Zurich Airport to Interlaken, between two lakes.

Two ways to get there

There is a fast way and a beautiful way, and we will take whichever you prefer.

The motorway via Bern is the default: about 1 h 50, almost entirely on the A1 and A6, and dependable in any weather. It is the right choice if you have landed off a long flight and simply want to arrive.

The Brünig Pass via Lucerne takes around 2 h 15 and is one of the loveliest drives in the country — along Lake Lucerne, over the pass at 1,008 m, and down the length of Lake Brienz into Interlaken. If your holiday starts the moment you land, this is a better first hour, and the cost difference is modest. Tell us in the booking notes.

Beyond Interlaken

Most people passing through Interlaken are actually going somewhere else in the valley, and we drive to all of it:

• Grindelwald — about 30 minutes, under the Eiger north face
• Lauterbrunnen — about 25 minutes into the valley of 72 waterfalls
• Wengen and Mürren — both car-free; we drive to Lauterbrunnen, where the mountain railway and cable car take over
• Thun, Spiez, Brienz and the lakeside villages
• Gstaad, over the Saanenmöser — about 1 h 15 further

The car-free villages

Wengen and Mürren work like Zermatt: no road access for visitors' vehicles. We drive to Lauterbrunnen, where the Wengernalpbahn goes up to Wengen and the cable car and railway reach Mürren. It is a short, frequent and well-signed hand-off, and hotels are used to meeting guests at the top — but it does mean nobody can be driven to the door, and it is better known before you book than on arrival.