6274 posts
Hi Stephanielau,
Welcome to MySwissAlps!
I can’t really say what the weather will be like in May but in most places in Switzerland it would be spring and the perfect weather for chasing butterflies and waterfalls! (for me, not necessarily for others:)). For a detailed description of the weather and how you can prepare yourself, please refer to the link below.
May is considered a shoulder season and some trails and mountain transportation in the higher elevations may still be closed. That can be frustrating but not a big deal as there are plenty of trails you can still hike in the lower elevations, in the valleys, along the lakes, offering equally beautiful views: https://www.myswissalp s.com/besttimetovisit. The “Getting there” tabs on each of our attraction pages (http://www.myswissalps.com/ac tivities) mention opening dates, so that will help you to check which activities are available.
Below are just a few hike suggestions you can do in the Bernese Oberland region in May. Most of these don’t require taking cable cars or mountain railways up the mountains:
Additionally you can find more hike options on this page, using the drop down menu and search button.
As for choosing a base, if you plan your activities across the Bernese Oberland region and not specifically in one area, I would suggest a place like Interlaken where there are regular trains and buses to get you around. Suggestions below:
If you are considering getting a railpass, feel free to check out the various options that are available. The Regional Pass Bernese Oberland might be a good fit for your days in that region, but it won’t cover your activities in Lausanne and Lucerne. So a nation-wide pass might be better overall:
Hope this has addressed some of your concerns.
Best regards,
Anna
794 posts
Hi Stephanielau
Unfortunately the high alpine trails in the Jungfrau region will most likely still have enough snow cover to be impassable. Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg, the Eiger trail, Schynige Platte, and most of the trails out of First don’t open till mid June or sometimes later. It is possible that they have a very warm May and some of them might be passable. You can check at the local tourist office and your hotel concierge for up to date trail reports.
I would highly recommend staying in Wengen or perhaps Murren instead of Interlaken. They are car free and much more scenic and charming than Interlaken. Although not quite as convenient as Interlaken, Wengen is well situated to travel by train.
As Anna states the valley trails will likely be passable in mid May.
Mark
18 posts
Thank you Anna for all of this great information–I will check it out!
18 posts
Thank you Mark! I was thinking about Wengen but was worried that some of the town–restaurants, shops, trails, etc.–might be closed due to the period being between winter and summer high seasons. We would much rather stay in a charming, typical Swiss village accommodation over a larger town, and definitely do not want Interlaken. Was also a bit worried about Wengen being at a high enough elevation that we would not be able to take any trails from there. If that is the case, does it take a long time out of the day to go by train to another location/valley there in the Bernese Oberland (Lauterbrunnen, Kandersteg, etc.)?
794 posts
Wengen is only 1 stop away from Lauterbrunnen and Lauterbrunnen valley. Also 1 stop from Kleine Scheidegg and thus Grindelwald valley. It’s 4 stops from Interlaken Ost , less than an hour I would guess. Mark
8889 posts
Hello Stephanie,
By far the best way to check timetables, find fares* and buy tickets on-line if required is using the SBB Mobile app (bit.ly/2ICIUHi). In the unlikely event you don’t have a device capable of running the app then you can use the timetable on the SBB website (bit.ly/2HH1U7B). If you are not familiar with using the timetable it will pay to first read the instructions at http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable.
* The SBB website shows half-fare prices by default, the mobile app allows you to nominate whether to show full or half-fares (by editing the passenger details in settings) and is also smart enough to offer you the Saver Day Pass (http://www.myswissalps.com/sa verdaypass) if that offers the best fare. The app also show a platform map (at least at the larger stations) to help you make connections.