Interlaken as a Base??
 

I only have 4-5 days and am traveling with an 11 year old. I thought Interlaken would be a good base. Any thoughts/suggestions are appreciated!

Hi giggles36kd,

The best base really depends on what you want to do and what time of year you're traveling.

Interlaken is really a charmless town filled with hotels, restaurants, and tourist shops that serves to transport folks on their way to the mountains. The mountains are a further 40-60 mintues by train. The mountain villages of Wengen, Muerren or Grindelwald are much more charming, with brown-wooden chalets and mountains-in-your-face views.

If you want the convenience of access in & out and more charm, think about the city of Thun right on Lake Thun.

Good luck!

s

Interlaken is a perfect base for the BO or Berner Oberland area...as are Wengen, Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald...whether you want to be in the mountains or down in the flats between two lakes. Personally i prefer Interlaken and have stayed there dozens of times - i like the city atmosphere. But my first trip to the BO i stayed in Grindelwald, face to face with the awesome face of the Jungfrau massif and i may recommend that for first time travelers and 11 years old may find it more exhilarating than Interlaken, which is only a short train ride away. Interlaken may be a tad more convenient for day trips on the lakes and to places like Lucerne or Bern for those rainy days but not much.

Thank you! Can you recommend affordable hotel in Grindelwald?

Hi again,

I've stayed at the Schweizerhof twice -- it's a four-star. I loved it!

What do you think is "reasonable"?

s

Though not a hotel, the Naturefreundhaus (sp?) in Grindelwald, or Nature Friend's House, is a mecca for Swiss hikers, of all ages - rather austere accommodations but a great atmosphere and perched above town with tremendous views. Probably the cheapest place in town apart from the youth hostel.

No question that Interlaken can be used as a base to this area. From a base in Interlaken, a person can trek to the mountains or to the lake villages (Thun and Brienz). Traveling to Bern and or even Lucern is easier from Interlaken.

But my favorite place to base myself in this area is Grindlewald.

Do a search on where to stay in this area and you will read all the opinions on this subject. Trust me, this subject has been posted many many times. I suspect that this will be posted many many more times.

If you are there to hike the area, I would suggest Grindlwald, but if you want to sample as much of the area as you can, Interlaken is a fine choice.

Since I like to pretty much "Hunker down" in the mountain area, I base my self in Grindlwald for the walks and hikes.

Anyway, have fun. It is my opinion that Interlaken is not a bad place to use as a base in this area.

Another note on Interlaken. On a past trip to Interlaken, I stayed at the Chalet Oberland Hotel.

The hotel is on the main street not far from the Interlaken west train station. It also is next to one of the Swiss banks. Getting to the Interlaken Ost station or East station is easy enough also. About a 10 minute walk, but you can hop on one the busses also that would take you to the east station. The East station us used for mountain trips.

Chalet Oberland Hotel has a great restaraunt and on Tuesday nights, I think they have local folklore artists come in and play Swiss folklore music.

At one time the Chalet Oberland Hotel was connected with The Best Western chain of hotels. Do not let that scare you off. The hotel is a charming hotel.