Return to Gimmelwald
15 Years Later (and Worth Every Mile)
Before we head to Switzerland, welcome to all my new subscribers! There are quite a few of you this week, and I’m so glad you’re here.
Each new subscription helped boost Points Travel with Emily to #1 in Rising Travel on Substack last week — woah! To celebrate (and say thanks), I’m offering 20% off a yearly paid subscription this week only.
It’s been so fun hearing from readers who’ve booked travel off my Knoxville-area flight alerts — deals like $35 round-trip flights from Knoxville to Destin, or Nashville to Iceland for 16,000 Skymiles round-trip. Starting soon, those flight alert emails will be for paid subscribers only, so now is a great time to lock in at a discounted rate.
The Trip We’d Waited 15 Years For
In last week’s article about our family’s award flight booking to Europe, I mentioned that we’ve wanted to return to Gimmelwald, Switzerland since we visited in 2011. Lodging in Gimmelwald is extremely limited, and there was only availability for 2 nights during our time in the country, so we decided to bookend our stay in nearby Lauterbrunnen and Zurich.
It worked out for us to fly into Zurich using American Airlines Premium Economy award tickets I outlined last week — 35,000 miles per person via partner Alaska Airlines, booked with 140,000 transferred Bilt points. For an overnight flight across the Atlantic, the upgrade felt well worth it. So we decided to go ahead and take the train to Lauterbrunnen on the morning of our arrival, after the overnight flight.
Switzerland Is Pricey. Here’s How We Made It Work.
There’s no way around it — Switzerland is an expensive country. Options for getting there on points are abundant (I talked about several in last week’s article, linked below), but outside of Zurich, there aren’t many options to book hotels with points. When forced to book cash stays, I try to be optimistic and look at these types of accommodations as “point earning opportunities.” When you book with a card with a generic travel multiplier like the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you can rack up points for your flights or other hotel stays quickly.
Lauterbrunnen had several traditional hotel options, but all of them were upwards of $500 per night. That was more than our budget allowed for, so we went a different route, booking a private family room at the highly rated Valley Hostel for 140 CHF ($170) per night. It was great! We had a king bed and the girls shared bunks, and we had a balcony with the view of the valley below.
For all of my fellow LOTR fans…Tolkien spent time in Lauterbrunnen, and many believe the scenery here inspired Rivendell. Looking out across the valley from our balcony that night and seeing all of the iconic waterfalls felt otherworldly. I would absolutely stay here again.
Our Meal Strategy (and Why It Matters More in Switzerland)
One of the best perks of traveling in Switzerland: many of the guesthouses and hostels have nice, well stocked shared kitchens. Both Valley Hostel and our next stop, Esther’s Guesthouse, had them, and they made a real difference for our budget.
When we’re in Europe, we loosely follow this system: breakfast at our accommodation, a picnic lunch (bread, cheese, meat, fruit, etc), and dinner out. Not eating out for multiple meals a day saves so much money — especially in Switzerland, where you’ll easily pay 8 CHF (about $10) for a cup of coffee.
There’s not a grocery in Gimmelwald, and the only way to get there is by cable car, so we stocked up on breakfast and picnic food in Lauterbrunnen after checking out of Valley Hostel, then caught the bus to the cable car station.
There was an option to add breakfast at Esther’s Guesthouse for 20 CHF per person — 80 CHF for our family (~$100!). We opted out and prepared our breakfast in the kitchen both mornings - eggs, croissants, yogurt, fruit, and less than $15 for everyone to fuel up for the day.
A few things we loved to pick up at the grocery:
“Picnic eggs,” hard-boiled eggs dyed fun colors so you can tell them apart from raw ones and grab them whenever you’re hungry.
I don’t know if it’s because of sheer proximity to France, but the grocery croissants were SO good.
We ate a lot of amazing chocolate.
There was this one item a store employee said we must try called Ovomaltine Crunchy Cream, and I’m so glad we did. Imagine that Nutella had a love child with an elevated Nestle Crunch Bar and then imagine it on a close-to-France croissant…yum.
Arriving in Gimmelwald
After grabbing our groceries, we took the bus through the Lauterbrunnen valley to the cable car station for Gimmelwald. Part of the charm of Gimmelwald (and why it remains relatively uncrowded) is because it is a car-free village, and the cable car is the only way to get up there.
We arrived at Esther’s Guesthouse, a 2 minute walk from the station, around 1 p.m., expecting to leave our luggage and kill time until the 4 p.m. check-in. Instead, the owner greeted us with “we have your room ready for you!” We took the win and a power nap.
The room was spacious and lovely — stunning views, a large bathroom, a king bed for us and two twins for the girls, plus a sofa and decent storage. Two nights ran us 430 CHF (about $530) total.
There was a major heat wave across Europe that week. Switzerland didn’t get hit quite as hard as France, but it was 98°F in Zurich and mid-80s in Lauterbrunnen, and even Gimmelwald, tucked up in the mountains surrounded by snow-capped peaks, was much warmer than usual. Thankfully, the hosts had a portable fan for our room and we were comfortable enough.
Mountain Hostel, Round Two
That evening, we ate dinner at Mountain Hostel, where Andrew and I stayed back in 2011. It’s just around the corner from Esther’s Guesthouse and was fun to revisit with the girls in tow. The culture there is bohemian and fun, with people picking up the house guitars for spontaneous sing-alongs, drinking craft beer, and soaking up the rugged alpine glow. The four of us loved every minute of it.
The Hike
The next day, we tackled an 8-mile hike with a good amount of elevation — maybe a little more than we bargained for, but absolutely worth it. There were moments so gorgeous and surreal they’re hard to describe: walking down into a valley filled with the sound of Swiss cowbells, or watching our girls spontaneously twirl and belt out “the hills are alive, with the sound of music.” I’m getting a little teary just writing about it now.
That evening, we had the “backpacker’s special” at Pension Gimmelwald, right next door to Esther’s — a beef and veggie stew that was absolutely perfect after that long hike. Afterward, we wandered back to Mountain Hostel, where a group of Eastern Europeans were working their way through the Pink Floyd catalog. There’s a small playground tucked between Mountain Hostel and the cable car station, and our girls ran off to play between songs. It was perfection.
Heading Back to Zurich
The next day, we reluctantly checked out of Esther’s and made our way back to Zurich: cable car down, bus, a quick grocery stop for a picnic on the train, and back into the heat wave. Every time the train crossed a bridge over water we saw dozens of people swimming underneath — no exaggeration. A/C in Switzerland is rare, so everyone was jumping into the cold mountain waters.
While I’m talking about trains, it’s worth noting that (like everything there) Swiss transport isn’t cheap, and you can’t exactly “points” your way out of it — budget accordingly.
Last night in Switzerland: Hyatt Place Zurich Airport
We spent our final night at the Hyatt Place Zurich Airport “The Circle,” and it was lovely. Occupancy rules are strict in Europe, so we needed two rooms — but honestly, having the extra space (and two bathrooms) was welcome. And the air conditioning? Bless the Lord.
Some Hyatts, including this one, offer a Family Rate: book one room with points and add a second room for your kids at half the cash price. The points price was 17,000, and the cash price was $360 — so we paid 17,000 points for our room and $180 for the girls’ room. Great value, and a great last night before an easy walk to the terminal the next morning for our flight to Ireland, with an hour of free breakfast, coffee, and wifi in a lounge courtesy of the Priority Pass Lounge perk that is included with several of our credit cards (like the Capital One Venture X).
The Final Tally
Flights (Knoxville → Zurich):
35,000 miles/person via American Airlines/Alaska Airlines Premium Economy. transferred from Bilt (140,000 total for the family) + taxes (~$20 each/$80 total)
Lodging:
Valley Hostel (Lauterbrunnen, 1 night): ~140 CHF / $170
Esther’s Guesthouse (Gimmelwald, 2 nights): 430 CHF / $530
Hyatt Place Zurich Airport (1 night): 17,000 points, transferred from Chase to Hyatt + $180 cash
Total for Flights and Lodging = 157k points + $960 (Not bad for premium economy flights and 4 nights in one of the most expensive countries on the planet!)
Would We Do It Again?
YES! I’m actually already dreaming of how we can get back to Gimmelwald…I would have loved one more night at Esther’s, but even though I booked back in November, only 2 nights were available so we made it work.
I’d stay at Valley Hostel again without a second thought, and the Hyatt Place Zurich was perfect for a night before a flight.
Gimmelwald is one of my favorite places in the world, and I don’t want to wait another 15 years to go back. We girls have asked to add Italy to our list, so I’m thinking towards that sometime in the next year or two, and since Milan is only a few hours by train from Gimmelwald, it wouldn’t be out of the question to combine those.
Points and miles make it easy to piece together multi-country trips in Europe like that. There are plenty of great deals on flights from Knoxville and Atlanta to Rome, Venice, and Milan, and we could train through Switzerland to fly back from Zurich (or vice versa, starting in Zurich). The options with award travel are truly endless!
Is there a spot you've been before that you're hoping to visit again, or are you dreaming of a brand new destination? Drop it in the comments, because I'd love to hear more about it. Maybe points and miles will help you get there sooner than you thought possible! And if you know someone who'd love this newsletter, send it their way — that's the best way to help this little corner of the internet grow.
Happy travels,
Emily
P.S. If you skipped straight to the bottom — hi! Quick recap: I'm offering 20% off a yearly subscription this week only, both to say thanks for helping this newsletter hit #1 in Rising Travel, and because the weekly flight alerts (yes, the $35-to-Destin kind) are moving to paid subscribers soon. [Grab the discount before it's gone →]