[Anonymous]

14 July 2017 at 17:31:27 #812628

First – this website is an outstanding tool for planning. I have been reading through trip reports and gathering great tips and useful information for my trip.

We (my wife and I – 59 and 64) are planning a 5 day trip to the Bernese Oberland in mid-September for the purpose of hiking. We want to be able to do a number 5 – 20 km hikes without burning too much time on trains and buses. We were considering staying in either Wengen or Meiringen [Sherpa Expeditions] and would like feedback on which town might be the best home base. Thanks.

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[AlanPrice]

Reply 1 of 11 • 15 July 2017 at 8:18:58 #866873

Hi schmeeper,

Both towns have pros and cons, but i think Wengen has the edge because there are more walks on that side of the valley than the Muerren side. September can be a tricky month to be hiking the Oberland. The weather should be good, but winter is just around the corner so don’t be surprised if it snows on the upper slopes.

Cheers

Alan

[Arno]

Reply 2 of 11 • 15 July 2017 at 13:07:44 #866874

Welcome to MySwissAlps Schmeeper!

If you prefer to explore the Jungfrau region (a small but wonderful and popular part of the Bernese Oberland), then Wengen is great. If you’d like to explore a larger area, and perhaps do a day trip to Lucerne, then Meiringen is better,

[kim11]

Reply 3 of 11 • 15 July 2017 at 15:18:06 #866875

Hi schmeeper and welcome to the forums!

I think AlanPrice misread your question, thinking you were asking about Mürren (which is on a shelf up above Lauterbrunnen Valley) rather than Meiringen.

Hands down Wengen is the best pick, IMO. It is a breathtakingly gorgeous car-free alpine village perched up above Lauterbrunnen Valley (on the opposite side from Mürren). The views are jaw-droppingly gorgeous and there are lots of wonderful trails that either start from there or are easily accessible. In contrast, Meiringen is a busy small town that is not in the mountains and is not very charming.

I have been to the region 20 times and have authored a document (written from a Wengen base) that describes many things to do and see. It is published in a series of 3 PDFs here on this site at

http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/tips-about-wengen-and-the-jungfrau-region-by-kim

[User]

Reply 4 of 11 • 15 July 2017 at 20:14:41 #866876

Thank you for the input AlanPrice, Arno and kim11! I appreciate the advice. kim11, I have printed all 50 pages of your PDFs and am working my way through it. I hope you don’t mind if I ask follow-up questions.

[Mark]

Reply 5 of 11 • 16 July 2017 at 0:45:14 #866877

I agree, Wengen is hard to beat. Hiking maps are very easy to read and plan your hikes also a very wide variety of lengths and difficulty available. You may consider buying the Jungfrau pass so you have access to all the chairlifts,gondolas, and cog trains. Regular railroad passes don’t work. We love to stay at The Beausite Park Hotel. Mark

[kim11]

Reply 6 of 11 • 16 July 2017 at 2:38:34 #866878

I agree completely with Marki that “regular passes” are not a good choice for the Jungfrau Region. That is if you are trying to use RailEurope passes or even the very expensive Swiss Travel Card which only gives you discounts on some of the high mountain passes, not “all inclusve” as the marketing seems to claim.

I highly recommend the Half Fare Card over and above any other pass. 50% discount on everything in the country including your trips to/from Wengen and all the mountain transports in the region. The only drawback is that you need to get tickets before you get on transports. During the time of your travels this will be extremely easy, there will be short or no lines at Wengen train station. And follow the points in the PDFs about how to buy all your tickets for your day while at Wengen station.

Happy to answer follow up questions

[AlanPrice]

Reply 7 of 11 • 16 July 2017 at 2:56:49 #866879

Oops. I misread the post. Sorry about that, but my comment still stands, Wengen makes a better hiking base.

Cheers

Alan

[User]

Reply 8 of 11 • 19 July 2017 at 21:31:12 #866880

Thanks again for all of the good advice. I need a little guidance on restaurants. We plan to be in Wengen for 5 nights in September. We are vegetarians and often find it difficult to find vegetarian friendly restaurants. How might we fare in Wengen?

[User]

Reply 9 of 11 • 20 July 2017 at 10:30:56 #866881

Hi schmeeper,

You should be able to find a few in Wengen just from Google searches. Pasta and More comes up a lot as does Hotel Baeren.

I haven’t been to Wengen so can’t give you any personal experience unfortunately. Perhaps another member who has been there can give you better details. I’ve found most restaurants have at least one or two pasta options but of course a bigger selection is always nice!

Lucas

[kim11]

Reply 10 of 11 • 20 July 2017 at 14:55:57 #866882

A significant percentage of visitors to Wengen are vegetarian. (I am assuming you are vegetarian and not vegan.) Therefore you will find a quite nice selection of vegetarian foods at virtually all restaurants. There is also a new Indian cafe that has opened near the Chas Gruebi cheese shop that will likely have a number of veg choices. The salads in the area are also excellent. Most of the product comes up very fresh from Italy or is grown in Wengen residents’ home gardens! Pretty amazing.

[User]

Reply 11 of 11 • 23 July 2017 at 17:36:22 #866883

Thanks for the advice! Nice to know that being a vegetarian won’t be an issue.