Car Vs rail travel

My wife and I both in our 70's with reduced mobility are planning to visit in October. We will be arriving from Germany and plan to base ourselves in Interlaken for 7 nights. We would like to visit Saas Fee, Schilthorn and other sights in the area. Our dilemma is should we travel by rental car or rail. A car provides less reliance on public transport and walking. We have reserved accommodation in close proximity to Interlaken Ost station. After our stay in Interlaken we will depart from Zurich airport.

Could you please provide advice and if rail the best pass to purchase.

Hello abbey,

Thanks for joining us! Can you tell us a bit about how reduced your mobility is? How far/long can you walk?

By the way, Saas-Fee is not in the area. It takes 2 hours by train and bus to get there. It takes longer by car, with a car train half way the journey, and quite a narrow road at the end. Saas-Fee is car free, but you can park at the entrance of the village.

My wife has arthritis and is restricted both pace and distance, 1 km per day would be ok. From your comments should we visit Saas Fee prior to arrival at Interlaken. If we elect to travel by car from Germany we could drop it off on arrival at Interlaken if that is the best option for travel around Interlaken. We would like (weather permitting) to visit the following; Murren/Schilthorn Peak/Piz Gloria, round trip Grosse Scheidegg/Bernese Oberland/ Grinderwald, Schynige Platte or Brienz Rothorn and Kambly Experience. As mentioned before we depart from Zurich airport at the end of our stay in Interlaken and would need transport. What can we expect as far as the weather is concerned, we arrive on 13th and depart on 20th October.

Hello abbey,

One km per day is sufficient to change from trains to buses to cable cars while doing day trips. But changing modes of transport means that one does walk more than when doing things by car, and connections can be tight sometimes.

Yes, I think it would be better to first visit Saas-Fee, spend a night or two, and then proceed to Interlaken. Unless you're fine with quite a long day trip of course. You can't drive in Saas-Fee, but there are buses and taxis: www.saas-fee.ch/en/arrival/#c20 78.

Note that dropping a car in a different country usually is very expensive, so be sure to check that beforehand.

The Swiss Half Fare Card helps you saving on cable cars, boat trips, etc. It's the best option for drivers. This forum discussion might be useful for you too. In your case, I think it's best to combine car and public transport, based on your plans of the day. For example, a trip to the Brienzer Rothorn can easily be combined with a boat trip from Interlaken Ost to Brienz. Once you've visited the Brienzer Rothorn, you can take a train back to Interlaken Ost. The boat dock, the cogwheel train and the regular train are all within 200 m. In this case you don't need a car, whereas on other days it can be the more convenient option.