Travel in Lauterbrunnen/Gimmelwald

We need to clarify these terms. It sounds like you're comparing the Swiss Transfer Ticket + Half-Fare Card for $210 (a pretty safe choice) versus a Swiss Travel Pass (which one?). Your trip doesn't fit into 4 consecutive days, so you're probably considering 8 consecutive days for $385. So will your half-price tickets around the region add up to more than that $175 price difference? They could. But the highest mountain routes are also only discounted with the Swiss Travel Pass, such as 50% off Muerren-Schilthorn and 25% off above Wengen or Grindelwald.

You can see fares for that region in chart format at http://www.jungfrau.ch/en/tourism/travel-information/tickets-rates/lauterbrunnen/fares-for-individual-travellers/ and see the little map for discount ranges with different passes. See also https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/switzerland-rail-passes.

I can only tell you what my wife and I have done three times now in the past 15 years: we've traveled by train from Zurich to Wengen (which is just the other side of the Lauterbrunnen valley from Gimmelwald), Wengen to Zermatt, Zermatt to Venice (we have stopped a bunch of different places along that leg of the route). We ride a lot of local trains, gondolas, seilbahn's etc. We've found that we save a good bit by buying Swiss Passes and 2nd class train tickets, but that it's not worth it to buy Swiss Passes when traveling 1st class on the trains.

We've never gone directly from Wengen to Venice, so maybe there's a direct train. But coming out of Zermatt, you have to change from the Swiss train to the Italian one at Brig. You then change again at Milano Centrale for a train to Venice Santa Lucia.

Hope this helps.

Which pass to get for that area is a common question. Others will probably weigh in with some good advice here. But from what I can gather, the best way to work it out for your specific trip is to do a spreadsheet with all your planned rail travel (each leg -- like Lauterbrunnen-Murren or Gimmelwald-Schilthorn -- will have a cost, so map them all out, including the long hauls into and out of Switzerland). Plug in the associated costs for all the pass options and let the math tell you which one is best. BTW, there's also a pass that only covers the Berner-Oberland. (not that you needed more choices! ; )

All rail travel into or out of the specific area of the Berner-Oberland you mentioned will go through Interlaken Ost. You change trains there to access the regional rail that takes you to Lauterbrunnen, Murren, Gimmelwald, etc. To get a sense of the cost/timing for the long hauls into and out of Switzerland, use Captain Train and type in departure and arriving towns (like Fussen-Interlaken or Interlaken-Venice).

You're heading to one of the most beautiful places on earth, and using all the modes of transportation that take you up the sides of all those mountains and valleys is half the fun of being there, so make sure whichever strategy you choose maximizes your opportunities to see everything while you're there!

First you need to understand that Lauterbrunnen, Gimmelwald, Murren, Wengen are all within a stone's throw of each other. It takes exactly 28 minutes to travel on public transport from Lauterbrunnen to Gimmelwald. Murren sits just above Gimmelwald and will take 5 additional minutes to reach from Gimmelwald on the gondola. So you see, all of these villages are very close and very easy to travel to/from. Picking up and moving hotels from Lauterbrunnen to Gimmelwald actually makes little sense.

There are a myriad of Swiss Travel Passes and yes, it can be confusing. Also - the Swiss Card is no longer a valid choice. Instead of that product you'd have to buy a Swiss Transfer Ticket + Half Fare Combi:
http://www.myswitzerland.com/en-us/transport-travel/transport-travel-passes/swiss-transfer-ticket.html

Also realize that if you buy a Swiss Pass you're buying the top of the line pass (most expensive) that allows unlimited travel all over Switzerland during the entire duration of its validity and also free entrance into most museums. That's probably overkill for you because all the alpine villages are so very close together and there are no museums in the Lauterbrunnen Valley.

In order to find exactly which pass is most economically beneficial you have to add up all your costs of projected trips and such and then compare that total with the prices/benefits of each pass (yuk). As a rule of thumb the Swiss Half Fare Card will usually give you the biggest bang for your buck without you doing the grueling math to calculate every single cent.

Lastly Interlaken is not in the alps and not what you came to see. Interlaken is a gateway town with a great railway hub of connections. You MUST transit through Interlaken Ost to get to Lauterbrunnen where all of the stunning scenery is located. So just bypass Interlaken.

If you can visualize the path...you'll travel from Interlaken Ost to Lauterbrunnen. When you're in Lauterbrunnen facing the open valley in front of you - then Stechelberg is just a bit farther into the valley, Gimmelwald and Murren sit on the cliffs above on your right and Wengen and Jungfrau will be on your left.

Yes, it sounds complicated, but the only real complication is deciding on which pass to buy. Personally I would choose the HFC.

Lastly use www.sbb.ch/en to see your train routes/schedules/prices in Switzerland.

I just want to emphasize a few points made above in the very good replies you've already received.

There no need to change accommodation from Lauterbrunnen to Gimmelwald. If you're already booked and don't want to change, fine; if you haven't already booked, pick one and ask if they can offer you a discount for a long stay.

You are not going to this area to see the "towns," which are really small villages. You are going to see the Alps, and you'll have a fantastic time. Use the villages as places to get food, sleep, etc. Oh, you will walk around them a bit (I did find it interesting to do Rick's walks around Gimmelwald, Mürren, and Interlaken), but they are definitely not the focus of the trip.

I did go to Interlaken for a half day, and did find the Museum of Tourism somewhat interesting. Otherwise, Interlaken has things like big supermarkets (small ones are in Mürren, Wengen, and Lauterbrunnen), big hotels, casinos, jewelry stores, sex shops, and a restaurant serving "Paksitani" food (that's what the sign said - like Punxsutawney Phil from Groundhog Day). Unless you are seeking any of these, it can easily be skipped.

I hope you have Rick's Switzerland book - I found his Berner Oberland chapter one of his best, except for his overemphasis on Gimmelwald. Before I got there, I found reading and following the logistical directions very confusing, but once I was there, it was very easy. Due to the mountains, it's a 3-D experience, and therefore logistics are hard to describe without being there. Luckily, the same is true of the beauty and the experience - you won't forget it.

The other bit of your question which hasn't been answered, I don't think, are the bits into and out of the Lauterbrunnen Valley.

Unfortunately, the Berner Oberland is in the Alps, and the Alps are high and jagged. Trains from the north either approach the Berner Oberland on the flat through Bern or over the Brunig Pass through Luzern. It is even worse going south from there as the BO is on the northern edge of the Alps and trains going south are either back to Luzern and then south through tunnels under the Alps to Milan and then east to Venice, or west to Spiez where you change directions and take tunnels through the Alps via Brig to Milan, and east to Venice.

The other problem is that Füssen is at the end of branch railway from Munich, so to go southwest to BO you have to go northeast back to Munich, and then either south to Innsbruck (Austria) and then west to Zurich before you can head towards BO, or west from Munich to Basel via Stuttgart and then south to BO.

Geography makes beautiful places. Trains can't go up and down very well so geography also makes for difficult train routings.