Introduction to the Swiss Bernese Alps

Introduction

The furthest point up in the mountain reachable by car is Lauterbrunnen and Stechelberg, and Grindelwald. A single road leads to these destinations from Interlaken, and after reaching Lauterbrunnen, Stechelberg is just a few minutes away by car further up on the same road.

Stechelberg is the access point for cable car lift up to Schilthorn.
Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald both offer you access via train or cable car to visit the Swiss mountains.

Which mountain peaks ?
The 2 most famous peaks are Jungfrau and Schilthorn.

Jungfrau : 4158m
Schilthorn : 2970m

The Swiss train Jungfraubahn will take you up from Kleine Scheidegg to Jungfraujoch, the highest train station at 3454m.

A cable car lift will take you up from Stechelberg to Schilthorn.

There are also 2 famous peaks beside Jungfrau : Eiger and Monch, which you will see when doing some of the mountain walks.

Jungfrau Travel Pass
If you intend to go up the Swiss mountains from Lauterbrunnen or Grindelwald, then it's the only Travel Pass you need. There's 3, 4, 5 or 6 day pass. The 3D Pass alone is already value for money if you want to do only these 2 destinations. If you take up a 4D pass or more, you might have to calculate a bit more, depending on your destination in the Alps.
The Travel Pass can be bought easily at any Tourist Office or at the Lauterbrunnen train station, so buy it on the spot just before you do any of these peaks.

When to go ?
It's not opened throughout the year, and operational from May to Oct if you are not going for skiing. For Oct, the first 2 weeks are pretty safe. It's probably closed from the last week of Oct until the skiing season starts. For the exact dates in May or Oct if you are going, you might have to check with the tourist office.

Checking the weather
The cost of going up is not that cheap, and if the weather is not good ie cloudy or raining, you will not really enjoy these peaks and their beauty. So check the weather forecast daily and attempt these peaks only if it's sunny or mostly sunny.

Parking
At all these 3 destinations, paid parking is easily available. But of course, I went in the off-peak season in October, so I can't say. The parking rates are stated clearly on the website, but you have really no choice but to park your car there.
I chose to park at Lauterbrunnen for both my visits to Top of Europe and Schilthorn. The reason is because I chose to buy the Jungfrau Travel Pass for 3 days, and with it, a discount to go up to Schilthorn via Lauterbrunnen, and also because of the walks at Mannlichen that I've chosen (see those sections).
The multi-storey carpark at Lauterbrunnen is also situated right beside the train station, so it's very convenient.

Choice of Accommodation
Understanding all how it works above helps you to plan where to stay. Interlaken is only 18 mins away from Lauterbrunnen by car, and if you choose the Lakes area, Lake Thun or Lake Brienz, it's also a good choice. So as long as you are not too far away from Lauterbrunnen or Grindelwald by car, you can jolly well choose something not too expensive and yet do the Swiss Alps.
There are those who recommend staying at Murren or places further up the mountain above Lauterbrunnen. But for drivers, these points are not accessible by car, so it's moot.

Where we stayed
We chose to stay up in the hills at Aeschi bei Spiez, a 40 min drive from Lauterbrunnen and commanding a good view over the lakes, at about 750m above sea level.