Kids, (and thence) excess luggage and in-town shuttling (from hotel to attractions/gondola/train/cablecar stations)flexibility were major reasons to go for a rental car. That decision led to making Grindelwald the BO base for 4 nights (other 2 nights in Murren).

I have booked at the Chalet Hohturnen (which has own parking space).

How bad is the in-town parking availability scene in/around Grindelwald/Lauterbrunnen Valley area? The trip is early September.

Say for example if I were to do the FIRST gondola. Will I be able to drive from hotel to the gondola station and park there?

Likewise the Grindelwald-KS train station? Or Grindelwald-Mannlichen Cable station? Appreciate any input.

The list from previous post continues..

Drive to Wilderswil for the Schynige Platte excursion; will I be able to park there?

I am assuming that parking at the Interlaken station for the boat rides across the lakes is no problem; nor is the parking at the Lauterbrunnen station or Stechelberg (Schilthornbahn).

No you cannot drive to the First gondola - not beyond Grindelwald, where there is ample parking in or near the town centre, especially during the summer which is not nearly as crowded as the winter ski scene. there is a bus service to places you can't drive to, or in the case of KlScheidegg a mountain train from Grindelwald.

PalQ,

Sorry if I was not very clear in me previous post. I meant the drive from Hotel Gletschergarten to the gondola station in Grindelwald. Will I be able to park near it and then take the gondola ride to FIRST? Likewise for KS et all in my list. I'm questioning the availability of parking spaces near the Grindelwald origin point for those excursions. I realize that gondola/cablecar/train are the only means of transport to those places. But getting to those means of transport from hotel and parking near them is what I am looking for. Appreciate any suggestions/advice.

IIRC, it takes about five minutes to walk from the Hotel Gletschergarten to the gondola station for First. I wouldn't drive there. The gondola to Mannlichen is near the Grindelwald Grund station, and I believe there is a parking lot there (although we walked from the Gletschergarten; 20 minutes or so).

Kalpana Kar
I wouldn't drive at all in Grindelwald, it is only a small town any if the hotel is in the centre, I don't know exactly where it is, you will only have a five or ten minute walk at the most. Parking at the Mannlichen cable car station is possible, but then i would do a round trip by cable and train, to Wengen, kleine Scheidegg, Grindelwald, or the other way via Zweiluchinen and back to Grindelwald. Look on the Jungfraubahn website for details, they also have parking information. Parking at the Station in grindelwald is non existent. Lauterbrunnen has a large car park which serves passengers to Wengen (car free)
Hope this helps

From my memory of a few years ago I seem to recall that Grindelwald has two train stations Grund and one other (whose name escapes me). We made the mistake of getting of the train at Grund and had to walk up to the town to get the First cable car. In the August heat this was a fairly stiff uphill walk - and we would have been grateful for a car to get between the two.
Having said that if your hotel is in the centre of the town then walking to the cable car should be no problem.

Hello Kalpana_Kar - although we usually take the train, 2 summers ago we rented a car as it was a trip with my elderly parents, and we figured a car would be best due to their limited walking abilities.

We stayed one week in Grindelwald and took day trips everywhere and never had a problem parking.

In Grindelwald proper, it is true that you can walk just about everywhere. Our chalet was up a very steep hill, so the car came in handy when going to the grocery store or just into town. There is a good-size pay parking area right past the train station, and from there you can easily walk to the First lift and also the train station, which takes you just about everywhere else.

In Lauterbrunnen, there is plenty of pay parking around town; in fact, there is a good-sized lot (I think it's even free, although I'm not definite) which is right adjacent to the Trummelbach Falls. There is also a large lot near the tram that takes you up to Schilthorn.

If you want to go to Mannlichen, you can of course take the train from the main Grindelwald station down to Grund, then walk over to Mannlichen (5-10 minutes, flat walk). Or you can drive to the Mannlichen pay parking lot (a mega lot, lots of spaces), and walk straight to the lift.

When we went to Schynige Platte, we took the train from the Grindelwald station which made the connection to the train to Schynige Platte. Lovely restaurant terrace there, BTW, with great ice cream and terrific views!

It really should be no problem parking. Just make sure you've got money for the pay machines.

Happy travels!

Thanks a lot for the assurances.

I am keeping the car.

How is the parking scene in Interlaken for the 'boat cruise' and/or for ethnic dining?

We have been in Grindelwald twice in August with cars and children. We had no real bother parking anywhere, so I am sure there will be even less trouble in September. There is a car park opposite First gondola, and if that is full, there is one about 150 metres away at Pfingsted. There is an enormous car park at Grund, which serves Mannelichen gondola, and the train station for Jungfraujoch. There is a multi-storey car park in Lauterbrunnen, which is where you will park if you are going to Wengen, and a large car park in Stechelberg which is where you start the trip to the Schilthorn. Best of all, there is a good car park at the supermarket, so you won't have to haul the shopping. Occasionally, you migght have to drive about for a few minutes, or just wait in the car park until you see someone pulling out, bt, even in August, we never really had a problem. We parked fine in Interlaken - there is space near the Wilderswill station (for Schinige Platt), and a large underground park at the Co-Op supermarket which will do fine for alking around town, and there is plenty of space beside the Heimwefluh if you go there. We used the cars to go lots of places - we parked at stations just to do the gondolas and cable cars, but drove back and forth to Interlaken and Lauterbrunnen etc. Have fun.

For the First gondola, no parking at the valley station. I usually park near the church where there are meters.

The Grindelwald Grund station is down in a hole! If you walk up that hill, you will be lagging a bit unless you are in triathlon condition.

The Wilderswil station has parking, but it is often full and it is relatively expensive.

Parking in Grindelwald is relatively scarce in my opinion, and driving around the place can be limited.