Berner Oberland base & activities: 5 nights, kids 10-15

This is a good resource for traveling with kids:

https://swissfamilyfun.com/

The best base is pretty subjective. :-) In my last trip report, I did a quick comparison of Wengen, Murren, and Lauterbrunnen:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/solo-in-switzerland-june-2024-my-trip-report

There’s really no wrong choices in Switzerland.

Last summer we stayed in Wengen for a week with our kids and grandkids, There’s a public pool, the lift out of Wengen takes you up to easy hikes. One goes down to Kleine Scheidegg and you can ride the train back to Wengen. Or instead take the Cow Trail down to a lift then down into Grindelwald. Above Grindelwald is an area called Pfingstegg with zip lines and a Toboggan run. Or the Jungfrau outside area had zip lines and tubing. There’s all kinds of activities in the area for you and the kids that don’t require you to be just hard core backpackers.

I wholeheartedly agree with Carrie that picking between Murren and Wengen is splitting hairs. I lightly favor Wengen for a few reasons.

I've traveled to Wengen with kids in the same age range. There's stuff for them to do right in the village. Mini golf, public pool, these Rube Goldberg contraptions that people have built all around the village where you roll a wooden ball through all kinds of interesting tracks. There are a lot of mini hikes/ walks all around the village, and scattered here and there public picnic barbecue areas where wood is already cut and stalked for you to cook some sausages or whatever. It's a more agrarian than Murren, which is a bit more of a ski resort setup.

Wengen is also basically dead-center in the mountain transportation network of lifts and cog trains that you will use to explore the area. It's pretty easy from Wengen to get anywhere. You can ride a cable car and then a gondola to Grindelwald to grab a pizza for an early dinner for instance. Good fun.

Murren has the best view of mountains. Wengen has some good views of the mountains and beautiful views of the valley. But Murren just stares at the big mountains from pretty much everywhere in town. It has a playground with the best view of any playground on the planet no question. Cool stuff right around it. It's just that it's at the end of a cul-de-sac.

As for hiking experience, Don't worry about that. The hikes are a different experience say for instance Yosemite or Kings Canyon. Generally wider tracks, generally no gnarly exposure. It's more built, with more built infrastructure. Interspersed, lifts, trains restaurants etc. There's not a ton of hiking that you would do outside of those parameters. It transitions into mountaineering pretty quickly.

Wherever you pick, have a great time

Your choice may be made for you by what you can find available for lodging. It’s an extremely popular and busy area. For your vibes, I’d look in Wengen or Grindelwald.

Check out Wengen Apartments. We stayed in Chalet Roosi with our three kids and the views were amazing and there was plenty of room to spread out.

Carrie beat me to recommending Swiss Family Fun :). That’s a great resource for families. We also enjoyed our day on Lake Brienz with a stop at Giessbach Falls.

After weeks of deliberating, I'm sold on Wengen! Thank you for the advice.

Now I am finalizing lodging and have narrowed it down to a few apartments or nice hotel, the Braunbär. We would compromise on space with the hotel but it is looking attractive with a breakfast included (rave reviews on that breakfast!), indoor pool, nice spa and hammam for a rainy day... plus, it will give me the feeling that I can call someone for assistance if needed. It's not always easy in the wild as a single mom! OK, I think I just sold myself on the hotel.

Swiss Family Fun website looks GREAT!! Thanks again.

Depending on what activities you have planned (ie: visiting the Schilthorn or Jungfraujoch), you might find one of the Rail Passes as that will save some money. Switzerland is expensive so saving a few bucks is worthwhile. You may find this helpful - https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/switzerland-rail-passes .

July is going to be in the peak travel period so expect things to be crowded and plan ahead.