We are going to be in Switzerland in mid-May. We really wanted to go to Berner Oberland. Is this a bad time of year to go? Will everything be closed and there be nothing to do? Or will there be enough open and to do to make it worthwhile?
If B.O. is a bad place that time of year, where in Switzerland should we go if we have 3 days?
Open all year.
Hi James,
Only been to the BO once... in October. Can't imagine a more spectacular area no matter what time of the year.
I'm not sure why you've got concerns.
We've been there several times. Late May to early June was, in our opinion, the prime time for a visit.
Mid-May will be fantastic. Be prepared that it will still be pretty cold up the mountain, but the odds are good for clear days, low fog, little rain -- and miles of clear visibility.
Have you picked a place to stay yet? If not, research the Pensions in Gimmelwald -- beautiful. If that starts to look too remote to you (e.g. you want more 'city amenities'), consider Murren next, and stay at the bottom only if you need to for personal comfort reasons. If you do stay at the bottom, you cannot beat Sunny Days B & B.
Jim, the Pensions is closed during that time period, which kind of plays into my concern that the area is mostly shutdown in May. Or maybe just the little villages higher up on the mountain are closed and the lower you go in the mountain, the more is open?
Where are you doing your searches? This is a ski-area. Lots of pensions are open.
Here is a link to the city of Gimmelwald, list of accomodations there: www.gimmelwald.ch/en/accommodation/stay.htm
Now, the Pension Gimmelwald is closed from the middle of April until the 1st of June -- ski season is over, and the staff takes their vacations. It is possible you are encountering the same thing at other hotels -- but even if their website says they are closed, send a e-mail anyway. Depending on how their booking dollars were for ski season they may not take as long of a hiatus.
Leisis heart Place is a smaller pension than some -- and as such are flexible about dates (and rates). Contact them directly, don't beleive second-hand info on them.
Here is a link to the Sunny Days B&B at the bottom in Interlaken: www.sunnydays.ch/. They are open year-around, only close for their vacations.
An option half between Interlaken and Gimmelwald is Murren -- www.muerren.ch. Go to Accomodations, they have more hotel options, is a bigger city, and not quite as far up the mountain.
Among the Murren options, I personally like http://www.eigerguesthouse.com/. (Maybe closed 4/11-5/21, double check.)
Others prevoiusly recommended on this board:
http://www.alpenruh-muerren.ch/en/ and http://www.hoteleiger.com/.
No matter what 'closed dates' are on the website -- contact the hotel -- they are as bad (worse) about updates websites as Americans!
(Please let me know if I've got a dead link.)
James
I might be missing something here. You are aware that the BO includes more than one small valley, right?
According to their website, hotel Alpenruh is open mid-May.
I've e-mailed a couple others to find out their updated schedules.
Hotel Mittaghorn
is showing vacancies and an attractive rate.
Here is the response from Hotel Eiger, in Murren:
"Good evening Mr. Utley,
we are closed due to off season from 11th April until 4th June 2010.
In Muerren the only open hotel is the hotel Alpenruh.
Best regards Susanna Staehli"
We arrived in BO around the 20th of May in 2009. We had excellent weather, stayed in Wengen and loved it, and had a fabulous time. We did lots of research to prepare for the trip and were aware that it would be quiet with lots of places closed. We had no problems hiking, visiting the Jungfrau, etc. Some lifts were still closed. The pension in Gimmelwald appeared open when we hiked through--it would not, in my opinion, be an ideal place to stay but the entire area is breathtakingly gorgeous. Before getting there we spent a night in Zermatt and there were very few tourists but we visited the Matterhorn and the weather was perfectly clear. Have a great trip!
I'm not sure why people are questioning your concerns, James. As you've found quite a few lifts, hotels, restaurants, etc do shut down in spring and fall between ski and hiking season. I think you will have to identify where you'd like to go then check opening/closing dates on the internet from there. I was there last October and we had to make sure we visited before October 15 when most everything shut down. Quite a few restaurants and a few hotels were closed when we visited but not enough to matter to our trip. If you know you want to sightsee by taking certain cable cars/gondola be sure to check the closing dates online.
Hi James,
We stayed in Wengen and it's the perfect place (IMO) to base in the BO.
www.myjungfrau.ch/en/welcome.cfm?
Paul
