The Alps are unusual among great mountain ranges in being genuinely easy to travel in. A single pass covers trains, buses, boats and most cable cars. Trails are signposted in minutes rather than kilometres, and there is almost always somewhere serving lunch at the top.
This is the week we recommend most often to people walking in Switzerland for the first time. It uses two bases rather than seven, which means unpacking twice.
Days one to three — Lauterbrunnen
Arrive into Interlaken and take the train up the valley. Spend the first afternoon on the flat path to the Staubbach and Trümmelbach falls; it is a gentle way to shake off a flight and the waterfalls are extraordinary.
Day two is the Eiger Trail: train to Eigergletscher and walk down beneath the north face to Alpiglen. Six kilometres, all descent, with 1,800 metres of vertical rock immediately above you.
Day three, take the cable car to Mürren for the balcony path along the terrace. The Jungfrau massif sits directly opposite for its full length, and the village is car-free.
Day four — go up and stay up
The single change that transforms this week is sleeping in a mountain hut. Serviced Alpine Club huts sit above 2,000m across the range, with dormitory bunks, a shared three-course dinner and a warden who has been there since June.
You climb for three or four hours with a light pack, arrive in the afternoon, and watch the light go off the peaks while everyone else is on the last lift down. The following morning you are on empty trails at six.
One hut night is worth three hotel nights for the memory it leaves.
Days five to seven — Grindelwald and Kandersteg
Descend from the hut over the Grosse Scheidegg into Grindelwald — long, mostly downhill, and the best views of the week. Then take a rest day. Genuinely take it: the First cliff walk, a swim at Bachalpsee, or a chair and a book.
Finish at Oeschinensee above Kandersteg, an ice-blue lake under limestone walls. The circuit above the shore takes about three hours and is quieter than the lakeside path everyone else follows.
What it costs, honestly
Switzerland is expensive and eating out is the reason. A mountain restaurant lunch is CHF 25 – 35; a valley dinner is CHF 40 – 60. Most walkers we work with eat one restaurant meal a day and rely on bakeries and hut lunches otherwise.
A Swiss Travel Pass usually pays for itself from day three if you are using lifts daily. Buy the half-fare card instead if you are staying in one valley and walking most days.
