Where do I stay in BO or Lauterburren?

Wengen is only a 12- to 15-minute train ride from Lauterbrunnen, so it is easy to get back and forth. Where else do you plan to visit?

Also---most chalets book from Saturday to Saturday, so you might try those dates instead of starting July 23 (a Thursday).

MY concern is are there any additional costs in staying in any of these towns - like lift costs or costs to get here vs. staying in the Valley?

Simran, If you don't want to pay for transportation up the sides of the valley then your only choices are Lauterbrunnen, or Schtechelberg. I believe there are a couple of campgrounds in Schtechelberg. That would probably be your cheapest option.

I do have to add though that in my opinion if you are taking the time and expense to visit the area you really should add money into your budget for local transportation. Here's a link that for the website with info about the regional pass I mentioned in my earlier post.

http://www.regiopass-berneroberland.ch/engl/ticket.html

Simran,
No matter where you stay you will have to take cog train, cable car, or some other conveyance to get anywhere. That is, unless you are an extremely strong hiker who can do lots of vertical up and down. From Lauterbrunnen to Wengen it's a 1500-foot vertical climb and another 3000-foot ascent up to Manlichen. Gimmelwald sits 1700 feet above Lauterbrunnen, and Murren is almost 900 feet above that. And those are only the starting places for hikes which will, of necessity, take you even higher. Believe me, you will want to take a cable car, cog train, etc. to get where the trails are. Otherwise, you'll spend incredible amounts of time climbing to the better trails. You could stay in the Lauterbrunnen Valley, but there's no real hiking there. In short, there's really no way to avoid at least some conveyance costs. Cable cars and cog trains are simply how folks get around the BO.

As for where to stay--Lauterbrunnen has numerous possibilities, but it keeps you in the valley. Lola suggested Wengen, which is very good--a bit touristy, but with many hotels, and it can serve as a base for hiking that side of the valley. On the other side of the valley there is Murren--less touristy than Wengen--and Gimmelwald. In Gimmelwald there is Walter's Mittaghorn Hotel (an RS recommendation and very quaint), a mountain hostel (noisy at night) and a B&B (can't remember the name). Chalets are few and difficult to reserve. Or you could try a mountain house like Suppenalp or Sonnenberg (both above Murren) from which you could do day hikes without transit costs. There would still be the cost of the funicular to Allmendhubel to get there.

If you purchase a Swiss Pass all of those extra costs for lifts and trains to Wengen, Muerren and Gimmelwald are covered 100%...no extra costs.

simran,

Gimmelwald or Murren would probably be good choices, but of course that depends on what you want to see & do while you're in that area. It's difficult to avoid paying for some kind of transport when getting around that area, whether it's the Cable Cars, the Post Bus, trains or whatever.

What kind of activities are you planning in that area?

Cheers!

I recommend the Chalet Helvetia in Murren if you want to stay for a week. And you will not have to go back and forth to the valley if you stay up in Murren. There is plenty to do from there, including walking up and down to Gimmelwald. Staying at Walter's place (see Rick) in Gimmelwald would be cheaper and again, there are plenty of places to walk to, including down to Lauterbrunnen, tho you might want to take the lift back up!