Switzerland - Berner Oberland area

If you want to go up the Jungfrau, then there's no need to stay in Murren, as it's on the other side of the Valley (on the Schilthorn side). Stay in Lauterbrunnen (the bottom of the valley between the two mountains) or Interlaken if you'd prefer to stay in the city. To get up to the Jungfrau, you'll depart from Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen and then on to Klein Schedigg (sp?). So, Lauterbrunnen will put you further up the route. Staying in Murren, you'd have to take unnnecessary cable car lifts up or down, adding expense.

Stay in Murren if you plan to ascend the Schilthorn instead.

You could also stay in Wengen, which is similar to Murren I believe (resort town without car traffic). It's on the Jungfrau side of the valley.

If you're staying just one night in the region, Interlaken is fine. I like to stay here:

http://www.lotschberg.ch/pages/english/hotel-loetschberg.php

Rick recommends this hotel and patronizes it.

For a one night visit, you might want to consider Wengen. You will save time and Wengen is very nice. A bit larger than Muerren. Yes, Muerren is everything you would expect to see in a Swiss mountain village. And, Lauterbrunnen is very convenient to everything in the valley and both major mountain tops. But, you only have one night and its a 2hr ride up to the Jungfrau from Lauterbrunnen and a 2hr ride back down.

I think Murren is great, but if the one thing the original poster wants to do is ascend the Junfrau, then he or she will waste time and money going to and from Murren. Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, or even Interlaken would be better, more efficient, and economical choices.

To get to the Jungfrau, the original poster will have to make the trip from Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen regardless. Going to Murren and back is extra travel. That's all I was trying to say.

Thanks for the input!! Really just wanted to know if the extra travel time, cost & planning to stay in Murren is worth the effort. Wengen is an option I guess, since it is on the right mountain range. In my opinion, it probably beats Interlaken for a night's stay. I honestly would rather be up in the mountains.

Dorothy - can you elaborate on your itinerary? You say you will spend one night there. Is it the night before you want to go up the Junfrau or the night following (day of)? When will you arrive and depart the region? How are you traveling into/out of the region (by car or train?).

The train to the top of the Jungfrau is not cheap, which is why I was immediately trying to save you a few dollars by not going up to Murren.

But the other posters are right - the view from Murren is great. Of course, you are going to get the most spectacular view from the top of the world.

I stayed at Hotel Alpina which is in Murren and is situated right on the cliff. We saw the three mountains out our window at night. I recommend the Hotel Alpina if you do decide to go up to Murren.

We will be driving from the St Moritz area and probably arriving around 2:00PM - maybe later. So we were doing the Jungrau the Monday after staying the night. Was going to just leave the car at Lauterbrunner for the day.

Then you could certainly stay in Murren overnight. In the morning you'd ride the train/cable car down to pick up the train from Lauterbrunnen up to the Jungfrau and then back down afterwards to pick up your car to head to your next destination.

You'll be spending a small amount of money to get up and back for the night, which you can just add in to your budget. Plus you'll have a nice view of the mountains are going to experience the next day.

But if it were me, and I wanted to stay in Murren, I'd ascend the Schilthorn instead, and enjoy the surrounding area's hikes. Come back one day to go up to the Jungfrau.

Happy travels.

Dear Dorothy, We just got back from Wengen. We stayed at the Hotel Alpenrose .The cost is about 300 EURos for a couple with a full gourmet meal. The place is beautiful , quaint, and has mountain views that are incredible. If you are going to Jungfrau and staying in the area for 7 days you might want to buy tge 7 day peak pass an dunlimited mountaim cable car rides and half off on Jungfrau. Also taking the Mannlichen Cable Car from Wengen and walking 90 minutes on a sligh downhill to Klein Schendieg will be a highlight hike with no pain. Then you can take a train to Jungfrau. Then you can hike back to WEngenalp and catch a train back to Wengen. You could also stay in Grindelwald. We stayed at the Hotel Gletscherschult by the Glacier Gorge. The price is about 170 Euros per night no meal. Then you could take a train or take a 40 minute gondola ride to Mannlichen and walk to KLein Scheidig.Grindel also have three cable car rides, First, Pfinsteig, and Manlicheen. The hike to the glacier restaurant from First is inspiring. The hike to Bachalpsee from Pfinsteig is easy and wonderful. We loved Switzerland. If you are leaving from Zurich, we stay at the Hotel Dielsdorf in Regensburg and then visit the local winery for great wine. A great site for wonderful romantic but not cheap hotels is KarenBrown.com. Karen Brown hotels or any hotels in the Romantik group are great for romance and span vacations.

Hi Dorothy,

We stayed in Wengen and loved it! Our favorite place in Switzerland. It's also the most convenient for the Jungfraujoch trip.

Paul