First time visitors exploring Bernese Oberland

Wengen. Get up jn the mountains proper and go down to visit the big lake if you feel like it (maybe when transferring in or out).

Wengen is a truly special place, and central in the local lift and cog railway network. You'll be stoked to wake up and go to bed in Wengen.

This is the great debate..where to stay as a base in the Bernese Oberland. My vote is Lauterbrunnen. While it is in the valley the views are still majestic. For my dad and I who were doing only walking not hiking and short walks it was perfect because it gave easy access both to the Murren side and the Wengen sides of the valley as well to trains for a day trip to Montreaux. If we had stayed in Wengen we would have had to travel back to Lauterbrunnen to go to the Shilthorn a d again to Lauterbrunnen for the trains to Interlaken and on. I would not recommend Interlaken...you will be happier being closer to the mountain.

I agree with Dianejay that Lauterbrunnen is a very nice, scenic place to stay and the absolute easiest for transit. Like Lauterbrunnen (which is on the valley floor), Wengen has stunning views of the Lauterbrunnen valley - many of the most iconic vistas of the valley are in or around Wengen.

Please do also note that Wengen is quite close to Lauterbrunnen, a 13 minute scenic cog railway ride from Lauterbrunnen, departures all day every 30 minutes, Swiss-timed for efficient transfers. For the price of 26 minutes on the day or two when you'll want to go down toward Lauterbrunnen, Wengen pays you back by being a car free mountain village.

Both are good choices! Murren is nice too, the most transit time and least convenient of the 3 in the transit network, Murren has stunning 10 out of 10 mountains views (to Wengen;s 8.5 and Lauterbrunnen's 6 in that category). Murren is also car free. It a little bit more of a ski resort type vibe then Wengen, which is on a bit of more extended flatter area and has more working agriculture.

SO yeah, shades of difference, but if you are staying in any of the three you are definitely winning in life :)

Gimmelwald has become quite expensive and now that the new cable car bypasses Gimmelwald it’s even less convenient. It used to be cable car service every 15 minutes. Now it’s only every 30 minutes.

I think it’s an amazing option if you want a couple quiet days away in the mountains and plan to hike from Gimmelwald and just relax, but if your intention is to do day trips all around the Jungfrau Region, it would not be my recommendation. For those focused on day trips out and about a lot, Wengen, Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen are the best options.

That the cable car from Gimmelwald is now only every 30 minutes (although I have seen it operate more frequently) is not that big an issue where it comes to doing day trips in the are. After all, you go down to connect to the bus, and that runs only every half hour anyway.

looking for a small town vibe

What does this mean for you? What do you hope to see/do where you are staying? Do you want a central location in which you can easily travel to different parts of the Berner Oberland, or would you rather just focus on the Jungfrau Region?

Wengen is a mountain village, Thun is a city. They are quite different from one another.

I wouldn't worry about public transportation being every half hour - that is pretty standard for most train journeys and many mountain excursions. Mountain gondolas generally start to run more frequently only when there are more people (high season/more crowds).

Every time I am in Lauterbrunnen I think the same thing: This would be a nice place, if it wasn't for all the traffic. And it only has gotten worse. Thousands of tourists who only come to take the same picture to post in Instagram that thousands have posted on instagram before.

You didn’t mention Murren but it has a small town vibe and is absolutely glorious.

We stayed in Wengen for a week in September 2023. It was glorious. It’s up IN the mountains, not in the valley. Lauterbrunnen is lovely for a minute, but was a culture shock with all of the traffic and crowds. Murren is fantastic. The views are outstanding. I’d go with Wengen or Murren. Hands down.

I am here right now and we stayed in Lauterbrunnen. I think it was the right choice for a first visit so you can explore each side of the valley. I think I like the west side (Murren) than the east side, but we did go to Wengen today and liked it very much. Transportation wise the though this has been very convenient.

2nd (and 3rd) for Murren. We spent 4 nights there last August and another 6 in January. Epic views of the mountains, slightly more inconvenient to get to but worth it IMO! The transit from Murren to Lauterbrunnen is 22 minutes (train/gondola every 30 minutes). Also is a vehicle free village, no traffic other than the utility vehicles the residents use. Lauterbrunnen has the main road through town, lot of traffic and (again IMO) not nearly as quaint. Most of the restaurants in Murren are located in hotels and reservations are advised. Walked and skiied (!) through Wengen and it seemed larger but a bit more intense. People love them both. I personally would not encourage Lauterbrunnen to stay but the the walk down the valley is 5* for sure.