8 nights in Switzerland in July with 18 and 20 year old sons- help with how to split nights

The B.O. is chockfull of hiking trails, just go through them and pick a few. Also biking and, if adventurous enough, parasailing.

You might also check out the video I posted in another listing.

Don't forget Zermatt. It's very scenic there.

Do you really mean “hike to Oeschinensee”? The hike to Oeschinensee from Lauterbrunnen is a 3-day trek on the Alpine Pass route, over 2 high passes. If you mean to take the train to Kandersteg and hike from there, that is doable but the train ride is 1.5 hours each way. And the hike”to” Oeschinensee is nothing special; it is the hikes around and above Oeschinensee that are spectacular.

I suggest if you really want to see it, You take 1 of your spare nights and book rooms at the Mountain Hotel by the lake:

https://www.oeschinensee.ch/en/uebernachten/

Stow your bags in a locker at the train station, walk through town to the gondola, ride up and take an afternoon hike to the Freuendenhuette, or hike partway around the lake. Check in to the hotel on the lakeshore, enjoy your dinner, explore the area. Or rent a rowboat and go out on the lake. Next day take another hike in the morning, maybe ride the Rodelbahn if interested (even adult kids love this), then ride the gondola down to Kandersteg to head to your next location. Zermatt would work really well as you are already halfway there.

We generally include at least one night at the mountain inn at Oeschinensee on every Swiss trip.

I would stay longer in lauterrunnen to do some of these walks. This guide was put together by forum member shoe:

https://lauterbrunnenhiking.wordpress.com/

Are you referring to the St. Beatus caves? I had those on my list too, but once I saw lauterbrunnen, I decided I wanted more time to see the mountains, and not being stuck inside a cave.

Thank you for your replies. Yes, I guess I should've specified- not hike all the way to Lake Oeschinensee- I was thinking starting at Kandersteg. Thank you for the advice about the caves too, I think you are right!
How about Valle Verzasca?

I would choose Zermatt over Valle Verzasca. The latter's scenery is nice, but there are similar places all over Europe around the mountains. In fact, Valle Verzasca is a very small area.

Is it worth a day trip to Valle Verzasca? From Luzern if we made that our 2nd home base.

Definitely not worth going to Valle Verzasca, it is on the other side of the country.
Also, I would not spend your first night in Zürich: since you arrive at noon, you have plenty of time to get to Lauterbrunnen that same afternoon!

If you want to cross into Italy, you could perhaps spend 2-3 nights in or around Stresa, on Lake Maggiore.
The route would be:
- 4 nights Lauterbrunnen
- 1 night Oeschinensee if you want
- 2 or 3 nights Stresa
- final night near departure airport.

Or Zermatt instead of Stresa

There is a great hike from the Männlichen above Wengen back down to Wengen via Kleine Scheidegg. There's another scenic hike from above Lauterburnnen over to Gimmelwald via Murren. Hiking the Lauterbrunnen Valley is also enjoyable (we did it during a driving rain). I would stay in either Wengen (preferred) or Murren rather than Lauterbrunnen because you're up in the mountains rather than in the valley. Staying a night at the Mountain Hotel on Lake Oeschinensee is a great idea! Another option is to stay in Kandersteg at the International Scout Centre (we did). Maybe 3-4 nights in the Berner Oberland, 1-2 nights in Kandersteg, and 1-2 nights in Luzern (beautiful old town with fabulous lakeside setting).

Ok, I feel I am getting closer to the "right" itinerary!
So now I'm thinking-
3 nights Lauterbrunnen (Airbnb)- the hiking guide provided is great!!
1 night Lake Oeschinensee hotel
2 nights Zermatt or maybe Montreux (my son wants to see Lake Geneva)
2 nights Luzern- Is Bern a doable day trip from here?
Thank you so much again.
It's starting to come together!

Quickest train from lucerne to bern is 1 hour. So, an easy day trip.

I’m staying in Montreux in June and plan to head to Zermatt for a long day trip. That’s a possibility although with just 2 nights that only gives you 1 full day. I would cut out Lake Oeschinensee and add that night elsewhere. If it was me, I would probably just stay in lauterbrunnen and lucerne to avoid moving around so much as there is tons to do in both those locations.

Ok, I feel I am getting closer to the "right" itinerary!
So now I'm thinking-

3 nights Lauterbrunnen (Airbnb)- the hiking guide provided is great!!

1 night Lake Oeschinensee hotel

2 nights Zermatt or maybe Montreux (my son wants to see Lake Geneva)

2 nights Luzern- Is Bern a doable day trip from here?

Lake Geneva is quite a long lake and the vibe is different at different points along it. Down at the Montreux end is the castle of Chillon and vineyards and access to Gruyere and the chocolate factory tour at Broc. Further along at Lausanne there is the vertical city connected from the lake to top by modern funicular-like urban transport. At the far end is Geneva and that is where the great fountain in the lake (Jet d'Eau) is. They are far enough apart - easily joined by train - that you can't see one from the other.

Luzern to Bern by train either through the bucolic Emmental (where the cheese comes from, tal means valley so don't say Emmental valley or you are repeating yourself) or the fast train via Zürich is an easy and enjoyable day trip, if you have exhausted everything in Luzern. There is a LOT to do there.

Speaking of repeating yourself the word "see" means lake in German. If you say "Lake Oeschinensee" you are saying Lake Oeschinen Lake. Oeschinensee works fine by itself...

I agree, I would rather split our time between Luzern and Lauterbrunnen, but the rest of my family wants to do one more location. They actually are suggesting we switch our departing flight to Geneva or Paris and do-
Luzern 2 nights
Lauterbrunnen 3/4 nights
Montreux/Geneva/Paris 2/3 nights
This seems like a lot to me, but they have different ideas!!

Thank you for letting me know how to correctly refer to Oeshinensee!! Haha!!

It is a lot. A big lot, especially if you try to combine Paris.

easy way to decide - everybody writes down the 10 things they most want to do or see on the trip. Apart. And they must give specifics. Not just a town name or region, specific activities.

Examples - ride the lake steamer from Luzern to Vitznau and go to the top of Mt Rigi for a BBQ

or

Visit Geneva to see the Jet d'Eau.

or

See the statue of The Thinker in Paris.

They must be in order, then try to draw a line down the middle so that most people will be happiest with most activities, then be rational.

It is a big change from your original thoughts of Lauterbrunnen, Luzern, and scenic places like Oeschinensee or Valle Verzasca to Lauterbrunnen, Luzern, and cities like Paris or Geneva.

An 8-night trip is a short time to cover 3 bases if you include Paris, as it will take most of a day to get there—-6 hours from Lauterbrunnen by train, and just as long by plane. 8 nights is 7 days on the ground, and you lose one of them going to Paris.

Geneva is better, as it is only 3.5 hours from Lauterbrunnen. (But it lacks the charm and world-class sights of Paris). If you want to include it, change your flight so you fly out of Geneva. You still would fly into Zurich, and head straight to Luzern for your first night. (2-3 nights). Then Lauterbrunnen (3-4 nights), then Geneva or Montreux (2 nights).

That wouldn’t be our choice (we love Oeschinensee and the Berghotel there) but it is your trip, and you have to choose what is best for your family.

Fly back from Geneva but stay in Montreux, it’s fabulous! Only an hour into Geneva and then 10 minutes to airport by train from Geneva