Bern or Thun
 

Hi,

We are going to switzerland end of Aug for approx a week, dividing our time between Bern/Luzern, Alps and Lausanne area. The idea is to see a bit of the cities (luzern, Bern) and take it easy for a couple of days, and then spend time in the Alps and in the Lake Geneva area. We are flying in and out of Geneva.

Would it be better to stay in Bern the first couple of days (and do a day trip to Luzern) before going to Alps and staying there for 3 days?
OR can we make a place such as Interlaken our base for all 5 days and get to Bern/Luzern from there as well as the mountains depending on the weather?

Also, any hotel suggestions in Bern/surrounding areas for around $100. We just are looking for basic but clean accommodations.

Thanks very much!

Interlaken is a fantastic base for Bern and Lucerne and Jungfrau area. The train ride to Lucerne is ultra scenic - first along Lake Brienz then up and over the Brunig Pass, the train uses cogs - the only Swiss Federal Railway mainline train to do so - then descending past pristine Alpine lakes to Lucerne - return to Interlaken via Bern if want - a tad quikcer perhaps.

Bern i feel is one of Europe's vastly underrated cities.

Thun is nice - i would incorporate it as part of a boat ride on Lake Thun from Interlaken - a tremendous ride as on a clear day the Jungfrau Massif is out and the boat stops at cute lakeside towns.

If doing this by train be sure to investigate the Swiss Pass - a 3-day flexipass is often the best deal - 3 100% travel days and in between those flexible days you get 50% off everything - buses, boats, trains, cables, lifts, funiculars, etc.

Your itinerary tells me it would be of great benefit probably to you. You could compare a consecutive day pass to the flexi - especially if your trip falls into an 8-day period - the 8-day consecutive pass is even a much better deal than the 3-day flexi as virtally all you travels except trains to mountain tops would be covered - city buses and trams, boats, postal buses, etc. and you'd get 50% off the mountain tops - Jungfraubahn would save $60 off the normal $120 fare or so. Swiss passes are sold in Switzerland but currently signifcantly higher than in U.S. thru RailEurope even though the Swiss Railways owns a chunk of RE - figure it out but is. I always recommend BETS www.budgeteuropetravel.com for any Swiss Passes as they will answer questions by phone (RailEurope charges $25 extra to talk to anyone according to their web site) and they are experts and also do not have some of RE's mailing fees if your order is under $399 as most flexi passes would be. On their site request their free European Planning & Rail Guide that has a good chapter on Swiss trains and the area you're going to. Look for a Saver Pass - two or more names on one pass as is cheaper than two individual passes. www.swisstravelsystem.com has lots of interesting info on trains and boats. www.ricksteves.com also has good info.

Compare train fares at www.sbb.ch - Swiss Rail official site for prices in Swiss Francs - the Geneva to Interlaken and back tickets are higher priced and may make the pass all the better deal.

Thanks PalenQ.
So it seems like we might be better off just staying in Interlaken or Lauterbrunnen for 5 days rather than splitting our stay in Bern and Interlaken.

And yes, I was going to just buy the 8-day consecutive pass since it might just work out easier and less expensive overall. Did'nt know it covered boat rides as well!

I'm also a big fan of Bern. It is quite cosmopolitain thanks to all the embassies and has great shopping to go along with a beautiful old town. Thun is nice, also, but I'd definitely pick Bern.

However, I'm not a huge fan of changing my lodging unless it is really necessary and in your case I don't think it really is. For lodging in Switzerland, www.swisshotels.com is a good source of information. It has links to the hotels websites, pricing and amenities.

Sorry - our experience of Bern was completely different. We did a day trip thrre from Lucerne and were bored and left early.

I would stay part of the time in Lucerne - which is gorgeous - and from which you can do a bunch of day trips and then a smaller town further into the oberland. (Interlaken is cute - but Lucerne has way more to do/see.)

Lauterbrunnen has been my destination of choice for several summers, including this one. As with any destination, there are pluses and minuses.

We rent an apartment, so I don't know much about the hotels in the area. While there we shop the markets and act like a resident as much as possible for a couple of foreigners.

The strong points for us are: it is a transportation center, it is relatively small, it is a few miles from the main road that passes along the south side of Interlaken, and it is scenic.

For others the weak points might be that is is a small place and has limited activities.

If you want to go visit the mountains it is a good choice because many mountain destinations can be reached from there rather easily.

If you want more scenery than Lauterbrunnen, Wengen and Mürren are perched on the sides of the valley with better views of the peaks.

Grindelwald is the metropolis of the mountain villages. It is much, much larger than Lauterbrunnen. Some people like it because it has more activity.

Interlaken is an interesting place, but to see the mountains up close and personal you have to go south to the above mentioned places.

The drive to Luzern is pretty and the town itself is very nice. I guess I don't get all worked up over the Brünig Pass which is on the road to Luzern, but perhaps that is because I have gone up and down it many times. Just another Swiss hill.

Farther east, you have the eye popping Grimsel, Furka and Susten Passes. If you do those all in one day, which is possible, you will have seen what Switzerland has to offer.

With just a week - you can go to Luzerne and stay there for 2 nights, then go to Interlaken and stay there the rest of the time.

Interlaken and Bern are a very short train ride from each other, so you could go to Bern for a day while staying in Interlaken. (The train ride from Bern back to to Interlaken is stunning.)

From Interlaken you can do all the 1/2 day or day trips to various Alps destinations. We found Interlaken very convenient for all the Alps stuff in that area, and there are many hotels to choose from. We stayed at a B&B -"Sunny Days B&B". They have a web site. Basic, good breakfast, clean, convenient and pretty (relatively )cheap.

http://www.sunnydays.ch

Kenav and Bob Brown have the correct idea in my opinion. Sundown has the right idea about avoiding staying in different places if it can be avoided. Changing hotels makes me tired.Base yourself in the Jungfrau area. My choice is Grindlewald, but Lauterbrunnen, Murren,Wengen or prehaps Interlaken and the lake villages has good points as well.

As I recall, Bern is about what, 45 minutes away from Interlaken thus making Bern a great day tripper.

I did a similar trip last trip. I started out in Lucern for 2 days before moving over to Grindlewald area where I spent the remaing 90 percent of my travel.

Yes some people daytrip to Lucern from Interlaken. It makes the day a little long, but I have spoken to people who have made that Lucern daytrip from Interlaken. I even did that once early on in my Swiss travels and found that day to be a little long and tiring. My opinion here!


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It depends on what you're loking for. If towns are too small they start to make me nervous after a day or two.

Lucerne is a good size - a small city that is very walkable but still has a good selction of restaurants, several nice sights, boat trips and the chance to ascent Pilatus, Rigi or Titlus.

You can then drive through Interlaken (but do stop in Brienz if you can - the museum is fascinating and I love all the wood carving shops) and stay in a smaller town in the mountains. Also - go see Thun if you get a chance - very cute town and a great castle.

I would put Bern last on the list.

I second NYtraveler's recommendation. Luzern is simply too beautiful, IMO, only devote a day trip. Even though 6 nights isn't a ton of time, I'd suggest Luzern for two and the BO for the other three.

We visited Bern with eager anticipation in 2004. Unlike some, we were not enchanted with the city, and would gladly spend the time in Luzern.

OOps, I meant five nights. Got Ds in typing class--can you tell?

Hi,
I agree with JN. 2 nights Luzern and 3 nights BO (we loved Wengen) sounds like an excellent plan.

Paul

Just a vote for underrated Bern. We've spent a total of 4-5 days there over a couple of trips and have never been bored.

We are just back from our trip and stayed in a chalet in Brienzwe also spent an afternoon in Thun, the old town is great to walk around. Vevey was also wonderful, so try and do a lake cruise if you get time and I can thoroughly recommend the Ballenberg Musuem at Brienz.

Click on my name for my trip report - the last 3 weeks were spent in Switzerland and may give you come ideas.

If you are looking for a stay-put place with doable daytrips to Bern and Lucerne, staying in Interlaken will shorten the travel time (train?) to those cities considerably (rather than Lauterbrunnen). You might consider Brienz as well. It's on the rail line with a gorgeous view of its lake and mountains beyond. For your price range, b & b's might be an option. There's a website bnb.ch. J.

Thanks everyone for all the wonderful suggestions!
I only now realized I posted the title wrong. I meant to say "Interlaken or Bern". I am still undecided between staying in Interlaken/Lauterbrunnen vs. splitting the time between staying in Bern/Lucern as well.
So the options would be:
1. spend 2 nights in Bern, 3 nights in Lauterbrunnen, and remaining 3 in Lausanne/Montreaux area.
OR
2. Spend 5 nights in Lauterbrunnen, take day trips to Bern & Lucern and remaining 3 in Lausanne.

Like some of you have said, doing a daytrip to Lucerne from Interlaken might be a bit long?

The reason I was thinking of staying in Bern instead of Lucerne, is because hotels in Lucerne seem very expensive. Also, Bern is closer to Lucerne than Interlaken so I thought it might help?

>>>>Like some of you have said, doing a daytrip to Lucerne from Interlaken might be a bit long? <<<<<

Some that post on this forum might not think the trip is too long, but to me the trip from Interkalen Ost to Lucern and back to Interlaken was a long trip. Just my opinion here.

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Hello again. I'll add one more option: Bern is a simple and quick daytrip from Lausanne (1:06). I checked a couple more times: Brienz to Lauterbrunnen is 41 minutes; Brienz to Lucerne is 1:36. Bern from Interlaken, 55 minutes. All of these are lovely rides. I don't think there's any reason to stay three places. Choose one base for the Oberland and Lucerne, and visit Bern as a daytrip from either of your bases.

Bern is a graceful, lovely city. So is Lausanne. Neither have the picture postcard photo opps that have made Lucerne famous, but for some reason, that makes them better IMO. J.

Lausanne is a nice lakeside city but Bern is fantastic - the arcaded streets IMO much prettier than a Lucerne i find too modern in comparison.

Both fine towns but Bern more finer IMO

PalenQ - Lucerne is too modern? The Kapplebruke is from the 1400's!

I'd choose Bern over Lausanne, though, too. Still I think staying in Lucerne for a couple of nights and then going to the BO is the way to go. (Especially since you can take a day trip form thre to Bern and yet be in the Alps.)


(Did you get your Lausanne / Lucerne cities mixed up?)

sorry typo - i should have said Lausanne the second time not Lucerne, which is one of my very favorite cities, in terms on being gorgeous, in Europe. Most of the city is however Uber modern except for the old bridges, recently rebuilt after fires and such.