Biking in the Swiss Alps: An Unforgettable Journey
If you love cycling in nature, this post is for you. We’ll give you all the tips for an unforgettable bike ride in the Swiss Alps. I’ll tell you in advance that the tour is very simple and doesn’t require much physical preparation, so come and check out all the details of this unmissable ride.
Where to take the tour
We went to the charming and famous town of Lauterbrunnen for the tour. Lauterbrunnen is approximately 2 hours by car from Zurich and 2:30 by train.
Directions: Arriving in Lauterbrunnen
Grütschalp Gondola and Train to Mürren
If you are coming by car, as soon as you arrive in Lauterbrunnen you can park your car in one of the village’s parking lots and then go to the train station and buy a ticket to the village of Mürren via Grütschalp, but be careful because the route works in 2 stages, first gondola and then train, buy the ticket at the train station but cross across the street where the gondola station is.
The station is right at the entrance to the village, on the main street near the restaurants.
The gondola takes less than 10 minutes to reach Grütschalp, where you will immediately transfer to a train to Mürren, the ticket is a single ticket and as soon as you get off the gondola you can get on the train, it may sound complicated but it is very simple and intuitive.
The train route is scenic with amazing views of the Alps where you can see the panorama of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau mountains, a tip is to sit on the left side of the train for the best views.
The train journey takes about 20 minutes and the ticket costs CHF11.20.
Mürren
About Mürren: Mürren is a small car-free village above Lauterbrunnen, here’s a full post with tips on Mürren.
Renting a mountain bike
In Mürren there are a few bike rental stores, we rented ours from Stäger-Sport, and we paid CHF40 francs for each bike for the whole day, CHF30 francs for half a day and the helmet is included in the rental price.
To return the bike, the store gave us a ticket to hand in with the bike down in Lauterbrunnen, exactly where we took the gondola up.
Tips
Ask the clerk at the bike rental store for tips, he’ll tell you about the route and suggest what’s best for you, as we had no mountain biking experience he suggested a quieter trail, if you have experience there’s another trail.
It’s important to be careful with the brakes, always use both together and don’t brake harshly.
Down the mountain
As soon as you start the trail there is a small rise, the only one on the route, and the rest is downhill. I confess that I was apprehensive at first because I didn’t know what was waiting for us down the mountain.
You will descend from the village of Mürren to Lauterbrunnen. The route is approximately 10 km downhill, with unbelievable scenery surrounded by the Alps and pine trees.
Once we’d finished the trail and arrived in the village of Lauterbrunnen, we decided to cycle there too and explore this fairytale setting.
Returning the bike
To return the bike you just have to go to the same place where you got on the gondola, the one at the beginning of the tour. You leave the bike there and they transport it by gondola to the store and you don’t have to worry about it.
Total tour cost: CHF 51.20 francs
Bike rent: CHF40 francs
Gondola Ticket: CHF11.20 francs
Summary
Arrives in Lauterbrunnen ➡ Takes the gondola to Grütschalp ➡ Transfers from the gondola to the train to Mürren ➡ Rents the bike in Mürren ➡ Takes the downhill trail from Mürren back to Lauterbrunnen where the bike is also returned
We took the opportunity to end the day by stopping at one of the restaurants in Lauterbrunnen to have a bite to eat and enjoy the view.
This is one of those tours that we want to recommend more and more here on the blog, where you have experiences that go beyond traditional tourism. It was an incredible experience, one of our favorite in Switzerland so far.
I hope this has helped you plan your trip, and if you have any questions about the tour, just leave a comment here. Have a good trip!
Take a look at the tips for Mürren in this post: Discovering Mürren: A Hidden Gem in the Swiss Alps
Take a look at more trip tips in Switzerland:
Interlaken Switzerland: How to Experience Swiss Most Incredible Landscapes