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Bernese Oberland Itinerary for first timers

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Hello! My husband, our two kids ages 8 and 6, and my mother will be heading to Switzerland in July! We will be staying in the Lucerne area for 2 days and then in Wengen as a base for 4 nights and 5 days to explore the Bernese Oberland area. I‘m trying to finalize our itinerary- given that the weather cooperates. I have a few questions:

  1. Is Golden round trip to Mt. Pilatus worth it with kids? Is this something they should really enjoy? Since we will be in the Wengen area for the next 5 days, I wondered if the activities and views will be similar to what we will see/do there.

  2. Is there anything else you would really recommend in the Lauterbrunnen/Wengen/Grindelwald area besides what we are planning to do? Looking for kid friendly. We plan to visit:

-Grindelwald and Grindelwald First (gliders, cliff walk, playground)
-Cable car to Pfingstegg for the summer toboggan
- Murren and the Flower Park playground and children’s adventure trail
-Walk the Lauterbrunnen valley and see Staubbach Falls and Trummelbach Falls
- Wengen gondola to Mannichen playground and hike to Klein Scheidegg

Any other suggestions that are not to miss in the area? We will have a car parked at Lauterbrunnen train station since we are driving to other countries as well after Switzerland, but plan to use the Bernese Oberland pass while in the area. Thank you so much for your help!

Posted by
1032 posts

I've never been over to the Wengen side where you are focussing, but I can't imagine going to the Lauterbrunnen Valley and not going to the top of the Schilthorn to see the view across the valley to the Eiger/Monch/Jungfrau.

Posted by
1078 posts

Yes the Mt. Pilatus trip would be perfect for the kids, you leave Lucerne on a boat and ride to the cogwheel train that then takes you up to the mountain top. There is a great trail/hike around the summit that the kids would love. Sometimes, there are local's playing Elk horns at the top, then the gondola ride down on the backside has a half-way stop with a luge ride that would make the kids day! So I recommend you do it in the morning because in the afternoon it may be clouded in.

In the Lauterbrunnen are I would take the gondola up to Murren, walk through the town and just above it is cogwheel train that will take you up to a high meadow with a large play ground for the kids and nice restaurant for lunch. Then go back down by the train or walk a trail. When you back at Murren take the trail to Gimmelwald (easy down hill walk) and along the way there will be people hang gliding above you! When you get to Gimmelwald you can then hop back on the Gondola and head back to home. This would be a great day for family as everything is easy walking and scenery is simply breathtaking.

Posted by
1443 posts

Instead of walking the Lauterbrunnen valley, you can rent bicycles in Lauterbrunnen and cycle the length of the valley pretty easily. The area is very bicycle friendly. The kids might enjoy that.

Posted by
427 posts

We took our kids to Switzerland last summer. I’m linking my trip report since we did some of the activities you mentioned.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/italy-and-switzerland-trip-recap

We really enjoyed Mt. Pilatus. If you want to stop at the dragon themed playground, it’s a stop the gondola makes (be sure you know which one—we missed it the first time).

The playgrounds at Mannlichen and Allmendhubel were two of our very favorites. I’d also recommend the trip up the Schilthorn. Enjoy your trip!

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