Where to stay in Lauterbrunnen/Berner Oberland area

You can go almost anywhere in Switzerland using the rails, so a car is superfluous unless you want to do some real exploring. In fact, some great places such as Wengen or Murren can't be reached by cars.

1) Yes. The road ends at Lauterbrunnen. But the rail lines keep going. Everything past there is accessible by train (or on foot) only. You can visit the whole area by train and cable car, but by car you are restricted to the valley bottom.
And Zürich airport to Lauterbrunnen is easy.
You can see the area in the centre of this "map": https://www.regionalpass-berneroberland.ch/assets/home/REG-Falzprospekt-Panoramakarte-18.pdf
Red is rail lines, black cable cars.

2) I recommend staying in Lauterbrunnen, Wengen or Mürren. The latter two are above Lauterbrunnen on opposite of the valley and accessible by train.
The local tourist info site is here: https://jungfrauregion.swiss/en/summer/
This lists and does bookings for all hotels and B+B in the area.
Click here for photo of Lauterbrunnen valley. This photo is taken from near Wengen, Lauterbrunnen is in the bottom of the valley and Mürren is on the other side, on top of the cliffs but out of sight.

Driving back to Zurich and flying out of there on the next leg of our journey.

P.S., depending on where the next leg is, if you don't have a car, you may be able to go direct by train and bypass Zürich airport, for example, you can gte trains to Northern Italy, Southern Germany, Austria and Paris.

There were three of us and we stayed in the Lauterbrunnen valley and used AirBnb. Our place actually had the bus stop directly across the street so it was really convenient to Lauterbrunnen and the transportation to Murren and Wengen. I was worried about not being in the village but the bus made it super convenient and it was amazing to wake up every morning in the middle of that lovely valley. The Valley has waterfalls and is very central to accessing both Wengen and Murren (and Gimmelwald). We didn't have a car, I would have been paying for it while it sat for four days.

Before you get too attached to the idea of tooling around through the Alps, look on Google Maps to see the extent of the roads in the area that you'll be able to access. You might be imagining them to be more extensive (and more Alpine) than they really are.

Also make sure you understand your parking options. Parking at the main garage in Lauterbrunnen is convenient for taking the trains and cable cars up into the mountains, but it is not cheap. There are cheaper options elsewhere, but they're less convenient to the mountains.

Where to stay is a personal preference that depends a lot on what you want to do while in the area (e.g., if you're drawn to the hikes and activities on the Wengen side of the valley, you're better off staying in Wengen than Mürren) and what kind of amenities (shops, restaurants, etc.) you want to be near. I stayed in Wengen because I wanted a car-free mountain town, but Mürren seemed a bit too small for me. But others' preferences differ.

It's a waste of resources for you to drive that route which is served perfectly perfect by public transport. When you get to Lauterbrunnen (which is beautiful) don't stop there. Keep going up into one of the alpine villages for your accommodations. CHoose either Wengen or Murren. Both are just stunning. Use the perfectly perfect public transport which will include rail, gondola, funicular...that's a major part of the enjoyment. Don't be tethered by a rental vehicle.

We flew from Seattle to Zurich and immediately took the trains to return to this wonderful Jungfrau area. We stayed in Wengen and liked it better than staying at the bottom of the valley in Lauterbrunnen where we stayed during our RS GAS tour (Others like Mürren, also.). Wengen has more amenities, and we enjoyed hiking on the edge of town and also taking the train further up to Kleine Scheidegg to hike on more trails.

If you’re there for three nights, you will want all of that time to explore this amazing area. We were there for three nights on this last trip and were sad to have to leave.

We have made two trips to the Lauterbrunnen valley over the past few years. Both times we stayed at The Crystal Hotel which is managed by the Oberland Hotel across the street. We loved our stay and would definitely stay there again! The Crystal has large, spacious rooms with modern bathrooms. There is also a common room with couches, chairs, and tables that can be used by people to make coffee, tea, play cards, or just talk. The rooms have gorgeous views of the mountains. Breakfast was included and is served across the street. The hotel is a short walking distance from the train station, grocery store, and places to eat. We used the hotel as a base for our walking of the mountains. Fabulous!
On another note, we used the train system. It is efficient and very easy to use.

In 2010, we stayed in Lauterbrunnen in the Crystal Hotel. I agree with the above poster that it was a wonderful hotel. However, we will be there again in Sept., and looked at booking this hotel 4 months ago, and it was booked for the time that we will be there. All is well, though, as we decided to stay in Murren. Our first choice for that hotel was booked, also, and i had corresponded with the owner about it. Have a great trip!

We are also visiting Lauterbrunnen (four nights) this September. I have done extensive research (read four travel guides plus hundreds of hours on the web) and have found two driving routes. Interlaken to Lac Leman via Gstaad was rated very scenic by posters who live in Switzerland. Interlaken to Martigny via Obergoms was rated as "mostly drop-dead gorgeous" by the same posters. You can find both routes using Google map and could combine them into a loop which would be an all day drive of about 200 miles.

We will have a car since most of our three week trip is in France. We have chosen to stay in Lauterbrunnen because it is convenient for both sides of the valley and we weren't happy with the idea of leaving the car in a parking garage for four nights and schlepping luggage on a train up the mountain. Our hotel is Silberhorn based on reviews and location.

I hope this is helpful.

"schlepping luggage on a train" - it's not difficult at all. There's an attached luggage carrier on the gondola from Lauterbrunnen all the way to Murren. If you can manage to schlep your luggage to the gate of the gondola you don't have to touch it again until you arrive in Murren. Also - just because you may have multiple bags or just too much luggage, that doesn't mean you have to take it "all" with you. Leave your extra luggage in the rental car and enjoy the high alpine experience.

if I were you I would pay special attention to the people who have been there one or more times and have a personal basis for their opinion. Especially to Tim. I have lost track of how many times he has been to Muerren but it is a lot. His opinion is valuable.

Since 3 nights in the Lauterbrunnen area is the sum total of your time in Switzerland, you really don't need or want a car. Presumably you are going to the area to take advantage of the high mountain lifts like Schilthorn or Jungfrau. Why else go there? If you want to do a driving tour of Switzerland you would start with different plans. And if you are doing the Schilthorn and/ or the Jungfrau, you will probably want some kind of Swiss Pass or Half Fare Card to reduce the price. That will reduce the cost of train tix as well.

If you are just using your car to get four people to and from Lauterbrunnen you will pay for three days when you aren't using it, plus pay for three days of parking, unless you stay in Lauterbrunnen itself at a place with free parking. But why stay in the valley when the mountain villages are so much nicer? It is not a "schlepp" to get your luggage up, they put it is a big basket and carry it under the cablecar, then transport the basket by train to Muerren where you reclaim it. Easy-Peary and fun to watch. Or if you are going to Wengen you just get on the train with it and ride up.

I see from other posts that you are going to Milan next. So your car plan would require you to return to Zurich to turn in the car, and then fly to Milan? If you take the train to Lauterbrunnen then instead, you can just take the train from there to Milan. You will be there and n lesss time than it takes to drive to Zurich plus fly, and you won't have to pay for that day in the rental car.

If you’re going to Milan after Lauterbrunnen, then definitely just take the train. The trains are so easy, and this route is fast, going through numerous tunnels. We stopped between those towns to stay in Stresa for a couple of days - another gorgeous location with the beautiful islands - Isola Bella, etc. to tour the gardens and villa.

We stayed at the Alpenruhe Kulm last time we were at Wengen. The rooms have the striking view (imagine lying in bed with that view out the window!) and a balcony to enjoy the view, also. The hotel told us to contact them when we arrived at the train station, and they would bring a mini truck to pick up our luggage. I didn’t mind bringing it up ourselves from the Wengen station, but they insisted on taking us to meet the train in Wengen when we left - friendly people. : ).

We stayed at Hotel Steinbock in Lauterbrunnen. Directly across from the lift station to Grutshalp, a few steps from the Coop (small grocery) and a wonderful bakery. Also next to the train station, but we didn't mind the noise, and it was fun to watch the tourists leave at the end of the day on their trains and tour buses, so the rest of us could have the beautiful town all to ourselves. The hotel is just the basics, with shower and toilet down the hall, and no lift, so be forewarned. But it was clean and safe, the people were friendly, and there's an awesome view from the front rooms with little balconies.

Since you said you are open to "anything", you might be interested in renting a cabin or trailer at

https://www.campingjungfrau.swiss

You'd have the advantage of having your car right next to you (not always true of the hotels) and having a kitchen.