Train vs Car rental

Hello,
It's difficult to answer this without knowing which villages, if any, you plan to visit from Interlaken.

You can drive from Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen and then up to Grindelwald. However, the other villages above Lauterbrunnen (Wengen, Murren, and Gimmelwald) are car-free and are only accessible by train or gondola. This can be expensive without a Swiss Pass or Swiss Half Pass, depending on how many villages you visit.The passes will completely cover trains and gondolas to these places and offer a discount to higher elevations, such as the train excursion to the Jungfrau and cable cars or gondola from Murren to the Schilthorn, Grindelwald to Grindelwald First, and Wengen or Grindelwald to Mannlichen.

Lake steamers are also covered by both passes.

Hope this helps a bit.

The rail and bus system in Switzerland is excellent, and IMO it would be better to use that for your trip (although it would help to know which "villages" you plan to visit). If using public transport, you wouldn't be paying gas or parking charges, so might be cheaper overall. As the previous reply mentioned, you won't be able to use the car for some of the towns in the Berner Oberland, so paying for both lift tickets and car rental will likely cost more than if you had used public transit with one of the Swiss Passes. It may also be faster with public transist in some cases.

You may find this helpful - https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/switzerland-rail-passes .

As mentioned, it would be nice to know which villages you plan to visit. But in general, the train is a better option in Switzerland. Probably cheaper, and usually faster.

Parking is usually not free, or cheap either.

Look on the SBB.ch website for the routes that you plan on taking to get a cost comparison.

It could very well be cheaper to rent a car, especially since you are sharing the cost with your travel partner, but there are other things to consider:

• As mentioned above, you can’t drive everywhere and will likely need to park and take trains or gondolas up mountains
• The roads are narrow, parking lots are small and parking spaces are small. Lots of curves, bikes on roads, usually no shoulder. If you are planning on visiting smaller, out of the way places, this will definitely be the case. There are some places that I ride my bike to where the roads are only single lane...that means if you meet a car coming the other way you might even have to back up until you have a spot wide enough to pass each other. If you are used to this kind of driving, then you might enjoy it, otherwise it will be stressful.
• It is tricky to land in Zurich after a long flight and then drive all the way to Interlaken.

Thank you for the responses! We will be taking a train from Munich to Lake Constance (Germany) to Zurich. Once in Switzerland, we will travel to Interlaken (spend 2 nights), Gimmewald, Laterbrunnen, Jungfrau and Murren. Trying to decide to visit Lucerne or spend another night in this region. I know Murren does not allow cars but the other areas seem like they do. We were thinking a car would provide more convenience and maybe save costs but I am not so sure! Any suggestions welcome. Thank you!

Once in Switzerland, we will travel to Interlaken (spend 2 nights), Gimmewald, Laterbrunnen, Jungfrau and Murren.

Are you staying in Interlaken for 2 nights and planning on seeing "Gimmewald, Laterbrunnen, Jungfrau and Murren" on the one day between the two nights?

Or staying in Interlaken for 2 nights and then going to the mountains for additional nights?

What did you mean by "Gimmewald"? That name could be either Grindelwald or Gimmelwald, there isn't a place spelled your way.

If Grindelwald, that is the next valley over from Lauterbrunnen, has cars and buses and resorts and has a new cable car going part way up the route of the Jungfraujoch where you can get on a train to the top.

Gimmelwald is a tiny crossroads on the side of a cliff between the end of the Lauterbrunnen Valley and Mürren and is reachable only on foot or by a cable car from either end. Nothing much there but a few tourist accommodations and farmers.

Which one did you mean?

My apologies, I was thinking Gimmelwald since it is close to Murren, but open to changing that if Grindelwald is better! We were thinking of using Interlaken as our base to visit the smaller villages and mountainous areas. I know there isn't as much to see in Interlaken.

A car is actually going to complicate things in that area. For example: There are routes to Murren. If you go by public transit yo can go up via one, and return via the other. By car you need to return to where you parked it.
If you want to visit the Jungfraujoch you have again multiple routes, and can combine them. But only if you start your trip in Interlaken. If you drive your car to Grindelwald, well, that is where you will have to return too.

And you will find out that all those trains and cable cars are expensive. That is because they are priced assuming you have the Half Fare Card (as all Swiss have that). So eg. the Jungfraujoch railway needs about 100,- pp to break even, so the full price is around 200,- because in the end most people pay hald.

So my suggestion: Get the Half Are Card, and the just take the train to Interlaken. Trains run every half hour, and are very reliable. In fact, my travel insurance even requires one to take the train to the airport, as that is a lot more reliable than driving. (But then I do not even have a car, as a lot of people here...)

So if all you are doing is visit the Bernese Oberland, do not get a car. And coming from Germany just book a ticket direct from your starting point to Interlaken. No need to break that in Zurich.

I know Murren does not allow cars but the other areas seem like they
do.

Just because cars are not banned in an area doesn't mean that it's a good idea to drive there.

We were thinking a car would provide more convenience and maybe save
costs but I am not so sure!

It won't. It will be a hassle and cost a lot more. To be honest, planning to visit those places by car from Interlaken is a horrible idea.

kristen,

A few further thoughts.....

In terms of a "home base" in the Berner Oberland, many here prefer either Wengen or Mürren (take your pick). I prefer Lauterbrunnen as it's the transportation hub for the area and therefore easy to get to both sides of the valley from there. If you want to have a look at Gimmelwald (one of Rick's favourite spots), that's easy to do. When you disembark from the train in Lauterbrunnen, watch for the bright yellow Post Bus (which should be coordinated with the train) and take the short ride to Stechelberg. Travel up to Mürren via the Schilthornbahn cable car, as Gimmelwald is the first stop on the way. You could do a quick walkabout, have a beer on the patio of the Pensione or Mountain Hostel, and then either make the short hike up to Mürren (paved as I recall) or take the next cable car. Grindelwald has some nice scenery but it's more touristy and wouldn't be my choice for a home base in that area.

If you're planning to visit the Jungfraujoch, that's an expensive trip so you might want to check the webcams at the top before you go. If it's shrouded in fog, you won't be able to see much. Also keep in mind that the facility is at almost 12,000 feet, so if you have any altitude related problems, you'll need to consider that.

For more information on that area, suggested places to stay sightseeing information, etc., you might have a look at the current RS Switzerland guidebook. If you don't have a copy, check your local library or bookstores.

I know Murren does not allow cars but the other areas seem like they do

The local municipalities have started putting up signs at road entrances in Hindi, Arabic and English saying basically: "Your GPS is lying. You are not allowed to drive here. "

Do not assume you can just drive everywhere at leisure. Most of the roads in the area are actually not public, even though they may look like it.

If you're American, you probably assume that renting a car is a common and natural way to sightsee in Europe. It isn't, they have excellent public transport that should be used when possible. Especially in CH, one of the most expensive tourist destinations in the world (but worth it).

Check this out

https://www.seat61.com/train-travel-in-switzerland.htm