Camping near the Jungfrau
I am planning a trip in my motorhome to visit the Jungfrauhoch in Switzerland and staying in Grindelwalt. Has anybody been to this area and have you any advice on temperatures, campsites etc?
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When I could walk well we went several times to Camping Eigernordwand at Grindelwald. It's open most of the year and there's a lot of snow up there in winter, but late June / early July was wonderful, with wild flowers in all the meadows before the hay was cut.
The site only has grass pitches which may not suit large motorhomes, it's not cheap, and it gets cramped because there are no summer reservations and they cheerfully say they will fit everyone in who arrives by 3pm.
But what scenery !
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Some years ago we stayed here
http://www.campingjungfrau.swiss/
Just outside Lauterbrunnen it's a pleasant stroll into the village and from the station you can get the train to Wengen and then up to Jungfraujoch. Easy access to Trummelbach Falls, Murren and up to the Schilthorn, Grindelwald, Interlaken and a bit further to Lucerne and Bern. Ideally placed for seeing the Bernese Oberland.
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Some years ago we stayed at Lazy Rancho; In that area you get a free bus-pass to get to Interlaken, the bus stop is just a few minutes walk. Fabulous views of the mountains from your pitch.
The Jungfraujoch is well worth it. We bought a 6 day train-pass, it wasn't cheap, but definitely well worth having. It gave us free train travel in the area, and half-price on the train up to the Jungfraujoch. That was an amazing experience.
Stating the obvious, you do need good weather; we nearly didn't bother, as the weather had been dull and raining for a number of days before. We were staying in Meyringen and had decided to leave it to another time, as we wouldn't be able to see the views etc. But as we drove futher towards Interlaken, the sun came out and so we changed our minds and went to Lazy Rancho. We were very lucky with the weather, stayed just over a week, and had glorious weather every day, it's one of the best holidays we've had.
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The Jungfrau is a very beautiful area with great access into the mountains by trains and cable cars. It's one of our favourite areas to visit. Summertime temperatures can vary from mid teens to mid 30s at lake level and from about -5 to +5 at the top of the mountain.
As Ina has said, the best views are very weather dependent, and it is worth buying travel passes to get around. They're not cheap, but the individual cost of excursions can be eye-watering without them. There's 2 available: the Jungfraubahn pass, which covers the trains from Interlaken and cable cars up the Lauterbrunnen and Grindlewald valleys and most of the connections between them; and the Berner Oberland Regional Pass, which also covers the lake steamers on Brienzersee and Thunersee, buses and trains as far as Bern and Lucerne. It is well worth researching these before you set off. Websites are:-
https://www.jungfrau.ch/shop/en/tickets/bergbahn/angebote/jungfrau-travel-pass
http://www.regionalpass-berneroberland.ch/en/
We find Interlaken a better centre to explore from than up one of the valleys and have been many times over the last 40 years. We can recommend Lazy Rancho as a place to stay, Hobby, almost next door, also looks nice but we haven't stayed there, they are owned by the same family. The visitor pass is paid for by the tourist tax and gives free travel in the immediate Interlaken area.
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Our very first overseas trip with the caravan was in 1993 to Interlaken stopping at Camping Jungfraublick. It was a fantastic holiday with spectacular scenery. The only drawbacks were that there is quite a lack of roadsalthough made up for by the railways and even in 1993 it was very expensive.
Discussing this with another caravanner they suggested that we try the French Alps. There are far more roads in the mountains to explore and costs are very much less than Switzerland and with scenery almost as good as around Interlaken. We gave it a try a couple of years later and have been back several times since because we were so impressed with the area.
We stopped at Le Grand-Bornand, about 15 miles east of Annecy. It is right in the mountains and the site is located within 10 minutes walking distance of the village. Although over the years we have had some bad weather in June / early July most of the time it has been hot / very hot and dry.
If we won big on the lottery we would certainly go back to Interlaken but value for money has to be considered until that flying pig makes an appearance!!
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I have only been to Switzerland once in 2002 and we also based ourselves at Lazy Rancho. I would also recommend staying at a site close to Interlaken as it is a transport hub for the region offering many alternatives to get about. On recommendation, we bought a Regional pass which gave 5 days free travel on any day of your choice and 10 days at half price. It is very expensive but not half as expensive as paying the full fares for everything you can do with it. For more detail of our trip see >here<
peedee
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I don't doubt Annecy and Interlaken as centres for gentle tourism, but for those who are fit and active and keen on spectacular high level walking, Grindelwald is peerless.
With cable cars to Mannlchen, Pfingstegg, and the mountain railway to Kleine Scheidegg there is access to all the high level trails - and Bachalpsee on a sunny day is breathtaking.
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Agree that Jungfrau is stunning and our visit in our early days of caravanning about 30 years ago still stays in the memory. Biggest problem is the weather as you do need the right conditions on the mountain so I would always recommend being flexible and take advice from the site as to anticipated weather in the peaks. If it’s bad, drop down into the Italian lakes for some sunshine.
Last year we did our regular trip back from Maggiore over the Simplon pass. The weather was perfect so we stayed near Zermatt and did the Gornergrattbahn railway close to the Matterhorn. A cloudless blue sky and the most incredible views at the top. Next day it was cloudy then rain and nobody saw anything. Got lucky this time!
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Camping Jungfrau is in a stunning location and it's a pleasant walk into the village where you can take interconnecting trains to most mountain railways. We've been in May time when it was still very cold at night and the metered EHU charges were very high. However, everything is expensive in Switzerland and the food can be mediocre compared to Italy but despite this its well worth a visit. We found the Interlaken area too crowded and much preferred the smaller villages around Camping Jungfrau.
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Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. Having spent a lot of time pondering where and when to go we decided our best bet was to stay at Camping Jungfrau because of its location and proximity to the Jungfraujoch. As it is in a valley I am told that the temperatures there are quite reasonable in August and September. September is apparently the driest month so hopefully we stand a better chance of a clear day for the Jungfraujoch.
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Good choice Aberdonian. We stayed there some years ago at the beginning of September. Warm and sunny during the day but temperatures do drop dramatically once it gets dark.
if you’re going up into the mountains remember at the top of the Jungfrau it will be icily cold so take warm clothing. Also the campsite staff are very informative on the weather so take their advice and go on the first clear day - there may not be another during your stay.
Don't forget also the higher you go the more expensive it is. Don’t miss the Jungfrau but be prepared - well over £100 return per person from Lauterbrunnen to Jungfraujoch but well worth it.
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Our advice for your trip up the Jungfrau is to wear layers. The day we went up the skies were so clear that it was extremely hot! We sat out overlooking the glacier in T Shirts and couldn't stay long we could almost feel our skin sizzling!
We stayed at Lazy Rancho BTW the rational being that in the U shaped valleys you can be in shade for some of the day. It worked well as a base.
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Not sure if this is strictly true, but when we went up the Jungfrau we noticed alot of the Japanese and Indian tourist asleep on benches and seats.
We thought it a bit odd that you would spend all that money getting up there and then just go to sleep!!
We latter found out that they were allegedly suffering from altitude sickness, having been bussed in from more or less sea level.
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