btaylorb37

Making a quick visit in B/O to hike for 1.5 days. Train in from Zurich on Sunday Oct 1 and leave from Speiz on Tuesday with trains departing @ 8:05 or 14:00.

Is it worth spending one night in say Murren and the second night in Interlaken so we can get to 8:05 train in Spiez? Better to spend both in Interlaken and travel up the mountain each day to hike?

Is it possible for bad weather to virtually eliminate hiking and make it not even worth going up the mountain?

Thanks for help trying to figure this out!

michele_d

Having spent 12 days in the town of Lauterbrunnen, I would highly recommend you stay in the Berner Oberland. It is less than a 30 minutes ride down to Interlaken, so very doable, even for an early train ride out of Interlaken. For efficiency I would recommend staying in Lauterbrunnen, which is where the train station is located. From here you can catch the train up to Wengen or Murren for your hiking day trips. There is nothing quite like staying right in the middle of the Berner Oberland for the quintessential Switzerland experience.

kja

Yes, there is a chance that bad weather might completely disrupt your plans.

With so little time, I, personally, would NOT aim for Murren -- getting there takes more time than getting to most other destinations in the Bernese Oberland.

I think michele_d has given good advice to consider staying in Lauterbrunnen, and I would add that you might want to consider the Hotel Staubbach.

BUT it all depends on what you want to see and do and what you decide to count among your backup plans if the weather is not cooperative.

Good luck!

Ingo

Nothing wrong with Interlaken for the two nights. It gives you more options in case of lousy weather. I would definitely NOT split the two nights between two different places. Frankly, it gets dark early on October 1 and 2, so if you do rather long hikes you won't have much time gazing at the mountains from your hotel anyway.

annhig

We just got back from the Berner Oberland, and there is probably no right answer. If you stay up in the mountains and the weather is bad, you'll have quite a trek to get down to Interlaken to get a train to Bern say [which is what we did on a wet day in Interlaken]; if you're down in Interlaken, and the weather is good, you'll be cross that you're wasting time getting up into the mountains.

On balance I would opt to stay in Lauterbrunnen, or if you can't resist the lure of the mountains, Wengen, which is only one train ride up from Lauterbrunnen, whereas Muerren, lovely though it is, requires either a bus and funicular/cable car [sorry I can't remember which, we didn't go that way] or cable car and funicular.

The local tourist board produces a booklet on walks or Wanderweg and there is also an app on the swiss tourist board website that has walks all over Switzerland, complete with profiles, so you can see how much uphill walking you'll need to do. Because of his health problems my DH was only able to walk downhill, but we were still able to do a bit of walking - down from the top of the Maennlichen to Kleine Scheidegg, and on another day, from Kleine Scheidegg to Wengenalp. I'm sure that you will be able to find more ambitious routes than these but even they were gorgeous. And the train/cable car system makes getting up and down extremely easy.

If the weather is bad, I can recommend a visit to Bern where there is more than enough to do for a day or so.

btaylorb37

Thank to All!

My idea is to stay in on the mountain the first night arriving mid-day and explore the nearby towns , maybe short hike.

Get up day two check out/hold our bags and hike all day. Return at dinner time get our bags and go down to Interlaken for the second night so we can more easily catch the 8AM train in Speitz.

Finding more hotel options in Wengen than Lauterbrunnen. Ok to stay in Wengen vs Lauterbrunnen? Easier to reach hiking from Wengen anyway?

PalenQ

Can be cool or even icy at higher altitudes in October -I was in Murren one mid-Sep day and there was ice on sidewalks -may have been an anomolay but - Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen are at lower altitudes than Wengen or Murren -Grindelwald is but 20 minutes by train from Interlaken-Ost station and there are hikes all around it- famous Ridge Walk is perhaps most popular in Berner Oberland - take chairlift from Grindelwald or Wengen to The Mannlichen (rave vista point) and walk gently uphill to Kleine Scheidegg and take tiny train back from there to Grindewald (or Wengen). For lots on trains in this area check www.sbb.ch; www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com.

Grindelwald have more expansive views of high Alps than Lauterbrunnen, sunk deep in a canyon like valley - still neat views but not the panorama like from Grindelwald or Wengen.

Trains for Wengen - Interlaken-Ost to Lauterbrunnen change platforms for Wengen train.

PalenQ

the chance of rain in Sep and Oct is astoundingly high - about 40-50% - so as hiking is no fun in rain have alternatives in mind - a problem with going to this area in fall.

http://www.holiday-weather.com/wenge...ges/september/

annhig

My idea is to stay in on the mountain the first night arriving mid-day and explore the nearby towns , maybe short hike. >>

There are no "nearby towns" once you are up in the mountains. Wengen is the easiest to get to - train from interlaken Ost as Pal says, change at Lauterbrunnen. From there you can either get the train up to Kleine Scheidegg and walk back down [option to get back on the train at Wengenalp] - one of the most beautiful walks in the world with terrific views of the Jungfrau - or the cable car to the top of the Maennlichen and walk down to Kleine Scheidegg. If you arrive at abut midday, you could combine those two walks and consider that you had had one of the best walks anywhere in the world.

Grindelwald [train from Interlaken Ost, change at Zweilütschinen] is a bigger place than Wengen; we didn't get there on this trip but this website has some walking ideas:

http://www.switzerland-hiking.ch/e/h...codestation=56

Muerren is more difficult yet to get to, [train from Interlaken, change at Lauterbrunnen, then get the cable car followed by the train] and as there is even less to do there when it rains, doesn't seem like a good place for a one night stay. Even when it's sunny in Muerren, it may be very cloudy up the top, restricting your activities. [it was on the day we went there from Wengen].

you can get to Grindelwald from Wengen without going back towards Lauterbrunnen - either by going up the Maennlichen cable car from the centre of Wengen and then getting the gondola down [or walking] or by getting the train up to Kleine Scheidegg and then changing onto the train down to Grindelwald.

kja

If you are willing to pay for a room with a spectacular view, consider staying in Wengen. Otherwise, consider Lauterbrunnen. JMO.

annhig

kja - that's just what we did. 3 nights at the Victoria Lauberhorn in a corner room with a huge balcony were not cheap [lol!] but the views when we woke up were incredible.

kja

@ annhig: Sounds wonderful!

PalenQ

Wengen is the easiest to get to - train from interlaken Ost as Pal says, change at Lauterbrunnen. From there you can either get the train up to Kleine Scheidegg and walk back down [option to get back on the train at Wengenalp] - one of the most beautiful walks in the world with terrific views of the Jungfrau - or the cable car to the top of the Maennlichen and walk down to Kleine Scheidegg.>

I combined both those hikes -the easy few-mile waltz to Kleine Schiedegg from The Mannlichen and then down to Wengen over a wide but always descending trail with awesome views over the Lauterbrunnen canyon below.

Rather easy for folks who have hiked much. No special shoes required.

PalenQ

Grindelwald is a good epicenter for hike both areas to the west of it and east - to the east the First to Bachalpsee hike is one of the very best:

http://www.myswissalps.com/hiking/bachsee

Take the long cable to First and Grindelwald bus or maybe some other cable back to Grindelwald.

neckervd

All depends on the hikes you plan to do. Trains run almost every 30 min all the day round (usually from 5am until 11pm).

Sue81

Wengen, stay there, you won't be sorry, awesome place with incredible hiking. small Schonegg Hotel in Wengen has great views, meals and lovely outside veranda for coffee/tea in afternoons. Window looked out on the Jungfrau. Take lift 5 min away up to the Maennlichen for awesome hiking. Sue

PalenQ

https://www.google.com/search?q=imag...w=1745&bih=864

These vistas from Wengen are not unique but the car-less small village with them is - well Murren has them too and is not much larger but is too isolated IMO for a base for what most do in the Jungfrau Region.

Sue81

btaylor, it is very easy to get to the hiking area in Wengen. You just get the lift, right in Wengen (village which is just a few blocks long) up to the hiking area. It was a few minutes from our hotel and most hotels in town. Weather might be the only variable, so I'd stay a few nights, not just one. Sue

russ_in_LA

We are in Wengen right now and love our choice. Amazing views and less remote than Murren. Note that first two days were great weather ans today rainy and foggy. I'd stay both nights in Wengen.

PalenQ

So what do you do in fog and rain in Wengen?

Curious.