Hello friends,
We're planning a trip to Switzerland in July with our two girls (6 and 9). Planning on landing in Zurich for 1 night, and then 2-3 nights near Lucerne (Mt. Pilatus, Mt. Titlis, lake) and then three nights near interlaken/grindelwald/lauterbrunnen area. We're super overwhelmed by where to stay in that region and quite what to do that works best for kids. Would love help navigating which little towns would be good to stay in- we like the idea of the smaller towns and want to be in nature, but want to keep things easy for the kids and getting out each day. Also kind of confused about the Swiss Half Pass vs. Flex Pass for this region. Also I want to see cows!
Posted by
Twin Cities of MN
7099 posts
You can head to Lucerne/Luzern, immediately from Zurich airport. I would stay right in the gorgeous town. From there you can take the train to B.O. I would want to stay IN the mountains, not on the edge so, not interlaken. I enjoyed the Lauterbrunnen valley and Murren/Gimmelwald/Wengen over the Grindelwald side. Lauterbrunnen is in the valley, which we liked. Many prefer to stay in the mountains and stay in Wengen or Murren. I think your kiddos would love Gimmelwald with the farms and farm animals. Perhaps, Murren, with easy access to Gimmelwald, is a good fit for you.
I can't help much with the passes. We had Swiss Travel Passes, but my "kids" were adults. The Swiss Travel Pass did cover the transportation across the lake Lucerne and the cogwheel trains up to Mt. Rigi where the view was spectacular.
Posted by
Citizen of the World
2932 posts
Agree with Jules about staying in Lucerne’s city center which is a 10-minute walk from the train station.
In the Berner Oberland, staying in centrally-located Lauterbrunnen will make excursions to Murren, Gimmelwald and Wengen convenient and quick. You also can get to the waterfalls in the valley quickly if you’re staying in Lauterbrunnen. ( BTW: Gimmelwald has cows)! You might take a trip to the town of Thun to see the castle overlooking one of Interlaaken’s two lakes.
Check into the Berner Oberland Pass to see what mountain trips (Mt. Titlis, Rigi, Pilatus) it covers. You can then compare it to the Swiss Travel Pass. The kids qualify for free train travel if both parents have a Swiss Travel Pass. Just request a free “Family Card” when you buy your train passes. I think the Swiss Travel Pass is likely the way to go.
I would reserve accommodations ASAP because the competition for places in Switzerland is fierce this summer.
Have a great trip!