Road trip Bernese Oberland in first week of November advisable?

david,

If that's the only place you'll be visiting in that area, travel by rail will probably be better as you won't be able to use the car in places like Mürren. The car will be parked during your time there, incurring rental and parking charges.

I would consider public transportation as my FIRST choice -- rail, lifts and bus are excellent AND well-connected. Investigate your options for getting to and around the BO. For us, buying a Half Fare Card was cost-effective and very easy on a 5-night visit including train from Lausanne and back.

You can't "driving the Bernese Oberland in the Alps" because cars are not permitted in many of the areas, and if they were the roads would be too steep for normal cars. The farmers have special vehicles, and use the gondolas.

You can drive to a central place, like Lauterbrunnen or Kandersteg and store your car in the multi story car park or car park respectively before using the local transportation.

Where will you be renting this car from? Inside Switzerland or in a neighboring country?

November is a very marginal time of year to visit the Alps. So, whether or not the trip would prove a good allotment of your valuable vacation time and money depends on from where you would drive. From somewhere within Switzerland and with the benefit of a short-term weather forecast (ie, you're not trying to nail down a specific date weeks in advanced), it might be worthwhile. But if you plan to drive from a location with much closer access to somewhere else in the Alps (ie, France, Italy, Bavaria or Austria), don't bother.

Keep in mind that 95% of what you read about the Lauterbrunnen valley on this website is from peoples' experiences in the summer. It's a whole different ballgame during the shoulder seasons.

Thanks to all for the useful information; I will adjust my plans accordingly!