Your Weekend Swiss Alps Itinerary: Skip Interlaken, Go Deeper

Two days in Lauterbrunnen, Grindelwald, and Mürren for under CHF 200 a day.

By Andrew  ·  June 2025

Everyone heads straight for Interlaken. It’s fine. It’s a transit hub with decent restaurants and a casino. But it is not the Alps. The mountains are a 25-minute train ride south, and most visitors never bother making that ride more than once. This itinerary skips Interlaken as a base entirely. Two days, three villages, waterfalls, a high-alpine lake with almost nobody on it, and a budget that holds under CHF 200 per day if you’re paying attention.

Getting There

From Zürich Airport, the route runs Zürich Flughafen → Bern Hbf → Interlaken Ost → Lauterbrunnen, taking about 2 hours and 50 minutes with two transfers. From Zürich HB, there are around 28 trains per day, with the fastest services completing the journey in 2 hours and 24 minutes. Book via SBB.

The Swiss Travel Pass is worth doing the math on if you’re spending more than a few days in Switzerland. It covers all the trains between these towns and gets you 25–50% off mountain railways.

The Swiss Half Fare Card (CHF 120 for one month) cuts essentially everything in half and pays for itself after one or two cable car rides. For a two-day trip, this is the sharper move.

Note for spring 2026 travelers: The Lauterbrunnen–Grütschalp cable car is out of service from 13 April 2026 to 10 July 2026 for renovation. The connection via Stechelberg is available for travel to Mürren during this time.

Where to Stay

The Budget Base · Lauterbrunnen

Camping Jungfrau sits right in the center of Lauterbrunnen valley. They offer hostel-style dorm beds and private rooms alongside camping pitches and cabins. It’s one of the best-value bases in the entire region. Walk out the door and the waterfalls are right there. Dorm beds run from around CHF 35–45/night. Book via Hostelworld.

The Mid-Range Option · Lauterbrunnen

Hotel Schützen is a well-run 3-star property in the center of the village, a short walk from the train station. Doubles run around CHF 200–280/night. Their restaurant looks directly at Staubbach Falls. Some tables get a straight-on view of the waterfall. Book via Booking.com.

The Splurge · Mürren

The family-run 3-star superior Hotel Edelweiss in car-free Mürren sits on the edge of the Mürrenfluh rock face, offering views of the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau at eye level. Doubles run CHF 280–350 in summer. Breakfast is included, the views are staggering when the weather cooperates, and the restaurant serves good food with a friendly staff. Waking up above the clouds with the Eiger directly across the valley is an experience that doesn’t happen anywhere else on a modest budget. Book via Booking.com.

What to Do

Day One · Lauterbrunnen

Start on foot. The valley floor is free, flat, and shockingly beautiful. Staubbach Falls is the first thing you’ll see, a 300-meter free-falling waterfall visible from the main street. The walk between Lauterbrunnen and Stechelberg takes around 90 minutes one way and passes 72 waterfalls in total. Add on the detour to Trümmelbach Falls, a powerful waterfall fed by glacial melt from the Mönch, Eiger, and Jungfrau. You’ll walk on boardwalk trails to different viewing platforms of the falls inside the mountain. It is one of the genuinely great natural spectacles of Switzerland. Entry costs CHF 14 for adults.

Day Two · Grindelwald First

In 2026, a standard return gondola ticket costs CHF 76 in May–October, with a 50% discount with a Swiss Travel Pass or Half Fare Card. Access to the First Cliff Walk is included in all gondola tickets. The Cliff Walk itself is a steel walkway cantilevered 45 meters off the side of the mountain with a suspension bridge at the end. The Cliff Walk and viewing platform are included in your gondola ticket. The First Flyer, First Glider, and Mountain Carts cost extra, starting from CHF 21 per activity.

An easy, well-maintained hiking trail leads from the First mountain station to Bachalpsee lake in less than an hour. This lake is perfectly still, reflecting the Schreckhorn and Wetterhorn. It is the hidden gem of Grindelwald and almost nobody talks about it. The day-trippers swarm the gondola and the Cliff Walk. Walk 45 minutes further and you’ll have one of the most beautiful alpine lakes in Switzerland nearly to yourself.

The day-trippers swarm the gondola and the Cliff Walk. Walk 45 minutes further and you’ll have one of the most beautiful alpine lakes in Switzerland nearly to yourself.

Day Two Evening · Mürren

Mürren is a car-free village high in the mountains, which requires a gondola and train to reach. The village sits on a cliff 800 meters above the valley floor, and the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau sit directly across from it at eye level. Mürren is the better base for hikes in this part of the range, and it is much more laid-back and less crowded than Lauterbrunnen.

Since March 2025, new Funifor-style cable cars connect Mürren, Birg, and Schilthorn, with the ride from Mürren to Schilthorn taking approximately 12 minutes total. From Mürren, a roundtrip to the Schilthorn costs CHF 85.60 standard, or CHF 42.80 with a Half Fare Card or Swiss Travel Pass. Made famous in the James Bond film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Schilthorn has a revolving restaurant called Piz Gloria at 2,970 meters. Over 200 Swiss mountain peaks are visible from the top, including the Eiger, Jungfrau, and Mönch. Book tickets via schilthorn.ch.

Stop at Birg on the way down and walk the Thrill Walk, a glass-bottom walkway running along steep rock faces that delivers a real adrenaline rush.

The North Face Trail · Mürren

There are several popular hikes around Mürren that start at the top of the Allmendhubel funicular, which costs around CHF 12 each way. Once you ride up, you’ll find a playground and a restaurant with views, then pick one of the well-marked trails that wind back down to Mürren. The North Face Trail keeps the Eiger’s north wall directly in front of you for almost the entire route. Most visitors who reach Mürren never bother with this funicular. Despite being in such a famous tourist area, the hikes feel surprisingly peaceful.

Where to Eat and Drink

Budget around CHF 15–25 for takeaway or a simple lunch, and CHF 30–50 per person at a casual restaurant. The strategy: eat well at dinner, buy lunch at the Coop. There is a supermarket in the center of Grindelwald with normal Swiss prices, not inflated tourist resort prices. Grab a sandwich, a cervelat sausage, and a bottle of water for lunch and save your money for dinner.

Restaurant Schützen · Lauterbrunnen

Come here for the direct sightline to Staubbach Falls. Some tables look straight at the waterfall. They serve a mixture of Swiss and international dishes including rösti, sausage, fondue, burgers, and wraps.

Hotel Horner · Lauterbrunnen

Hotel Horner is home to Lauterbrunnen’s only pub, a popular hangout for BASE jumpers in the village. The pub serves burgers, hot dogs, nachos, and Swiss hot chocolate. It’s where the base jumpers congregate near the train station. Free Wi-Fi. A beer and a burger here runs around CHF 25–30. You can pop in without a reservation and find a table.

Grindelwald Fondue · Grindelwald

The deluxe cheese fondue comes with a good selection of vegetables and loads of bread, and the glühwein is excellent.

Café 3692 · Grindelwald

A casual spot that works for late breakfast, lunch, or afternoon tea. The café is attached to a bakery producing a good range of breads and pastries, and the goulash soup is hearty and worth ordering.

What to Skip

Jungfraujoch on a Two-Day Trip

The round-trip ticket costs approximately CHF 227 in summer 2025 prices. From May 1 to August 31, seat reservations are mandatory for journeys to Jungfraujoch, with a reservation fee of CHF 10 per person. The views at the top are genuinely spectacular. On a two-day budget trip, you can see the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau up close from Grindelwald First and Mürren for a fraction of the cost. Save Jungfraujoch for a dedicated trip when you have a week.

The Main Restaurant Strip in Grindelwald

Grindelwald is expensive. Walk one street back, eat at Bebbis, or pick up something from the Coop for dinner at your hostel.

Interlaken as a Base

Staying in Interlaken puts you 20–30 minutes further from everything on this list and adds friction to every day. The accommodation savings are minimal compared to Lauterbrunnen hostels, and you’ll spend more on transport.

Getting Around

The Jungfrau region is essentially car-free. If you have a rental car, you can drive it to Interlaken, Grindelwald, or Stechelberg and park it there. Between Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald, trains run every 30 minutes and take about 40 minutes with one change at Interlaken Ost or Zweilütschinen. The fare from Lauterbrunnen to Grindelwald starts from CHF 9.40 per adult, with 50% off with a Half Fare Card or free with the Jungfrau Travel Pass.

The Jungfrau Travel Pass covers 3 to 8 days of travel by train, bus, boat, and selected mountain railways with one ticket. It includes Harder Kulm, the Schynige Platte, and Grindelwald First. For a two-day trip, the Swiss Half Fare Card at CHF 120 is the sharper buy.

There are two routes from Lauterbrunnen to Mürren, both taking about 20 minutes: the cable car and train via Grütschalp, or the bus and cable car via Stechelberg. (Check for the Grütschalp renovation window noted above if you’re traveling in spring 2026.)

Travel Tips

• Buy your Grindelwald First gondola tickets online via jungfrau.ch to lock in the best rate and avoid queuing at the base station.
• Hit the gondola early. The Cliff Walk gets crowded by 10am. First station at opening means a quieter Bachalpsee on the way out.
• The Half Fare Card pays for itself at CHF 120 after two cable car rides with the discount applied. Run the math before you buy single tickets.
• Carry cash. Smaller mountain restaurants and funiculars do not always accept cards.
• Pack a layer. Even in July, Mürren and the First plateau are cold in the morning and can cloud over fast in the afternoon.
• Check MeteoSwiss the night before and adjust the itinerary order. Do the high-altitude activities on the clearest morning.

FAQs

Is Lauterbrunnen or Grindelwald a better base?

Lauterbrunnen. Hostels are cheaper, the valley walk is on your doorstep, and access to Mürren is direct. Grindelwald has more amenities but the food prices reflect it.

Can you do this trip without a Swiss Pass or Half Fare Card?

Yes. Pay point-to-point and budget higher for the cable cars. The Half Fare Card still saves money on a two-day trip if you’re hitting Grindelwald First and the Schilthorn on the same weekend.

How do you get to Mürren from Lauterbrunnen?

Two options, both around 20 minutes: cable car and narrow-gauge train via Grütschalp, or bus to Stechelberg and cable car up. The Grütschalp line is closed for renovation April 13 to July 10, 2026 — use the Stechelberg route during that window.

What’s the best free thing to do in this area?

The valley floor walk from Lauterbrunnen to Stechelberg. Ninety minutes, 72 waterfalls, free. Come back and tell us it isn’t one of the best walks in Europe.

Is the Bachalpsee hike difficult?

No. It’s a well-maintained trail from the First gondola station, mostly flat, with about 150 meters of gentle gain. An hour each way. Anyone with reasonable fitness handles it without difficulty.