Looking for suggestions on my itinerary as noted in the "Title". Traveling in mid to end of May 2016.
Should I stay in Interlaken as a home base for the Jungfrau Railway or in Wegen.
Recommendation for hotels or b&b in Interlaken, Wegen and Zermatt.
Thanks.
Interlaken is not in the mountains.
It depends on what you want to do, but I prefer to be in the mountains when I am visiting the mountains.
If the only thing you will want to do is ride up to the Jungfraujoch then Wengen could be good.
I prefer to stay across the valley and a bunch higher at Muerren. From Muerren you can look down on Wengen across the valley, and up at all three of the big mountains, the Monch, the Eiger and the Jungfrau. Getting between sides of the valley is easy by gondola and train via Lauterbrunnen.
Interlaken is good if you'd rather ride the lake steamers, have quick access to get away by train and eat at a McDonald's.
When you are searching for a room, spell Wengen (with the "n") and you will have more success.
There are frequent fast and comfortable trains from Basel SBB station to Interlaken. Get off at Interlaken West for boats on the Thunersee. Get off at Interlaken Ost - the last stop - for connections up into the mountains, the McDonald's, and boats on the Brienzersee.
Some trains from Basel are direct; some you need to change trains at Bern.
We just finished a trip to Zermatt (4 nights) and the Jungfrau Region (7 nights). A half-fare card may make sense for you. Ask at the train station in Basel before you buy tickets. Just tell them what you plan to do and they will help you figure out if it makes sense. We found we saved more that the price of the half-fare card just getting to and n Zermatt as we used it to ride many lifts there.
A half-fare card will also give you a discount on the trip to the Jungfraujoch. If you plan to do more than just that trip in the Jungfrau Region, you might look at the Jungfrau Region Pass or the Berner Oberland Regional Pass as the individual rides really add up. We used over 200% of the face value on our 8-day BO Reg. Pass.
In Zermatt, not a B&B but a cute apartment at Haus Sonnheim. Loved it! I can recommend an apartment in Lauterbrunnen if you are interested in staying in the valley. As Nigel said, don't stay in Interlaken. The other communities (Wengen, Lauterbrunnen and Muerren) are much better bases.
mr,
I'm not sure what conditions will be like in the Berner Oberland in mid-late May, as it's kind of "between seasons" then. However you should still be able to ride the Jungfraubahn. Be sure to check the weather on the day you make that trip, as if it's cloudy you won't be able to see much when you get to the top.
The most convenient home base for that area would be to stay in Lauterbrunnen, as it's central to the both sides of the valley. I wouldn't suggest staying in Interlaken for the reasons that Nigel mentioned. You can take the cogwheel train from Lauterbrunnen to Wengen and Kleine Scheidegg and then transfer to the Jungfraubahn or visit the other side of the valley and take cable cars to the Schilthorn.
There are some good hotels in Lauterbrunnen, and a couple you could check are Hotel Oberland or Hotel Silberhorn. There's also a Hostel there, but I have no information on apartments.
One point to mention - Switzerland is expensive so be sure you adjust your budget accordingly for your stay there.
