10 Days in the Alps

Murren is a great place to visit, but not ideal location as a base for day trips. The cost of going back and forth on the gondola is going to be significant.

Thanks for replying so quickly! I wasn't sure if Murren would be a great place to stay with our day trips, but we would still like to stay in a smaller village rather than in Interlaken, which I've heard is more touristy. We were also considering Lauterbrunnen, Adelboden, or Kandersteg, but i'm not sure if they would be any better than Murren for day trips. Do you have any other ideas for good places to stay in the Bernese Oberland?

Everything in the area is touristy... which isn't necessarily a bad thing. If you have a car, Grindelwald might be a better option. It's a little busier than Murren, but sits at a comparable elevation. And, you can drive there. Lauterbrunnen and Stechelberg are also options, but these are in the valley, not the mountains.

Do you think Thun would be a good place to stay for the first 4 nights? It seems like a much better place for day trips, even though it isn't in the mountains. Has anyone been there before and know what it's like? Or anywhere else near it?

Also, on day 5, if we stayed near Thun, we could take a train from Thun to Innsbruck and spend 2-3 hours there before taking another train to Zell am See. Then, we would arrive around 4 in the afternoon. Does this seem more do-able?

We were planning to use public transportation in Switzerland, then a car in Austria, Slovenia, and Germany. Also, would a day trip to Bled be a good idea? I'm not sure if that would give us enough time to explore the area, so I was also considering Hallstatt and the Salzkammergut lakes.

I would base myself in Lauterbrunnen.I have only driven through Thun and Kanderstag, but neither one "captured" my interest. I love Lauterbrunnen. For myself, I would try to spend more than one day in that area. As for day 5- You will not have much time in any place if you try to see all three. I would choose one (my order of preference would be Lucerne,-although you are already stopping there earlier- then Innsbruck and then Liechtenstein.) Of course, you can drive through Liechtenstein and make a quick stop. Last September, we did this trip in reverse (Salzburg to Lauterbrunnen). We skipped Innsbruck, had about 1/2 an hour in Leichtenstein, and stopped in Lucerne for about 1 1/2 hours to see the Lion monument. After stopping in Interlaken for groceries, we arrived in Lauterbrunnen about 7 in the evening. (We left Salzburg about 8 AM) It is a long drive. Overall: I think this is an agressive schedule. It has so much "on the road" time and that is my least favorite part of travel. However, it may work for you. One of my mottos of travel is "to thine own self be true". Do you take road trips or vacations like this in the states? Do you enjoy this pace when you travel? Another thing to think about: When you arrange your car rental, make sure it is ok to take the car into Slovenia. Some places forbid it, other tack on a surcharge and some have no problem with it. You might try a booking service like Gemut travel. Andy is very good at knowing the best company to rent from for what you want. Have a great trip.

Thanks for the advise! It makes it much easier to understand how long we would be on the road for if I think about what it would be like in the U.S. What about if we stayed in Murren or Lauterbrunnen for the first 2 nights, so we wouldn't do day trips from there, but then went to Thun for the next 2 nights and went to Adelboden and Bern from there? It seems like that would cut out a lot of traveling time so we would be able to stay in Adelboden and Bern longer. Also, I think we'll go to Hallstatt instead of Bled, since its much closer, and it seems like everyone who goes there loves it. I don't think just one day would be enough for Bled anyway. Also, while we're in Switzerland we were planning on using the trains, but would it be better to just rent a car for the whole trip? And do you think we should go to Bern or spend an extra day in Murren?