Travelling in January with 2yo and 5yo, would like to have my 5yo try a ski school. Any opinions on Grindelwald, Murren or Wengen as best place for this? He has never tried skiing. Would also like to have options for skating or cross-country skiing if easily available. Will not be renting a car while there so will be walking/bus/train for transportation. Thanks for any help!
Do you mean ice skating or ski-skating on a groomed track?
Hi, I saw a ski school in Wengen, it was only a few minutes walk from the train station. I looked it up on Google, and I noticed it says they take as young as 3 years old. Have a great time!
Of the three, I think Wengen is probably best for begining skiers. I think (although I could be wrong) that it's the only town in the Jungfrau region with a learning hill. Also, many of the hotels are "ski in, ski out".
The cross country skiing options are in Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen. I don't know where the course runs in Lauterbrunnen, but in Grindelwald, it's near the Bergbahn station. You can access the town directly by taking the lifts/trains from Wengen. A fun option might be to take the train up to Kleine Scheidegg and sled down to Grindelwald from there.
I'm not aware of any ice rinks in the immediate area. I know Interlaken has an indoor rink, and Kandersteg has an outdoor rink, but it isn't easily accessible from Wengen, Mürren or Grindelwald, espcially without a car.
Most interested in having a great ski school for my 5 year old who has never tried downhill skiing before and would love to spend time both ice skating and cross-country skiing (classic or skate) if easily available
thanks for the suggestions! Will definitely look into sledding from Kleine Sheidegg to Grindelwald, that sounds like a lot of fun!
Google tells me that Interlaken has a skating rink called "Ice Magic". I think it must surely be outdoors, because it is linked to three smaller rinks via ice trails extending about 1/4 mile.
That will likely be in the "high season" for skiing, so rooms might be slightly more expensive, especially in Wengen or Grindelwald. Be sure to budget accordingly as Switzerland is expensive generally.