach that part of the excursion?

With response in general to your questions, in my experience you can segment your trip up and down just about any way you want to. Over the years I have done all of what you describe in various pieces. The Swiss ticket agent usually will sell you what you ask for. With response specifically to Question 3: - if one has a Swiss Half-fare Card, is there one single ticket that can be purchased that covers all the segments, or does one
- buy train ticket to Lauterbrunnen
- then buy bus ticket to Stechelberg
- then buy cable car ticket to Schilthorn

Let's talk in terms of the true Swiss Half Fare Card, which is 50% off of all public transpotation I know of except a few minor cable lifts In Isenfluh and Grindelwald, you can buy all your tickets at once or piece meal as you go. I have never known of any round trip price or "package" advantage.

The whole price is equal to the sum of the parts.


Going to Mürren, I prefer to ascend to Grutschalp from Lauterbrunnen on the new cable lift. (It is fast and efficient.)
Once at Grutschalp, walk to Mürren if at all possible because you are looking ahead of you directly at the main range of the Berner Oberland from the Jungfrau to the west west. The Jungfrau herself will loom into view and I assure you that the scene is magnificent. I never tire of it!!

If you don't want to walk the whole way, there is a cafe about mid way where you can have something to drink and then catch the trainlet to Mürren. (It's a little fellow, about like a street car.)

Once in Mürren, you walk a short distance through the hotels and shops to the the cable car station where you can easily buy a ticket for what you want to do next.

The Swiss will sell you just about anything you want in various combinations.

From Mürren you can then ride up to the top and have a look around and see the sights.

Then on the return trip you can get off in Mürren and walk downhill to Gimmelwald, although by then you will have seen the sights and the downhill walk is steep to the extent that you will need to look down to make sure of good footing.

Once at Gimmelwald you can take the next stage of the cable lift downward to the valley station where the bus for Lauterbrunnen is timed to meet the descending car.
(Seeing Gimmelwald does not take long.)

Once in Lauterbrunnen I am sure you will be temped to get off at the church and walk back for a better view of Staubbach Falls.

Then walk down the main street to the train station for you return to Interlaken.

This type of trip makes a good day of it.

By the way, I think you can say there are two ways to get to Mürren. From there the only mechanized way to the top of the Schilhorn is by the final leg of the Luftseilbahn.

As an additional note, as you return on the bus from the valley station to Lauterbrunnen, you will pass by one of the more spectacular water falls in the Alps: Trommelbachfälle. There is an admission charge for which your card does you no good because the falls are on private ground.

But the falls are so sunk into the rock that you cannot see them from the road. Even in August the flow of water from the glaciers draining off of the Jungfrau is spectacular as it come crashing down through the inner cascades.

The inside is lighted for viewing an a handy elevator takes you up part of the way. Just be prepared for a little spray from the falls and some drip.

The Swiss Pass covers the whole loop in full - you only need flash the pass to the conductor on the cableways, trains and postal bus (is covered) and this is one of the great deals with a Swiss Pass IMO

Swiss Passes usually cover aerial cableways and gondolas 50% (even on a flexipass when you do not use one of your 100% covered days as long as you have not used up the final unlimited travel day - you, like a Half-Fare Card get 50% off everything that moves (except Kleine Scheidegg-Jungfraujoch which is 25% off with a Swiss Pass, which covers the part to Wengen in full and 50% off Wengen to Kl Scheidegg)

But since these aerial cableways from the Lauterbrunnen Valley actually go to towns - like Murren then they are valid 100% with a Swiss Pass - about the only two aerial cable ways that i know of that are covered 100% - ones just to mountain tops are 50%. A consecutive-day Swiss Pass can be the best bargain IMO if the 4 or 8 or whatever consecutive days fall into your itinerary - say you do not need 5 days or 9 days, etc.

The Murren-Schilthorn aerial cableway, called the longest in the Alps if not the world, is 50% off since it does not link two towns but just goes from Murren to that icy outpost on top of the Schilthorn - these tiny gondolas are one of my biggest thrills in European travel - the two cableways from Lauterbrunnen valley are large ones where Nervous Nellies can stand in the middle and not see anything - but the 2 or 4 person gondolas to Schilthorn are not for the weak kneeed.

The cable way from Gimmelwald/Murren down to Stechelberg is tremendous - like riding in an airplane but quickly falling. If not wanting to take the bus it's a sweet flat few-mile stroll along a gurgling stream back to Lauterbrunnen, with Trummelbach Falls en route (free i believe if you use a 100% travel day on Swiss Passes, which on 100% days are valid for free entry at over 400 Swiss Museums, which typically may cost $15-20 (Trummelbach is cheaper i believe - the water cascade inside the mountain and which is the sole drain i guess of the Jungfrau Glacier.)

If you calculations are close with the Half-Fare Card and Pass go for the pass - saves time queing for tickets and you may use it more than you think - like perhaps descending to Interlaken for an afternoon boat cruise on Lake Thun - so great if the sun and the Jungfrau Massif are out - cruise to Spiez or Thun and hop the train back, etc.

And though from Murren it is more convenient and quicker i think to go up and down the cable way right from lauterbrunnen, by all means go up one way and down the other (but check bus schedules for Stechelberg as they do not run very late i believe) and Gimmelwald is a must.

The electric train from Grutschalp to Murren is one of the most scenic railways in the world IMO - paralleling the cliffs edge with awesome views of the Jungfrau Massif just on the other side of the deep valley. Stop off at Winteregg (? name? half-way and sit at the famous sun terrace of the cafe there (famous for Farmer's Breakfasts) - the walk from Grutschalp to Murren follows the rail line and is fairly flat and also tremendous.

Travelnut -

If you have the SwissPass, the surcharge above Lauterbrunnen doesn't kick until you reach the Schilthorn cable station in Murren. In other words, the cable car to Grutschalp and the train to Murren are covered with the Swiss Pass.

Same holds true if you go via Stechelberg - your Swiss Pass will get you as far as Murren, then you'll need to purchase a ticket from Murren to the Schilthorn at 50% off.

One year we had ourselves a sledding adventure - we'd sled from Murren down to Gimmelwald then use our Swiss Pass to take the cable car back up to Murren - we did it six times in one day, which is a perk of the Swiss Pass - it's truly unlimited.

The Swiss Pass will also get you as far as Wengen and Grindelwald. Trains beyond that point are part of the Jungfrau Railway and will will be 50% off.

The Swiss Pass will also cover the bus from Lauterbrunnen to the Stechelberg cable station. Just show it to the bus driver.

For excursions that require a ticket beyond the Swiss Pass, you can either buy them before you embark, or buy them once you reach that particular station. In the case of the Schilthorn, there's a ticket office in the building you arrive in as you disembark the cable car from Stechelberg/Gimmelwald. Just be sure to show your Swiss Pass when purchasing your ticket.

We've always purchased a Swiss Pass for the same reason you're considering it - convenience of not having to buy tickets each time. This year however, we're going to try the Half Fare Card. I sat down and made a list of all the trips we're most likely to take, and then tallied them up, using the SBB Swiss rail site - looks like the Half Fare Card will save us about $125 each over the 15 day Swiss Saverpass. Both offer 50% off mountain excursions not otherwise covered, so it's really a wash for many of the trips we plan to take.

You might want to do a comparison between the two to see which benefits you most.

Palenque -

Everything I've read seems to indicate the Swiss Pass covers the excursion to the Jungfrau at 50% off. I realize it used to be 25%, but was changed a few years ago. I haven't personally tested it since the change though. Are you certain it's only 25%?
http://www.swisstravelsystem.ch/ticketverkauf_en.php

This Swiss site also indicates a 50% reduction to the Jungfrau:

http://www.334433.net/aboaziz/Swiss/...ss%20Monts.pdf

And not to split hairs, but I've always heard that this is the longest cableway in Europe:

"Grindelwald-Männlichen Gondola Cableway (GGM) is 6.2 km,
the longest gondola cableway in Europe."

The Schilthorn does boast the world's first revolving restaurant though.

Melqn8-

The discount was traditionally 50% on the Jungfrau Railway from Kl Scheidegg to the top - and definitely was changed to 25% a few years ago - from your current info it seems as though it has been returned to 50% - i have not heard this and if so it's good news and another reason to buy a Swiss Pass instead of a Half-
Fare Card IMO - Half-Fare always covered 50% but now benefits seem to be the same.

Budget Europe's 2009 Swiss Pass info still says 25% off with a Swiss Pass above Kleine Scheidegg

I have never known them to be wrong

Jungfrau Railways in general above Wengen and Grindelwald are 50% off - and i am not saying you are not right - i have yet to check out the Swiss sight.

http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/id3.html#flexi

"Grindelwald-Männlichen Gondola Cableway (GGM) is 6.2 km,
the longest gondola cableway in Europe."

I guess it's semantics - the Schilthorn Cable Way technically starts in Stechelberg and goes in stages to Gimmelwald and Murren and then a change of gondolas from larger to tiny ones up to Schilthorn - that may be longer but it is not a continuous cable way

Well, Travelnut, I guess you'll just have to post when you get back and let us all know what discount you got and which pass you used. I'm using the Half Fare Card on our trip in April, but we've done the Jungfrau trip before, so don't have plans to do it this time. Always subject to change of course.

Palenque - I didn't realize the Schilthorn cable way technically began at Stechelberg - always assumed it was Murren as that's where the cable station is.

Hi, thanks SO much for the added details. I truthfully have only printed it out to absorb when I can get a few minutes. The whole forums re-org got me 'lost' for a couple days. Again - I <b>really</b> appreciate the help!

Gimmelwald is a very unique place so just don't take the cable way from Murren down to Stechelberg and the Lauterbrunnen Valley without at least a short look around this isolated traditional Alpine farming village. (You have to change gondolas here anywhere if i remember correctly.)

Gimmelwald's setting cannot be beat - peering down into the Lauterbrunnen Valley and another smaller valley to the north and surrounded on sides by glacier-girdled massifs. The feeling of Alpine isolation is eery.

There are several overnight options and being here at night when only stars light the sky is a surrealistic experience i will never forget. Sleep options include the rather funky Youth Hostel (open to all) and the town's hotel next door - a typical Alpine lodge with down comforters, etc. And there are a few B&Bs and in summer, when the cows go to higher altitudes to graze you can Sleep in the Straw - the cow barn converted to an austere place where straw beds greet you.

But if just popping in for a short look in the day be sure to walk along the village's 'high' street that takes you buy farmers' abodes, tiny gardens, etc.

The local hotel also serves typical regional meals - with to be sure Racellete (?)

HIKING DOWN FROM THE SCHILTHORN

For a more rugged hike, especially right when you seemingly plunge off the Schilthorn on a narrow and perhaps icy trail you can take the cable way up and then hike back down to Murren - but i would only recommend this for experienced hikers though once you get halfway or so down then it's the typical more of a stroll thru lush meadows and by bell-toiling cows.

Regarding the length of the two cableways (Mannlichen vs. Schilthorn): they are two different types, so comparing them is like apples v. oranges.

Stechelberg up to Schilthorn is a Luftseilbahn---a large cablecar. Actually there are 2, one for the section from the valley up to Gimmelwald, then another on to Mürren and up the Schilthorn (or maybe there is another car change at Mürren too? We've never done it so I don't know). These are large (50 passenger or so) fixed cablecars that are counterbalanced---two travel simultaneously from opposite directions, and they come to a complete stop at the station.

From Grindelwald to Mannlichen is a Gondolbahn. These are smaller (4 to 6-person) cars that run continuously in a loop. You get on (and off) while it is moving. It doesn't go very high off the ground but it is definitely a long ride!

Maybe each one is the longest of its own type?