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Need home base lodging advice!

Hi everyone,

Planning to take our family of 5 (2 adults and 3 tweens) to Switzerland next June.

We'd like to use one town as home base and just use the train to get back and forth for day trips.

Question 1: What would be a better home base to visit Lucerne, Zurich, and maybe Wegnen (sp?) and Zermatt?
Have seen people recommend Lucerne and Interlaken.

Question 2: I'm having trouble finding lodging for 5 that doesn't require us to leave a child as payment. :)
Any suggestions if it's going to be where we'll come and go from for an entire week?

Thanks in advance!

Posted by
4615 posts

Once you get into the Berner Oberland, you stay in the BO as much as possible.
For cities, use Lucerne, as it's charming on its own, and you can get to the airport easily from Lucerne.
How many days in country? You will need at least two, if not three bases. Give us some more info, and we can provide more input.
You will love this beautiful country!

Posted by
351 posts

Sounds so fun! you didn't say how long your trip was. I would concider both RS picks, one week in Murren (not Wegnen) and one week in Appenzell. Lots of nice hikes and fun things to see and do. I have taxied up from Appenzell to Gusthouse Eggli several times, it's like a weird animal petty zoo with a beautiful view, hiking trails, trampolines, and good food. You can also train to luges, and many other hikes from Appenzell. Murren has great hikes, mountain bike trails, play grounds that work for tweens, amazing waterfalls. Details to both places are in RS book. If you go in June you should be able to see the cows being taken up to alps for summer. There are Airbnb's in both locaions and I have found them to be reasonable. The rail passes for the mountains will set you back some cash. J

Posted by
101 posts

Here's the rub: it may only be a total of around a week (yes, I know we need more, but it's not in the cards while all three kids are still living at home).

I know I'd like to visit Lucerne for at least 1.5-2.0days and then probably Zurich as well for 2.0 days. but this will HAVE to be an in and out (primarily b/c our trip is 'mission creeping' close to a month with other destinations before and after. Our kids love travel, but a lot of hikes aren't really their deal. So, we were only thinking 2-3 nights in each. We'll be headed to Paris after. :)

To be honest: We're looking for the, "You're only passing through for a night or two? Here's what you HAVE to see/experience."

My wife and I hope to come back when the nest is empty, but it's not right now, so we want to help the kids see a bunch.

Posted by
101 posts

When you mention Appenzell, is there a certain town named that? Or is that an area with many small towns?

Posted by
101 posts

Reading RS Recommendations for 3-5 days and it looks like:
Lauterbrunnen Valley and Luzern

My Q is this: when I search on Airbnb for Lauterbrunnen Valley, it comes up with all kinds of locations including Wegnen. How easy is it to get to/from this area without a car? I know Wegnen is car-free; but what about getting to Lauterbrunnen?

Posted by
11247 posts

First, the spelling is Wengen. That will help you navigate.

Wengen, Lauterbrunnen, and Mürren are close to one another. Lauterbrunnen is in the valley and the other two car free villages are on either side of the valley. It takes about 35 minutes to travel between Mürren and Wengen on the trains and cable cars. Rick Steves book explains all of this very well and once you are there it will become clear.

I am one of those who like to stay in Lauterbrunnen because it is faster/easier to arrive from Interlaken and easier to go to either side of the valley. YMMV. Many here like to stay up in Mürren or Wengen for the views.

If you have 5 nights, plan 3 in the Lauterbrunnen area and 2 in Lucerne. Do not devote time to Zurich, Geneva, or Interlaken with such limited time. You and your wife will be plotting a return without kids before your first day is over.

You might try this apartment in Lauterbrunnen https://www.vrbo.com/1207898ha. We like it very much. Nothing fancy but convenient and with a stunning view,

Posted by
687 posts

In 2019, we stayed at Chateau Oberdorf in Muerren for 6 nights with our 2 kids and my mom-in-law. An absolutely lovely 3-BR apartment with views to die for. Small, but well-equipped and comfortable with a large, wrap-around balcony, and not a budget-breaker. Would totally stay there again, and loved, loved, loved being in Muerren.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/VacationRentalReview-g188084-d6588573-ChaletOberdorfMurren-MurrenJungfrauRegionBerneseOberlandCantonof_Bern.html

Posted by
101 posts

@ DebVT:

In 2019, we stayed at Chateau Oberdorf in Muerren for 6 nights with our 2 kids and my mom-in-law. An absolutely lovely 3-BR apartment with views to die for. Small, but well-equipped and comfortable with a large, wrap-around balcony, and not a budget-breaker. Would totally stay there again, and loved, loved, loved being in Muerren.

How easy was it to get to and from using public transportation? Or would an Uber/Lyft be easier?

Posted by
11247 posts

Uber and Lyft not possible in the car-free village of Mürren but most hotels have shuttles to help you with luggage. Ask wherever you decide to stay what arrangements can be made if you don’t think you can walk with luggage to the lodging.

Posted by
687 posts

The apartment is just up from the train station in Muerren — guessing less than 1/4 mile. It’s a slight uphill walk. We had no trouble with our luggage (carryon) and pushing my son (teenage special needs kid) in his stroller.

As stated by Laurel, Muerren is car free (lovely), so no Uber/Lyft. It is a very small village and everything is easily walkable, including the Co-op, restaurants, and access to hiking trails and transport (gondola/train).

Posted by
1363 posts

Murren ( Muerren) has a website run by the Tourist Information office that lists accommodations rented out directly by the owners through the TI website. For the most part, these are properties owned by Swiss citizens who don’t want to mess with booking company contracts such as Booking.com or similar. As a result— there are fantastic deals among these listings on the TI website.
You can easily find accommodations in a holiday apartment in Murren for less than half what hotels in the area cost. And Murren has one of the ubiquitous “Co-op” grocery stores which has stores throughout Switzerland. Wengen also has a Co-op grocery store. This will save you a boatload of Swiss Francs on meals at the hotels or restaurants ( if hotel rates have you experiencing sticker shock- Swiss menu prices are similarly shocking).
Lauterbrunnen, Wengen and Grindelwald also have accommodations listed through the Tourist Information
website.
Go to www.muerren.swiss
Click the three white bars in the upper right corner to select “English.”
Then Select “Eat & Stay” ( Essen & Ubernachten)
Then select “Apartments” ( Ferienwohnungen)
Enter the number of days you will need accommodations, the number in your party and your dates of travel. All options then appear with prices.
There is an option to select a comprehensive list of accommodations in Murren, Lauterbrunnen, Wengen and Grindelwald. You also can limit the search to just one town.
With just 7 days in Switzerland, I would stay in Muerren with its spectacular views, and possibly Lucerne. I would give the major cities a miss because —as the Swiss themselves will tell you— the grandeur of Switzerland is in its mountains—not its cities.
Have a great Trip!

Posted by
101 posts

@Kenko: This is brilliant!

And, to confirm, Murren would be a good central location in the area to easily explore for a few days?

Posted by
476 posts

And, to confirm, Murren would be a good central location in the area to easily explore for a few days?

Mürren is a beautiful car-free village tucked away in the mountains. It is ‘central’ for exploring the Lauterbrunnen valley with its hikes and waterfalls. You can take the gondola up higher to the Schilthorn or go across the valley to Wengen and further up there as well. If this is what you are looking for then it is perfect.

Maybe take a look at Google maps and also at the SBB train website to get an idea of the location and travel times to and from there.

Our kids love travel, but a lot of hikes aren't really their deal

What kind of things do they enjoy about travel? What would they like to see and do?

Posted by
768 posts

Murren is great, but so is Lauterbrunnen, which is the transportation hub of the area. If you're looking for a family place, you might check out the local campground, which rents out trailers and bungalows. Here's one that sleeps 6:
https://www.campingjungfrau.swiss/en/family-cabin
I've stayed there many times--with my kids.

Posted by
1363 posts

For an orientation, you get to Murren by a cable car ride ( a “gondola”) and then connect to a cogwheel train ride. The whole journey from Lauterbrunnen takes about 20 minutes and is a lot of fun. From Lauterbrunnen, Wengen is reached by gondola in about 10 minutes. Because they both are valleys that were carved by glaciers—Yosemite Valley is similar to Lauterbrunnen Valley— just larger. For Yosemite, the rock walls on one side have “El Capitan”. The opposite side has the Cathedral Spires and Bridalveil Waterfall. With The Lauterbrunnen Valley, the rock wall on one side has Wengen and the other side has the village of Murren. The reason the unique views from Murren are so spectacular is that you can see the three massive mountain peaks of the Eiger ,the Munch and the Jungfrau mountains from Murren, each of which is more than 13,000 feet above sea level.

Posted by
4214 posts

I'd consider skipping Zurich and do one mountain town (Murren, Wengen, or Lauterbrunnen) plus Lucerne.
What is your per night budget for accommodations?

Posted by
16026 posts

Holiday apartments are the answer for a family for their Swiss vacation. We are taking our son’s family next summer and we will be a group of 6: 2 grandparents, 2 parents, and twin boys. I was looking at options in Mürren and Wengen yesterday. The apartments listed with the local TI tend to be full-week rentals, Saturday to Saturday. If that works for you, great. Otherwise you can also look on AirBnB, as many owners or agents list their apartments there as well, usually without the date restrictions, although a minimum stay of 3 to 5 nights is common.

I was surprised to see that our favorite apartment in Mürren, a comfortable and modern 3-bdr 2 bath flat with beautiful views, is already booked for the exact days we want, but I cannot change our dates so we will have to try something new.

As far as far as getting to these villages, there is some confusion above. Wengen is served by cogwheel train, not by gondola. It is same train that continues up to Kleine Scheidegg on the route to the Jungfrau. For Mürren, the usual route is a cablecar (not the same as a gondola) up to Grutschalp, and a train along the cliff edge into Mürren. There is an alternate route by bus to Stechelberg and the Schilthorn cablecar up to Mürren from there, but that is not as convenient with luggage.

Note that a cablecar and a gondola are very different. A cablecar ( Luftseilbahn in German) is a large, room-sized cabin suspended from a cable. Most hold 80 to 100 people, who ride standing up (and I am not happy when they are that packed with people). Generally there are two cars at opposite ends of the line, acting as counterbalance. They dock simultaneously at stations at either end of the line for loading and unloading, then move at the same time, passing each other at the midpoint. There is a driver in each car.

You can see and ride in a cablecar at North American ski resorts such as Whistler/Blackcomb, Snowbird, and Jackson Hole.

https://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/explore-the-resort/activities-and-events/summer-activities/peak-2-peak-360-experience/peak-2-peak-gondola.aspx

A gondola (Gondelbahn in German) consists of many smaller cabins strung in series on a cable, each holding 6-8 people who ride sitting down. The cabins move continuously, so you board and disembark while the cabin is moving through the boarding area. There are no Gondelbahn lifts carrying people in the Lauterbrunnen valley, but there are several at Grindelwald, the next valley over. The famous Männlichen ridge walk can be reached from Wengen by cablecar or from Grindelwald by Gondelbahn. You can see photos of both types on the Männlichen website:

https://www.maennlichen.ch/en/

Unfortunately the narrative has been careless in translation, as they describe the “Royal Ride” on the roof of the cablecar up from Wengen as taking place on top of the “gondola cabin”. But the English schedule gets it right, listing the lift from Grindelwald as a “gondola cableway” and the other, from Wengen, as an “aerial cableway”.

I see this translation confusion on other websites as well, such as this tourism website:

https://www.interlaken.ch/en/experiences/poi/first-gondola-cable-car

Compare the German, which says “Gondelbahn”: https://www.interlaken.ch/erlebnisse/poi/firstbahn

On the other hand, the official website for the Grindelwald First lift gets the English translation right:

https://www.jungfrau.ch/en-gb/grindelwaldfirst/

In each case, regardless what the English says, the German correctly makes the distinction between Luftseilbahn and Gondelbahn. So it is just careless translation.

Sorry to belabor the point, but this is a pet peeve of mine. . .

Posted by
16026 posts

Thanks! I enjoyed reading your report on your recent trip.

Unfortunately the price is rather insane—- over $1200 per night for our dates in September—- so over $7200 total for 5 nights with fees. You must have gotten a great deal.