Featured holiday Walking holiday in the Bernese Oberland Grindelwald, Switzerland

This holiday can be arranged with flights from the UK to Switzerland or with rail travel from London to Switzerland. If travelling by air, your holiday starts with a flight to Zurich airport (Geneva is also possible) where you catch a direct train to Bern. Change here to head south, into the Bernese Oberland, arriving into Interlaken Ost station just under an hour later. If travelling from the UK by rail, you leave London on a morning Eurostar to Paris at around 8am. Take a local taxi from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon and catch the afternoon TGV-Lyria service to Basel. You arrive here mid-afternoon and take a local train to Interlaken Ost. A straight-forward platform change here sees you board a smaller train which takes you up the hillside to arrive in the chocolate-box village of Grindelwald, a little over 1,000m above sea level. Surrounded on three sides by majestic peaks, the village of Grindelwald spills across the wide hanging valley, towered over by the dramatic northern face of the Eiger. Your hotel is located near to the train station and you head to your room to settle in and relax after the day’s travelling.

We recommend starting your trip with an easy hike to stretch out your legs and dip your toe into the delights of the Bernese Oberland. Today’s route takes you from Grindelwald and up the world’s longest passenger-carrying gondola to Mannlichen, (covered by your Bernese Oberland regional pass). The top gondola station is on a small ridge at 2,222m above sea level and gives fantastic views. To the east, you look back over Grindelwald to see the Eiger, Monch, Wetterhorn and the Schrekhorn. To the west, the Lauterbrunnen valley sits below with the Jungfrau, Breithorn and the Tschingelhorn rising above. The shorter version of today’s walk is around 2.8 miles and travels along the Panoramaweg path to Kleine Scheidegg. A longer version includes on The Royal Walk which takes you from Mannlichen gondola station to the summit and viewpoint. This option adds on 1.2 miles in total (round trip) and 120m of ascent but is well worth it for the panoramic views from the top. Returning to the gondola station, you follow a wide gravel track on a gentle descent through pretty alpine meadows. The section of this route between Lauberhorn and Kleine Scheidegg has truly fantastic views and on a clear day you can see the gleaming silver building of Jungfraujoch – Top of Europe high above on the saddle between the Jungfrau and the Monch. The path brings you to Kleine Scheidegg, launching point for the Jungfrau railway, and you take the train back down the mountain from here to Grindelwald (covered by your Bernese Oberland regional pass).

Today’s route takes you along one of the most popular hikes in this area, The Eiger Trail. The walk is about 5.7 miles although this can be shortened by taking the train from Kleine Scheidegg to Eigergletscher train station (not covered by your pass). We recommend starting the walk by taking the train from Grindelwald to Kleine Scheidegg and following the clearly signed route to the start of the Eiger Trail. This section before the official start of the trail takes you past the pretty lake of Fallbodensee which is an unmissable photo opportunity and gives the opportunity to visit an interesting exhibition about rock climbing on the Eiger. From here you continue uphill and walk along the moraine to take in views of the Eiger Glacier below, before joining the official Eiger Trail at Eigergletscher train station. The trail cuts below the Eiger’s impressive northern face, leading you under a ski lift and past a wall devoted to the climbers who have attempted this feat of mountaineering. The hike takes you across scree-covered slopes, past pretty waterfalls, bubbling streams and through flower-filled meadows. Ever-present on the skyline are the mighty peaks of the Wetterhorn, the Lauberhorn, Faulhorn and the Eiger above. You reach a point where the trail descends rapidly via a series of switchbacks and looking up here you will be able to see the summit of the Eiger. It’s about another 30 minutes to arrive in the tiny hamlet of Alpiglen, a small station between Kleine Scheidegg and Grindelwald, from where you catch the train back to the village.

We include two rest days within this walking holiday, although of course you can choose to swap the days around as you please. If the weather is clear, we highly recommend using one of your rest days to take the train up to Jungfraujoch – Top of Europe. Your Bernese Oberland regional pass entitles you to a special price on the return ticket from Kleine Scheidegg to Jungfraujoch so be sure to take this with you to the ticket office. Take some warm clothes with you and board the train which takes you up nearly 1,500m from Grindelwald. The Jungfrau rack railway is an impressive feat of engineering which takes you right through the heart of the Eiger and Monch mountains to arrive at the station, a lofty 3,454m above sea level. You arrive in a world of snow and ice with distant views reaching to the Aletsch glacier, Mittelland and Vosges. Within the Top of Europe you will find an ice palace, Lindt chocolate shop, observation deck and glacier adventure trail which crosses a huge crevasse in the Aletsch glacier via a suspension bridge. There are several restaurants for lunch and those looking for an extra thrill can go sledging, skiing or snowboarding in the Snow Fun Park (even in summer!). Return to Grindelwald via the rack railway to Kleine Scheidegg and continue by train back to Grindelwald. We include one four-course dinner at the hotel’s restaurant during your stay which can be enjoyed on an evening of your choice.

The third walk of your trip is more challenging and is 8.9 miles if completed in full. There is about 500m of ascent in total and about 640m of descent, making this a harder walk as well as longer. Those looking to shorten the walk can easily do so, with the shortest option being 3.5 miles instead. We recommend getting an early start for today’s one-way trip as clouds often gather over the mountains in the afternoons, concealing the peaks. You start the day by taking a bus from Grindelwald to Grosse Scheidegg (covered by your pass) and pick up the Hohenweg 2400 route to First (3.5 miles). This clearly signed route gives beautiful views of the Mattenberg, Eiger and Monch to the south-west, with the village of Grindelwald sprawling across the pastures below. Walking through alpine meadows, over charming wooden bridges and along rural tracks you slowly make your way up the hillside to arrive at First, the stop station of the Firstbahn cable car. We recommend heading to the terrace by the restaurant where information signs will help you to identify the jagged peaks which surround you. It is possible to finish the walk here and take the cable car back to Grindelwald after looking around First. Continuing with the walk, you now follow a wide, open track heading gently uphill. After about 50 minutes you reach the south-eastern end of Bachalpsee lake which is the perfect place to stop for a few photos. On a still day the lake perfectly reflects the Schreckhorn and many visitors and families bring their picnics up here from First. If you are tiring or the weather is changing, it is possible to turn around here and head back to First for the cable car (7.3 miles total). The third section of the walk takes you up another 140m before dropping on a steep descent for about 600m to Bussalp. Along the way you tackle the small summit of Spitzen which has an incredible panorama of the Obers Ischmeer glacier, Fischerhorn massif, Schreckhorn, Eiger and the Jungfrau. Your highest point at 2,400m is marked by a small mountain shelter and from here you drop down the mountainside with magnificent vistas on all side to reach the hamlet of Bussalp. Head to the Bussalp Restaurant where you catch the bus back to Grindelwald (covered by your pass, about 30 minutes by road).

We recommend spending your sixth day at leisure to relax and build up energy for the last walk of the trip. Your Bernese Oberland regional pass gives you lots of options for how to spend today, whether it be relaxing in the hotel’s spa or exploring more of the region. You might like to use your pass to take a day trip to Interlaken, explore the city and perhaps take a boat trip on Lake Brienz. Alternatively, your pass covers you entirely for travel to the village of Murren (via train and/or cable cars). From here you can use your pass to get a 50% discount on the cable car to Schilthorn – Piz Gloria. Known to many as a James Bond filming location, Piz Gloria station sits at 2,970m. Here you will find spectacular views from the Skyline View Platform, an interactive James Bond themed exhibition and a revolving restaurant giving diners views of more than 200 mountain peaks from their table. Back down the hill at Murren, you might also like to visit the Tummelbach waterfalls which are fed by glaciers or explore the short Allmendhubel Flower Trail.

Perhaps saving the best until last, the final walk of this itinerary is a 10.2-mile trip from First to Schynige Platte. The route takes you amidst towering peaks that touch the sky with summits at over 4,000m above sea level. This is a longer walk which should take around 6 hours in total and is not recommended during threatening weather. The walk starts by taking the gondola from Grindelwald to First and then following the path up to the lake of Bachalpsee. However, this time you take the trail which splits around the eastern edge of the lake and climb steadily up to Faulhorn. We recommend the quick detour to the summit (2,681m) where you can drink in the incredible views of Lake Brienz far below, surrounded by magnificent peaks. The main ascent is under your belt now and the rest of the trail is undulating on a rocky path before descending into the valleys. The path becomes more ragged after Faulhorn, marked by red and white painted rocks which lead along ridges and over grassy knolls. The trail descends to Manndlenen where you will find a small mountaineering hut and restaurant, and from there into the Sagistal valley. The route takes you through a wonderful karst landscape of limestone formations and crosses the scar of an old landslide. The last mile and a half of the walk is through pretty meadows, bounded on the right by a ridge. We recommend climbing up this on one of the small trails for some last photographs of Lake Brienz, Interlaken and Lake Thun. The path leads you into Schynige Platte where you will find a hotel, restaurant and botanic garden. Relax here with a drink at the hotel and perhaps spend the rest of the afternoon exploring before using the historic cog railway to descend to Wilderswil (covered by your pass). You catch a train from here back to Grindelwald to relax and perhaps celebrate the end of a successful trip.

You enjoy a final breakfast at your hotel before starting your journey home. If returning to the UK by rail you will need to leave Grindelwald around 9am and retrace your steps home via Interlaken, Basel and Paris, getting back to London in the early evening. If flying back from Zurich airport you may have a few additional hours in the morning to relax before catching an afternoon flight home.