Epic Trip planned for a family of 7, First stop Switzerland!

Interlaken versus Wengen? Wengen by far. Interlaken is a railroad hub, Wengen is up in the mountains and the scenery is spectacular.

I agree with Margie. Hasliberg is out of the way for much of what you would probably gravitate to in the greater Lauterbrunnen Valley (Wengen, Mürren, and Lauterbrunnen) at the base of the Jungfrau. Iselwald would likewise require more time and effort to get into the heart of the area you want to enjoy. What you might save in lodging cost will have a high price in time-in-transit. Unless the activities you want to pursue are more around the lake or on the Hasliberg side of the peaks.

I am using Interlaken as a hub for a five day stay as part of a 2 week Swiss trip. Easy for transport to Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, and the mountain lifts. If they weather is inclement in high country then there are things to do and see on Lake Thun and Lake Brienz.

Wengen Wengen Wengen!
If you're going that far, then actually sleep IN the Alps. You'll have no regrets, as no one is ever ready to leave.
Have a Great trip!

We stayed in Chalet Gerbera with a group of 4 it has 2 br/1 plus a sofa bed. They rent another chalet next door, if you can split the group up. Very affordable, for Switzerland. https://www.chalet-protea-gerbera.com/preise-verfuegbarkeiten?lang=en

Interlaken is a transportation hub, and little more. Get UP into the mountains. Or to the Lauterbrunnen valley. Have you looked at Camping Jubgfrau? They rent cabins. And there is a hostel in Gimmelwald.

Food in restaurants will cost a small fortune, but it is affordable in the grocery stores. They have lots of really good prepared items. Plan lots of picnics to save money.

If you are on the go everyday, then where you stay should consider transportation logistics. That includes from your lodging to public transportation. There is so much to see that shouldn't be a lot of time sitting in a train or bus.

Are you planning on going to Oeschinensee, Blausee, Aareschlucht, Giessbach Waterfalls, Stoos? Google maps will give you an idea of the transit time for those attractions. Hasliberg and Iseltwald are not what i would consider for a home base as neither has a train station. Schynige Platte would be a good alternative to Stoos ridge hike. It is closer with more hiking options and the weather maybe better.

These are great pieces of advice! thank you so much. I will resist the pull of lower cost housing and find a spot nestled closer to the mountains.

How hard is it to get up into Wengen or up in the mountains after 5 pm? our train comes in late.

I'll look for places today further up the mountain.

How hard is it to get up into Wengen or up in the mountains after 5 pm? our train comes in late.

You can reach Wengen late into the evening, last train arriving just before midnight. Higher into the mountains (recreational areas) will be much earlier...but it doesn't look like you are considering staying there. I have stayed in the hotel on Männlichen, and for that you do really need to pay attention to catching the last gondola up.

Note: For all public transport travel use sbb.ch (not Google maps as was suggested above).

Also note that Meiringen does have a train station, and is of course where the Aareschlucht is...so not everything is closer to Wengen. the Haslital is very popular with Swiss families and has a lot of great hiking and other attractions, and it is less expensive than Wengen, for sure. Of course if you can afford Wengen, then certainly go for it, if not then Meiringen/Haslital/Hasliberg is a better choice than Iseltwald.

in addition to the above mentioned Aareschlucht, Meiringen has other things in its favour.

What sort of things, Nigel, I hear you shout...

In no particular order (no I am not AI, I am made of flesh and bone)

Sherlock Holmes had a fight to the death with Professor Moriarty on the cliffs of and behind the waterfall of Reichenbach Falls. Fictional characters (don't tell my wife) and very real location. Postbuses go up the road near the waterfall (listen out for their special horns if on the road - everything has to move over to let them pass), you can hike up or down or there is an old funicular which trundles up and down (my choice). There is a lookout most of the way up, just above the funicular top stop. Even cheesy cutouts of the two men that you can pose at. The base of the funicular is a few minutes walk from the Meiringen station.

Also a Sherlock Holmes statue in the centre of town.

And a Sherlock Holmes Museum.

Even a Sherlock Holmes hotel (never been there, don't know it).

There are walks and lifts into the hills and mountains.

The station sends trains to Brienz (ship station co located there) and onwards to Interlaken Ost, via the scenic shore of the Brienzersee, looking over to Giessbach Falls.

The other way the station send trains up and over the exceedingly scenic Brünig Pass towards Luzern and its incredibly beautiful lake. Of all the scenic railways in Switzerland, and believe me there a quite a few, this stretch of track is one of my very favourites. I love it.

Meiringen itself is a very pleasant small town, clean, friendly, restaurants, shops, indoor swimming pool, both a good Migros and equally good Coop supermarkets..

There is a road right out of town which goes up a winding road to Innertkirchen where two famous pass roads split. One is the Susten Pass and the other the Grimsel Pass. Both difficult and very scenic.

Brienz is where there are and have been for a long time exquisite wood carvers - much of what is called Black Forest bears and carvings actually come from there.

And previously mentioned Giessbach Falls with its old hotel and ancient funicular between the ship landing and the hotel.

Other than that, not much there, I guess...

If you really want to visit Switzerland, than you have to pay the high prices. Not only for accommodation, but also for restaurants. Everything there is almost twice as expensive as in the neighboring northern Italy. And the mountains are almost the same.
Therefore: did you think about maybe going to Northern Italy instead? Lake Como (Varenna) or Lake Garda??

I agree that northern Italy is a great alternative. We’ve stayed in Santa Cristina and the Dolomites are just as stunning as the Swiss alps, the food is much better. And everything is a fraction of the cost.

Other than that, not much there, I guess...

Haha, well said.

I will also add that you can take the bus up both passes (Susten and Grimsel)…for those who do not want to tackle that kind of a drive. Like most places in the alps - there are lots of hiking and other opportunities in both locations.

https://www.postauto.ch/en/leisure-offers/excursion-tips/gadmental



https://www.grimselwelt.ch/en/

I spent a week in the Haslital last summer and really enjoyed going up the Rosenlaui valley. If you are very ambitious you can hike the whole thing from Meiringen up to Grosse Scheidegg, - I took the post bus part way, hiked for a few hours, and then took the Grindelwald bus down the other side to Grindelwald. I was able to take some photos that were good enough to use for greeting cards and to put on the wall.

This website with information regarding UNESCO areas in Switzerland has a great image of the scenery in the valley, if anyone is interested

.

https://ourheritage.ch/poi/rosenlaui

Thank you all for your help. I think we'll take an Air BNB in Wengen. I think we may come in to Zurich first, as we'll be a bit jet lagged, take one day to get our bearings and see the Lindt Museum! We want to hike Stoos and also the Oben area. So Question for finalizing it.
First night end up in Zurich, late night, get a hotel and take a day to recover.
Is it reasonable to stop by Stoos on our way to the Interlaken area? If we left in the early afternoon in mid summer, and we took a train or something, would that be a reasonable stop and then home that night in Wengen?
Then we'll stay in Wengen, and train back out to Zurick or Bern to then go to Munich for the next leg of the trip,

Thank you all for your help!

David

Is it reasonable to stop by Stoos on our way to the Interlaken area? If we left in the early afternoon in mid summer, and we took a train or something, would that be a reasonable stop and then home that night in Wengen?

It is not on the way, it is completely out of the way. I don’t know if you would classify it as ‘reasonable’ but it is certainly possible.

You can be in Stoos village in 1hr 42 min. Add on time to head up the mountain and hike. Then make your way to Wengen (4.5+ hours). It will be a long day, but certainly possible and definitely what our family calls a “memorable moment” they sometimes takes effort to achieve but is something the family talks about for years to come.

Check weather, trail report and webcams on the Stops website to be sure the conditions are good before you go.