Grindewald First

How long are you staying in the area? I think First will be a bit Disney. Once you inform your length of visit, as well as what you enjoy doing (hiking, walking, viewing platforms with exertion, towns/shopping/food, etc.) we might be able to give better suggestions.

Thanks.

Our family of four is staying two nights in Murren and will be driving from Zermatt. We will arrive in the valley around noon, we'll have the majority of day 1, a full day 2, and then the morning of day 3 before heading out to Germany.

We have an older daughter (22) and an 11 year old daughter. We enjoy hiking, but definitely on the moderate to easy level. I'd really like to add a few adventurous items (like First Flyer and First Glider and First Mountain Carts) to the list, but not at the expense of taking in more of the beauty and culture of the Swiss Alps.

We do have the the Berner Oberland pass for our visit and want to maximize its value.

I guess the question is if First itself is worth the visit if you just take in the Cliff Walk and wander a little bit and pass on the other activities. Would it be more worth our time to go up to Mannlichen or stroll Wengen, or even Murren, or take the train up to Eigergletscher or bike ride in the Lauterbrunnen valley?

There's clearly a lot to do in the area and I seriously underestimated our stay and really wish we had another day in the valley, but it is what it is. Just would hate to spend hours waiting in line for a 60 second activity rather than taking in more of the area.

You could head up the First lift and see how the lines are for the activities. If they are long, take a hike over to Bachalpsee (easy walk, somewhat uphill at the beginning, but then relatively level after that). Bring a picnic and eat by the lake -- it is spectacular. Then see if the lines for the Flyer, etc., are better on the way back.

For that short of a visit definitely don't do First and I wouldn't go to Grindlewald either. If you really want adventure, paragliding from Murren is amazing and way less touristy. Or the Murren via ferrata.

If those things are "too" adventurous for you, some other great options that are closer to where you'll already be...
*e-bike the Lauterbrunnen Valley (rent from Imboden in Lauterbrunnen)
*go up to Murren and take the Allmenhubel funicular up to amazing view point, restaurant and optional North Face hike (multiple mountain huts along the way)
*Schilthorn and on the way back down do the Birg Thrill walk
*Walk from Murren down to Gimmelwald - walk around the various farms to buy local products from their self service fridges
*Schynigge Platte (great easy hikes/walks along the ridge with views of the lakes and valley)
*train to Wengen, cable car up to Mannlichen, do the Panorama Hike (walk) to Kleine Scheidegg

Since you only have 1 full day, make sure you do at least one of the high mountain options to get really epic views (Allmendhubel, Schilthorn or Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg). Since you're staying in Murren it makes sense to do things over on that side and not use up precious time going to other places.

If it were me, I'd probably do this...
*Arrive at noon, park in Lauterbrunnen, ebike the Lauterbrunnen Valley (2-3 hours), cable/train up to Murren, check in, walk from Murren down to Gimmelwald, walk through the little village to explore the farms and views, have dinner in Gimmelwald or cable car back up to Murren for dinner.
*Wake up early to go the Schilthorn first thing, stop at the Birg Thrill Walk on the way down. Return to Murren. Ride the funicular up to Allmendhubel and do the North Face hike counterclockwise, ending in Murren. You can stop at mountain huts for lunch. If you aren't up for any amount of hiking/walking, still go up to Allmendhubel to enjoy the views, relaxation platforms and short walks up around there. If for some reason you finish this all early and are still on the lookout for activities, you can go over to Wengen and potentially go up to Mannlichen for alternative views on the other side of the valley.

This is super helpful. Thank you. Most of this was already on our list and it looks like we can still fit most things in, especially if we carve out First. And, maybe, if First ends up being something we really need to squeeze in for the kids, we can try to get up first thing in the morning on our way out of town before the crowds.

One note, the Schynigge Platte remains closed until after our stay, but it looks like everything else is open.

Where did you find the trottibike reviews. We have it planned for a trip in a couple weeks. Now I’m having second thoughts!

Ok, this is crazy, but the reviews are off Google. There were a lot of reviews on Google or you could click on it on google maps I believe, but now all those reviews are just gone. Still a few out there on Tripadvisor. Plenty of reviews say it's fun, so go for it at your own risk, but before the reviews disappeared almost every review mentioned someone getting hurt or seeing someone hurt, sometimes seriously (helicopter rescues). It's early in our trip so we'll save the injuries until the end...

This year we saw tourists return to the Oberland earlier than usual. Because the Männlichen was still closed, but the First was operating it got a lot busier than usual. Nobody expected that May would turn out to be almost like high season already.

But now the Männlichen is open too, so the crowds at First might be a bit less. My advice however is this: Get up early. The weather is usually best in the morning anyway. Then enjoy a beer or a glas of wine on your balcony as you watch the thunderstorms roll in...

Thanks so much for the help. We have shifted our schedule around a little and will try to do First early morning on the day we leave the valley.

We depart today! Our family is very excited.

We'll be there next month and First is one of the top things on our list! We'll suck it up and wait if we have to. We'll plan to arrive before it opens. I also scratched the Trottibikes from the agenda once I saw all the injury reports, lol.