DAY TRIPS FROM GRINDELWALD
Grindelwald has been a dream destination for both of us and when planning our honeymoon, we knew we wanted to center our first leg of the trip around this Alpine region. Whether you’re a nature lover, an adrenaline junkie for extreme sports, or a fan of K-Drama (Crash Landing was filmed in various locations in Grindelwald), this Swiss mountain area has everything you want and more.
While there are over twenty different mountain peaks to explore in Grindelwald, the four areas we visited were:
Murren / Lauterbrunnen / Interlaken
Grindelwald First
Lake Thun
Mannlichen
If you want to read about how we got to Grindelwald or need help getting to this whimsical place, please read our post Traveling from Zurich to Grindelwald by Train.
Since we arrived at our hotel, Hotel Glacier, a lot earlier than anticipated, we took advantage of our early arrival and immediately started our exploration of the Swiss Alps. Although we were still exhausted from our lack of sleep and had been essentially powering through by the magic of caffeine, we felt compelled to start our day trips as soon as possible because of the weather.
The weather in Grindelwald is extremely finicky and unpredictable because the village is located at a much a higher elevation, with snow-capped mountains and glaciers within a stone’s throw away. Instead of relying on weather apps like Apple, Weather.com, AccuWeather, or any other app you would likely use back at home, we highly recommend using Grindelwald's Weather website. By utilizing their live cameras, you’ll have a more accurate assessment of your destination’s weather, and you won’t be surprised by fog or worse, rain. In case the area you’re planning to visit has bad weather, you’re in luck since there are many day trip options from Grindelwald. If it’s raining and foggy in one area, there should be another mountain that will be perfect and sunny (except during the winter time, when snow and rainstorms are frequent in all of Grindelwald).
Our initial plan was to use the first day to recover from jet lag and the morning commute from Zurich. We also checked the weather before we departed from the U.S.; it was forecasted to be cloudy and rainy on our first day. Despite our travel fatigue, we checked out the live camera footage and saw how sunny it was, with no cloud in sight. We decided to take advantage of the perfect weather and officially start our journey earlier than planned after dropping off our luggage at our hotel, Hotel Glacier.
DAY ONE — Murren / Lauterbrunnen / Interlaken
As we walked back to the town center of Grindelwald, Mishi and I couldn’t believe we were there. Although we were walking the same road not too long ago, we couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by this town's dramatic views. I remember looking at Instagram reels of this place, thinking there’s no way this place could be that beautiful and vibrant, and it must have been edited with filters. But let me tell you, it is not edited or filtered, it is that gorgeous.
Shortly upon our arrival at the train station in the town center, our train came within a minute and just like that, we were on our way to Murren.
Our train ride from Grindelwald to Murren was another delightful treat for our eyes as we gazed at more beautiful mountains and green pastures. The journey didn’t take too long and required only two transfers—one at Interlaken, then another at Zweilütschinen, ending at Stechelberg.
Be mindful of the transfer at Zweilütschinen. At this stop, everyone on the train had to step out, and the train staff directed the passengers to either go to the front half of the train or the other half to the back. The separation was due to the fact the train will split mid-journey and depending on which cart you’re in, you’ll either end up in a various area of Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen. I know this part may sound confusing and may thwart your desire to explore this area by train, but let me assure you that these types of trains are seldom in Switzerland and this happens to be one of them. We still highly recommend traveling by train because it’s such an easy and beautiful experience. Plus, there was no way we wanted to hike these mountains and then have the energy to drive back to our hotel.
Upon reaching Stechelberg, we were again in awe of the Swiss landscape and took in the fresh air. You know, that first breath of fresh mountainous air; the crisp, frosty but cooling sensation as it fills your throat and lungs. Refreshed and excited, we lunged forward to begin our first hike in the Swiss Alps!
After doing a quick stretch and making sure we had enough water for our trip, we walked through the beautiful village, hearing the ubiquitous cow and church bells ringing throughout. I couldn’t help but gleefully smile at the thought of walking through the Swiss town. It was such a surreal experience and I felt so incredibly fortunate to be on this experience with my new wife.
It wasn’t long until we reached our next mode of transportation, which was the Schilthornbahn, the Swiss cable car. For this ride, even though we had a Swiss Pass, we still needed to pay for this portion of the trip.
Look, I’m going to be transparent here — even though I’ve been raving non-stop about the Swiss engineering and their immaculate train system, there is a major caveat; the Swiss offers 3 different passes and each pass is good for different parts of the Swiss Alps. Depending on which pass you have, you will have access to some but not all, and for the areas you don’t have access to, you will have to purchase supplemental tickets. In this case, we had to purchase the extra tickets not because of the previous statement but because it’s not a train but a cable car. I know, Switzerland is known to be beautiful, clean, and efficient, but it is also very, very, expensive.
Because we know how confusing and convoluted this may sound, we wrote this post ‘Why we chose the Swiss Pass and How it Works’ to help streamline the information into a more digestible read. That way, you’ll be able to make a confident decision when purchasing your pass of choice and not be surprised by the sudden ticket purchases if needed.
With our cable car tickets in hand, we got on the Schilthornbahn and up we went, literally. The cable car ride from Stechelberg to Murren took a bit under twenty minutes and let me tell you as a person who’s afraid of heights, this thing went high. I couldn’t believe my eyes when my gaze fell parallel to mountain tops and glaciers. After the short ride, we got off the cable car and were amazed by how easy it was to see such a dramatic view.
Murren is a village up in the highest of mountains and a car-less city, making it a perfect day trip destination to hike and wander. Since we effortlessly reached the summit with the incredible Swiss technology, we chose to walk back down the beaten path to Stechelberg so we could enjoy the views and scenery at a much slower pace. Our walk down took about two hours, but we made plenty of pit stops to bask in the sun. We took countless photos and also stopped by a restaurant for a couple of beers to enjoy our first destination in the Swiss Alps.
As we slowly approached Stechelberg from our relaxing walk down the mountain, we replenished our water bottles, grabbed a few more snacks including some ice cream to cool us down from the heat, and caught the next train to Lauterbrunnen. Just like before, we got onto the correct cart (remember this is the stop where the train splits mid-journey!), and rode the short twenty-minute ride to our next destination.
Unlike Murren, Lauterbrunnen is a very popular destination, and we soon realized how many tourists were here. Perhaps it’s because Murren is a lot further or maybe the supplemental ticket costs deter many day trippers, but the number of visitors between the two villages was vastly noticeable.
However, just like any tourist location, we walked 15–20 minutes away from the center and found ourselves enjoying Lauterbrunnen without the crowd. After snapping some photos of the picturesque village, waterfalls, and churches, we trekked back to the town center and made our way to the train station to visit our last village of the day, Interlaken.
Riding our last train from Lauterbrunnen to Interlaken, we started to feel our travel fatigue, lack of sleep, and our bodies were becoming wiped out from the day’s trip. Mishi decided to take a quick power nap on the train ride, while I tried my best to stay awake by looking out the window. The views were beautiful just like our previous train rides but as we were getting closer to our next city, I started to notice the clear blue skies turn into a darker shade of gray; the once cloudless sunny skies quickly changed into an ominous rainstorm. As we approached Interlaken, it started to rain and without an umbrella, we retreated to a nearby restaurant, Aslanni's Corner, to get away from the rain but also to enjoy some food and replenish our caffeine level.
As we enjoyed our late lunch and coffee, we looked outside intermittently to see if the rain had passed or not, and to our delight, the storm seemed to have cleared up. We took this opportunity to quickly pay for our meal and check out our last city of the day.
Coming from Lauterbrunnen, Murren and Grindelwald, our first impression of Interlaken is that the city must be the main central hub of this region. Interlaken was much more developed than the other surrounding villages, and had major fast food joints such as McDonald’s, ritzy designer store brands, and even a casino. The hotels were much bigger and grander and resembled the hotel from the movie, The Grand Budapest Hotel. We did a bit of shopping, picking up postcards to send back home, (we love sending postcards to our friends and family as souvenirs since it’s something we can immediately send), while enjoying some local Swiss chocolates. After touring the busy town, we decided that we’ve had enough exploration for the day and decided to head back to Grindelwald. As we rode our last train ride back to our hotel, we saw the most stunning and colorful sunset — cotton candy colored skies with the softest looking clouds surrounded by the three gigantic iconic Swiss mountains.
Day two — GRINDELWALD FIRST
Mishi and I wanted to start our second day in Grindelwald as early as possible, so upon waking up, we quickly made our way down to our hotel’s restaurant for the complimentary breakfast buffet. The spread was generous ranging from cold cuts, to various fruits and Swiss cheese, and fresh assortment of bread. We paired our continental breakfast with some warm coffee and enjoyed our panoramic view from the comfort of our warm hotel.
After eating to our heart’s content, we washed up and prepared for our day trip to Grindelwald First.
Getting to Grindelwald First was the easiest of all the days, since the cable car station is actually located in Grindelwald. It only took us ten to fifteen minutes of walking uphill past the town center to reach the station. Once there, we purchased our discounted tickets and up we went, just like the day before.
The cable car ride didn’t take too long and during our twenty-minute ascent, we started to see paragliders, trotti bikers, cyclists, and hikers descend the mountain by air and land. It wasn’t even 9:00 a.m. and we realized that everyone else had the same idea of beating the tourist rush and arriving at the summit as early as possible. As we reached the top, we enjoyed the 360 view, and it truly felt like we were on top of the world.
Grindelwald First is unique from the other surrounding towns because it’s a haven for adventurous folks. From paragliding, to riding trotti bikes down the mountain, or simply enjoying a leisurely hike down to Grindelwald, we were presented with many options to explore this area.
Tip: At Grindelwald First station, you’ll be able to see the estimated wait time for the aforementioned activities and even though we arrived at 9:00 a.m., most of the activities had a 1+ hour wait. We suggest to those who are interested in any of these activities to wake up much earlier than we did and try to get to the top of the mountain before the rush.
Unfortunately, I am deathly afraid of heights and not the greatest bike rider, so we opted to skip the activities and chose to hike from Grindelwald First Station to Bachalpsee Lake. The walk wasn’t too difficult — it was about a 6 km walk round trip and the most tiring part was the first twenty minutes which was a straight incline walk up. After the initial incline, it’s a pretty flat trail with the most fantastic views of the glaciers, Swiss cows, and an unhindered view of Grindelwald.
Reaching the lake, we were met with an amazing and dramatic view of the lake with the Swiss Mountains as a background, but somehow the view looked so familiar even though it was our first time visiting this lake. And then it clicked, we’ve seen this image before — this exact view is from a Ricola packaging. We couldn’t believe it, and it made sense why this trail was so popular. After our excitement and surprise, we enjoyed our time here, people-watching, and snapping a few photos with the roaming cows. Once we started to feel a bit hungry, we decided to walk back to Grindelwald First to enjoy some lunch.
Our walk back to Grindelwald First was a pleasant stroll down the mountain, and by the time we got to Berggasthaus First, we were starving. We found a couple of seats at their outdoor patio that overlooked Grindelwald and enjoyed our well-deserved beer and food. It was such a relaxing lunch, and we couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day. The sun was shining, the views were crystal clear, and the weather was superb.
After our lunch, we decided to slowly make our back down to Grindelwald, take more photos, enjoy a few more hikes, and eventually ride the cable car back down to our home base.
Day THREE — LAKE THUN
It was 7:00 A.M. when I woke up and as I opened our blackout shades, it revealed today’s weather forecast of fog, cloud, and rain. I wanted to make sure my initial assumption was correct, so I went on Grindelwald's Weather website and unfortunately confirmed it would be raining all day.
With our bodies sore from our previous day trips, the rain couldn’t have come at a better time, since Mishi and I wanted a day to rest and relax. So with nothing planned for the day, we took our time getting out of bed and went downstairs for our daily breakfast buffet.
It was another delicious feast — we enjoyed our usual assortment of fresh bread, fruits, and cheeses, washing it down with a warm cup of coffee. As we were eating, we were thinking of doing something relaxing on our day off and decided to check out a spa at a nearby hotel in Lake Thun called, Beatus Hotel.
Even though unwanted weather like rain can sometimes ruin a trip, we welcome these sorts of changes because they help us slow down on our travel plans. So with nothing planned except our spa day, we took our time freshening up and eventually made our way to Lake Thun around noon.
Getting to Lake Thun was just as easy as visiting the different mountain villages. It was a short train ride from Grindelwald to Interlaken and from there, we took a local bus (bus fare is included in the Swiss Pass) for forty minutes until we reached Lake Thun.
Remembering how beautiful this place was during our ride from Zurich, we were excited to explore this place on foot. Upon arriving, we were immediately stunned by the beauty of this town. With its perfect mountain that resembled Mount Fuji, rows of wooden houses surrounding the lake, and the vastness of the inland sea created such a calming scenery that only the Swiss can pull off.
Our bus conveniently dropped us off right in front of the Beatus Hotel, which looked like a beautifully, traditional but modern Swiss hotel. Since we arrived here a little past noon, we were famished and excited to try some local Swiss food at their restaurant, Orangerie Restaurant and Bar before our spa treatment.
The restaurant felt like a fine dining experience, and the views couldn’t be beat. As we enjoyed local beef cheeks with minestrone soup, we gazed out to the lake, watching a slow steamboat make its rounds around the vast lake, dropping off locals and tourists at various docks. We eventually finished our meal, paid the bill, and made our way to the spa next door.
This is where it gets weird. Back in the U.S., the spas aren’t usually co-ed and clothing is optional. But in Switzerland, we out found later that in most parts of Europe, spas are co-ed and clothing is not optional; everyone has to be in the nude. With this sudden information given to us by the receptionist, we felt compelled it give it a try. When in Rome, right? We must have been obvious with our discomfort since she asked us two more times if being in the nude would be an issue, and we confidently said no when she asked for the third time.
Well, now we know why she asked us three times. Once we got changed in the locker room and proceeded to the spa area, we immediately felt out of our comfort zones. The spa wasn’t the traditional spa we were expecting. We expected a large facility with lavender and eucalyptus-scented dry and wet steam rooms, but what we got was an extension of the hotel with hallways that led to very small, awkwardly shaped corridors that housed different dry and wet steam rooms at different temperatures.
And everyone was in the nude, including us.
We tried our best to enjoy the experience and after a grueling hour of feeling extremely awkward and uncomfortable, we decided to end our spa treatment (we paid for three hours), and ventured back home via local bus. As we rode the bus of shame back to Interlaken, Mishi and I couldn’t stop laughing as we recalled our not-too-long-ago “spa” treatment. Although, this experience was cringe-worthy and something we would never try again in the future; looking back, it’s such a treat to have this memory of us laughing on the bus, sharing our personal experience, and ultimately trying something new together.
In Interlaken, we decided to enjoy some comfort from back home and went to visit the Golden Arches, McDonald’s. As an example of how expensive Switzerland is, here’s a breakdown of what we ordered and the total damage:
1 Big N Tasty meal
1 Chicken Paprika Sandwich
1 Shrimp Nuggets (totally recommend this one - it tastes like the shrimp patty from Japan’s shrimp burger but in nugget form)
1 McFlurry
The total bill for our American meal came out to be close to USD $70.00. Even though our friends and family have warned us about the prices in Switzerland, we still couldn’t help but be shocked by the sticker price of our fast food order. Although it was more expensive than we expected our dinner to cost, it was so worth it. Plus, trying McDonald’s at different global locations has been something we do for fun, and we’ve discovered unique menu items like Korea’s strawberry soft serve ice cream or the decadent deep-fried taro pies found only in Hawaii. Don’t get us wrong, Mishi and I love our fancy meals and for the most part, we eat locally for the majority of our meals when abroad. But from time to time, we like to treat ourselves to some good ol’ junk food.
And no other country makes junk food like the U.S.
DAY FOUR — Männlichen
Rejuvenated, Mishi and I woke up on our last day in Grindelwald ready to go on our final day trip to Mannlichen.
The weather was perfect unlike the day before and as we rode our gondola from Grindelwald to Mannlichen (we lucked out and got to ride a gondola with the Ricola advertisement to feel extra Swiss). I’ll spare you the raving, but this particular ride is also one of the most beautiful rides we’ve been on, and we ascended higher and higher, it almost felt like we were going above the clouds.
After twenty minutes, we arrived at Mannlichen base station, and we were stunned by the sheer beauty of the panoramic views. On one side, we got a whole aerial view of Lauterbrunnen, and on the other, a completely unhindered view of Grindelwald. I just couldn’t believe how different each mountaintop was from the other, and how unique and beautiful each visit had been.
Funnily enough, there was a children’s playground at the Mannlichen base station so obviously, Mishi and I spent some time playing in it as if we were ten years old again. After warming up our bodies, we headed straight for our first hike of the day — Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg which is revered as one of the most beautiful walks in the Jungfrau region.
As we walked the trail, the perfect, sunny, cloudless skies started to look gloomy. Then the thick fog rolled in. And then, in less than ten minutes, we were in the thick of it and couldn’t see anything beyond five feet in all directions. We couldn’t help ourselves but laugh and roll with it; we’re so high up in the mountains that we’re facing glaciers less than a mile away, so expecting perfect weather to stick around all day wasn’t a real expectation. Instead, we enjoyed our walk through the ominous fog, posing and taking hilarious pictures to forever remember our hike through this hidden valley.
But after an hour or so of hiking as we got closer to the glaciers and eventually Kleine Scheidegg, the clouds started to move again and this time, revealed the most dramatic view we have ever seen. The view was so crystal clear — the type of clarity you see when a storm passes suspending any dust or impurity, leaving nothing but the most incredible sight. We took this opportunity to rest at a nearby bench to snack on some fruits while we watched nature move. The sun came back strong and hot, and as the glaciers shed their ice sheath, the wind blew the icy and ethereal particles creating a mystical view of the mountains. The cowbells started ringing and in such a magical, serendipitous way, our terrible morning hike transformed into an experience to remember for a lifetime.
With the sun out and no cloud in sight, we enjoyed a lunch break in Kleine Scheidegg and also tried the famous Swiss classic dessert rahmschnitte, a flaky cream cake that was worth every calorie. While we were eating, Mishi and I were discussing if we should embark on another hike down to Alpiglen which was a nearby village close to Grindelwald, or if we should just take the train back down to our hotel. With our stomachs full, our energy level replenished, and the rahmschnitte to burn off, we decided to hike back down.
And I have to admit — this hike was worth the steps. As we descended from Kleine Scheidegg, the landscape opened up. We started from the top of the mountain, next to glaciers, walking through thick fog and gloom. But after an hour of walking down the mountain, the sun illuminated everything. We got the clearest view of Grindelwald, and its surrounding villages, with the mountains towering above, and the bright green fields with cow bells ringing in the air.
The hike itself was very easy since it’s just downhill on a well-paved road. There were some areas where the roads weren’t paved and a bit rocky, but it wasn’t all too bad. Within our two hour walk from Kleine Scheidegg to Alpiglen, we only saw four other visitors, and they were walking up against us.
We highly recommend doing the hike from Kleine Scheidegg to Apligen and not the other way around — the other visitors we saw were drenched and heaving for air while Mishi and I were taking a leisurely walk down.
Once we got to Apligen, we took the cutest little train back down to Grindelwald, savoring every last view of this beautiful Alpine town. The ride back to Grindelwald was a bittersweet feeling — we were ecstatic to go to our next honeymoon destination, but a little part of us were sad, knowing that today was our last day here in this fairy tale-like land.
As we said our final goodbyes to Grindelwald, Mishi and I swore we would come back to revisit this beautiful country. But until then, we will remember Switzerland with it’s most amazing views and memories to last us a lifetime.
