Click here for my post about Interlaken
I booked this trip through Bus2Alps, and would certainly recommend it. Literally the entire world went.
It’s also a tiny town, so everything is super convenient.
Everything is expensive here, unclear why.
Prepare to dress warmly, but you can rent mostly everything from the rental store.
They speak a combination of French, German, and English. I love German, so many consonants. They take the CHF (Swiss Franc), but most places accept euros, and some even take US dollars.
Accommodations
I stayed at Backpacker’s Villa, and highly recommend it. Balmer’s is the cheaper option that the majority of the people stay at, and is much closer to both the rental shop and is directly attached to the club that everyone goes to (Metro). So if proximity is important, then this one is better, however Backpacker’s Villa is SO MUCH NICER. Nicer, the rooms are more spacious, you are given lockers in the room to put your stuff in, there are bathrooms in the rooms (but communal showers). And it’s really not that much farther AT ALL, and if you have friends staying at Balmer’s you can leave your jackets in their room when you go to the club. Also they give you 6 tokens to their coffee/hot chocolate machine which is amazing. Don’t try to trade pillows even though the ones at Villa are ridiculously comfy. They will notice, and be pissed.
Food
I was very unclear as to what “Swiss food” is
I mean, obviously CHOCOLATE. It’s delicious. We only went to Schuh (the one that does the chocolate show) because we went on Sunday and the other ones were closed, but I hear the other one’s were better. Don’t bother with the chocolate show. They just show you how they make it and you have to pay for it. Honestly, I trust that they’re doing a great job and know what they’re doing without me supervising the process. I just want to eat the chocolate. You can also buy chocolate at the coop in town.
Thai Palace (or something…) by Balmer’s is apparently AMAZING, although we didn’t make it. Wahh.
3 Tells Irish Pub was great pub food, but there was a bit of a wait so go ahead/call ahead/make reservations. Get a burger. I got a salad because it had pumpkin seeds and craisins in it so it spoke to me, but really just go for the burgers. They have gluten free options.
Hooters I mean, it’s American food: but it’s Hooters.
Blueberry: froyo!!
Les Alpes: fondue!
Utopia: sandwiches, and apparently bagels too. People ordered in advance for the bus ride home.
There’s also a pizza place by Balmer’s which was ehh but fine. There are a lot of restaurants in town that we didn’t go to, but looked great.
The lodge at Mannlichen mountain was delish. I got kids chicken nuggets and fries. DINO NUGGETS!
Activities
Go skiing. If you haven’t before, take a lesson or go on the bunny hills (there’s one in Wengen that I saw and also one on Mannlichen) We skiied the Mannlichen mountain, and it was good, a lot of reds and two blues (although 1 was closed) so it’s not that difficult. You can take the gondala from Wengen to get there, and I would definitely recommend it. Good skiing, and gorgeous. It’s the Alps!
Night Sledding A MUST DO. Sign up early, because it gets filled up. DRESS WARMLY. Remember to bring shoes to the rental place before you go, because you have to return the boots they give you as soon as you get back or they will charge you. And they feed you a delicious meal. Just do it.
The Spa is expensive, but so is skiing and the other activities, so if you aren’t doing those then you’ll end up having a cheaper day for some relaxation. It got rave reviews from Dayna and Steph, our massage connoisseurs.
Paragliding and Skidiving were two things I didn’t do, but everyone who did said it was THE BEST, so if you’re a daredevil then go for it. The world is your oyster.
Ice Skating near Balmers is only 9CHF or 7.50euros since you’re staying at the hostel, and was so much fun.
Metro is the best bar in Interlaken (or so they say. I don’t really know how many other options there are…) and is literally in the basement of Balmers, so people pregamed in the lobby there. It was crowded earlier on, but emptied out. Convenient, fun, you’ll know everyone there.
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