We will be in the Bernese Oberland area in late June.Reading the posts,Grindelwald and the lakes must fill with tour buses which is scary.
We have a car, will be spending 3 days in the area, love gentle hiking,gondolas,mountains,lakes,good food.
We would prefer to be slightly off the beaten track I think, and drive more if necessary.Absolute must is a view.Not interested in facilities and don't like big hotels, but very keen on comfortable and charming. We are 2 couples, so a chalet apartment maybe?
We are in Perth, West Australia and we are very short of mountains and lakes here!

With a car, why not consider staying in the Lauterbrunnen Valley and using the cable car gondalas to take you up to Gimmelwald and Murren. The valley itself is gorgeous. You can look up pictures on the web. Once you get up into the mountains, you'll be surprised how easy it is to lose the crowds.

If you get a rainy day in Switzerland, being down in the valley with a car will mean that you can easily daytrip to Bern for some urban sightseeing.

By the way, are you sure you want or need a car? Switzerland's rail service usually makes one completely unnecessary.

Hello salthegal,

Grindelwald is hardly scary. Yes, there are tour buses that come and go, but they should not affect your enjoyment of the area. It's very vast and the views on the hiking trails are spectacular.

We like to stay in chalets, but I'm not so sure you can do it for just a few nights.

Have you tried www.grindelwald.ch? It has all the apartments and chalets listed, which should help you out.

And the "absolute must" for a view is definitely Grindelwald. Get a room or chalet with the view to the Eiger, and you've hit the bull's eye!

Happy travels!

Unfortunately we will need a car because we are going on to Italy. I have scoured lots of websites and obviously there is a huge amount of accommodation. It's always so good to have a personal recommendation about a good place to stay. The Lauterbrunnen valley is wonderful - just need some input.A balcony and a view is a must. I have found that a lot of the chalets don't have websites.
Looking forward to some more input.
Many thanks. Sally

Good morning, Sally -
Last summer we stayed at this chalet in Grindelwald:
www.eigergrat.ch

We had the top floor (attic style-sloping sides in the rooms). DH and I traveled with my parents, and we had plenty of room, a bedroom with a double (2 twins pushed together-the Swiss style) and then 2 single beds in the living room. Both rooms had doors so there was plenty of privacy. There is also a large kitchen and good sized bathroom (no tub, just a shower). The balcony made this place - what a view! The chalet is up quite a steep hill but we had a car then and I guess you will too.

If I recall, she has 3 apartments in this place, and the one we had was the mid-sized.

And you're so right about many places that don't have websites - some not even a photo. But I have found that when you email the individual place, they are usually pretty quick at sending photos. I did this just last night for another place for this summer and got photos in my inbox overnight. We won't have a car this time so I'm looking for something within walking distance of the station.

Happy travels!

>>>>>>>>We will be in the Bernese Oberland area in late June.Reading the posts,Grindelwald and the lakes must fill with tour buses which is scary.
We have a car, will be spending 3 days in the area, love gentle hiking,gondolas,mountains,lakes,good food.
We would prefer to be slightly off the beaten track I think<<<<<<

Tsk tsk tsk,:::igh::: more anti Grindlewald speak. Maybe I'm wrong about that?

Ever since Rick Steves made negative remarks about Grindlewald's high tourism level during day hours, many travelers have taken Steve's word as "The Gospel".

If you want to stay in a place where you are lucky to run into another person, Swiss or otherwise, Wengen after 5 PM is
empty.

Murren almost the same thing.

But before you discard Grindlewald entirely, remember that you DO NOT have to stay in the center of Grindlewald. There are hotels and such out of the city center that can offer the peace and quite you and others want!

One such place is the Hotel Gletchergaten on the oposite end of the Grindlewald ytain station and city center.

By staying in Grindlewald, you have accsess to some very fine outdoor excusions. Walking trips such as First to Bachalpsee. The glacier hikes and so on. The North face Eiger and Base of Jungfrau walk.

Plus you can boatd a post bus and travel over to Merrigen area for some nice adventures in that area as well.

I like Rick Steves, but ever since he made those remarks, it seems he painted Grindlewald with a negative brush or something.

>>>>>>And the "absolute must" for a view is definitely Grindelwald. Get a room or chalet with the view to the Eiger, and you've hit the bull's eye!<<<<<

Thank you. Well said.

Nothing finer, or very few things finer than sitting out on the balcony of a Grindlewald hotel after a good days hike with a beer in hand viewing that Eiger!

Yes, Grindlewald is a buzz with activity during daylight hours and those big tour busses do roll in there, but the views of the Eiger and mountains are GREAT. Plus, as I commented on just above, a person DOES NOT have to stay in the center of the village!!!

Hi All,

Well, I had never heard of Rick Steves when I was in Grindelwald with my mother and saw the tour busses unload dozens of tourists who then thronged the streets -- But this was in August, and that may not be the case in June, even late June.

On the other hand, I don't think it'll be that easy to fill all of your requirements: view (do you mean mountain or lakes?), car-accessible, and slightly untouristed. Wengen and Muerren are untouristed and have the mountain views but are not car accessible; Interlaken is car-accessible but doesn't have that great views (imo) and is heavily touristed; Grindelwald is car-accessible and has great views, but is pretty well touristed.

So, let's see. Lauterbrunnen has car access and isn't well touristed but isn't really in the mountains or the lakes. It may offer nice pastoral views though.

You can also consider Thun on Lake Thun or Brienz on Lake Brienz. There are a lot of small villages on the lakes: Iseltwald, Bonigen, Merligen, Oberhofen, etc. The views will be lakes with mountanins in the distance, but there won't be many tourists there.

Good luck!

s

>>>>>>>>Well, I had never heard of Rick Steves when I was in Grindelwald with my mother and saw the tour busses unload dozens of tourists who then thronged the streets <<<<<<<<

Oh you'll certainly see those big busses roll in there. On past experiences, it seemed that some hotels catered to them.

Most of the big tour groups get on the train that travels to Kliene Scheidegg the very next morning. Then they proceed by train to the Jungfrau. The next day that group is gone and a new group is there.

I know due to the large crowds that space on the trains can be limited, but it will be the same thing in any village that accesses the Jungfrau excursions. Wengen is the same during the day, but it clears out after 5 PM.

The big crowds do not bother me that much, but I can see they bother many of you seasoned travelers, which I am in that seasoned traveler group.

Just get a place out of the city center and then enjoy the many other aspects of Grindlewald.

sunstar,

Actually, no, we didn't see any tourist hordes in Wengen. We had lunch in Wengen one day, and it was about deserted.

I've skied in Wengen, and it was packed then (late Jan). Not so in August though.

s

Well, I have seen them many times. The big groups coming back from the Junfrau trip jump off at the Wengen train station. I have seen the streets crowded at various times.

I stayed in Wengen in 2001 and 2002. I liked Grindlewald better since there was slightly more activity at *night*. Wengen clears out after 5 PM.

Wengen might not be quite as active as midday Grindlewald, but there were tourist aplenty.


I've never been to Wengen during ski season so I do not know how that situation is.

Look, if some people are bugged by big crowds and they really want to stay clear of Grindlewald, I can understand that, but Grindlewald has many nice things about it that I and someone else pointed out.

And you can get peace and quite by staying out of the village center.

We really liked the Chalet Hotel Gletschergarten in Grindelwald. Superb mountain views. Great hosts. We found Grindelwald a good base.

http://www.hotel-gletschergarten.ch/...llkommen.shtml

Lauterbrunnen has STUNNING views. Please take a look:

http://tinyurl.com/j8ljp

http://tinyurl.com/p74wo

http://www.swissmountains.nl/photos1.html

There may be other prize views in Grindelwald, but with a car, I'm sure one could get to them. I'm not pushing Lauterbrunnen, although I think it's well situated for rainy day options. It just shouldn't be dismissed on the ground it lacks beautiful views.

http://tinyurl.com/mxcz8

Okay nessundorma, you did it and it's all your fault!!

After viewing the Swiss mountain pictures you linked, I've just extended my summer trip to the B.O. by another week.

Those views...really spectacular! Every time I visit, my heart skips a beat.

I happily take all the blame!

Well, I guess the credit should go to the people who built those mountains.'-)

Have you been to the area? I think walks on the valley floor are spectacular. The mountains rise up so majestically. I also like the ambience of Spiez, especially in the summertime.

Hi Sal,
We are also from Perth and are looking for accommodation for 2 couples, more than likely in Lauterbrunnen. I have so far come up with these two but it seems that not many places offer two double rooms. Most have 1 and a sofa bed.

www.vrbo.com/60199

http://tinyurl.com/qmf9g
This one has 4 different apartments.

Hope this gives you a start. We are still looking.

Hello Maudie,

Check out: www.myswitzerland.com, then scroll down to apartments. Type in your desired town (Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, etc.)
and you'll find lots of places that have 2 separate bedrooms. In fact, on a quick look, the Lauterbrunnen link lists 16.

Happy travels!