We are renting a car at the airport in Zurich early morning, trying to decide if we should drive to Lauterbunnen Valley and take a cable car up to Murren or Wegen and stay somewhere (Interlaken). Difficult to tell the actual travel time on the map.
We have 3 days to spend driving the area, plan to end up at Lake Como and spend a night in Lake Como area.
Thanks for any input.
I've been to both areas before and love them both.
Posted by
The Heartland USA
8439 posts
Don't stay in Interlaken. Its an OK town, but its at the base of the mountains, not in the mountains. You need to stay up the valley. Rail is a better option for getting around the Swiss part of your trip. Rail station at the airport Zurich airport makes it easy to get anywhere from there.
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
From the Zurich Airport you can jump directly onto the train that will deliver you all the way to Murren or Wengen...and you won't have to deal with traffic jams, fender benders, etc.
Posted by
Minneapolis
1215 posts
Hi Mary Ellen. To answer your question - it's an easy, scenic drive. See viamichelin.com for driving route options and estimated times. They say the shortest time is 2 hours 7 minutes from the Zurich airport all the way to Lauterbrunnen, but I usually add a little to their estimate - I would plan on 2.5 to 3 hours. (Note the 'road tax' shown will likely not apply, since that is for a Swiss road sticker which your rental car will likely already have.) Enjoy your trip!
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
It's 3 hours 10 minutes all the way from ZUrich Airport to Murren with the train system.
BTW - you have to transit through Interlaken to get to Lauterbrunnen and then beyond to Murren. So you don't want to go to Murren and then get a hotel in Interlaken. That would involve lots of backtracking. Interlaken is a great transit hub, but if you want to stay in the beautiful Swiss alps then choose a hotel either in Murren, Wengen or in the Lauterbrunnen Valley...definitely not Interlaken.
Posted by
4 posts
Definitely don't stay in Interlaken. Take the train to Lauterbrunnen or you can drive to Lauterbrunnen and park your car while you are staying in Wengen or Murren. Murren is rather small. We prefer to stay in Wengen. It has an incredible view of the whole valley with great views across to Murren. From Wengen its a very easy train/gondola ride to Murren or Jungfrau. Wengen has numerous restaurants, grocery store, and great train station. We loved Wengen so much we are going back this year.