PalenQ

Oberhofen on the north shore of Lake Thun I found as especially nice lakeside town with a neat castle brooding over the port - you can take a short boat ride there from Spiez.

FACS

I have emailed 10 places in the Thunersee area, many want you to stay a week. I just need 4 days. Does anyone know of an apt/room that is ok for just 4 days for less than $140 night?

neckervd

Most private holiday apartments in Switzerland, Italy, Austria etc. ar rented from Saturday until next Saturday. Some agencies begin now to rent for other periods, however.
But you will not have this problem with hotels (except on Italian beaches in August)

mokka4

Try www.booking.com as a last ditch, using the filter function for your dates and maximum expense tolerated. I get a few hits in the area (Spiez, etc). But it IS true that many apts are already booked in the first half of July, that's how the owners can justify a one-week minimum!

mokka4

Or a hotel in Faulensee, Oberhofen, etc ?
Strandhotel Seeblick/Faulensee 4 nights = 611 Euro inputting July 3-7 as example. Good luck!

PalenQ

Interlaken will have much more possibilites for a short stay - lots of cheaper places - tons of them. And Interlaken to me is a real charmer if you get off the main tourist drag which few people do and then diss Interlaken as a big tourist blight.

Consider the Unterseen area which is on Lake Brienz - as charming as any Lake Thun place except perhaps Spiez!
Unterseen a real charmer in Interlaken itself:

https://www.google.com/search?q=unte...=1600&bih=1075

check it out! easy car access and trains and boats right from there to many B O places or drive.

tipsygus

PalenQ, Unterseen is not on Lake Brienz it much closer infact within 5 minutes of the Lake Thun landing stage near Interlaken West station It is the area across the river from Interlaken.

PalenQ

thanks gus - got my names mixed up - there is a sweet area of Interlaken - well actuall called another name on Lake Brienz that would be rather more like the OP is looking for - easy access by car.

can't think of the right name for that area - Bonigen?

FACS

I did find a few places for less than a week, waiting to hear back. Any additional towns other than Oberhofen, Thun and Spiez that I should visit in the Lake Thun, Lake Brienz region? Or in the Berner Oberland region?

neckervd

Nearly 2 weeks ago, I wrote
"The northern shore of lake Tun (Hilterfingen, Oberhofen, Sigriswil, Merligen, etc.) is nice. But forget the driving times you mentioned above. The road along the northern shore goes through many villages and the average speed will never be higher than 60 kms/h. Furthermore, in order to go to the motorway, you will have to cross the city center of Thun."

If day trips from your base are no longer a issue, you can check Merligen, Sigriswil, Beatenberg too. The latter 2 villages are above the lake with splendid views over the lake to the high mountains.

In the opposite case, look for places with easy acces to the motorway: Goldiwil, Heiligenschwendi, Gwatt, Spiez, Hondrich, Aeschi, Aeschiried, Krattigen, Reichenbach.......

Google for them and load down some pictures

PalenQ

Or in the Berner Oberland region?

Lake Thun is in the Berner Oberland or do you mean the Jungfrau sector of the B O - yes IMO it is far more awesome to stay right up in dem hills - the picture of Switzerland etched in your mind's eye - an Alpine Wonderland that is the absolute highlight of Switzerland for me and many - you could spend 3-4 days in the hills and day trip down to do lake boat rides.

Lake Thun is nice but places like Grindelwald, reachable by car are far far more what most folks expect in Switzerland - and don' get me wrong Lake Thun is neat too but it is no way as awesome as staying eyeball to eyeball with glacier-girdled soaring peaks within view of your hotel balcony.

The Jungfrau Region - in the words of Dick Vitale "awesome BABY":

https://www.google.com/search?q=jung...=1600&bih=1075

PalenQ

Any additional towns other than Oberhofen, Thun and Spiez that I should visit in the Lake Thun, Lake Brienz region? Or in the Berner Oberland region?>

Again I urge you to spend some days up in the hills - can easily day trip by car to say Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen then use public transit from there (cars not allowed to go further) - I would not say visit Thun, Spiez, Oberhofen, etc at the expense of far far more awesome places - try to do both.

neckervd

Palen:
I wouldn't have suggested places close to a motorway if the OP had not written in his first post:
"We will have a car and was thinking of staying on the north side of Lake Thun and doing day trips to Castle Chillon, Zermatt, Lucerne.
According to Rome2Rio it looks like 90 minutes to Montreux (Castle Chillon) Zermatt and Lucerne."

PalenQ

Yes OP said that and your response was right on- but then it appeared they may not even be doing anything else in the area than visiting sights on and around Lake Thun - missing out to me on one of Switzerland's most awesome areas just a few miles away and they can drive to Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen easily but I think actually staying there is so so awesome too.