One week in Switzerland

Mürren is a great base for Alpine hikes, but not so much for daytrips elsewhere. By public transport, you would have to ride the cable car to the valley, catch a commuter train to Interlaken and change trains there. It could be well over an hour before you even leave Interlaken.

Thanks. That was a very good point. I guess I would have to reassess my plans a bit because I don't think this will work since I would not want to spend so much time trying to make connections.

Interlaken is a better "home base" for such trips, with fast connections to elsewhere.

Hi Patrick, You may want to consider having 2 bases for a week. Perhaps 4 nights in the Berner Oberland (we LOVE Wengen) and 3 nights in Luzern. Wengen is right on the train line up to the Jungfraujoch. Depending on the time of your flight home, you could stay your last night before the flight in Luzern. By the way, trains (and buses) are the only way to travel in Switzerland. Paul

Mürren to Interlaken Ost is 48 minutes, from Wengen only 3 minutes more. The connections are pretty seamless, especially the cable car route from Mürren. And the other route, by cable car via Gimmelwald down to Stechelberg, is not to be missed. No extra charge for the thrill of hanging thousands of feet above the valley. Where do you wish to go on your excursions? For most people this involves sights around the Berner Oberland, such as the Jungfraujoch, Schilthorn, Trummelbach Falls, First to Bachalpsee walk, ride a boat on Brienzersee or Thunersee, etc. For any of these, a base in Wengen or Mürren is fine. Getting there is half the fun. But if you mean to travel further afield from this base, say to Bern or other cities, then Interlaken might be a better choice. But it is a fading older resort/city lacking the charm of the car free mountain villages. You could consider Lauterbrunnen as a compromise.

I personally would not have two bases for a weeks stay, you will lose too much time changing hotels etc. You may want to consider Lauterbrunnen, it's in the valley about 15 minutes by train from Interlaken Ost, and gives easy access to all the place already mentioned.

I think I agree with Paul, assuming that the other places you want to see are far afield from Berner Oberland, such as Luzern and Lausanne. If that is the case, two bases is the ticket. You would waste far more time getting from the BO to other locatiions multiple times compared to making one trip and changing hotels. I would definitely stay in Lauterbrunnen, Meuren, or Wengen in the BO, not Interlaken. I find it hard to believe that one would ever have a one hour layover in Switzerland. Without knowing your choices, I would recommend going directly to the BO for about 3 nights, then on to Luzern for 2 nights.

My wife and I spent 1 week in the Bernese Oberland this past October; we used Murren as our base. The view at 5000 feet is fantastic and the various trails especiall to Gimmelwald were great. It is true that you must take a mountain train down to Grutschalp and from Grutschalp to Lauterbrunnen you must take a cable car, but these are not long trips, at allperhaps 20-25 minutes total. Besides that, your views going up and down are terrific. The Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau are right in front of you. On the other side of the Valley from Murren, is Wengen; it is very nice and larger than Murren, but also more expensive; Wengen also has great vistas and trails. Another option would be to stay in the valley at Lauterbrunnen and visit into the mountains and even down to Interlaken. We have stayed in Intterlaken in the past; it is a nice town with great shops and restaurants and lots of tourists. Many people use Interlaken as a base. I think it depends on what you want to do: If you plan to hike the mountain trails, you can easily access them from Lauterbrunnen. We wanted to be in the mountains enjoying the views rather than in the valley looking up at the mountains; however, you will not be disappointed with Switzerland or where you stay. The Bernese Oberland is beautiful and the Swiss rail system is absolutely amazing. Everything runs exactly as scheduled on time, every time!! Be sure to bring a camera with ample space on its memory card: You will need it!!