Booked frequent flier seats in and out of Zurich for June 12-19. (Our vacation starts in Copenhagen before our Swiss leg and return to US.) We are most interested in the Berner Oberland (3 or 4 nights) but also Lucerne (2 nights) and possibly a stop in Bern, but we would love opinions and suggestions. Here's one thought:

Day 1: Arrive ZRH late afternoon and head to Lucerne.
Day 2: Lucerne
Days 3-6: Berner Oberland, staying in Murren or Gimmelwald? (I know lots of you prefer Wengen, but we think we would prefer quiet over resorty.)
Day 7: Either spend night in Bern and get up EARLY on final morning to catch train to ZRH for mid-morning flight, or stop in Bern for the afternoon on way to Zurich hotel so we are closer to airport for our morning flight.
Day 8: Flight home.

Alternately, we could do the circle in reverse, going through Bern on the way to the Berner Oberland and ending in Lucerne.

Questions:

Is it reasonable to get to ZRH from either Bern or Lucerne in the morning or is that flirting with disaster? It looks like they are within a 90-minute train ride to the airport, but we sure don't want to miss our flight. (And yes, I know about Swiss trains.) I would rather not have to spend the night in an airport hotel just to ensure we are there.

Is Bern worth the stop, or would we be better off passing through? It certainly looks lovely.

Knowing that there could always be more time for the mountains, is this enough? Allowing for fickle mountain weather, we'd prefer to have 4 rather than 3 nights there (interested in hiking/walking, soaking up mountains and wildflowers, eating cheese in all its forms). We know snow can linger into mid-June, but we'll make it work. (It was the only time we could get ff seats next summer.)

Any other suggestions would be very welcome. Fodorites have provided fabulous advice to us for years and years. Thanks to you, we've enjoyed some amazing travel experiences.

FWIW, I didn’t consider Gimmelwald sufficiently central for my interests in the Bernese Oberland and I thought Mürren far too touristy-kitsch. Part of what I enjoyed about Wengen is that it was quiet and elegant, and the views were, IMO, the best of the region. JMO.

I thought Bern worth 2 full days – but then, I had a month in Switzerland. Maybe you’ll find some useful information in my trip report:
https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...thanks-983126/

I agree with kja, Wengen has absolutely incredible vistas with the lift up to the Mannlichen right in the village.

P.S. "Resort-y" is not a description that I would think apt for Wengen. JMO.

On that last day, I‘d go to Zurich instead of Bern.

Of course, Bern has a very nice old town and Swiss trains run on time like, well, Swiss trains. But while many don’t find Zurich cosy enough it‘s a perfect stop to keep you entertained on that last day.

You don’t need to stay in an airport hotel though hotels in the Oerlikon neighborhood (close to the airport) often tend to be cheaper than their „downtown“ counterparts.

Just when you think you've made a decision... Some friends raved about Murren, and Rick Steves raves about Gimmelwald. We tend to prefer more laid-back "local" places when we travel, even if that means giving up some amenities. I don't have a big appetite, so we don't need a lot of restaurants--especially expensive ones--and tend to opt for lodgings where we can cook for ourselves some of the time or at least store leftovers. Definitely don't need shopping or nightlife. Just beautiful natural areas, places to walk, local culture, nice people. I assumed that meant not Wengen, but maybe I am mistaken. Whichever side we stay on, I am sure we will make a day trip to the other one.

Please keep those suggestions coming--also for lodgings and sights. Your trip report is fantastic, kja. If only we had a month instead of a week.

I did Switzerland in mid-June in 2016 for 2 weeks. Some people will never stay outside of their departure airport city the night before departure for fear of strikes or something else going wrong. Switzerland's transport system is the most reliable in the world. If I had my trip to do over again, I would skip the night I spent in Zurich (way too expensive, and just sort of Luzern writ large, with a less scenic backdrop, in my opinion) and spent my last two nights in Luzern, Unless you have a freakishly early departing flight, you should be able to take the train from Luzern to the Zurich airport on departure day with no problems.

If you do that, you can split your time between the Berner Oberland and Luzern. I think Bern is worth a daytrip, but suggest doing it as a daytrip from the Berner Oberland. There are likely to be days where the weather does not cooperate with high altitude activities--you have no way of knowing when that will be, but you can count on it happening. Thus, I always suggest allowing the maximum possible number of nights in your Berner Oberland base, knowing that you can take daytrips to places like Bern, Thun, the Ballenberg musuem, Meiringen, etc., when low clouds make a trip up the mountains not worthwhile.

As to a Berner Oberland base, I liked Wengen, but Murren would be OK. Gimmelwald is just barely a village--more like a slightly higher density collection of houses than you find elsewhere along the slope. It locks you in to taking the lift to go up to Murren and destinations from there (Schilthorn, mainly), or the lift down to the valley floor and bus down river to go to Lauterbrunnen and other points in the BO. It's just not a convenient base, and doesn't offer any scenic advantage over Murren or Wengen, in my opinion.

Gimmelwald is about the less touristed but still has lots of tourists and it is remote from other places in Jungfrau Region many want to go to. Wengen is a perennial favorite with Fodorites and being car-less is quiet. And has great train and cables going into the hills. Anyway check out the Berner Oberland Pass good for trains, boats and cables in the Lucerne-Bern-Jungfrau areas - not sure of actual coverage limits but check it out. Great sources for Swiss trains www.sbb.ch; BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com. But Wengen is very touristy but again can't escape that in this area. Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen are much much more touristy.

ZRH dp 11.00 for example means check in at 9am for the latest, resp hotel breakfast at 8am.
I would rtake a late train from Berne to Zurich airport and sleep in a airport hotel (the cheapest one is the Ibis budget).
There are luggage lockers (and counters) at Berne ralway station.

BTW: Wengen is a rather small village with rather few shopping possibilities and not nightlife to write home about. You will find a mix of foreign travellers spend 1 night or more in a hotel and Swiss families spending 1 week or 2 in a chalet.

Though Wengen is a small village with limited shopping (except essentials like small food stores) Lauterbrunnen is only about 15 minutes away by train and has everything one would want. Maybe stock up on food on the way up from Interlaken as there is a large Coop superstore right behind the Interlaken-Ost train station. Put bags in station locker and stock up at lower prices everything you'll need.

I would reject your assumption that your interests exclude Wengen. YMMV.

Exploring the area would likely mean going through these various communities, but none are really places one goes specifically to visit as a day trip. They are places to stay, with differing options for access to the area's highlights.

I was luck to have a full month for that trip and am glad if you found it of use.

Thanks, everyone. You make a good case for Wengen. If we were to base ourselves there (and I am now thinking of at least 4 nights in the BO), does anyone have a lodging recommendation with at least basic cooking facilities, even if just a microwave and fridge? I don't want to have to eat all meals out, and our first look at places to stay there hasn't turned any up with that.

Hi There was a COOP grocery in Wengen right behind the train station a year ago, probably still there. If you are into nature/mtn/gorgeous mtns/Monch/Jungfrau/hovering over the village,lift in village up to Mannlichen, sort of a huge plateau between mtns. hiking paths if so desired, then go to
Wengen. I thought Murren had a closed in feel, with huge walls of mtns outside our cabin, and yes I did go up to the Shilthorn (I think that was the name of the Mtn) but did not think it could compare with Wengen vistas, simply awesome in Wengen and easy access to nearby villages by train/hiking.

Also if you have notbeen to Zurich before, I think it is a very nice city that I found easy to get around. I would be a bit uneasy not being in departure city on day of flight, but that of course is me. chocolate shops on almost every corner, as all over Switzerland.

There are a lot of apartments you can rent in Wengen. When we went, one big agency had most of them, although a few were cross listed on VRBO. You want to look at these carefully, location wise, to see how convenient they are to the train station (elevation matters a lot), but if you're open to apartments, that can be a good option for a 4 night stay.

The medieval city center of Berne begins just a few steps from the railway station and goes down up to the Aar river (about 1 mile). It's unique even in Switzerland (Unesco World Heritage place).
Tons of museums in and around the historic part:
Einstein Museum, Historic Museum, Natural History Museum (with giant crystals from the Swiss Alps), Swiss Alpine Museum, Art Museum (with many works from Swiss painters like Hodler, Anker., etc., Paul Klee Museum, Playing collection of Historic musical instruments.......

Really neat thing about Bern - lots of covered walkways throughout main shopping area in central Bern - good for wet weather. And don't miss the newly enlarged and moved Bear Pits by the Aare River.

We spent 3 nights in Wengen this last July. Incredible views. There is a small grocery store right by the train station and several restaurants. The lift up to Mannlichen is easy to find and that hike to Klein Scheideg was beautiful. I can also attest to the fact that Wengen has a doctor who speaks English as I tripped at the cable car and broke a ligament in my foot. 4 months later and two surgeries I am still not walking well but the doctor there was good and I will go back someday to finish all the hikes I couldn’t do this trip.

https://www.google.com/travel/hotels...ktMDEtMTAYAlIA

The Wengen Tourist Office lists seemingly most if not all hotels with ratings - maybe you can see which ones offer fridge and microwave or simply email them and ask.

IME Swiss hotels are always proper - as they say the Swiss wrote the book on hospitality - if no one recommends any go thru the list and see what appeals - and again you can't go wrong in Swiss hotels IME.

could also check airbnbs if any.

We have stayed 3 times in Mürren and once in Wengen. This summer we are going back for 5 nights and we are basing ourselves once again in Mürren. I would not describe Wengen as resort like. Not at all. But Wengen for me was still too big and while car free it still have it's share of small electrical utility cars; we would have to step out of the way more frequently than in Mürren. Mürren was also more quiet, and it also has a co-op store for picnic dinners. We have stayed in several hotels in Murren between all the family members and my favorite is hotel Alpina for the incredible balcony views; but it does not have a microwave or fridge. Many hiking trails start right in the village but you also have a few lifts that can take you even higher. Mürren is one of my favorite village of all times.

As far as your other questions, yes try to book 4 nights up in the mountains.

Last time we had also a flight out of Zurich and spent our last night in Lucerne. If the train breaks down (which being Switzerland is unlikely but not impossible) you are still close enough to jump in a cab or find a bus that will bring you there.