Bernese Oberland Traverse with Via Ferratas VF5

Accommodation

The accommodation options along the Bernese Oberland Traverse range from up-scale hotels to rustic mountain huts. There are at least two nights along the route in villages where we use hotels, or in some cases, hostels for the Ultralight Package. The other nights are in charming mountain hotels and huts. While there’s a lot of variation from hut to hut, you can read our Staying in Mountain Huts Webpage for information about the hut experience.

While this route has many great characteristics, one of the favorites is the access to accommodation with private rooms. It is possible to do the entire route in private rooms, and the availability for private rooms stays open much longer into the booking season than it does on other tours.

Meals

Breakfast and dinner will always be available at, or near, your accommodation. It is not necessary to carry your own food for these meals. There are two nights in villages on this tour, where we do not include dinner. This is because most hotels don’t offer dinner as an option and because we want you to be able to choose your own restaurant according to your preferences. In most cases, the mountain huts allow us to book half-pension for our customers, which includes a multi-course set menu for dinner (usually with a vegetarian and non-vegetarian option) and breakfast. Drinks are never included. The last hut on the route does not allow us to book dinner in advance, but you can order on-site from their delicious a la carte menu.

Read about dietary restrictions at the huts

For lunches, there are a few options:

1. There are so many stops along the way, that depending on your itinerary, you’ll likely have options to sit down for a warm lunch on each day. While this sounds appealing, it is also very expensive and time-consuming. This is not a great option on long hiking days or for slower hikers who are already concerned about covering the planned route. In addition, some of these stops are closed on certain days of the week as their “rest day,” so it’s not always a guarantee that each stop will be open.
2. Most huts offer sack lunches that you can bring with you on the trail. We find these to be overpriced and repetitive to breakfast, and this option generates a lot of trash. We are not able to book these in advance for you. Sack lunches should be requested immediately upon arrival at the hut for the next day. Huts are generally not very flexible in honoring dietary restrictions with their sack lunches.
3. You can bring your own food for lunch. This is a great option on this route because you go through three villages where you can stock up on supplies. This is our favorite option.

The Bernese Oberland Traverse is likely to have the best conditions between mid-July and the end of the August. Huts are generally open from mid-June until mid-September, which defines the hiking season for this route.

Here's what conditions to expect at different times of year:

Late June: Huts are open and routes from the valleys to the huts are clear. Problematic snow is likely on the passes and at high elevations. There is a high risk of not being able to complete the itinerary during this time and it is almost certain that one of the three via ferratas will not be doable. Even if the passes are clear in time for your hike, they usually clear at the very last minute, and June hikers always have a couple of stressful weeks leading up to their hike as they eagerly wait for the snow to melt in time for their hike. In almost every year, it is not possible to predict what trails are going to be like in June until one or two weeks before. This is true even after a winter with low snowfall.

July and August: Problematic snow can remain on the route through the second week of July, but it is less likely than in June. Summer settles in and days are usually mostly sunny with an afternoon thunderstorm or two. These thunderstorms rarely interfere with hiking itineraries and are not usually problematic. Of course, thunderstorm safety should be practiced. The wildflowers at the higher elevations should be all out by mid-July. Hiking conditions during this time are often favorable, and it’s a great time to be on the trail.

Early September: The first snow of the winter usually falls in the first week of September. One via ferrata on this route is at such a high elevation that it’s season often ends with the first snowfall. The snow rarely sticks around for more than a day, but the visibility can be very low, making navigation problematic, and maybe even impossible, on this one day. Most days in early September are beautiful and perfect, and the thunderstorms are less, but there is a higher risk of snowstorms and conditions that may prevent you from completing your hike during this time. Many hikers have incredible weather in September, but some do not. It’s simply a matter of luck. The later you push into September, the higher the risk that unfavorable conditions (usually snow, but sometimes extremely cold temperatures) can interfere with your hiking itinerary. We notice that customers who are on the trail beyond September 15^th are much more likely to quit their hike early due to conditions. In early September, the wildflower season is mostly over, with the exception of brilliant bursts of fireweed that mark the end of summer.

In all months, it’s reasonable to expect 1 to 2 rainy days on the trail.

To research more detailed information about average temperatures, precipitation, etc., we recommend checking Meteoblue (go to “History & Climate” and then “Climate (modelled)”) for Kleine Scheideg and Hohtürli.

Read more about Understanding the hut-to-hut hiking season in the Alps.