All you need to know to go skiing in the Swiss Alps

The best place to go skiing in the Swiss Alps

Are you dreaming about skiing or snowboarding in the Swiss Alps? You don't know where to start, where to go, and how to organize everything? We have all to answers for you.

To go skiing in the Swiss Alps, we highly recommend the Jungfrau Region and especially the beautiful city of Interlaken as a base to explore the Swiss Alps and its incredible ski resorts. So let's get to it and follow the lead...

How to plan your Winterlaken trip?

Flying to Switzerland

There are 3 different airports to get to Interlaken:

1. Zurich Airport (ZRH) is the biggest airport in Switzerland. A train station called Zürich Flughafen is connected to the airport. There’s a train connection to Interlaken once or twice an hour, depending on the time of the day.

Set your departure station to “Zürich Flughafen” and your arrival station to “Interlaken West”.

2. EuroAirport Basel is about equally far away as Zurich Airport. The airport is located on the Swiss/French/German border. Make sure to exit the airport on the side of Switzerland. It’s a small airport and you’ll easily find the bus stop with a frequent connection to the main train station, called “Basel SBB”.

Set your departure station to “Basel EuroAirport” and arrival station to “Interlaken West”.

3. Geneva Airport (GVA) is a little further away from Interlaken than Basel and Zurich airports. But there is a train station connected to the airport and you only have to transfer once to get to Interlaken. So if the plane tickets are cheaper, we’d recommend you to go to this airport anyhow.

Set your departure station to “Genève Aéroport” and your arrival station to “Interlaken West”. 

Travel from the airport to the hostel

How to buy train tickets?

The public transport in Switzerland is comfortable, reliable, and scenic. One could even say Switzerland has the best railway system in the world if only the ticket prices would be a bit cheaper. It’s worth looking for “super saver tickets” which are discounted train tickets. The disadvantage of these tickets is that you are bound to designated times, which can be risky in case your plane arrives delayed. Normal train tickets can be bought via this link.

How to plan your journey?

The easiest way to plan your journey through Switzerland is to make use of Google Maps. You can use the following links to see the timetables of the public transport from the airport to Interlaken West. It also includes how to get from the train station to the hostel.

From >Geneva Airport; Zurich Airport; Basel EuroAirport

The bus ride from the train station to the hostel (bus 105 or bus 104) will be free with the Balmers Ski Package. So make sure you only purchase a train ticket to Interlaken West train station. There are no bus connections from the airport to Interlaken, you can only reach it by train or car.

 

Jungfrau Ski Area

The Jungfrau Ski Area comprises three resorts: Grindwald-Wengen<, Grindelwald-First, and Schilthorn. All of these areas are easily accessible from Interlaken and are covered by the same ticket. There is 214 km of ski slopes in the Jungfrau Ski region and 42 different lifts.

We’d highly recommend you spend one day in each of the three resorts. As they all provide an equally spectacular view of the famous mountain peaks; Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau.

One thing you don’t have to worry about when skiing or snowboarding in the Jungfrau region is food and drink options. There are many different restaurants close to the ski slopes where you can enjoy some traditional Swiss classics such as Raclette, Rösti, and Alpine Macaroni. Nearly all of the restaurants accept debit and credit cards, so no need to carry a large amount of cash with you.

Looking for ways to save money? Having food and drinks in a Swiss restaurant can be quite expensive. A great way to save some money is to ski down to a supermarket where you can buy a sandwich and beer, which you can then take up and eat while enjoying the great view. To find directions to the supermarket, look for “coop” in Google maps.

Make sure to drink and ski responsibly! Each season we see guests coming back with injuries after having a few drinks too many on the slopes, so be warned!

How to get to the skiing area in the Swiss Alps?

Travel to the ski area

If you book the Jungfrau Ski Pass ahead of time, you receive a voucher with a pick-up code for the Ski Passes. You can pick up the ski passes at any of the train stations in the Jungfrau region or at one of the Jungfrau Pick-Up Terminals. The voucher itself can be used as a ticket to travel by train to Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen. Just make sure you trade the voucher for the actual ski passes before getting on to the ski lift.

To visit the Grindelwald-Wengen region, take the train to Grindelwald Terminal. From here you can take the lift up to Eigergletscher or Männlichen. The gondola lift from Grindelwald Terminal up to Eigergletscher takes just 15 minutes and takes you straight to the highest point of the entire ski resort. If you are a beginner or feeling a bit rusty, then we recommend starting with this area as it generally has the widest ski slopes and the most options for the blue slopes.

To visit the Grindelwald-First region, take the train to Grindelwald and walk (or bus) to Grindelwald Firstbahn. There is normally a long waiting line to go up this side of the mountain and it’s not the most suitable area for beginners. But highly recommended for more advanced skiers and snowboarders. Especially for those who are looking to play in the park.

To visit the Schilthorn region, take the train to Lauterbrunnen, the bus to Stechelberg, and then the =gondola up to Mürren. The layout of this ski resort might seem a bit more confusing than the other areas but it’s definitely worth your while to explore. The area around Winteregg is perfect for beginners or park riders. It’s perfect to combine with visiting the Schilthorn peak, where advanced skiers can take the steepest ski run while less advanced skiers take the gondola lift back down.