Holiday in Interlaken by train

Interlaken is the gateway to the incredible Jungfrau Region thanks to the rail connections available at Interlaken Ost station.
The trains on the Bernese Oberland Railway give acccess through Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen to the rail route on to Europe's highest station at Jungfraujoch via Kleine Scheidegg - and to Mürren for the cable cars on to Schilthorn.
A network of cable car routes also lead off from Grindelwald:

• to Wengen
• the Grindelwald First route
• the Eiger Express

Though the wonders of the Jungfrau Region come at a comparatively high cost, the routes beyond Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen are among the more expensive Swiss rail journeys, with the JB railway on from Kleine Scheidegg to Jungfraujoch topping the price per kilometer in Switzerland list!
Though if you won't mind an early ascent, it's possible to save money with a Good Morning Ticket.

Most of the journey on from Kleine Scheidegg to Jungfraujoch is in a tunnel, there are station stops carved into the mountain with windows, but the other journeys south of Interlaken are fantastic..

...between Grindelwald and Kleine Scheidegg...

...between Kleine Scheidegg and Lauterbrunnen...

...between Interlaken and Grindelwald.

An often-overlooked gem of a railway is the route up to lovely Schynige Platte.
Connect at Wilderswill, which is only a 4 minute ride from Interlaken on the Bernese Oberland Railway,

Interlaken is also included in multiple Swiss rail holiday packages on which ShowMeTheJourney users can obtain a 5% discount!

• The Best Of Switzerland themed holiday
• the Famous Mountain Peaks By Train themed holiday
• the Classic Grand Tour Plus Jungfraujoch
• the Golden Pass Holiday - Panoramic Round Trip
• the Hidden Treasures Of The Grand Tour

If you will be planning a holiday in Interlaken take care with your choice of rail pass, because how Swiss Travel Passes can be used in the Jungfrau Region differs from how they can be used anywhere else in Switzerland.
They only provide for a 25% discount on:

• the WAB railway beyond Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen on to Kleine Scheidegg and Wengen.
• the JB railway up to Jungfraujoch station from Kleine Scheidegg
• the SPB railway to Schynige Platte

How InterRail (and Eurail) passes can be used in the Jungfrau Region is even more restrictive, they also only give a 25% discount on those three railways, plus they only give a 50% discount on the trains between Interlaken and Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen and Mürren.
So if you will be panning on spending time in Switzerland on a multi-country itinerary with the 'Global' type of Eurail and InterRail pass, other locations in Switzerland will provide better value for money.
Though a somewhat odd feature of using Eurail, InterRail and Swiss Travel Passes from Interlaken is that they cover longer journeys to the likes of Luzern, Montreux and Zermatt.

Hence the three rail passes profiled below can be a better choice when holidaying in Interlaken and exploring by train.

Interlaken is at the center of the area in which the Berner-Oberland Pass can be used, so it can be a great option when taking a holiday in Interlaken.
It covers the full cost of travel on many routes and services on which users of Eurail, InterRail and Swiss Travel Passes can only travel at a a discount, or by paying the full price.
These include:

• the trains beyond Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen on to Kleine Scheidegg,
• all of the cable car routes from Grindelwald, including the Eiger Express to Eigergletscher,
• the trains between Eigergletscher and Kleine Scheidegg,
• the trains between Wilderswill and Schynige Platte
• Lauterbrunnen <> Mürren *= also fully covered by Swiss Travel Passes.
• the Brienz Rothorn Bahn
• the funiculars in Beatenberg and Oeschinensee
• the cable cars in Meiringen to the Alpen Tower

The railways fully covered by the Berner-Oberland Pass, which other rail passes also include at no extra cost, include:

• the route to Luzern
• the Interlaken - Spiez - Thun - Bern route
• the Lotschberger route between Spiez and Brig via Kandersteg
• the Golden Pass route between Spiez and both Gstaad and Lenk

The Berner-Oberland Pass and the Swiss Travel Pass both give a 50% discount on the cable car between Mürren and Schilthorn.

Routes on which Berner-Oberland Pass users can travel at a 50% discount, but in contrast are fully covered by the Eurail, InterRail and Swiss Travel Passes, include:

• Luzern <> Engelberg, (the Berner-Oberland Passes also cover 50% of the Mt Titlis cable cars)
• Gstadd <> Montreux
• Brig <> Andermatt

Berner Oberland Pass users can also travel between Eigergletscher and Jungfraujoch on tickets which are around 50% of the usual cost of the end-to-end journey from Interlaken.

The Top of Europe Winter Pass for the Jungfrau region (Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, Kleine Scheidegg, Jungfraujoch and Wengen) has been discontinued - and has in effect been replaced by the Winter Hiking and Sledging Pass.
The pass lives up to its name, as it provides access to the Jungfrau region's many hiking trails and sledging areas
However, if you don't want to hike or jump on a sledge, but do want to ride the region's trains, cable cars and funiculars, the pass can be great value for money.

The Winter Hiking and Sledging Pass is available for 1 to 7 days of consecutive travel - there isn't a flex option
There are discounted rates for Youths (aged 16 to 19) and children (aged 6 to 15) - but there doesn't seem to be an option of obtaining a discount by using a Half Fare Card.

The included routes routes / journeys with the Winter Hiking and Sledging Pass are:

Trains:

• Interlaken ↔ Grindelwald / Lauterbrunnen
• Grindelwald ↔ Kleine Scheidegg ↔ Wengen ↔ Lauterbrunnen
• Kleine Scheidegg ↔ Eigergletscher
• Lauterbrunnen ↔ Mürren (including the Luftseilbahn funicular)
  Purchasers of passes valid for 3 days or more can travel between Eigergletscher and Jungfraujoch for a special price of CHF 65.

Cable cars and Funiculars

• Grindelwald Terminal ↔ Eigergletscher (Eiger Express)
• Grindelwald Terminal ↔ Männlichen
• Männlichen ↔ Wengen (Dec 9th to Apr 7th)
• Grindelwald First (Dec 16th to Apr 1st)
• Mürren ↔ Allmendhubel
  On the Schilthornbahn purchasers of passes valid for 3 days or more will receive a 50% discount

Buses:

• local buses in Grindelwald (not with a 1 day pass)
• Grindelwald ↔ Bussalp (not with a 1 day pass)
• Orstbus Lauterbrunnen
• Lauterbrunnen ↔ Stechelberg

Ski lifts:

• Sesselbahn Arven (Kleine Scheidegg)
• Sesselbahn Innerwengen (Wengen)
• Sesselbahn Schiltgrat (Mürren)

Between Interlaken and Europe's highest station at Jungfraujoch, the Jungfrau Travel Pass is a match for how the Berner-Oberland Pass can be used between these two locations.
So the the Jungfrau Travel Pass covers;

• the trains beyond Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen on to Kleine Scheidegg,
• all of the cable car routes from Grindelwald, including the Eiger Express to Eigergletscher,
• the trains between Eigergletscher and Kleine Scheidegg,
• the trains between Wilderswill and Schynige Platte
• Lauterbrunnen <> Mürren; and a 50% discount on the cable car on to Schilthorn

In line with the Berner-Oberland Pass, users of the Jungfrau Travel Pass can also travel between Eigergletscher and Jungfraujoch at a special price, but only during June to August.

So the area of validity is smaller than the Berner-Oberland Pass, but this is reflected in the cheaper cost of a Jungfrau Travel Pass.
Summer 2023 prices;

• 3 days; Jungfrau = CHF = 190; Berner = 230
• 4 days; Jungfrau = CHF = 215; Berner = 270
• 6 days; Jungfrau = CHF = 270; Berner = 340
• 8 days; Jungfrau = CHF = 310; Berner = 380

There are multiple delightful railways and attractions which are strung along the the Zentralbahn which connects Interlaken with Luzern/Lucerne - which in itself a beautiful journey

They are, west to east:

• the wonderful railway powered by steam trains which climbs up to Rothurn-Kulm station from Brienz,
• Meiringen; connect for the funicular railway up to the Reichenbach waterfalls,
• also connect in Meiringen for trains to Innertkirchen for the Aare Gorge and bus/line route 171 on to the Gelmerbahn funicular,
• connect in Giswil station for trains on to Alpnachstad where Switzerland's steepest railway, the Pilatusbahn can be boarded.

Interlaken is also on the 'Golden Pass route' taken by the new Golden Pass Express service.
If it is sold out, or if you want to avoid paying the more expensive charges to travel by it, hourly alternative connections are available by changing trains in Spiez and Zweisimmen.
The route on to Montreux from Zweisimmen by the MOB Railway is wonderful.

Also many of the trains operated by the MOB, which don't incur additional charges, are charmingly unconventional; its 'Belle-Epoque' trains resemble miniature versions of The Orient Express!

Oeschinensee is a beautiful lake surrounding by multiple Alpine attractions including hiking trails and a mountain coaster ride.
As this guide to visiting Oeschinensee explains, it can be accessed by taking a funicular, which is around a kilometer walk from Kandersteg station.
The journey from Interlaken to Kandersteg only requires one change of train in Spiez and the journey on from Spiez happens to be rather lovely.

Interlaken Ost is a junction station, with two routes other than the Bernese Oberland Railway, which is why choosing accommodation in the town within easy walking distance of this station is the way to go.

Those two other railways which serve Interlaken are;

1. the Zentralbahn which connects Interlaken with Luzern/Lucerne.
2. the main line into the town from Spiez used by trains on the Basel → Bern → Interlaken route; some of which have commenced their journeys in Germany.
   So Interlaken typically has direct trains from Berlin and from Frankfurt (Main), Karlsruhe and Freiburg.
   There are also now direct trains from Zurich airport and the main station in Zurich to Interlaken.

Connections are available at Spiez with trains to and from:

• Milano via Stresa and Domodossola
• Visp - connect for Zermatt
• Zweisimmen - connect for Montreux, though the new Golden Pass Express service offers a direct link between Interlaken and Montreux
• Brig - taking the Lotschberger route via Kandersteg is the way to go.