How to Get to Interlaken

Bern's small airport is nearest geographically but has very limited connections. In practice the closest useful airports are Zurich (~2¼ hours by rail, the most flights), Basel (~2 hours via Bern, the budget-carrier hub) and Geneva (~3 hours, strong European network). Choose by fare and schedule — Swiss rail makes the distance difference nearly irrelevant.

Take the escalator down — the airport has its own rail station under the terminal. Trains toward Bern/Interlaken run regularly; the full journey takes about 2¼ hours, usually with one easy cross-platform change. No seat reservation needed. Buy point-to-point tickets in the SBB app or activate a rail pass before boarding.

Yes — direct InterCity services run from Zurich HB to Interlaken Ost in about two hours, alongside connections that change once in Bern. Departures are spread through the day; the SBB app shows which pattern your time slot follows. Either way, sit tight until Interlaken Ost unless your hotel is by West.

Ost, by default — it's the terminus for the mountain railways to Lauterbrunnen, Grindelwald and the Jungfraujoch route, plus the Lake Brienz pier. West serves the western town centre and Lake Thun pier, and only wins if your hotel sits beside it. Most trains call at both, West first when arriving from Bern.

Not on the standard intercity and regional trains to Interlaken — you board and sit anywhere. The notable exception is up the mountain: the Jungfraujoch railway requires a seat reservation for the top section, which is one reason the guided package that bundles it is popular.

Yes — the standard rail routes from Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Bern and Lucerne to Interlaken are covered. Whether the pass itself is worth buying depends on your whole itinerary: it pays off across multiple travel days, less so for a single return trip. Check what your chosen tours already include before double-paying for transport.

By train, around three hours: Geneva (or the airport's own station) to Bern, then the direct Bern–Interlaken service, ~50 minutes. It's the longest of the main approaches but entirely comfortable — one change, regular departures, and Lake Geneva out the window for the first stretch.

For a Jungfrau-region-only trip, no — trains reach everything, Mürren and Wengen are car-free, village parking is limited and paid, and tours include pickups. A car makes sense only for multi-base Swiss road trips, heavy sports gear, or deep off-season flexibility. If you do drive, the A8 via Bern and Thun is the route.

You don't need to — standard Swiss tickets aren't quota-limited like some countries' rail, and trains to Interlaken don't sell out. Saver day passes and supersaver fares reward advance booking with discounts, but the walk-up flexibility is real: land, buy, board. Put your advance-booking energy into the tours instead — those do sell out.

Via Lucerne — the Luzern–Interlaken Express over the Brünig Pass, about 1 hour 50 minutes past a string of lakes, is one of Switzerland's most scenic standard rides and needs no reservation. If your routing allows Zurich → Lucerne → Interlaken, the transfer becomes an attraction. Details in our Interlaken vs Lucerne guide.

Yes — from Zurich it's the classic Swiss day out. The guided three-village trip ($120, 8,271 reviews) maximises breadth with zero logistics; the DIY train version suits one-place-deep days like Lauterbrunnen or Jungfraujoch. The honest comparison of both lives in our from-Zurich guide — along with the reminder that an overnight beats both if your calendar allows.

The BOB regional line from Interlaken Ost — the train splits en route, with the front and rear portions serving different valleys, so check the carriage signage: ~20 minutes to Lauterbrunnen, ~35 to Grindelwald, departures throughout the day. It's also stage one of the Jungfraujoch journey, whichever side you ride up.