where to stay in lauterbrunnen, lake como, and chinqua terra

When are you going? For views and hiking I would say Varenna, Murren, and Vernazza but be aware the town is still under construction after the flood damage. Good to stay there and help them out.

Thanks for your reply. We will be going in early october this year. Most concerned about renting a car in switzerland and returning it in Italy. Should we spend 4 nights in Vareena or just two and spend the other two in Lake Maggiore??
Is the travel time from zurich to muren then to Lake como then to Chinqua terra to big a chunk to do it comfortably over 12 days. Thanks again

If you wish to stay in Lauterbrunnen, the top two rated hotels are the Hotel Staubbach and the Hotel Silberhorn. Both are quite nice and centrally located near the train station for travel up either side of the valley. I would suggest that Muerren might be more enjoyable. It's everything you would expect in a Swiss alpine town. No tourist cars permitted. It's a fairly small village located at 5,200' on a large cliff. The views are stunning. Muerren is a 3hr train journey from the Zurich flughafen (airport) with 3-4 transportation changes. For Cinque Terre, Vernazza is often the most popular. It is undergoing a lot of re-construction as a result of the floods last winter. The town was largely destroyed at the ground level. Don't rule out Monterosso (the largest of the five CT towns) or Riomaggiore (the 2nd largest). Most of the towns are just fine. Each of the five towns is simply minutes apart by train.

Another vote for staying in Muerren. The best of all imo. We stayed at Hotel Eiger twice (balcony room) which we loved but I believe it's more expensive than the others recommended so I would go with those. A room with a balcony is well worth it.

Jay 12 days is this 12 days including flights in and out or actual 12 days sight seeing?? Train certainly is the way to go. Fees for renting a car in Switzerland and drop off in Italy will be sky high. I use plannrint.b-rail.be to plan my train routes and times. From Interlaken it will take between 4-6 hours to travel to Como where you would catch the ferry to Varenna. You have to take into account travel time between these places so that does limit your time spent at the actual location. Train from Varenna leaving early to Milano where you have to catch the train to lets say Vernazza in the CT will take approx 5 hours with train changes.
Suggest 4 Switzerland, 3 Como, 4 CT. if in fact you have 12 full days. This leaves one day for travel from place to place.

Jay 12 days- is this 12 days including flights in and out or actual 12 days sight seeing?? Train certainly is the way to go. Fees for renting a car in Switzerland and drop off in Italy will be sky high. I use plannerint.b-rail.be to plan my train routes and times. From Interlaken it will take between 4-6 hours to travel to Como where you would catch the ferry to Varenna. You have to take into account travel time between these places so that does limit your time spent at the actual location. Train from Varenna leaving early to Milano where you have to catch the train to lets say Vernazza in the CT will take approx 5 hours with train changes.
Suggest 4 Switzerland, 3 Como, 4 CT. if in fact you have 12 full days. This leaves one day for travel from place to place.

We pretty much did that same itinerary. We stayed at Hotel Silberhorn in Lauterbrunnen- LOVED IT. Frontelaga BandB on Lake Como- AMAZING!!!!
Buranco in Monterosso- also LOVED- especially cause of the location, size and beautiful surroundings. Its on a working winery. I would recommend all 3 places highly.