This Switzerland winter tour from Travelsphere keeps you in one hotel in Interlaken while snow covers the Bernese Oberland. You ride cogwheel trains up to Kleine Scheidegg under the Eiger, take the GoldenPass Express down to Lake Geneva, and finish the week with chocolate at Maison Cailler and a pot of fondue in Gruyères.
A Holiday Director travels with you and handles the tickets, connections and transfers, and below you'll find how each day works, what winter changes and how it compares.
Highlights
- Cogwheel train from Grindelwald to Kleine Scheidegg below the Eiger, with lunch
- Frozen waterfalls in the Lauterbrunnen valley
- GoldenPass Express from Interlaken to Montreux
- Guided tour of Château de Chillon with wine tasting
- Chocolate-making at Maison Cailler and fondue in Gruyères
- Optional Schilthorn day with lunch at Piz Gloria
| Flights | Return flights from the UK to Zurich |
|---|---|
| Where you stay | 6 nights in a 4-star hotel in Interlaken |
| Meals | 10 meals: 6 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 dinners |
| Pace | Easy-going |
| Departures | February to March 2027 |
| Sold by | Travelsphere |
Facts from Travelsphere's own page when we checked in October 2026. Itineraries, prices and dates can change; check the live details before you book.
What is Travelsphere's Winter in Switzerland tour?
It's an escorted train tour that swaps summer's long rail days for a slower, snowier week with a single base. Return flights, a 4-star hotel, breakfast every morning and a handful of group meals come in the package, and the included days ride the mountain railways of the Jungfrau Region, cross to Lake Geneva and head into the Fribourg hills for cheese and chocolate.
The pace is easy-going with moderate walking, and departures run in late winter only.
Between the included days sit days at leisure, and Travelsphere sells an optional excursion for each. Both have to be booked before you travel:
| Part of the tour | Included or extra |
|---|---|
| Flights and accommodation | Included |
| Cogwheel trains to Kleine Scheidegg, with lunch | Included |
| GoldenPass Express, Chillon and wine tasting | Included |
| Maison Cailler and the fondue lunch in Gruyères | Included |
| Schilthorn with lunch at the revolving restaurant | Extra, pre-book only |
| Lucerne by the Luzern-Interlaken Express | Extra, pre-book only |
The tour itinerary, day by day
| Day | Highlights | Train or lift | Meals |
|---|---|---|---|
| One | Fly to Zurich, welcome dinner | Transfer to Interlaken | Dinner |
| Two | Grindelwald, Kleine Scheidegg, Lauterbrunnen | Cogwheel trains up and down | Breakfast, lunch |
| Three | Montreux, Château de Chillon and wine tasting | GoldenPass Express | Breakfast |
| Four | Free day, Schilthorn as an extra | Cable cars and the Mürren train | Breakfast |
| Five | Maison Cailler and Gruyères | Coach | Breakfast, fondue lunch |
| Six | Free day, Lucerne as an extra, farewell dinner | Luzern-Interlaken Express | Breakfast, dinner |
| Seven | Fly home from Zurich | Airport transfer | Breakfast |
Under the Eiger at Kleine Scheidegg
Save your camera battery for the first full day. A train climbs to Grindelwald, under the peaks of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, where the Wengernalp cogwheel railway takes over for the slow grind up to Kleine Scheidegg. Up on the pass, the view from the terrace is the Eiger North Face with its glaciers hanging above you. Lunch is included, with the whole snowy panorama for company!
After lunch a second cogwheel train drops down past Wengen to Lauterbrunnen. In winter Staubbach Falls, the waterfall that drops off the cliff above the village, freezes into curtains of ice. Our guide to things to do in Lauterbrunnen covers the valley, and the evening is yours in Interlaken.
The GoldenPass Express and Chillon
Day three crosses from the German-speaking Oberland to French-speaking Lake Geneva. The GoldenPass Express runs straight through without a change, past Lake Thun, through the Simmental and Gstaad, then down through vineyards to the water. The view changes completely in a morning.
There's free time by the lake for lunch. Then comes a guided tour of the Château de Chillon, the castle on a rock in the lake that Lord Byron put into verse. A tasting of local wine closes the visit before the trip back. Our Montreux holidays page has more on the Swiss Riviera.
Free days, the Schilthorn and Lucerne
Day four is free. The extra trip goes by cable car to Grütschalp, the little cliff-edge train to car-free Mürren and on up to the Schilthorn summit, where the revolving restaurant turns slowly through lunch and Bond World remembers On Her Majesty's Secret Service, filmed up here. The view takes in the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau.
Day five, by coach, is the gentlest of all: Maison Cailler in Broc is Switzerland's oldest chocolate brand still going, and you'll make your own bar. Then it's up to the walled hilltop village of Gruyères and its castle for a group fondue lunch.
The last free day brings the second extra trip: the panoramic Luzern-Interlaken Express over the Brünig Pass, a winter wonderland of lakes and villages, then a guided walk over the Chapel Bridge in Lucerne's old town. Everyone meets again for the farewell dinner.
What does a Switzerland winter tour change for a rail traveller?
February and March are a fine time to see the Alps by train. The Jungfrau Region lines are built for snow and run all winter, and the lakes are quiet. The catch is short days, cold platforms and ice underfoot, which is where an escorted tour earns its keep. Our guide to Switzerland in winter goes into the weather and what's open.
Travelling alone, you'd be juggling several different railways in a single day on the Kleine Scheidegg loop, buying tickets for each, and judging whether a GoldenPass seat reservation is worth paying for on top of a pass. On this trip the Holiday Director does it:
- Tickets and timings on every train, cable car and coach.
- The connections at Grindelwald, Kleine Scheidegg and Lauterbrunnen, where you change trains.
- Airport transfers, and your luggage stays in the same room all week.
Going alone? The Swiss Travel Pass covers the GoldenPass Express, but a seat reservation costs extra and is compulsory in Prestige class (MOB's reservation rules).
Who will enjoy it?
It suits you if you want snow and mountains without skiing, and you'd like to unpack once. Most sightseeing happens sitting down, so you'll mostly be on foot on Gruyères' cobbles, the castle stairs and the snowy path through Mürren. Solo travellers pay a single supplement.
It's less suited to:
- Skiers, because there's no ski time built in.
- Anyone after the long panoramic trains such as the Glacier Express, which this week doesn't ride.
- Travellers who'd rather move on each night and see more of the country.
For everyone else, it's an unhurried way to see the Alps under snow.
- Pick Heathrow, Birmingham or Manchester when you book
- Pre-book the Schilthorn or Lucerne trip if you want one
- Pack boots with a good grip for icy paths and cobbles
- Bring a hat, gloves and a warm layer for Kleine Scheidegg
- Pack sunglasses, as the glare off fresh snow is strong
- Check Switzerland's entry rules on GOV.UK
- Take travel insurance that covers winter mountain trips
How does it compare with other Swiss escorted holidays?
This is the only late-winter escorted holiday we list. The nearest alternatives from the operators:
- The Best of Switzerland is Travelsphere's summer sister trip, with the same Interlaken hotel for part of the week plus the Bernina Express and Glacier Express.
- Swiss Alpine Glories and the GoldenPass Train from Newmarket visits Grindelwald and Gruyères too, but in summer, from a hotel in Château-d'Oex.
- Swiss Christmas Markets, also from Newmarket, is a short festive break with an evening at Montreux Christmas Market.
The self-guided way: Winter Magic
Switzerland Tourism's Grand Train Tour of Switzerland has a self-guided winter version, the Winter Magic Tour, linking Lucerne, Interlaken, Zermatt under the Matterhorn and St. Moritz on the Glacier Express and Bernina Express, then home through Chur. You book every seat, hotel and flight yourself. This guided tour is gentler: no packing and no booking on your phone at a cold station.
If you'd like this tour of Switzerland but with Interlaken as a summer base instead, our Interlaken holidays page lines up every trip that stays there.
Getting there from the UK
Flights are included from Heathrow, Birmingham or Manchester to Zurich, with a transfer to the hotel in Interlaken, and you fly home from Zurich too. If you'd rather not fly, our page on the train to Switzerland from London explains the Eurostar route.
The booking box shows the current from price, and you can see the tour dates on Travelsphere's site. Or compare every Swiss rail holiday, or start with our guide to seeing Switzerland by train.