June trip: Wengen as a base?
A traveler is planning their first trip to Switzerland in early June, focusing on the Bernese Oberland region. They are unsure about staying in Wengen due to advice suggesting it's too isolated compared to Grindelwald or Interlaken. They seek clarity on whether Wengen is a good choice given their itinerary, which includes several popular sites.
- Wengen is a great base for exploring the Jungfrau region, with excellent public transport connections.
- Consider the Swiss Travel Pass for extensive travel across Switzerland but check if a regional pass might better suit your itinerary.
- Trail conditions should be verified upon arrival, as early June may still have some closures due to maintenance.
AI-generated summary-
Hello!!
I’m planning my first trip to switzerland in early june 23. I see in this forum that many people sugests Wengen as a basis to explore Bernese Oberland region.
But i hired someone to help me plan my itinerary and she said that Wengen is way too far and isolated. That i’d better stick to Grindewald or Interlaken.
Will i waste too much time in dislocations if i stay in Wengen? And are these dislocations included in the swiss travell pass.
I was planning to go to Grindewald First, Schiltorn, Trummelbach falls, oeschinensee, Blausee, Iseltwald, Harder Kulm.
Thanks a lot!!!
-
Hello CMVO,
Welcome to MySwissAlps. Wonderful to hear you are planning your first trip to Switzerland!
Wengen is a great base for exploring the Jungfrau region , if you don’t mind me asking, what was their reasoning? Was it perhaps, as Wengen is a car-free zone, that it would not be ideal? You don’t actually need to a car to travel around necessarily. The Jungfrau region and all of Switzerland is actually, very well served by public transport 🙂 That said, both Grindelwald and Interlaken are good bases too.
If you could share a little more of your plans, we can guide you a little more. How long are you intending to stay in Switzerland? Will you visit other parts of Switzerland too? Some lovely choices to visit, by the way – are there any specific activities you are intending to carry out? This can also determine, the best place to base yourself. Did you want to stay in just the one place or are you happy to stay a few nights in one place and then move on? Are you traveling alone, with family or? Do you have a “wishlist” that would be of importance when staying somewhere – shops, restaurants, that sort of thing?
The Swiss Travel Pass is very useful if you are intending to travel extensively throughout all of Switzerland. There are other regional rail passes that could be worth considering, if your intention is to stay within, for example mainly the Jungfrau region. See here for an overview of the rail passes available: https://www.myswissalps.com/train/ticketspasses
Many members find is useful to carry out a few calculations via our “how to choose a rail pass” link, that way, they can be sure they have the best pass option(s). See here: https://www.myswissalps.com/train/ticketspasses/practical/chooserailpass
I hope this helps, we look forward to hearing back from you!
Kind regards,
Yolanda
Useful links:
Whoever advised you that Wengen was ‘too isolated’ was giving you extremely poor advice!
The whole of the Jungfrau region is smaller than New York City and Wengen, despite being on a hillside (like many places on Switzerland) and car-free is very easy to reach.
It has a train from Interlaken every 30 minutes throughout the day, better than the public transport service in some major cities across the world! Put into perspective, Wengen is only 90 minutes by train from the capital city of Switzerland!
Thank you, Yolanda! I’m travelling with my husband from may 28 to june 9, we are both 36.
We actually don’t have a specific wishlist, just wish to enjoy the views and the nature, without rush. I also wanted to do some hiking, but don’t know if the weather and the trails will be ok in early june.
We will arrive in zurich and go straight to luzern for 4 nights, then 4 nights in grindelwald (??), 2 nights in montreaux (was thinking about choosing Zermatt instead, but the travel agent said zermatt isnt so nice in early june) and 2 nights in zurich, where is our flight back. In the days we will spend in the BO she suggested each day (don’t know if we will have the energy to do all that! kkkk): grindelwald first/ bachalpsee – lauterbrunnen/ Murren/ Schiltorn – Oeschinensee/ Blausee – lake Brienz/ Giessbach falls/ Iseltwald.
She said we would waste a lot of time with dislocations if we stayed in Wengen instead of grindelwald. But i preferred the views and the hotels in wengen, and also the price was better.
We are purchasing the 15 days swiss travel pass.
You think staying in wengen is ok with this itinerary? We could always make changes, so if you have any suggestions we apreciate it!
Sorry for my english.
More poor advice. Zermatt is very nice in early June. I suspect the agent is referring to the possible closure of cableways etc for spring maintenance (between the winter skiing and summer tourism seasons all equipment needs maintenance periods) You can easily avoid things like this just by walking / hiking or taking the lifts that are working.
The summer schedules for Zermatt are here: http://www.myswissalps.com/kleinmatterhorn
Gornergrat railway is always open: http://www.myswissalps.com/gornergrat
Hi CMVO,
I just hope you were able to get your money back from whomever you hired! Apparently they have never been to Switzerland. I fully agree with both 1960man and Yolanda. Do not hesitate to go to Zermatt. It is the iconic mountain of the country. Have a great trip.
Regards,
Danielsan
Hi CMVO
As others have said above your advisor is incompetent. Wengen is a good choice due to the spectacular scenery, small size, car free, and convenience for travel. Tha Jungfrau and Zermatt areas are great for hiking but you will have to pay attention to trail conditions in early June. With global warming you may not have problems with trails being closed but it would be prudent to check with the local tourist office and perhaps the hotel concierge when you arrive.
Mark
For my first “real” trip to Switzerland I stayed both in Wengen and Zermatt and both were great. We did plenty of hiking from both locations.
The views and scenery from Wengen are incredible and being in Zermatt with the Matterhorn in the back ground was fantastic.
We went to most of the places you mentioned and had no problem getting to them from Wengen
I tempered my reaction to ‘poor’ but hell you’ve said what I was thinking!
Thank you all!! Wengen it is then! 😁
i know this is personal opinion, but if it was your first trip to switzerland which would you choose, Zermatt or Montreaux for 2 nights? As i said im already going to luzern, wengen and zurich.
Hi CMVO,
It would depend on the season for me. In winter I would probably stay in Zermatt. In spring/summer, I would probably pick Montreux. But you can easily plan day trips between each destination. Montreux and Zermatt is about 2.5 hours journey by train.
Regards,
Anna
Hi CMVO,
Wengen is certainly very nice as a base but I would also consider Grindelwald with its beautiful view of the imposing Eiger North Face….:-) You can also easily get to the cable cars to Grindelwald First and the Jungfraujoch from there.
Have a great trip!
Martin
I agree with Swiss Sights about Grindelwald. To me the main differences would be 2 things.
1. Grindelwald has a bit more going on as far as “hustle and bustle”. More people… Cars and all. But more activities and restaurants, etc.
2. Grindelwald is on the “far” end of your area of exploration. Wengen is in the middle so to speak.
pkerr,
I love those pics, beautiful.
Danielsan
Thank you! It was the highlight of our trip. Better than I had even imagined.
I would not recommend a 15 day Swiss Travel Pass. If you are staying in Wengen and travelling to Interlaken and Grindlewald, you can also use the Jungfrau Travel Pass (http://www.myswissalps.com/jungfrautravelpass). In that way the cable cars and gondolas will be free. So depending on itinerary, you can have two different passes instead of one. And Wengen is a beautiful place to stay.
- The thread ‘June trip: Wengen as a base?’ is closed to new replies.
