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3 days in Bernese Oberland - Where to stay?

Hello,
We are a group of 4 adults (me, my spouse and parents) and one 5 year old kid travelling to the Jungfrau region in August. This is our itinerary -

Aug 23 - Reach Zurich Airport by 10AM. Take the train to Lauterbrunnen.
Aug 24 - Excursion to Jungfraujoch.
Aug 25 - Spend time in the villages of Murren and Gimmelwald. Do a small trail here, Allmendhubel to gimmelwald or spend the rest half of the day in Wengen Mannlichen area.
Aug 26 - Leave early for Lucerne. Do the boat cruise and excursion to Mt Pilatus. Travel to Zurich in the night.
Aug 27 - Morning flight from Zurich.

Question -
Where should we base ourselves in the Jungfrau region - Lauterbrunnen or Murren? I am inclined to stay in Murren but will that eat up a lot of time in traveling? Will that be a lil inconvenient for Day 2, after a long day excursion? We anyway plan to visit Murren on day 3, since the trip is short we are not going to be able to enjoy the stay as much. So, is staying at the more convenient Lauterbrunnen a wiser option?

I am getting a decent stay in both the towns. Need to choose one. Kindly suggest.

Thanks.

Posted by
470 posts

I would make your base in Murren. Transport up and down is very efficient. It allows you to build in some " wiggle room" to wait for clear weather to see the Jungfraujoch. Lots of good hiking from Murren. It is also more fun for your child. Since there are no cars kids can safely explore. In the event of inclement weather there is the community sports center with an indoor pool. http://www.sportzentrum-muerren.ch/en/

Posted by
50 posts

Thank you for the reply.

I see that the last cable car to Murren from LB is around 8pm. There is another way to go up but that's not too convenient. Do you think this time restriction will be a problem on the day of Jungfraujoch excursion.

Is the experience at staying on the hilltop way better than staying in the valley? Will spending half a day at the hilltop give me a glimpse of that? I want to experience the best but not at the cost of making it difficult for our parents.

Thanks again,
Komal

Posted by
7209 posts

There are 2 ways from Lauterbrunnen -> Murren

1) Lauterbrunnen->Stechelberg->Gimmelwald->Murren (latest departure 23:25)
2) Lauterbrunnen->Murren (latest departure 20:35)

Posted by
470 posts

Komal, in my opinion staying in Murren is the clear choice. It is not a difficult trip at all. Step off the gondola and onto the small train. Even with my severe arthritis it is easy, so it would be fine for your parents.
The views are something you will never forget, but they can be fleeting because of the weather. If you base yourself in Murren you increase your odds of these superb views as opposed to just spending an afternoon. I don't see a conflict with your trip to the Jungfraujoch because (at least in our experience) that is something you have to do first thing in the morning to improve your chances of having a clear view.
I am not having luck bringing up a Google street view, but here is a link to some images of Murren. https://www.google.com/search?q=street+view+of+murren&client=safari&rls=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjmotST9IjUAhUQ6GMKHdOiB-oQ7AkITw&biw=1171&bih=623
We stayed at the Edelweiss and did half board which included breakfast and dinner. http://www.edelweiss-muerren.ch/en.html?cHash=d1e8f77b350621ba66d6f81b285b68fa

Posted by
7209 posts

Murren is the best location hands down.

Posted by
50 posts

Tim,

I cannot agree more looking at the pictures :)

I am just a bit worried with respect to the time, convenience and luggage since ours is a short trip. But as some of you mentioned, that does not seem to be a lot of a problem.

Though I booked Lauterbrunnen stay just a couple of hours back, I am going to reconsider it now !

Posted by
32173 posts

Lauterbrunnen is a more convenient location for accessing both sides of the valley, since it's the transportation hub for the area. On your trip to the Jungfraujoch, it will take a bit more time and money if you're staying in Mürren, since you'll have to go through Lauterbrunnen and back.

You appear to have more activities planned in the Mürren / Gimmelwald area so staying Mürren would make sense. You could always visit the Schilthorn instead of the Jungfraujoch, which would make things very easy.

You may want to consider getting one of the Swiss Passes to save some money on the mountain lifts, such as the Half Fare Card or the Berner Oberland Regional pass. You'll have to do the math to determine which pass will work best for your circumstances.

Posted by
50 posts

Yes, we will be taking the Swiss Travel Pass. Decided on it after all the calculations :)

About considering schilthorn instread of Jungfraujoch, will there be any chances of snow in schilthorn in August end? Jungfraujoch -our main reason was to experience the snow and one thing off the list kinds :) Is it worth the cost?

Posted by
7209 posts

There will definitely be snow in on the Jungfrau...

There will not be snow on the Schilthorn in August