A Swiss ski resort that doesn’t cost the earth? Welcome to Interlaken

Switzerland is not the most affordable place to ski, but the Jungfrau area – with super-fast pistes and long toboggan runs – is a happy exception

I’m a budget-conscious skier, so Switzerland is rarely on my radar. Sure, resorts such as St Moritz, Zermatt and Verbier are world-class, but I’ve always assumed they have sky-high prices to match. My last ski trip was to wallet-friendly Andorra. A quick check of the Post Office’s annual ski resort report confirmed my suspicions: Switzerland is consistently the priciest destination in Europe, while Bulgaria, Italy, Austria and Andorra offer more affordable skiing.

But then I heard about Interlaken. This lakeside town, better known as a summer destination, is the gateway to the Jungfrau ski region. It is a much cheaper place to stay than the region’s ski resorts, Wengen and Grindelwald. And, since December 2020, it has got a lot easier to reach the slopes from Interlaken. A short train ride from Interlaken Ost station connects with the shiny new Grindelwald Terminal building (where skiers can rent and store equipment). From here, it is just 15 minutes to the pistes on the new state-of-the art Eiger Express cable car – 47 minutes faster than before.