Greetings, fellow travelers,
In August, our family plans to spend 3 nights in Adelboden, and we intend to visit Lake Oeschinen on one of the days. It looks like it takes 1.5+ hours to reach the lake via the bus and cable car, but is much quicker by car (37 minutes per Google maps). My question is, can we hire a taxi, Uber, or other car service to get us there? Also, can a car get us to the Lake, or must we still take a cable car from Kandersteg?
Thanks for any light you can shed on this.
1) No Bolt or Uber in Adelboden. (Why do people assume that Uber is everywhere?)
2) Google maps is wrong regarding the travel time. It only gives the car travel time till the a point near the lake and then teleports you there... This because you cannot actually drive to Oeschinensee.
Adelboden - Kandersteg is 50 minutes by public transit. That is what you need to compare the driving time with. In both cases you then need to take the cable car.
There will certainly be no Bolt or Uber in Adelboden and to take a taxi would cost a fortune!
Use SBB.ch or the app to see the travel times for bus/train. Adelboden - Kandersteg is 49 minutes. Take the bus to Frutigen and the train from there to Kandersteg. You can not drive up to Oeschinensee, you must hike up or take the gondola.
Here is their website, note that with the large influx of visitors there are new recommendations regarding arrival time and booking a slot for the cable car this year:
https://www.oeschinensee.ch/en/
IMPORTANT TRAVEL INFORMATION
On nice weekends & public holidays, arrive before noon or by public transport. Book time slot ticket for the Cable car in advance - cable car rides & parking spaces are limited. Visits are not recommended after noon (hiking trails and Oeschinensee area overcrowded).
Edit: answered at same time as WengenK :)
unfortunately the instagrammers and tiktokers have posted videos and pictures which draw in huge crowds. When I went there several years ago I saw virtually nobody, now it is a mob scene.
Many of the posts are shot from viewpoints which are well away from the normal trails. Don't expect the views to be the same from the normal, safe, walking routes.
and yes, it is carpark or train to (booked ahead) cable car to the walking trail and hike... I got misplaced and with nobody to ask and unclear walking post went a much longer way which took an hour walking
Thank you all for your helpful responses. It seems like an early start via bus/train is the best option.
We could possibly switch our lodging to Kandersteg, for an even earlier visit to the lake and hiking trails (those that are open). I wonder how Adelboden would compare to Kandersteg for the 3 young adults who are traveling with us (my spouse and I are bordering ancient).
Have you looked at what all Adelboden has to offer? I find that an interactive map like this one really helps to get an overall idea.
https://vogellisiberg.ch/interaktive-karte-sommer/
I personally like Adelboden and think it is more interesting than Kandersteg. It is not overcrowded with tourists like other parts of the Berner Oberland. Part of the joy of hiking, for me at least, is to experience nature - not to be surrounded by a crowd of people.
Thanks SwissNomad,
Adelboden sounds lovely.
I wholeheartedly agree that getting into nature and hiking are the best things about going to the mountains. Growing up near Mount Rainier (in Washington State), whenever we’d hike, the number of people would dramatically decrease the longer we went. After an hour or so, we’d often have the trails to ourselves. I doubt we’ll be so lucky there in in the Berner Oberland!
We might take one day to visit Spiez; do you recommend it?
For me the Berner Oberland is the PNW of Switzerland - you should feel right at home! ;-)
whenever we’d hike, the number of people would dramatically decrease the longer we went. After an hour or so, we’d often have the trails to ourselves. I doubt we’ll be so lucky there in the Berner Oberland!
Actually you will find that here too, even in the most tourist-dense areas. The shortest, easiest hikes are the most popular and as the difficulty increases the number of people on the trail decreases.
We might take one day to visit Spiez; do you recommend it?
Spiez is okay - the castle is quite interesting and the waterfront is pretty, but I like Thun better (only another 8 min further by train). It is a larger city with a lovely old town area and also has a castle. You can climb up into the four towers for great photo opportunities.
You can walk through the old town area, along the river, over wooden bridges, in the Bälliz shopping street with outdoor cafes (highly recommend Steinmann a local, family run business). Some photos of the city can be found here :
https://www.interlaken.ch/en/experiences/poi/thun-old-town
Schadau park is a nice location to see the lake and mountains. Thun is at the end of the lake and you can see more of the mountain panorama from there than from Spiez. The photos on this link are taken with a bit more snow on the mountains, so not exactly what it looks like in summer.
https://www.schloss-schadau.ch/en/park-and-surroundings/english-garden
Thank you so much, SwissNomad!
I’m really looking forward to our trip and will incorporate your helpful ideas. I hope you have a splendid summer.
