It took me awhile to grasp that a train would take me almost anywhere a car could in Switzerland. Now, I'm confused by the maze of trains, cablecars and funiculars in the Bernese Oberland. Is there a site which lists travel times and options that includes cablecars or some easier way to calculate this? I'm having a hard time deciding where to stay in the mountains, becauase I'd rather stay in a town higher up, like Wengen or Murren, but don't want to spend an hour or more a day travelling to my departure point for sightseeing.

The Swiss Rail web site can give you good information on travel time by train within the Oberland.

http://www.sbb.ch/en/

Lifts, funiculars, etc. generally take 10-15 minutes. Some as much as 30 minutes. The Rick Steves Switzerland guidebook has a page that shows the travel times for these various connections.

If you want to do sightseeing such as museums or waterfalls, and will want to make frequent trips to Interlaken, then your best bet is to stay in Lauterbrunnen. But it's certainly no tragedy to stay in Murren or Wengen. Besides, commuting from those cliff towns into the valley is fun and really scenic, too.

If you plan to do hiking, then you will want to stay in Murren, Wengen, Grindlewald, or Gimmelwald.

In terms of rail passes, the Swiss Pass is only a good option if you will also be doing a lot of travel in Switzerland but outside the Oberland. If most of your time will be spent in the Oberland, then you should get a Berner Oberland regional pass. It will cover everything in the region except the Schilthorn/Jungfraubahn trips, but it will get you 1/2 off on those. An individual 2nd class 15-day Swiss Pass costs $310, but a 7-day Oberland Pass is about $175 and a 15-day pass is $212.

There is also a Half Fare Card for about $80 that lasts 1 month and gets you 1/2 price on all transportation, including the Schilthorn/Jungfraubahn.

D'oh. Here's a web site for info on the Oberland Pass, including a map showing covered routes and discounted routes.

http://www.regiopass-berneroberland.ch/engl/preis.htm

It is extensive. Worse still, they have different names: Luftseilbahn, Standsteilbahn, Sesselbahn, Drehtseilbahn, Gondalbahn, Zahnradbahn, bahnbahn (different flavors; I like chocolate ones myself), several rail way lines like the Wegnernalpbahn, Berner Oberlandbahn, Jungfraubahn, Schweizerische Bundesbahn, Bergbahn Lauterbrunnen Murren, Schynige Platte Bahn, Schilthornbahn, Firstbahnen (sorry no secondbahnen nor third, nor was it the first one there.) Pfingsteggbahn, Standseilbahn Mürren Allmendhubel
and finally, believe it or not, there is the Sulwaldbahn, which is not on all maps.

I think I left out one or two, but it doesn't matter. I did not know the names when I rode them. Some of them I did not even know where they went. No tests to take. Just buy a ticket, get on and go.

there is a rhyme

Swiss gon dolas are the best in the land.
They all are like a smooth tin can.
No cows to milk, no hay to pitch
Just get your [posterior] on the son ...

I will let you fill it in.

But a Swiss Card, get half off all mountain rides, and just go there and ride. If you are going to the Schilthorn, I find that you cannot beat it except with the half fare card.
But if you arrive and leave by train,the Swiss Card has a built in trip.

I come from Munich and just about pay for my card with that one trip. (Swiss border to lauterbrunnen is free of extra charge; so is the ride out and it does not have to be to where you came in.)
And your ticket validity period starts when you fill it in. I went to the window in Zürich to validate my first pass and the man handed me a ballpoint pen and said the magic words:
selbst tun, or at least that was my understanding.

Chocolate bahnbahns!

Here is a coverage map for the Swiss Pass

http://mct.sbb.ch/mct/en/sts-uebersichtskarte.pdf

Thanks to everyone, and especially Edward for the links.

You're welcome!

Last night I decided to go with the Swiss Pass and bought one. My initial thoughts were against the Swiss Pass were erroneous because I underestimated its coverage, which the coverage map cleared up nicely. Most likely the 1/2 fare card would work out a little cheaper, but I like the idea of not having to buy tickets all the time. I think that's worth a little premium.

Edward -

I think you'll like the Swiss Pass. That's our pass of choice on all our trips to Switzerland (Swiss Saver Pass as there's two of us). We like the flexibility and being able to jump on a train at will without pre-planning or purchasing individual tickets.

Have a good trip.

Edward-

I'm leaning toward the SwissSaver Pass also (or one + youth pass). How many nights are you staying in the Berner Oberland? On what basis did you make your decision?

I will be in Switzerland 11 nights, with 4-7 nights in the Oberland as the spirit moves me.

I picked the SP because it covers everything in the Oberland except the jungfraubahn and the Schilthorn ride (only 25% off for those). I can make as many trips from Gimmelwald to Lauterbrunnen, Interlaken, Brienz or where ever for no extra cost and without having to stand in line for a ticket.

Plus, I plan a fair amount of rail travel outside the Oberland which would also be covered by the SP (including municipal travel like subways and buses). It also covers boat travel, handy around Luzern or Lake Geneva.

While the Oberland Pass is good, it would not cover travel outside the Oberland. The 1/2 Fare Card would cover everything, but I would still have to stand in line to buy tickets. I hate standing in line. For my most likely itinerary the 1/2 fare card looked like it was the cheapest way to go, but only by about $30 or so. Ditto for the Oberland pass. So, I figured why not spend an extra $30 to avoid standing in lines?