Interlaken/Lauterbrunnen advice

If you do any internet searches, you will want to get the exact spelling for the cities you are visiting, especially if you are using trains.

We stayed in the Lauterbrunnen Valley at a VRBO with kitchen. We loved it there and the proximity to the other towns. Only Grindelwald was a bit further. Some like to stay up in the mountains and enjoy Murren or Wengen.

We did all our travel in Switzerland by train (and gondola in BO).

Restaurants are expensive in Switzerland. We made great use of Coop grocery stores which are in every city (I can't remember if they were in Wengen) Great prices on wine and the store brand chocolate bars. Also, nice bakery for smaller towns.

1&2) We stayed in Wengen for four nights. (Previously with the RS tour we stayed in Lauterbrunnen.).
3) For the Wengen trip, we stayed on that side of the valley, taking the train up to Kleine Scheidegg and hiking and also doing some hikes from Wengen. We were there during a Jungfrau Marathon which was a fun group to see.
5) September- cold a couple of days but perfect clear skies.
7) Our itinerary was multiple flights to reach Zurich & then immediately took trains to reach Interlaken & finally Lauterbrunnen & up to Wengen. Yes, a very long time of transportation but it was worth it waking up our first morning in Wengen with the stunning view! The entire itinerary was fly to Zurich & stay in Wengen, then trains to Stresa, Italy and other cities in Italy, flying home from Rome.

Regarding your questions......

1. I usually stay in Lauterbrunnen as it's the transportation hub and central to both sides of the valley. It's on the valley floor so doesn't get as much sun as the higher locations, but I'm out touring during the day anyway (often in the higher locations), so I'm not concerned about that.
2. The number of nights varies a bit each time. I usually spend at least three nights. What did I do..... see the various sites in the area. Check the RS guidebook for sights that might interest you.
3. I always travel using the excellent Swiss trains or mountain lifts.
4. On the last visit I stayed at the Hotel Oberland. Have to check my trip records for others.
5. I usually travel in the shoulder seasons, typically September / October. The weather has always been good.
6. I can't think of any websites I've checked on that area, other than YouTube.
7. I always travel either to or from another country, which is often Italy, and always by train.
8. If you're thinking of buying any of the Swiss Passes, do your research thoroughly as picking the one that best fits your trip can be a somewhat complicated process. You may find this helpful - https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/switzerland-rail-passes .

There is some info. on murren, wengen and Lauterbrunnen in my trip reports that you might find helpful.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/solo-in-switzerland-june-2024-my-trip-report

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/solo-in-switzerland-my-trip-report

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/still-dreaming-of-switzerland-a-trip-report

For You Tube channels, these are the ones to watch:

https://www.youtube.com/@TheTravelingSwiss

https://www.youtube.com/@AplinsintheAlps

Thanks Carrie and Liz. I’ll repost a simple question that may be easier to answer than my more general post. I appreciate your replies.

You are welcome.

and thank you also Jules

We stayed in Wengen at Hotel Edelweiss and loved everything about it. Excellent service; gorgeous view of the Jungfrau; great breakfast and knowledgeable local owners. There is a COOP grocery by the train station in Wengen, and we picked up provisions for picnic lunches. I highly recommend staying in the mountains vs. Interlaken/Lauterbrunnen. All of our travel was by train, using the SBB app, which is very user friendly. Our trip was in September and we lucked out with sunny skies. We were fortunate enough to be there for the Alpine Cow Parade which was one afternoon in Lauterbrunnen. Truly a fun and unique experience. There is an easy walk on a paved path from Murren to Gimmelwald, which was very enjoyable. Another website that I used for videos was "Aplins in the Alps".
Happy planning!

Cannot agree more with the recommendations for Aplins in the Alps on Youtube. They are fantastic and I even signed up for their travel guides.

regarding #6, Youtube is dripping with travel videos for everywhere, including all of Switzerland. Sit down for a few nights and start searching, once the algorithm sees what you're up to you will be up to your neck. In a good way.

We stayed 2 nights in Lauterbrunnen with a RS tour and 4 nights on our own in Murren.

The view from the hotel in Murren (which is now Hotel Drei Berge) was breathtaking, but I would probably pick a more convenient location (Lauterbrunnen or Murren) if we went back.

We were there at the end of September and early October. For the second trip we traveled by train from Chamonix. When we left to go home, we took the train to Zurich before flying back to the US.

Hi mnannie, can I ask about your experiences with weather in late Sept/early Oct and about your comment regarding the convenience factor of staying in Lauterbrunnen versus Murren?

Everyone says to stay in the mountains rather than in the valley but I'll be there in early October and I'm wondering if it's a mistake to stay in the mountains considering there could be snow or rain in early October. I had reservations for Lauterbrunnen then switched them to Wengen due to the comments to stay in the mountains. Now after reading up more thoroughly on the weather in October, I'm considering switching back to Lauterbrunnen. Lol. I cannot seem to make up my mind.

As far as staying in the mountains, I'm not planning to do Jungfraujoch (just doesn't appeal to me). I also have a mild issue with riding the swinging gondolas (I get motion sickness). Cable cars or cogwheel trains are fine.

The idea of being in Wengen during snow or rain doesn't appeal to me.

I also am not sure I want to ride cable cars or trains to get places every day. I'd like to stay put in one place where I can primarily walk and see things.

So I'm considering cancelling Wengen but wanted some more feedback before I do that. Thanks.

The idea of being in Wengen during snow or rain doesn't appeal to me.

I also am not sure I want to ride cable cars or trains to get places
every day. I'd like to stay put in one place where I can primarily
walk and see things.

@daisy, unless you are only staying one day, you will quickly run out of things that you can walk to from Lauterbrunnen. The valley is just too small for that - about 5.6 km/3.48 mies long and only a couple of kilometres across.

You will certainly want to take cable cars and trains to explore this area, I would even suggest that it is not worth the visit unless you plan on doing that. You will be paying a lot of money for basically nothing.

Wengen has more options for walks/hikes right from the village than Lauterbrunnen does.

Lauterbrunnen gets limited sunlight, less so as you move towards winter and the sun is lower in the sky.

If you really want to avoid the possibility of poor weather in the mountains, you will be better off staying somewhere like Interlaken and then choose your outings each day, going to where the weather looks the best that day - but that too will require willingness to travel by train/boat, etc. to get there.

Okay, thanks for your thoughts. It just looks to me like Wengen or Murren--although scenic--are isolated from everything else and require getting on a cable car to go somewhere else and if there's a chance of snow in October, it seems logical not to stay at a higher elevation. I'm just undecided about the weather aspect. By all means, if I were going in July or August, I would stay there. October is different.

That's why I asked mnannie about the comment regarding the convenience factor. In case of bad weather, there's no point in trudging DOWN the mountain every day to do stuff.

Of course, no one can predict the weather but this is possibly a once-in-a-lifetime trip for me and the convenience factor is nothing to sneeze at either. What is there to do in Wengen other than hiking? I'm not going to ride up to the highest elevations.