Thanks to Fodorites who responded and helped finalize the Luzern leg of our trip. After spending 3 days in Luzern, we shall be arriving in Bernese Oberland, where we plan to stay for 4 nights. This is in August 2008 BTW.
We plan to stay at Lauterbrunnen. Any suggestions on hotels there ? We would love to stay in a Swiss chalet if possible. Please advise on suitable hotels.
Our tentative itinerary is given below, on which we seek your suggestions:
Day 1: Arrive at Lauterbrunnen by around 11 am or so. Spend the day touring Lauterbrunnen and Wengen.
Day 2: Tour Murren and Gimmelwald.
Day 3: Tour Grindelwald, and then on to the top of Jungfaujoch mountain. Maybe do some short hikes at Grindelwald.
Day 4: Take a day trip somewhere else. Where to ? Lake Thun ? Or to Bern ? Or have we squeezed too much into above 3 days that we need to space it out ?
Day 5: Depart for Zurich, and then on to Austria.
Please give us your valuable advice on how we should plan these 4 days, with as much detail as you can spare.

Hi indiancouple,

I would definitely see Thun & Lake Thun, and maybe also Brienz and Lake Brienz over Bern. But then, I generally avoid cities!

Anyway, yes, enjoy the lakes. Maybe take the ferry to Thun and stroll around, then the train to Thun and stroll around, then return to Interlaken. There are castles both in Thun and in Oberhofen, near Thun.

Or you can do the same thing on Lake Brienz -- use the ferries & trains to hop around.

Good luck!

s

Keep in mind that it's not always clear on top of the Jungfrau. Keep your schedule loose so, then when there's a nice day, go for it.

I am not sure what you mean when you say you are going to tour places like Mürren and Gimmelwald. Both are small; Gimmelwald is little more than a dot on the landscape. Having been in both places several times, I don't envisage the time required is more than a couple of hours if you go into every shop.

I think you will enjoy your trip much more if you think in terms of seeing the mountains. There are many ways to get stunning views without necessarily going to the Jungfraujoch, which the end station for the train.

At the top, there is the Sphinx observation building. It is is enclosed, but there are outside activities as well.

If you go to Wengen, I highly recommend riding the cable car up to the crest of the ridge that rises above the valley. The views from there are very nice.

I you want a fairly short walk that is mostly level as mountain trails go, take the cable car from Lauterbrunnen to its terminus at a place called Grutschalp. From there walk the lower trail to Mürren.

If the day is clear, you will have beautiful views of the Jungfrau and other high peaks that are mostly snow covered all year.

Grindelwald has quite a few shops to explore, but they mostly sell similar items: clothes, souvenirs, hiking and climbing equipment, watches and jewelry, and other items.

Again, if you want to view the mountains, I can suggest two excursions from Grindelwald. The first one is the gondola ride upwards to a station called First, which means ridge in German.

I still remember my first ride up in 1998. The views were stunning. At First there is a nice restaurant with a terrace that has a commanding view of the mountains, particularly the Eiger.

An alternative is to ride the Post Bus to Grosse Scheidegg where there is a restaurant with a nice sunny terrace that gives you a different view of the Berner Oberland.

A few fairly flat trails lead out from the bus stop next to the restaurant.

If you want a taste of Swiss farm life from the last century, or even from the 1800s, take the trip to the outdoor museum at Ballenberg.

You can take the train from Interlaken Ost to Brienz and then take the bus to Ballenberg West which is the west entrance to the museum area.

Brienz itself is known for its wood carvers and a visit to the wood carvers' shops is interesting.

There are several hotels in Lauterbrunnen. The only one I have stayed in overnight is the Hotel Oberlander. The Silberhorn is another one that seems ok as does the Hotel Crystal. There are other hotels as well, but I have never even been inside of them.

When I am in Lauterbrunnen, I stay at Chalet Horner, but the last time I looked, it was booked for August as well as July.

I hope that you can find a room in Lauterbrunnen at this late date. I suggest that you go ahead and reserve a room right away if possible.

I cannot help you with hotels in Wengen or Mürren, but Swiss hotels are usually clean even if the rooms are sometimes small. I have found that even 2-star hotels are satisfactory.

The views of the mountains from Wengen and Mürren are from a higher vantage point than what you will have in Lauterbrunnen which is on the floor of the valley.

Good luck in your planning and hopefully the weather will be clear for your visit.

I would seriously recommend staying in Wengen instead of Lauterbrunnen, as you will have more expansive vistas to take in. One nice little hotel is the Hotel Berghaus, which has a lovely little restaurant specializing in trout. It is modest, comfortable, and has views of the Jungfrau from some of its rooms.

The gondola ride from Wengen to Maennlichen is nice, and you can "hike" (more like a walk or stroll - relatively easy) to Kleine Scheidegg for lunch. From here you can go further up by rail to the Jungfrau, or you can hike back down to Wengen or take the train back.

The transportation system is well-developed, and so it is easy to get around from place to place. We used Wengen as a base on our last trip (I've been 3 times), and it was perfect for doing all that you described. My feeling is that Lauterbrunnen is too closed in in a very tight little valley!

bob brown, I think you misunderstood our term "touring". We have no desire to visit shops etc when in Murren or Wengen or anywhere else in B.O.; the idea is very much to take in the beautiful mountain sights.
We would like to take short hikes from all the places in BO, especially ones that are not very strenuous, and offer the best views. We would very much like detouring from any of these villages via a cable car or short hike etc to places of interest.
Our question is to request you to plan out our 4 days in BO, in terms of how much time we should allocate to which destination (and its nearby hikes, rides etc), so that we do not end up squeezing too much or too little on any day. We look forward to your response.
The suggestion from swandav to visit Lake Thun & Brienz is well taken, and we will probably do that for a day.
Mimar, good idea to keep our Jungfrau visit flexible, depending on the weather. What is the weather usually like in August ?

The weather is generally good in August, but not always. Mornings are a better bet for the trip to Jungfraujoch than later in the day. There is a TV channel that broadcasts a picture of weather at the summit as well as web cams.

I really enjoyed the lake boat trips also. We took the boat to Brienz, then hopped on the waiting bus to go to the Ballenberg open air museum.

A couple of years ago we spent 3 days in Murren.

One day we did go to Interlaken and took the boat to Thun. The water was a beautiful blue, the ride enjoyable, saw the castle in Thun (mildly interesting), and rode the boat back. Took all day but it was lovely.

Taking the cable car to Maennlichen from Wengen sounds like a good idea. I wish we had done that. Then you can walk to Kleine Scheidegg as suggested. Looks like a relatively flat walk on the crest of the mountain with good views.

The hikes I suggested are relatively flat as mountain trails go.

The views I suggested are great and take you through Wengen and Mürren.

I think as part of your visit to Mürren, you could find a restaurant with a great view of the Jungfrau and the adjacent peaks.

The terrace at First has the most commanding view I know of from a place that is easily reached by gondola or cable car.

Some could argue that the Schilthorn is easily reached as well, but is is a little more expensive to visit by cable car.

The Jungfraujoch is a fairly expensive ride up as well, but the view from the top is most unique.

In my several visits I have been to all of those places. A lot of what you might elect to do depends on the weather and on the budget, something the crashing dollar is making me acutely aware of.

When it comes to shopping, Interlaken has the most shops. The main street has quite a few high quality stores.

Thank you Fodorites for your wonderful suggestions as usual. I think we have enough to go by for now.

One final comment, any of the cable car rides and viewpoints that have been discussed will take you to some awesome places.

I really don't think you can go wrong. What has been described so far are good suggestions for maximizing your time in the Berner Oberland.

To some extent we are splitting hairs.

I know well the places that I have enjoyed, but that does not mean everyone will have the same opinion.

As the old saying goes: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. From First, Wengen, Mürren, the Jungfraujoch, and a few other places, there is a lot of beauty to behold, particularly on a clear day.

When I post suggestions on some good things to do in the Jungfrau area it is based totally on things I have done in this area. What works for me, may not work for some other person, but hey, good views are enjoyed by almost everyone.

One of the things I enjoy doing is taking the train up to Kleine Scheidegg. From Kleine Scheidegg a person can get some excellent views of the Eiger, Jungfrau and company. Even if you do not go anywhere from Kleine Scheidegg, you can still have a wonderful day by just hanging out and enjoying the views from Kleine Schiedegg. Keep in mind though that KS is an area where many people connect to the Jungfrau trip. That means that it will be crowded.

There are some trails to explore from Kleine Scheidgess that can get you up and close to some great views. One such trail is the trail up to the Eiger Glacier. To me that is a great walk.

I then walk back down to Wengeralps. The views of the mountains over your left shoulder will be superb. From Wengeralps you can take the train back to almost anywhere in the area


Getting to Kleine Scheidegg is easier than an SEC team beating a big Ten team in the championship game. If you stay in Lauterbrunnen, you would take the train up to Wengen and then continue up to Kleine Scheidegg. If you stay in Grindlewald, you just catch that train at the train station right on up to Kleine Scheidegg.

You mentioned touring Murren. Well, Murren is just one main street pretty much;however, there are some good things to do from the Murren area. I always enjoy walking down to Gimmelwald. The walk down there is easy, certainly nothing to get a person tired. You can take the cable back up to Murren.

Grindlewald is pretty much one main street area also, but there are some great hikes based in the area. Bob Brown mentioned the hike that begins at the top of the first station over to Grosse Schediegg. That one is a lotta fun also. Once that hike is through, why you can can kick back and have dinner and some refreshing drinks.

Swandav mention the Lake Thun deal. That's a good un also. Take that lake cruise from the Interlaken West train station over to Thun. It is a relaxing ride and I always enjoy seeing the lake villages.

Once at Thun, you can stroll around Thun. Maybe check out the Thun Castle.

Last year I popped over to Bern. That day it was raining to beat the band. I just strolled around those covered sidewalks checking out things. I agree with Bob Brown on that Baren bear pit deal. That kinda makes me sad to see those bears caged up in that area down there.

Makes me think of that Marshall Tucker song about how ole blackbear used to roam around free baby before we stuck these wild animals in cages man.

There are many wonderful things to do in that area. If you go back and read the back posts of things to do in this area, you'll see good information about various things. Hikes, hotels, places to eat and all kinds of goodies.

Keep reading the boards.I never cease to be amazed on how well this Swiss group in Fodors loves and knows this area.

Thank you all for your suggestions. It is getting more and more difficult to plan, as there are now too many things to cram into too short a time ! I am sure we will enjoy the many hikes and trips suggested by everyone in BO, as well as the visit to Thun and possibly Ballenberg museum.

Well I thought I was done on this fun theme, but Ballenberg brings me back.

There are two entrances, one Ballenberg West and opne Ballenberg East.

If you are coming by train from Interlaken Ost, Ballenberg West is the easiest one to reach. The train connects in Brienz with the Post Bus that goes right to the entrance.

Once inside, you will have a lot of walking to do because the houses and other farm buildings are well spaced out.

I have been there twice and I cannot really recommend one area over the other. I was interest the most in a fully operational old saw mill. The sawyer operating it was cutting trees into lumber.

I think it is the kind of place that with which you either become fascinated or you become bored.

There is a good web site to study before you go. If the day is cloudy, I think this would be a good place to visit. If rain is falling, that changes the idea because you will be outside quite a bit as you walk from one building to the next.

If you go, you need to pick your departure time carefully. Some connections are as short as 34 minutes and other as long as 1 hour, 20 minutes.

As part of the trip, you might like to look at some of the wood carvings that are for sale in two or three places along the main street of Brienz.

>I think it is the kind of place that with which you either become fascinated or you become bored.<

I've taken visitors there and have found the above comment is right on target. Ballenberg has a great souvenier store. Check out their website for opening dates and times: http://ballenberg.ch/en/Welcome

Just want to add that we took the boat on Lake Brienz, and it too was met by a bus for Ballenberg. (The Swiss are so good at that kind of thing!)

One further comment on Ballenberg, my wife found the place very interesting. She always wants to know how people lived, how they coped with life in less than ideal (by today's standards) situations, what they ate, how they raised and procured food, what the farm animals were, and so on.

I remember seeing the different styles of architecture, the different furniture, the various style with which they were constructed, and the farm animals that were in some of the pastures.

We sampled so much food that we almost waddled by the time we left.

At one point we sat down to rest. Two people sitting on a bench near us fed one duck that had waddled by. I am not sure what the signal was, but suddenly a dozen or so quacking ducks came waddling over from the pond to share in the food. It was funny. I never new that ducks could beg like that!

At any rate, I was not bored with the place.

And yes we bought nice items there to take home as presents.

There is a shop at either entrance as I recall.

We have entered Ballenberg from both the east and west gates. We went to the west entrance by train and bus. When we used the east entrance we were driving and the east entrance is close to the Brünig Pass road that leads to Sarnen and on to Luzern. I might add that there are at least two nice lakes on that road. From the heights above Sarnen, the lake and village have a most picturesque appearance.

At any rate you are going to one of my favorite places in the world, and you will find plenty to do. In fact, you will not have time to do it all, but you will feel compelled to do all you can.


On our first two trips there we went at it like there was no tomorrow.
I remember we bought a pass that had 3 free days (except for the last leg of the Jungfraujoch trip) included. We had 3 consecutive days of beautiful weather and we rode everything we could find, even a couple short mountain tram lines that were not on our map.

We were almost like a couple of kids running around at Disney World. I think the enthusiasm was there, but the speed was lacking!! (We were both approaching 70 at the time.)

bkmking