Interlaken Travel Answers

Kunsu, please introduce yourself by filling out the VT member hom,e page, it helps to help you... I personally avoid Interlaken (not too bad as a hub, but without charm and very expensive. Mind Zermatt and the other resorts are not cvheap neither, but you get value (and scenery) for money, which - in my opinion - is not the case in Interlaken. Lauterbrunnen is smaller, but not much better (it's clamped in between two "walls" like a sandwich, no view and very little sunshine. I would recommend that you go for Grindelwald offering a greatz view of Eiger and Wetterhorn mountains, with easy access to Jungfrau. Grindelwald is much larger than Lauterbrunnen, but still a gem of a town. If you like it smaller, cosier and more secluded: then you should go to Mürren, right above Lauterbrunnen. Wengen...not really my cup of tea neither. Zermatt is great. but Brig down in the valley could also be a practical hub. Easy daytrips to Italy (Lago Maggiore), to the Aletsch Glacier regon, and to Zermatt and the Gornergrat of course. To discover these places, no need for car or accompaied group travel, rail and bus service is frequent and excellent. Going from Interlaken to Brig (or Zermatt), I would suggest the rail link to Meiringen, then the postbus across the Griomsel Pass to Oberwald, and then onwards to Brig: VEry scenic and unforgettable trip, takes a full day including a lunch stop (preferably on the Grimsel).

Apologies for my Grimsel proposal: the postbus from Meitingen to Gletsch/Oberwald ceases operations in winter eff mid-September. So you will be left with the rail link through the Loetschberg (Interlaken-Spiez-Brig), either through the new Loetschberg basis tunnel or across the old passage (via Kandersteg, slower but more scenic).

Apologies for my Grimsel proposal: the postbus from Meitingen to Gletsch/Oberwald ceases operations in winter eff mid-September. So you will be left with the rail link through the Loetschberg (Interlaken-Spiez-Brig), either through the new Loetschberg basis tunnel or across the old passage (via Kandersteg, slower but more scenic).

USD 60 (roughly CHF 60) is a tough call for a decent single room with private bathroom incl. breakfast in those areas. In Lauterbrunnen Hotel Steinbock with its dependancy Bahnhof is an option - could be in your price range. http://www.steinbock-lauterbrunnen.ch/ In early October you would find many hotels in Mürren and Wengen already closed. While I am usually a big fan of those two, I'd think that at this time of year they're a bit too quiet (read: dead) for my taste. No idea about Zermatt, sorry.

Interlaken and Zermatt are not very big places. You get around them by walking. If you want to know how to get from the station to your hotel use google maps. There you can check where the hotels are, and where the bus stops and railway stations are.

Just back from a week in Wengen. I have to say that on 60USD a day you will have trouble finding much that you can afford. Possibly your best hope is the hostel at Grund. It's 3 minutes by train from Grindelwald station on the line to Kleine Scheidegg, web site at eiger-grindelwald.ch/en/moun.... Local transport in the Interlaken area is outstanding - bus, train, cable car/gondola, boat.