2 Nights in Grindelwald

Devon Mills
Aug 3
4 min read

Hello Farieis! We've gone from one magical mountain town to the next, and are now in Grindelwald!

Transport from Gimmelwald

As I mentioned in my last post, I stopped at Lake Thun with my friends for a quick dip en route to Grindelwald. I went from Thun to Interlaken Ost, and then took one more train to Grindelwald — super easy! And again, if you're traveling in Switzerland, definitely get the SBB app for easy access to tickets!

Accommodation

I stayed at the Grindelwald Swiss Youth Hostel, and it was quite different from the one in Gimmelwald. For starters, it was much bigger, with multiple rooms and buildings. If you're looking for a super social hostel, this probably isn’t the place for you—but honestly, after being in such close quarters in Gimmelwald, it was nice to have a bit more space.

The room I stayed in had six beds, and since I arrived first, I got to choose whichever one I wanted—unlike at the Mountain Hostel, where beds were assigned. I thought I might luck out and have the room to myself, but three others ended up joining the first night. Still, it didn’t feel too crowded.

The views from my room were absolutely insane. Going into the Mountain Hostel in Gimmelwald, I knew I'd be getting great views—but the Youth Hostel was truly a pleasant surprise. I felt like I was looking down on a magical village. It almost seemed too good to be true!

But let me tell you… there’s a catch: the hike up.

When I got off the train, I looked up the directions and saw it was only a 14-minute walk—easy! Until I realized most of that “walk” is straight uphill. I was carrying a backpack and a small roll-on suitcase, and let me just say: if you have anything bigger than a carry-on, you are seriously going to struggle. I had to stop every 45 seconds to catch my breath, and I was using all my strength to drag my bag up that hill.

I know I sound dramatic—but it’s the truth. The second half of the hike isn’t even paved; it’s a rocky, rooty forest trail. Rolling my bag up that was a serious feat.

My advice? If you're not up for a steep climb—or if you have larger luggage—100% check the bus schedule. That’s what I should’ve done. The bus takes a different (non-hilly) route and drops you off just a 1-minute walk from the hostel entrance. I took it on the way back to the train station, and it was a lifesaver.

Night 1

The first day I arrived, it started to storm about 30 minutes after I got there (great timing!). I decided to wait it out before doing anything else, so I hung out in my room and read my book for a while. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any food with me, so I had to wait until around 8:45 p.m. for the storm to clear before heading down into town for dinner.

I went to a restaurant called Kreuz + Post and ordered an Aperol Spritz and their mac and cheese. It was delicious! But, like most food in Switzerland, definitely on the expensive side. Still, I had a lovely solo dinner and then headed back to the hostel for bed.

Day 2

Today was a beautiful, hot day! I woke up and went downstairs for breakfast (provided by the hostel), then gathered my things for a day trip. First stop: Coop, to pick up some snacks for the day. After that, I headed to the First Grindelwald gondola to go up First Mountain.

I wanted to do one of the activities at the top, so I bought a gondola ticket—which ended up being about $130 CAD (yikes)—and headed up. If you want to skip the line, here’s a link to buy your gondola tickets in advance: https://gyg.me/iad6Ga7F. You can also hike up, which I could’ve done in hindsight, but the trail is very steep.

There are a few fun activities at the top of the mountain, like ziplining (called the First Flyer), the First Glider, and mountain go-karting. I ended up doing the zipline! Totally worth it—though I did wait in line for two hours. I got there around 11 a.m., so if you want to avoid the crowds, I’d recommend going either before 9:30 a.m. (it opens at 8:00) or after 1:00 p.m. The line started to die down around then.

The ride down was short but so much fun! You get stunning views of the mountains and cows below. I’m really glad I did it. You’re not allowed to record unless your phone has a safety strap (a smart idea, honestly), so I don’t have footage of the actual ride—but I do have photos of the surrounding views.

Afterward, I decided to hike down the mountain, which was supposed to take just over two hours. The hike was so beautiful but very steep. I ended up taking a wrong turn at one point and added about 25 minutes to my route—but I stumbled upon a waterfall and even more amazing views, so no complaints!

Word of warning: I got severely sunburnt on the back of my neck, even though I applied sunscreen about 30 minutes into the hike. The sun here is powerful—so reapply often!

I made it back to Grindelwald around 4 p.m., stopped at Coop again to grab dinner and some food for the next day, then headed back to the hostel to relax, make dinner, and wind down before bed.