Where to stay? Interlaken vs. Murren vs. Wengen

I have been to this area on three occasions and am going back in September. While Interlakken is a nice enough city, I much prefer staying in the Lauterbrunnen valley. I think if you stay in Interlakken, you will end up driving into the valley every day anyway, so staying there will actually be more relaxing. You can just walk out the door and enjoy the scenery and atmosphere. We stay in Lauterbrunnen when we go and visit the other cities by train and lifts. The valley is beautiful and there is a paved trail that travels up the valley that would be nice for short walks. As to weather, it can be chilly in September (particularly at night) but should not be really cold. As to hotels, we have stayed at Hotel Staubbach and the Oberland Hotel. They are both nice. This time, we have reserved an apartment in a private home. It costs the same as one hotel room at the Hotel Staubbach, but we have two bedrooms, a living area, a bath and a kitchen-much bigger. Since we are traveling with another couple, this was a more economical option. Feel free to contact me if you want more information on this.

One can never predict the weather, but when I was last in Interlaken in Sept it was mild. I would choose that town over another because it is convenient for taking the train into the mountains.

I always take a jacket, but sometimes never use it. Be prepared if the weather turns cold, but at that time of year it seldom does in that part of Switzerland.

I always stay in a hostel in Interlaken to save money and to enjoy being with other travelers. I am not a hotel person. There are several acceptable hostels there. Do a google search.

To get the Alpine experience of being in the mountains, Interlaken is no substitute for the villages above the Lauterbrunnen Valley.

It really doesn't make sense to stay in Interlaken because "it is convenient for taking the train into the mountains" when you could just STAY in the mountains and not have to trek on the train to/from Interlaken everyday...about a 40-50 minute roundtrip.

There are several chalets, hostels, B&Bs in the mountain villages that are just as cheap (and much nicer ambiance) than Interlaken. The Chalet Fontana in Murren is rated #1 on www.tripadvisor.com and it's the best bargain in the alps. Denise is a fantastic hostess and keeps the Chalet spotlessly clean and neat AND serves a hearty breakfast.

There are loads of things to see and do in the Lauterbrunnen Valley and surrounding mountain villages of Murren, Gimmelwald and Wengen. There's absolutely no "need" to stay in Interlaken unless, of course, you just like Interlaken :-)

"There's absolutely no "need" to stay in Interlaken unless, of course, you just like Interlaken :-)"

Unless, of course, you travel to this area in the shoulder season when everything in the mountains shuts down. That being said, however, September is not shoulder season, so go for Murren or Wengen!

Shoot for Murren or Wengen. You'll be glad you did.

Hi Vini,

I would have to say Wengen. It's our favorite place in Switzerland. The scenery IN the Berner Oberland is simply stunning!

Paul

To provide some balance:
Interlaken is not a horrible place in and of itself. It is worth wandering around the back streets, and easy walking between wilderswil at one end and unterseen at the other.

In addition staying in Interlaken gives you alternatives on each day, depending on the day itself. You can check the local cameras at the train station to see whether Muerren. Wengen, Grindelwald offer the best weather/views for the day, and get on a train to each.

Also you can take the boats on the lakes, giving you access to the castle at Thun, or the Open Air Museum near Brienz
http://www.ballenberg.ch/
as well as several other lakeside attractions.

I'm one of those that think the mountains are great, and definitely plan on taking time to get into them - personally I'd choose Muerren as fairly spectacular, and Kliene Shiedegg (on the ridge between Grindelwald and Wengen) to get up close to the Eiger.

One other trip that starts from Wilderswil is the railway to Schynige Platte

Sorry, I don't have any recommendation on accommodation, but looking at the Interlaken web site should help you out with that.
http://www.interlaken.ch/index.php?id=53&L=3

Father of 3 and “tripped with a toddler” experienced speaking -- -- Personally, I would focus on the Interlaken area and throw Lucerne off the itinerary. My wife and I have “done Interlaken” four times – three with a baby/toddler. I’ll focus on the kid-friendly stuff. If you do stay in Interlaken, I would recommend the Sunny Days B&B – rooms are toddler friendly, as is the staff. Earlier poster is right that this lengthens the trips up/down the mountain each day – but Interlaken also has more services. The littler towns up the mountain just don’t have late night options for diapers/pull-ups, formula, etc…
My pick for best balance – for someone traveling with a toddler – is Lauterbrunnen. Far enough up the mountain to shorten the ride, has access to both sides of the Berner Oberland, and still a big enough town to have a full grocery store, Laundromat (with internet services), and the like. We’ve stayed in the Hotel Staubbach (www.staubbach.ch) and the Hotel Oberland (www.hoteloberland.ch) -- when our son was 6 months, 14 months and 21 months. Both are good choices. (Staubach’s website makes them look fancier than they are.) I slightly prefer Oberland for larger rooms, and better prices – but both are great for traveling with kids.
For my next trip – with 3 kids this time – I’ll try to reserve Hotel Oberland first. That’s my pick.

Fellow Travelers:

We just completed our third stay in the last 3 years at Chalet Bobs in Murren, Switzerland. Chalet Bobs, run by Kitty and Albert Feuz, is clean, neat, and well located to see all the sights of the Bernese Oberland area. The views are spectacular from Chalet Bobs and the hosts are very pleasant and helpful. We plan to stay again in the near future.

Ron and Dianne Jordan

Lauterbrunnen has a hostel with private rooms that are wonderful and a full kitchen, laundry for all guests to use. We also stayed in gorgeous Murren at a B&B type chalet, Chalet Fontana. We enjoyed both last yr and hope to return again soon. Both are ref. in RS guidebks.

Vini, With your toddler, it's hard to go wrong with Lauterbrunnen and the Hotel Staubbach. Lauterbrunnen is a fun 20 minute train from Interlaken. Hotel Staubbach is very child friendly; they have an indoor and outdoor play area for kids. Also, Lauterbrunnen has pastures with cows and goats, all wearing bells. You get to Murren and Wengen by going through Lauterbrunnen - judging by your post it's probably not worth the extra effort.

Thank you, all ..for all these replies.
We could not visit switzerland in sep 2008(around my original post).
We did eventually go to Wengen in august 2009. And it was such a charming little place. With a 2.5 yr old, I had no problems in wengen. And we were wonderfully well connected as well. We had stayed at The Berghaus, which turned out to be a nice place, with great views of jungfrau.
We did not stay any nights at Interlaken, and stayed for a couple at Lucerne.