Where to store and send luggage in Interlaken

Interlaken runs on two stations, and neither one has a staffed left-luggage counter any more. Everything is self-service lockers, free trolleys and whatever your hotel is willing to hold, which is usually more generous than the stations themselves. If you are stopping in Interlaken for a few hours between a flight and a mountain trip, or dropping bags before a day trip to Lauterbrunnen or the car-free villages, this is what actually works, what it costs, and where the gaps are.

Two stations, not one locker room

Interlaken Ost is the bigger of the two by a wide margin. It handles the Jungfrau railway trains toward Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen, the Brienz boat pier, and the Brunig line to Lucerne, so it sees far more transferring passengers with bags than Interlaken West. That traffic is reflected in the locker banks: Ost has several rows of lockers in the main hall, while West has a single, smaller bank near the ticket office. If you are catching an early train up the valley, use Ost. If you are staying near the Hoheweg and just need somewhere to park a daypack for an afternoon, West is closer and usually less crowded.

Mixing the two up costs more than an inconvenience. A bag left in a locker at Ost is not reachable from West, and the walk between the stations is a good fifteen minutes through the town centre. If your itinerary has you arriving at one station and leaving from the other, on the two lakes cruise route for instance, decide where the locker goes before you put the bag down.

Locker sizes and prices

Both stations use the same SBB locker system, priced per size and per 24-hour block rather than by the hour. These are typical prices; check the panel on the locker bank itself, since SBB adjusts them occasionally.

Size	Approx. dimensions	Fits	Price per 24h
Small	around 30 x 40 x 60 cm	daypack, small holdall	CHF 5
Medium	around 45 x 60 x 60 cm	carry-on suitcase, two daypacks	CHF 7
Large	around 60 x 90 x 60 cm	standard checked suitcase	CHF 9

Payment is by card or coins at the machine beside the lockers; most now accept contactless. You get a code or a ticket to reopen the locker, so photograph it or keep the paper somewhere that is not inside the locker. There is no printed limit on how many days a locker can be rented for, but each extra day is billed as another full 24-hour block, so a three-night stay in a locker can run to CHF 27 for the large size alone, more than a lot of budget beds in Interlaken cost per night. For anything beyond one night, ask your hotel first.

Trolleys are free, porters are not a thing

Free luggage trolleys are stacked at the main entrances of both Interlaken Ost and Interlaken West, the standard SBB type with no coin deposit required. They are useful for the short haul between the taxi rank or bus stop and the platform, but they stay on station property, so any stairs without a lift mean carrying bags by hand for that stretch. There is no porter service at either station, and none on the Jungfrau railway network either, so anyone changing trains multiple times toward the Jungfraujoch is carrying their own bags at every platform change.

When the lockers are full, or you need longer than a day

Interlaken Ost rarely runs out of lockers outside the first two weeks of August, but it does happen on the day big group tours pass through. If every locker is taken:

• Ask at your hotel, even if you have not checked in yet. Most hotels in Interlaken, Unterseen and Matten will hold bags for guests with a same-day or next-day reservation, and it costs nothing.
• Bike and e-bike rental shops near both stations will often mind a bag for someone renting equipment for the day. It is worth asking if you already plan to hire an e-bike, and a self-guided e-bike route around the lakes is a common way to spend a bag-free afternoon once you have somewhere to leave things.
• If you are staying multiple nights and just need the bags out of the way for a mountain day, most three-star-and-up hotels have a proper luggage room, not just a corner behind reception, and will store bags for the length of your stay rather than per day.

Getting bags to Wengen, Murren and Gimmelwald

Wengen, Murren and Gimmelwald are car-free, which means every suitcase headed there travels by train or cable car, carried by whoever is travelling with it. There is no dedicated porter or bag-forwarding service on these routes; you queue with your own luggage the same as everyone else. The practical friction point is Lauterbrunnen, where you often switch from the valley train to either the Wengernalp railway toward Wengen or the cable car toward Murren via Stechelberg, and again at Stechelberg or Grutschalp depending on the route.

Each change involves a platform or a short walk, so a single wheeled case and a daypack is manageable; two large suitcases per person on the steeper connections is not, especially in winter when platforms can be icy. If you are staying more than a couple of nights up in the valley, consider packing a smaller bag for the mountain leg and leaving the rest in a locker or with your Interlaken hotel, and see how car-free villages work for the wider logistics.

Luggage transfer between hotels

Switzerland does not have a widely used, book-online luggage-forwarding network the way some long-distance hiking regions in France or Italy do. In the Jungfrau region, moving bags between hotels usually means one of three things: carrying them yourself on the trains, buses and boats that link the valley, booking a taxi that also takes bags (the standard option for reaching Wengen or Murren with heavier luggage, since taxis run as far as Lauterbrunnen or Stechelberg before the car-free line begins), or asking your hotel to arrange something directly with the next one, which some higher-end properties will do for a fee.

There is no flat published rate for this, since it depends on distance and how much luggage is involved, so ask at reception rather than assuming a price.

If your route includes a car-free stretch, plan the order of operations before you book taxis: bags go by taxi to the point where the road ends, then by train or cable car the rest of the way, with you carrying them for that last leg. It is one more reason to travel with fewer, smaller bags in this part of Switzerland than you might elsewhere.

Sending luggage from the airport

If you are arriving via Zurich Airport or Geneva Airport, the intuitive move is to check your bag through to Interlaken and collect it later, the way some European rail networks allow. Switzerland used to offer something similar: SBB’s Fly Rail Baggage service let air passengers check luggage at participating stations and pick it up at their destination airport, or the reverse on departure.

That service has been discontinued for most airlines in recent years. Do not plan a tight connection around the assumption that your bag will show up separately; confirm directly with SBB or your airline before relying on any airport-to-station baggage transfer, and budget on carrying your own bags from the airport concourse onto the train.

Once you arrive with bags in tow, the Swiss Travel Pass covers the train from either airport straight through to Interlaken without a change of ticket, which at least removes one source of friction on a day when you are already managing luggage. For the reverse trip, build in the same margin: get to the station with enough time to buy or validate a ticket and find the platform before checking bags matters at all, since there is no through-checking to fall back on.

Practical packing notes for this region

A few luggage habits make more difference here than in a flat city break, because so much of the region is stairs, gravel platforms and steep cable cars rather than level pavement.

• One wheeled case per person, not two. Interlaken’s own streets are flat and easy, but Lauterbrunnen, Grindelwald and the mountain stations are not, and cobbles and gravel are hard on wheels.
• A separate daypack for mountain days. Leave the suitcase in a locker or at the hotel and carry only what you need for the Jungfraujoch, Schilthorn or a hike; most mountain trains and cable cars have limited overhead space, not proper luggage racks.
• Check cable car luggage rules before a same-day connection. Cabins on the Schilthorn and Grindelwald First lines are shared with day-trippers and ski or hiking equipment in season, and a full-size suitcase will not fit comfortably alongside other passengers at peak times.
• Keep valuables and medication out of any locker. Lockers are secure enough for clothes and toiletries, but treat them like any unattended storage and keep documents, money and anything irreplaceable with you.
• Weigh bags before flying home. If you have bought a Swiss watch, cheese or wine locally, a bag that fit on the way out can go over the airline limit on the way back; a kitchen scale at check-out or the scale at some hotel receptions saves a surprise at the airport counter.

For a first visit, working out where bags live each day is one of the smaller planning tasks, alongside deciding how many days in Interlaken actually suit your trip and where you will stay. Get the locker and hotel-storage routine sorted on day one and it stops being a question for the rest of the trip, whether that is a single-day stop or a full week working through the Jungfrau region highlights.

If your plan includes an activity day with your hands genuinely free, once bags are stashed away is the moment for it. A guided e-bike tour past the region’s ruins and lake viewpoints or a half-day rafting trip with raclette afterwards both assume you are not hauling a suitcase along, and both start close enough to the stations that dropping a bag first adds only a few minutes.

Travellers arriving overland rather than through a Swiss airport sometimes route in via a transfer from Geneva to Interlaken, which is worth booking with the same locker plan in mind if there is a wait before check-in. And if you would rather explore under your own power on the day you arrive, an e-bike rental in Interlaken is one more reason to get the suitcase out of your hands early.

Luggage questions people ask before visiting Interlaken

Are there luggage lockers at Interlaken Ost and Interlaken West?

Yes, both stations have self-service lockers, but Interlaken Ost has considerably more of them because it handles the Jungfrau railway connections, the Brienz boats and the Brunig line to Lucerne. Interlaken West, closer to the Hoheweg, has a smaller bank of lockers that fills up faster on busy mornings.

How much do the lockers cost?

Expect roughly CHF 5 for a small locker, CHF 7 for a medium one and CHF 9 for a large one per 24-hour period, paid by card or coins at the machine next to the lockers. Prices are set by SBB and can shift slightly, so check the display before paying.

What size suitcase fits in the lockers?

The large lockers take a standard checked suitcase, around 70 to 75 litres, lying flat or upright depending on the bank. Anything larger, such as a hard-shell case over 30 kg or a bike box, will not fit and needs another arrangement, usually left with your hotel.

Can I store luggage overnight or for several days?

Yes, the lockers charge per 24-hour block and there is no maximum stay printed on the machines, but leaving a bag for several days ties up a locker other travellers need. For anything beyond one night, a hotel luggage room is the better option and usually free.

How do I get luggage to Wengen, Murren or Gimmelwald without a car?

You carry it yourself onto the train or cable car, the same way as everywhere else on the Swiss network, since there is no separate porter service to the car-free villages. Stations have ramps and lifts, but the connections at Lauterbrunnen and Stechelberg involve platform changes, so pack light if you can.

Can I check my luggage through to my flight from Interlaken?

Not reliably. SBB’s Fly Rail Baggage scheme, which once let air passengers check bags at a Swiss station and collect them at their destination airport, has been wound down for most airlines. Confirm current availability directly with SBB or your airline before planning around it, and assume you will carry your own bags to the airport.

What happens if the lockers are full?

At Interlaken Ost this is rare outside the August peak, but if every locker is taken, ask at your hotel first since most will store bags even if you are not checked in yet. A handful of bike and ski rental shops near both stations will also mind a bag for customers renting equipment.

Are luggage trolleys available at the stations?

Yes, free luggage trolleys are stacked near the main entrances at both Interlaken Ost and Interlaken West, the same coin-free type used across the SBB network. They stay within the station forecourt, so you will still be carrying bags up any stairs to a platform without a lift.