3 days in Lauterbrunnen area (to stay or not in Lauterbrunnen)

When is this trip?
Lauterbrunnen can be in the shade of the higher mountains, depending times of day and season. I'd recommend Murren or Wengen.
In any case, have a great trip in this beautiful country! Safe travels!

It's in the summer, late July. Thanks!

by late July the traffic in the Lauterbrunnen Valley will be seriously heavy and non stop.

Yes, the valley allows you to go up either side straightforwardly. Amd there are the valley walks. They will be crowded too.

If you are up the hill, either on the Wengen or Mürren sides, those are car free places. You can hear people walking by. And the morning and evening views are incomparable.

All what you prefer, really.

You can see the cliffs and waterfall right at the train station (thus in the town center). The valley is slightly curved, so you don’t see it all at once no matter where you are in the valley .You would have to check with individual hotels as to their exact view. I know some of the holiday apartments have direct waterfall /cliff views.

The valley is only 5km long and basically flat. For me it would not be worth the price of bike rentals unless you did mountain biking or choose some longer routes out of the valley.

At this point, stay where you can get lodging. It’s going to be tough as much will already be spoken for. You might try Camping Jungfrau, which has various options of little cabins from spartan to more well-equipped.

We are heading back to the Lauterbrunnen Valley for the 4th time. It is a magical place and so many different ways to enjoy it.

On our first trip, we just took the train up to Kleine Schiedegg and enjoyed a beautiful afternoon before the clouds returned. We had only allocated a short time in the area and were going on to Stein-am-Rhein that evening. It was a great introduction to the area and the waterfalls near Lake Brienz and the village of Meiringen were spectacular. You could enjoy much of what makes the Bernese Oberland so special, if you aren't driving, from Interlaken or other places along the lake and get a wonderful taste of the whole area, including the Lauterbrunnen Valley, and the Rothorn near Brienz, from there.

We were based in Lauterbrunnen for two nights on a 3 week Europe in a nutshell trip for my brother and his wife and made the focus of our stay the top of Schilthorn. We enjoyed the waterfalls from Lauterbrunnen and a loop that I believe came from Rick Steves, leaving Lauterbrunnen, getting to Murren and then heading up to Schilthorn, followed by a stop at Tremelbach Falls on our return to Lauterbrunnen. If it was easy for you, I think you might enjoy the views from Murren even more than the beautiful views in Lauterbrunnen (more light over the course of the day because it is higher up the steep cliff. Schilthorn now has the steepest gondola on the planet which might be amazing. There's also a funicular nearby that leads you up to a beautiful 'alpe' with some fun hiking. And you'll be close to RS's much loved Gimmelwald if you are there. It really is a question of what you love. Somehow, the trip up to the Jungfrau has never sparked a desire.

Last trip, we made the isolated village of Isenfluh, accessed through a very narrow tunnel dug into the mountain, and stayed at a small lodge in the village. It was peaceful and quiet and we planned to return but the hotel may not be in operation this year.

This year, we will be staying at a hotel halfway up to Grindelwald First to enjoy the beautiful views it will have of the Eiger. Grindelwald is busier than Lauterbrunnen, with a different type of drama. Our focus will be on the lovely mountain and some time at Grindelwald First. And we will get back to Wengen for the view from above that it provides of the Lauterbrunnen Valley.

It will be wonderful, wherever you land--different but still spectacular. Some of the best adventuring is near Grindelwald, but there are definitely good hikes from throughout the valley. Get your room soon. I booked my place in Grindelwald 2 months ago.

Biking would be a wonderful way to see the valley itself. There are rental spots throughout the valley so you don't have to decide until you know what the weather is and when you are staying.

Have a great time.

I’m not sure how to post something new, but wondered if anyone had advice about time of year to see the Alps and to hike. Like many of you I prefer to go when the crowds aren’t as great. So I wondered if some of you have gone in May, and if the area is more or less hikable. Details would help. Also, how is September?

I'm planning to go in early October myself. I vacillated on where to stay and chose Lauterbrunnen. My rationale was convenience and also that since Wengen and Murren are higher up, there's a greater chance of snow up there in early October. I can understand the views are great up there but I have plans to go to Brienz and also want to do the valley walk to the waterfall and don't want to deal with using a train to get down the mountain every time I want to leave. Being in the mountains might be best for an avid hiker but I'm not planning to do any major hiking only light hiking.

I always say that Lauterbrunnen would be a perfectly nice place to stay if it were not so close to two much better places to stay: Murren and Wengen.

Lauterbrunnen IS the transport hub of the region, and DOES have nice waterfalls nearby. But I always find it depressing to be almost constantly in the dark (Lauterbrunnen is in the bottom of a very steep and narrow valley, so tends not to get much sun).

Murren is where we have stayed twice, but I have heard great things about Wengen too. What I like about Murren is (a) the absence of cars; (b) the views across the valley to the Eiger/Monch/Jungfrau; (c) proximity to the Schilthornbahn cable car; and (d) the amazing hikes from Murren, either up (by cable car to Birg, then down; or hiking up to Bryndli or Allmendhubel); down (I love the walk from Murren down to Stechelberg); or relatively flat (toward Wasenegg).