I need some advice!

You don't have a lot of time for a big, wonderful place. I loved Lauterbrunnen. Many really like Murren. For you with your desire to get up to Schilthorn. I would travel to Lauterbrunnen and go directly to Murren. It's beautiful there. There are shops with "trinkets" In fact I bought a key chain with embroidery and a little bell. From Murren you could get the 1st gondola up to Schilthorn in the am. I think you and your son would find Gimmelwald charming. You can walk there or take the gondola. It is just below Murren.

Another option would be to stay two nights in Luzern. It is a stunningly beautiful town on a lake, river and in the mountains. You can take a boat ride and then a cog wheel train up to Mount Rigi.

A few years ago, I visited the Lauterbruner Valley. I stayed in Murren, because of its easy access. It was amazing. I hiked down through Gimmelwald to a cable car that dropped me to the valley floor. From there, I walked to Lauterbrunnen with stops along the way to pet cows, sample cheese, and go explore Trimmelbach falls. Once in Lauterbrunnen, it's a simple cable car and train back to Murren for a quiet relaxing evening. The scenery is amazing, and the walk is mostly flat once you cablecar down. Spectacular!!

If you stay at the hotel Alpenruh in Murren you can get discounted tickets up to the Schilthorn as the hotel is owned by the cableway. In fact, you can choose to have breakfast there instead of the hotel.

https://www.booking.com/hotel/ch/alpenruh.html

Stay in Muren. You can easily get up to the Schilthorn first thing in the morning. Walk down to Gimmelwald, go down to the valley, walk alo g the valley, take the lift back up and hike back along a fairly flat path to Muren.

ccmdallas, Interlaken is at the foot of the mountains, but not in the mountains. Lauterbrunnen is in the middle of the beautiful valley, on the valley floor. Mürren and Wengen are up on the mountains, and you can look down at Lauterbrunnen or across the valley at each other. But you say you only have two nights. Since it will take much of a day to get there from just about anywhere, and a trip up Schilthorn (yes) spending any time up there, will eat up a half day. Distance look short on the map, but the mountains make it take longer than you expect. So you really dont have as much time to work with as you might think. My advice is not to overthink it.

Hi ccmdallas, sounds like a wonderful trip! Stay in Murren for the ultimate Swiss experience. The setting is unbelievably beautiful! The Hotel Alpenruh is located at the lift station you’ll use to go to the Schilthorn. As Carol mentioned, take advantage of the hotel’s offer to have breakfast there, it’s a great buffet with terrific views. To prepare for your trip, watch the James Bond movie, “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”, that was filmed on the Schilthorn in 1969.

On the way down, stop at the Birg lift station and do the (free) Thrill Walk.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=thrill+walk+at+burg&&view=detail&mid=11EB2E99620EB3B330CC11EB2E99620EB3B330CC&rvsmid=5521A13CDC47C294C2105521A13CDC47C294C210&FORM=VDRVRV

Both Lauterbrunnen and Murren are great places to stay.

In Murren, you have better views of the mountain tops when you dine in the morning and evening if you eat at restaurants than you do in Lauterbrunnen, and it’s quieter. There are a number of hikes you can do from either.

I stayed in the Alpenbick in Murren and recommend it. I had great views of the Alps from my window.

I stayed at the Hotel Silberhorn and Hotel Steinbock in Lauterbrunnen. I recommend both.

I spent several days in the region and part of the time in Lauterbrunnen so I would be closer to several hikes on the Wengen side. Since you only have two days, you might prefer Murren.

Once you’re there, check the weather and try to choose the sunniest day for the Schilthorn trip. Do the hikes in the Lauterbrunnen valley on the cloudy or rainy day.

It’s a nice hike from Murren to Gimmelwald and back. Or you can take the cable car back or take the cable car down to Stechelberg in the valley.

From there you can hike to Lauterbrunnen and enjoy the views of looking up at the cliffs and waterfalls. It takes you through farms, along a river, and past self-service cheese stations.

There are buses running frequently through the valley, so you could also take a bus from Stechelberg to have more time to explore Trummelbach Falls which are fun to explore. It’s a 45 – 60 minute hike back to Lauterbrunnen from there.

One of the best views (and photos) of the Lauterbrunnen valley were from the cogwheel train from Lauterbrunnen to Wengen. It takes about 15 minutes.

From Wengen, there is a cable car to Männlichen where several hikes start.

All the best,

Raymond

Sounds like you want to stay in the valley rather than up on the mountain so you will enjoy Lauterbrunnen. You can hike the valley and then take the cable car up to Gimmelwald and then hike on up to Murren - where you can access the cable car on up to the Schilthorn. Back in 2017 we stayed in Wengen but had 4 nights. Because of your limited time if you decide to stay on the mountain pick Murren because of the Schilthorn access.