Itinerary Murren, Grindelwald and then?

There's two main routes to the Berner Oberland from Füssen, both of which have pretty good but different scenery. You drive parallel to the Alps to the north, then swing south past the beautiful Bodensee and in to Switzerland from there. Or, go in the direction of Reutte through the Tirol. By the way, why are you staying in both Mürren and Grindelwald? They're pretty close to each other, and it would make more sense just to use one of them as a base.

If you want Heidiland why are you driving from BO to Fussen then back south again to eastern Switzerland? Or southwest again to Zermatt? Maybe having a good look at a map and optimizing driving routes would save you time and money?

Tom - Good point. Not having been there, I was thinking that visiting Grindelwald for the day would be difficult from Murren. I will change my plans and keep a base at Murren, then. Nigel - I'm looking for a route after BO to eventually get to Bavaria within say....3 days. I wondering which route to take that would be the most fun and still somewhat efficient. For example, should I leave Murren in the afternoon and stay somewhere before Zermatt (since it is very expensive and weather-sensitive) take the tram, then later go to Heidiland (or?) for the evening, then on to the castles, or?? Thanks both of you for your help.

For us, Zermatt was an anticlimax after the Berner Oberland. Once you have been up close and personal with the Monch, the Jungfrau, and the Eiger, and other nearby mountains, after you have traveled on one or both of the lakes (we far prefer the Brienzersee because of the climb up the waterfall at Geissbach) and many other wonderful places around, the Zermatt area did nothing for us. Luzern. We also liked but not loved what you call Heidiland. There is a rest area with a Moevenpick Marché near Chur, in that area, with live goats and Heidi music on the loudspeaker. We preferred riding the trains in the mountains of the Engadine, south of Chur.

We just did this drive from Kandersteg to Fussen by way of Austria. We went over the Grimsel, Furka and Oberalp Passes and past Chur. I would recommed this if the weather is good. Fantastic views and a great drive. Had to pay for a 10 day pass in Austria, but we used it again driving from Fussen to Berchtesgaden - both one day drives. The gas is a lot cheaper in Austria and there was a station at the border near Feldkirch.

Nigel - You have confirmed my thoughts on Zermatt, thanks ! Al - Yes, that is the route I was considering, since I would have already driven to BO from the Zurich side. Did you stop for any activities before Fussen or just drive straight through? Any accomodation suggestions? And do you recall the cost of the 10-day pass. We are planning on traveling north through Bavaria, then to Prague, Poland, Slovakia, then Austria so it will be much longer than 10 days (total trip of 5 weeks). I guess if the weather is poor, we could (plan B) go over the northern route, but views would be obscured there too I suppose. Hopefully mid-August might be nice. Great specific feedback, thank you much.

We just stopped to visit a friend in Austria - near Feldkirch. It was less then 2 hrs from there to Fussen by way of Bregenz and hwy 12 in Germany. I think it took 5 1/2 hrs from Kandersteg to Austria. The trip is an easy one day drive and you won't forget the drive over the passes. You can get the 10 day vingette at the gas station for about 10 CH or 7 euros. Switzerland is expensive even without the exchange rate getting worse.

One additional thought, it was overcast and cloudy in Interlaken but as we drove up to the pass we drove through the clouds so it was great sun up on top.

My memory is that the 10 day Austrian Vignette is €7,90.

Thanks Guys.
Al - Do you recall which route you took from Chur to Fussen? I'm wondering if we might stay in the Chur area (hike, sight see, B&B or?) before going to castles the following day or just keep going to Fussen if there is more to see and do there. Again, thanks for the info. It really helps.

From Chur I caught the autobahn north past Buchs and then crossed into Austria at Feldkirch. There was a gas station just inside the border where you can buy the vignette and good price for gas. North from there on the A14 into Germany. Took B12, north of Bregenz over toward Kempten and A7 Autobahn to Fussen.