Read "Lauterbrunnen or Murren as home base to travel" & "Jungfrou Region villages" and have more ??

For our base, I'd like for it to feel rewarding to stay there

There are festivals at Montreux, Verbier and St Moritz in July, but not in the Berner Oberland the area you are traveling to. Teens (depending on level of maturity and interests) might not see staying in Murren for 4 nights as fun. There is no night life in Murren. It is pretty quiet there in the evening (and that is how people like it). It is easier to come and go to the Schilthorn and Jungfrau and other parts from the valley town Lauterbrunnen than from Murren a mountain village which requires you to take a gondola to get back.

Thanks Jazz - that was my concern as well. The views may be what I want but I'm planning for others and want to be considerate. Besides, wherever my 3 are having fun, I am as well. :-)

Anybody have a favorite place in Lauterbrunnen they'd like to recommend? I think there were some recommendations in the other topics, so I'll check there. Thanks in advance!

I'm assuming the college students are 18? A walk down to Gimmelwald from Murren would be fun. You could stop for a beer/alternate beverage at Pension Gimmelwald. Spectacular views and beer. Also, it's so quaint/"old world" that I think it would delight most people. I was in the area a few years ago in January with my 19 year old twin daughters. They got quite a kick out of Gimmelwald. Also the Lauterbrunnen Valley has quite a few waterfalls. Trummelbach falls is quite interesting. There is a public pool in Lauterbrunnen

Jazz, what is your definition of “night life” in Lauterbrunnen for 16-18 yr olds?

You go through Murren to get to the Schilthorn so I’m puzzled why Jazz says you have to go down to Lauterbrunnen to get there.

My 15 yr old loved staying in Murren so much we went back the next year when he was 16, both times for 4 nights. Murren is fabulous. It’s 5000’ up and enveloped by the Alps - mind blowing views. There’s a kind of recreation center in Murren, where we rented bikes one day, but didn’t check out what else they offered. In addition to bike riding, we went up the Schilthorn and Jungfraujoch, took lifts up and walked back down on groomed paths that go all over and were very fun, and my son went paragliding for the 1st time from Murren. He now paraglides most weekends. By the end of a full day, my son was happy to eat dinner, walk around town (car free), and go to sleep so he could get up early and have more Alps fun.

Lauterbrunnen is on the valley floor, you have to look up to see the Alps, it’s full of cars, has a busy train station, and is like 100s of other places in Switzerland.

Murren is unique, and very special. How often do you get to stay in a charming village with no cars (virtually), 5000’ up in the Alps?

There's a great apartment I could rent right by the falls in Lauterbrunnen, and since it's a bigger town, easy to get groceries, and then dinner out at night.
Yes, 2 are 18 so they will experience a little bit more "freedom."
In Murren, what are restaurant choices for dinner? Again, we are at the Bellevue.
Yes, Susan, was thinking about renting those bikes!!

Jules, that sounds so memorable!

There’s a very good grocery store in Murren and quite a few restaurants. There’s also a laundromat, some stores, and a post office in Murren.
Gimmelwald is a very quaint, very small village (just houses really, and a playground) a short, very lovely, 10 (?) min walk downhill from Murren.

Muerren is very special place and I would not recommend you changing your lodging choice based on your concern that "there is nothing to do for kids". When they discover that the legal drinking age for beer and wine is 16, they'll figure out how to amuse themselves.

My criticism of Lauterbrunnen is that it has automobile traffic as opposed to Muerren, which is a walking town. Lauterbrunnen is also in the bottom of a valley, with reduced daylight due to high mountains on either side. If you change, you'll be kicking yourself once you've been up there.

The extra 2 stops to get there are pretty easy and part of the charm. And the views across the valley to the Jungfrau, Moench and Eiger are worth it.

Hi Momof3, another vote for Murren. It really is a very special place and the scenery is unbelievably beautiful. There are several very good restaurants, including one at your hotel. We also really liked the Eiger Guesthouse Restaurant/bar (right across from the train station), Restaurant Alpina, and Restaurant Alpenblick.

As mentioned, the cable car to the Schilthorn is in Murren. Be sure to get off in Birg on your way up or down to do the Thrill Walk.

Here's a link to the new Sports Center (https://www.sportzentrum-muerren.ch/en/) that might be of interest to your kids.

We've stayed in Murren three times and would love to return!

Just fyi the train station in Murren that Donna mentions is nothing like the very busy one in Lauterbrunnen. In Murren it’s small, inconspicuous, quiet and doesn’t have the normal kind of trains that Lauterbrunnen has. Is it a cog wheel train??

Ok I agree with the others you may regret staying in Lauterbrunnen once you see Murren on your way to the Schilthorn. And there is no nightlife in Lauterbrunnen either. The views from the rides on the lifts to get to the mountains and villages from the valley never get old. The Schilthorn lift has a stop right at Murren.

If you stayed in Muerren, your kids could also just take the train/gondola down to Lauterbrunnen for the evening if they wanted. It’s only maybe 20 minutes each way, and the lifts/trains run quite late into the night. Or even over to Grindelwald for a bigger town with more nightlife (although a longer journey).

We had BO passes for our trip in 2019, so every trip we made was covered, no additional cost, except up to the Schilthorn. Easy to just hop on and go.

I would definitely, definitely stay in Muerren. Did it for a week with 2 younger teens; they loved it. Besides, everyone was so tired at the end of a day of hiking that we all crashed early.

I'm sold - will keep the Murren hotel. :)

From the BO we are headed to Italy and will fly to Naples. I can fly out of Basel or Zurich based on a recommendation I received. Does anybody have an opinion?
Also, either on the way to the BO from Montreux, or the way out of the BO, will stop in Bern and Lusanne. Considering we are toting luggage and will have a car in Montreux, perhaps it makes more sense to combine it on the front end?

Here's hoping good things happen and the EU/Shengen areas continue to open.

BASE: I'm glad to see you're staying in Murren. Good choice. Easy connection to the Schilthorn. Slightly more adventurous to Jungfrau, but that is half the fun.

FESTIVALS: While not a festival per se, Murren itself has an Alpine Folk Culture show most nights at the community centre at the end of town (or did pre-Covid). You get the alpenhorns and the knee-slapping dances and the yodelling, and all the things you expect from the Alps. Slightly cheesy, but beer is served and we quite enjoyed it. Just ask at your hotel whether this is still on.

TO NAPLES: Check flights out of Bern too. Much closer to Murren. Fewer flights, to be sure, but if you find one that fits ...

From the BO we are headed to Italy and will fly to Naples. I can fly
out of Basel or Zurich based on a recommendation I received. Does
anybody have an opinion?

I'd choose Zürich as my departure airport. More frequent flights (daily from Zürich compared to twice weekly from Basel at the moment) and Zürich airport is easy to reach with direct trains from large parts of Switzerland. Basel will require a bus ride from the railway station.

Also, either on the way to the BO from Montreux, or the way out of the
BO, will stop in Bern and Lusanne. Considering we are toting luggage
and will have a car in Montreux, perhaps it makes more sense to
combine it on the front end?

Like all European cities, Bern and Lausanne are best visited without a car. On the other hand, Lausanne is very close to Montreux (20-30 min by train).

I just want to emphasize that while calling Lauterbrunnen a "bigger town" than Muerren is literally true, it's hardly a metropolis! Both are villages, not even towns, and Lauterbrunnen is only a bit bigger. Neither one has much to "do," but that's not a problem. If you're spending your time in the Berner Oberland wisely, you'll be outdoors walking and hiking all day, so neither you nor your kids will be looking for lots of nightlife.

I had great meals in Muerren at the Bellevue and Blumenthal. Dinner here is at least 50 CHF per person, but it was worth every rappen. I economized at lunch, which was often trail mix or a sandwich bought at the Coop.

And don't worry about train connections. Before you've been to the area, I realize it's very confusing and intimidating. All those unfamiliar Swiss-German place names, and so many modes of transit (regular train, cogwheel train, cable car, etc). But once you're actually there, it's very easy. Trains can only go through mountains where they've blasted a tunnel. In this area, they haven't, so you're always going up, down, or around mountains. When you can actually see the mountains, and the giant maps at every station, you'll see how easy it is to figure out the transit. Plus, all modes come 2-4 times an hour, so if you miss a connection (say, if you used the bathroom), just wait for the next one.

Four years ago we visited the area for 4 nights and had to pick a base. Murren is preferable to Lauterbrunnen IMO because it's up in the mountains rather than in the valley. Our base was Wengen (also up in the mountains - other side of the valley from Murren). After visiting we felt we made the right choice because there are more restaurants, shops, and nightlife than in Murren. Either place is great as a base. We also visited Gimmelwald, Kleine Scheidegg, and Grindelwald. The first two are in the mountains but too small to be good bases for several days and the latter is in another valley and more commercial.

I didn’t care for Wengen, it was crowded and touristy when we were there, nothing special about it, and the geography and views are different. I much prefer Murren, by far.

My now adult kids are very well traveled within North America, but they didn't to Europe until they were 19/20 years. Just about everything they saw in Europe was jaw dropping to them. Whether it was large cities or small villages, they loved it all. That was especially true for Switzerland. Also, there are tie ins to quite a few movies. Lauterbrunnen was the inspiration for Lord of the Rings. There's a James Bond movie that was filmed in Murren and Schilthorn. (I'm not a fan of Lord of the Rings or Bond, but my kids were) I think Bond goes off the edge of a cliff in Murren. Often when we travel we read books and see movies set in the areas we plan to travel to. It's been a fun way to get familiar with an area.

Is it a cog wheel train??

No, Grütschalp to Mürren is adhesion - not a cog wheel in sight...

“There's a James Bond movie that was filmed in Murren and Schilthorn.”

Suggest the family watch “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” before you travel to the Schilthorn. A few years ago they did some remodeling to emphasize the James Bond link. Be sure to check out the restrooms. There is also a restaurant at the top that has a nice buffet. We enjoyed Sunday brunch last time we were there.

Thanks Nigel... : )

Thanks all - the extra insight helps me to visualize. My kids are fairly well traveled but I wanted to make sure we were having good experiences versus just taking one mode of the transportation to the next as the majority of the trip. Also, I've been trying to watch costs knowing this is not going to be a cheap trip. :)
I realize some of the things we will do is cheesy but after this year, I'm okay with that more than ever. lol
We are planning to go this summer and so I'm still waiting to see when the Swiss will open up to Americans. I'm expecting we'll hear by the 21st... or so I'm reading.
I'll check flights out of Bern!
By the way, one of the ways to save on cost will be to utilize the car for an extra day with our visits. How is the terrain from Montreux to Bern, Lusanne?
Please feel free to send any more ideas you have. :)
Thanks,

Momof3, late advice if I missed any original itinerary question. I didn't think Lausanne was worth visiting. Others will disagree. Its not that far from Montreux, so kind of the same view of the Lake, and kind of backtracking if you're coming from Geneva and going on to Bern (which is also not worth visiting IF you want to be in the mountains).

I'll check flights out of Bern!

Don't waste your time doing that, it is a really tiny airport with only a few scheduled flights.

By the way, one of the ways to save on cost will be to utilize the car
for an extra day with our visits.

Another way to save on cost is to not rent a car at all…

The ferry from Geneva to Montreux would be more fun than driving (and parking). I think the Swiss Pass covers that?

The drive from Lauterbrunnen to Bern is easy with most being on a major highway. Same for Bern to the lake. A more scenic route from Lauterbrunnen to the lake is via Juan to Bulle.

Stan, Badger, KBK: thanks for the insights.
I appreciate the writing folks!

For a scenic route between Lauterbrunnen and Bern or v.v. my suggestion is train to Interlaken, a boat across Thunersee to Thun and then another train from Thun to Bern. Not the fastest route, but great views of the area. And a nice boat trip, especially if you take the old paddlesteamer across the lake.

The Bellevue has our favorite restaurant for dinner in Mürren if we go out. But we like to stay in an apartment and mostly cook “in” to save money. With a family of 5 that might work well for you. We love this apartment, which is in the upper village not far from the Bellevue, with the same wonderful views:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/VacationRentalReview-g188084-d6588573-Chalet_Oberdorf_Murren-Murren_Jungfrau_Region_Bernese_Oberland_Canton_of_Bern.html

This is the TripAdvisor link, but you can find it on Air BandB under the name Chalet Oberdorf. There it is $327/night, with a 3-night minimum. The apartment is modern, bright and spacious, with 3 bedrooms and two large bathrooms. The kitchen has everything you could want and the Coop grocery store is very close, via a shortcut path between the upper and lower roads. The owner, a Brit named Johnny C., is responsive in communication and there is an agent in Mürren if you need help with anything. The photos are accurate depictions of the balcony, rooms, and furnishings.

Restaurant meals in Switzerland are very expensive, although food prices in the grocery store are not at all bad. So we feel we save a lot this way. Plus we enjoy having the extra space.

As for activities, here is a link to events planned in the area this summer:

https://muerren.swiss/en/summer/planning-and-events/events/

Normally Mürren has a Dorffest on the first weekend in August—-you can see the parade in Rick’s Swiss Alps videos. We have been 3 times and always enjoy it. Once we actually led the parade because we arrived at the train station just beforehand, and had to walk the main road through the village to get to our apartment. Spectators were already lined up on both sides, so we had to walk down the middle, pulling our roller bags with one hand, and waving with the other. Everyone cheered us on . . . . I do not see the festival listed on this summer’s events, but maybe they are waiting to decide if it is appropriate to hold it this year.

If you do save money by renting an apartment, maybe you could splurge and send the kids on the via Ferrata. My husband did it and absolutely loved it. I think it was around 100 CHF.

https://www.klettersteig-muerren.ch/index.php/de/