Via Ferrata Murren or Tandem Paragliding

Scary and dangerous are two different things. I would say neither are dangerous, but more of a calculated risk. The via ferrata has a guide who makes sure you are being safe the entire time and the paragliding is done by experts who’ve done it thousands of times. The guy I flew with had done 8,000 flights. Could we still die? Of course. But I could also die in a car accident, yet I get in a car every day as a calculated risk.

“Scary” is personal. I personally found paragliding not scary at all. It was like floating. Via feratta is going to feel different than just hanging over the edge of a cliff because you’re strapped in, so again, only you can judge for yourself. Worse case scenario with via feratta is you pay to do it and start and realize it’s too much for you and just turn back. Paragliding you can’t really bail but to me it’s nowhere near as “scary” as say a free fall in skydiving. You’re just floating. They are both amazing experiences that I highly recommend and I wouldn’t consider myself a daredevil or adrenaline junky.

I am scared of heights but I did the paragliding and loved it. It really is like floating. I would never go steer via Ferrata—it looks too scary for me lol

cathy,

I haven't done the Via Ferrata, but I have done the paragliding trip from Mürren and I really enjoyed it. As others have said, the paragliding pilots are very experienced and I believe they have to be licensed. I asked the pilot I flew with about a parachute, and as I recall he said, "it's not required but it makes sense to have one" (although I'm not sure it would have time to open at lower altitudes).

A few more points to mention.....

• Medical insurance - you may find that your travel medical insurance doesn't cover "adventure sports" like paragliding or sky diving. I believe the paragliding companies have insurance, but that's something you'll need to verify.
• At the time I took the flight, the company offered photos or videos, at extra cost of course. I'd recommend allowing for that in the budget, as it's fun to look at them from time-to-time.
• Of the two choices, I think paragliding would be a more memorable holiday experience.

My wife and I did both the via ferrata and paragliding in Murren. I think we flew with Airtime. She got to see the glacier calf but I missed it. The flight was a good 40-45 minutes.
I recommend wearing some eye protection. You will be moving forward at a pretty good speed and your eyes will water quite a bit if you don't wear glasses.

I recommend using a guide on the via ferrata so you have access to the zip line.

Paragliding wasn't scary to me once we got out over the valley. The scenery is amazing in general, seeing it all from the air is spectacular. The via ferrata may be mentally challenging if you have a fear of heights. I was a little shaky at the beginning of the suspension bridge but my wife had no issues.

What blows my mind is that you can rent equipment for about 30 CHF and do the via ferrata without a guide. That’s plain crazy. In June, a British tourist died when she did not follow the protocol, failed to clip on properly and fell. https://newsrnd.com/news/2023-06-09-mountain-disaster--holidaymaker-falls-from-narrow-alpine-bridge-to-her-death.SJ7UL53lwn.html

I have paraglided in Austria and feel much more comfortable with it. You’re with a professional who has hundreds if not thousands of hours of experience. There is a backup parachute underneath you. It is in the pilot’s best interest that you both land safely.

I think the via ferrata is both scarier and more dangerous.

I did both of these a couple days apart when I was in Murren in May/June. We loved both of them, but the via ferrata was definitely scarier. There was one guide for about eight of us. He seemed like he knew what he was doing, but he certainly didn't make sure that we were clipping in correctly. You unclip and reclip a couple hundred times over the 3+ hours. There's no way he could keep an eye on everybody over that whole course of time. Most of it was okay, but they were a couple points where you're on the side of the mountain with nothing but a little bit of rebar between you and the valley below. That and the bridge were scary. The zipline was out due to construction.

As for the paragliding, it was probably the coolest thing I've ever done. My only complaint is that they advertise a 15 to 20 minute flight. Mine was over in 9 minutes and 51 seconds. Yes, I timed it.