How to take the rail journey from Zurich to Grindelwald

Changing trains at Interlaken Ost station:

Interlaken is where the network of mountain railways in the Bernese-Oberland connect with SBB's national rail network.

You will have around 8 mins to make the connection between trains at Interlaken Ost station, but again the connection is virtually guaranteed, in terms of the arrival and departure times of the trains.

You can be sure of making this connection, if you book tickets that are valid for the end-to-end journey.
Eight minutes may not be enough time to buy a ticket for the BOB train on to Grindelwald from the manned ticket desks at Interlaken Ost station.

Though if you will be travelling with any type of rail pass, including Swiss Day Passes, you'll need to go into the ticket office, to buy a discounted ticket for the train to Grindelwald.

Changing trains in Bern:

In the hours when no direct trains are available from Zurich to Interlaken, there will be trains from Zurich heading to Brig which will connect in Bern for trains on to Interlaken.

On arrival at Bern station the easiest means of transferring to the platform/track/gleis that the train on to Interlaken will be departing from, is to use the bridge which spans the station
If you board the train to Bern around three - six coaches back from the front of the train, you will then be adjacent to this bridge when you disembark from the train on arrival at Bern.

The alternative route via Luzern:

If you have a valid rail pass, an alternative, more scenic, but longer option is to travel to Interlaken from Zurich via Luzern.

Booking Tickets:

Tickets can be booked online for this end-to-end journey.

Online bookings open: up to six months ahead of the travel date

‘Individual tickets’ can be used on any train(s) on your travel date, but they tend to be comparatively expensive.

Supersaver tickets are cheaper, the portion of the journey by the SBB train can be discounted by up to 50%, but these tickets are train departure specific, see our Swiss Tickets guide for more advice on how to book these tickets

If you book a Supersaver ticket and a flight delay etc, causes you to miss a train you are booked on to, you will have to book another full-price ‘Individual Ticket(s).
You can then apply for a refund of the Supersaver ticket, but the application costs CHF 10.

Using Saver Day Passes:

Now that the Swiss Transfer tickets have been discontinued a Saver Day Pass may save you money, if you can book at least a couple of weeks ahead (usually), so that you can obtain the pass at a discounted price.

They can be cheaper than tickets for the end-to-end journey, though they are more likely to be a money saver if you will be making a day return trip between Zurich and Grindelwald, even if you can book in advance.

They can be used on;

• the trains between Zurich Fughafen/Airport or Zurich HB station and Bern
• the trains between Bern and Interlaken Ost
• the trains between Interlaken Ost and Grindelwald - though they provide for a 25% discount on this leg of the journey, you will need to pay the balance in the ticket office at Interlaken Ost station.

They are not train specific, so can still be used in the event of a journey to Switzerland being delayed.
Though as they’re only valid for one day’s travel, the clue is the name, so if you will be travelling back on another date, you’ll need to purchase another Saver Day Pass for your return journey.

Though they need to be booked at least a day ahead of your travel date, so won't be an option if you book tickets at the station on arrival in Switzerland.
They're also cheaper the further ahead that you book.