When you step into Switzerland and you stop at a restaurant or train station, you realize how expensive the country is and it is kind of scary expensive. We were traveling from Singapore and were like, what the hell ? why so expensive for train, food, etc. Nevertheless, we made the decision to go up to Jungfraujoch, which is the top of Europe and see it…We did so much of calculations and then finalised on the cheapest way as listed below.
Article Contents
- 1 Where should you stay – Hotel or Airbnb ?
- 2 Where should you take Train to go to Jungfrau Top ?
- 3 What Train Ticket Should you buy for Cheap visit to Jungfraujoch ?
- 4 What is the Catch ? Why is it cheapest option ?
- 5 How to pay for the train tickets to save money ?
- 6 What is misconception ? What if you miss anything ?
Where should you stay – Hotel or Airbnb ?
You should try to stay around in Interlaken area ( not too close to city) or somewhere around Grindelwald, which is cheapest for you. We stayed at Axalp, which is about 35 to 40 km to Grindelwald. But, the place was nice and we got a great view and we did Airbnb. Look for cheapest places in Airbnb. Do NOT stay in fancy hotels, it is not worth the money. Stay somewhere where you have accessibility to get to Grindelwald Grund
Where should you take Train to go to Jungfrau Top ?
We did all the math and realized, it is cheapest to go from Grindelwald Grund Train station. The good part is that there is very cheap parking here. You pay only 6 Euro for entire day parking. We parked our car there.
What Train Ticket Should you buy for Cheap visit to Jungfraujoch ?
If you are going between You should take the Good Morning ticket. It can range anywhere from 85 CHF to 135 CHF depending on the season from Grindelwald Grund station. We ended up paying 135 CHF. You will need to take the train from Grindelwald Grund to Kleine Scheidegg and then you should take a train to Jungfraujoch from Kleine Scheidegg.
What is the Catch ? Why is it cheapest option ?
The catch is that you can only take the train from Kleine Scheidegg – Jungfraujoch between 8:00 and 8:30 AM and come down from Jungfrau by 13:13. So, you will need to take the train from Grindelwald Grund either at 7:25 and 7:50 AM. We missed the first one and managed to take the second one at 7:50 AM. It can be very cold in the morning and you will hate it in the beginning, but it will be good, trust us. The return is fine, you will have enough time to see everything and return by 13:13, so this is probably the best option.
How to pay for the train tickets to save money ?
You can either use card or Cash. But, do NOT use card as the exchange rate is very bad. Just take cash and pay in CHF, it will save you a lot of money.
What is misconception ? What if you miss anything ?
The switzerland travel card does not cover it and you will need to buy separate tickets. There will be train ticket collector and he will check everything…If you do not have the right ticket, you will be paying full fare with him using credit card.
Some suggest going to Lauterbrunnen, but it is no good and slightly expensive and takes more time.
Did I miss anything ? What was your experience ?
Hi Kumar,
I would like to ask whether Swiss Travel Pass can enjoy the discount for Good Morning Ticket of Jungfraujoch?
Thank you.
Regards,
ZY Han
Hi Kumar
that was very informative. thank you for sharing. my hubby and I planning to go Switzerland and Austria in July. To buy or not to buy the swiss travel pass or half travel pass is really confusing. (need help) we opted to stay in youth hostel with breakfast 13days SGD 1700 and might look into Airbnb (initially i read there were extra cleaning and service charges) and end up booking YH.
Latha,
We had a car with us, so we opted out of the Swiss Travel Pass. There is no point of the swiss travel pass, if you are not going to travel much in Switzerland. If you are planning for traveling by train and bus across Swizz for a longer period of time, then worth it. Easy thing to do is calculate your trips and do the math. Junfra tickets are not covered by swiss pass, you just get discount. We used Airbnb and had car, saved a lot on travel, food and everything because you can pack something quick for breakfast and have good dinner at home and carry some things maybe for lunch if you have time ! Food is super expensive in Swiss.