Too much for one day in Interlaken?

I think it's a very ambitious plan. I'd say, do the math and see roughly how late you would arrive Lucerne.

1. Harder Kulm (if the weather is nice), is well worth it. Maybe a 20 minute walk from the Interlaken West train platform (just head west along the platform). Beautiful gardens to look at on the way. You might have to wait 1/2 hour or more for a funicular to go up, then maybe a 20 minute trip, then a 10 minute walk to the overlook/restaurant. Great place for an outdoor meal there. Then a walk, a wait, and a trip down. So maybe 3 hours or so... Maybe more.

2. The boat on Lake Brienz leaves from Interlaken Ost, and takes maybe an hour (?) to get to Brienz (I forget). Beautiful boat trip, though.

3. At Brienz, the boat stops 100 feet from the bus stops, wait for a bus, then a 20 minute ride to Ballenberg. My wife and spent about 3 hours walking from one end to the other, then a bus back to Brienz. We really enjoyed Ballenberg. We have had a nice lunch outdoors there, also. Might check to see when they close. Note: when we were last there, they didn't accept the QR code on my phone for our STP's, so we had to show the full page printout of the STP. I'm glad I had printed them out at home.

4. Brienz to Lucerne... First, wait for a train, then 1:30 to Lucerne. Very scenic trip. Not so much snow covered mountaintops, but very nice scenery and lakes.

Whatever you choose, it will be a wonderful day.

curious why you will have both Swiss Travel Pass and Half-Fare Card.

Why do you need both?

Hi Nigel, I’m so glad you asked. I find selecting the most beneficial pass for our time in Switzerland to be very challenging, and I have obviously made a mistake. I took extensive notes and kept my estimated costs in both CHF and USD then multiplied times two to have an accurate total. Now I look at it and can’t understand how I arrived where I did. I think I was comparing the Half-Fare Card with the Jungfrau Pass and somehow landed on my nonsensical combo.

Back to the drawing board…..

Here is how you could do it:

• 8:31 leave Lauterbrunnen
• 8:53 Arrive Interlaken Ost. Put luggage in Lockers
• Walk 500 meters (6 minutes) to the funicular for Harder Kulm. When you are early in the morning like this it is usually not as busy.
• Funicular ride is 10 minutes Check funicular departure times for return journey so that you can be at the boat dock with luggage by 11:00.
• 11:07 Interlaken Ost boat - arrive in Brienz 12:20
• Luggage in storage at Brienz train station.
• 12:36 bus to Ballenberg. Arrive 12:48. 3 hours at Ballenberg.
• 16:06 Ballenberg to Brienz 16:20 arrive in Brienz
• Quickly get luggage, or wait for the next train and walk around Brienz a bit
• 16:25 train to Luzern arrive 17:55

The SBB luggage transfer is not same day. You will have to wait two days to get your luggage. Convenient enough if you live here and send your luggage on ahead, but not so great if you are a tourist traveling around from place to place.

This is too ambitious with luggage, it’s just going to be annoying to constantly check and uncheck your luggage. Particularly at Ballenberg where it’s recommended to walk from one end to the opposite, as it’s quite large, so then you’d have to unnecessarily backtrack to get your luggage.

It would be more helpful to recommend what to do if you share your itinerary plans for Lauterbrunnen. And perhaps if you share your full itinerary you’ll get some helpful suggestions on your pass dilemma.

The OP would not have to backtrack at Ballenberg if they left their luggage in a locker at the Brienz train station which is a one minute walk from the boat station. The bus station is right there too! Very convenient.

It is an ambitious plan for the day, but IMO, doable.

It would be nice to have lunch at Harder Kulm. I did this in May. It was a beautiful day to eat outside.

Happy Travels, Cynthia!

Hi All. Thanks so much for all your input. After Nigel brought my pass problem to light I’ve been researching and itemizing individual prices to see which, if any, regional pass(es) will be beneficial. Here’s where I am at this point:

Nine days in Switzerland with the Swiss Half Fare Card. (We’ll be beginning and ending in Italy.)

Day 1: Train from Sirmione to LBV using a Swiss Saver Day Pass where applicable.

Days 2-4 in LBV possibly with the Berner Oberland Pass. (Does anyone know if the LVB Visitor’s Card is good for trains and buses in both LBV and Interlaken?)

-Schilthorn & Birg Thrill Walk

-Harder Kulm

-Battenberg Open-Air Museum (Brienz Ferry from Interlaken and train back to LBV)

Day 5: Train to Lucern (Not sure which Pass/Card yet. I think I recall seeing somewhere that the BOP covers this, but I’m beginning to hallucinate.)

Days 6-8 in Lucern using only the Half Fare Card. (Tell Pass would be more than individual ticket prices and Visitor’s Card for local trains and buses.)

-Mt. Pilatus

-Mt. Rigi

-Stanserhorn

Day 9: Train to Milan using Swiss Saver Day Pass

I’m open to and grateful for any and all recommendations and opinions. We don’t travel until April ‘26 and will be in Switzerland the first week of May. Feel free to factor that into your responses.

I appreciate you all!

P.S. I added a day to Switzerland, so I no longer have my original question.

travelergirl --- They do have to backtrack, because if you’re going to Luzern from Ballenberg you don’t go back through Brienz to get there at the end, otherwise you’re adding almost an hour onto the journey. It’s definitely backtracking.

The most efficient way is this:
Brienz > bus to Ballenberg West > walk/tour through Ballenberg to Ost bus stop > bus to Brunig-Hasliberg > train to Luzern

You’re picking up the Luzern-Interlaken Express train in Brunig instead of backtracking to Brienz, which adds around an hour between the bus and extra train time. So dealing with your luggage adds an hour to this part of the trip if you’re trying to do it by storing in Brienz and backtracking. It’s just not a great activity to do on a transition day with luggage.

I’m assuming you’re abbreviating LBV to mean Lauterbrunnen Valley? Where are you actually planning to stay? And no, visitor cards don’t give you transportation in that area, they just give you a few random discounts on some activities, ability to use the pool, etc. It's a small benefit you get when paying the mandatory tourist tax, but it's not anything to plan your trip around.

I’d just get the Half Fare card only with your plans. Early May is before the season starts in the Berner Oberland, so a lot of things that are included in the passes are closed.

much like just above I have been puzzling LBV and unlike them I have given up. What is LBV? I have been going to Switzerland on and off for nearly 50 years and Interlaken and Berner Oberland nearly once a year some times 2 or 3) since 1998, and can't noggin it out.

I don't think it could be Lauterbrunnen because L, V, what's the B? I can't find an airport with that code.

LBV is Lauterbrunnen Valley. Not sure why I placed the B in there.

wanderweg - I see what you're saying. Your idea would be better for no backtracking. And I think the bus ride would be a lovely way to see more of the countryside. We took several bus rides on our trip to the area in June. We really enjoyed a different view from the bus windows than we had from the train on many other trips to the area. It's a good idea!

I was thinking it might be a bit much to make a plan for all the different modes of transport, but if I can do it, anybody can. But I've had a lot of practice and I was not sure how proficient the OP is using the SBB app. I love the SBB app. It can, and has, gotten me to hundreds of places over the years. And to think I was reluctant to get it at first. Silly me!

Happy Travels to all!

Traveler Girl