Would love feedback on 2 weeks in Switzerland

I am planning our first trip to Switzerland in May, so I don’t have feet-on-the-ground experience. (We are choosing Lake Lugano, Wengen, and Montreux as our bases.)
I’ve read Lake Thun is lovely, but some locals on the Trip Advisor forum consider it so close to the Lauterbrunnen area that it makes an easy day trip if weather up high is bad. So, I’m not sure it would be a good second base. I’ve also read Lucerne can be very crowded in August and one of the other smaller towns in the east side might be a better choice. Or Rick Steve’s suggests the Appenzell area as a contrast to the higher Berner Oberland area.

I suggest you also ask your question on the Trip Advisor forum as knowledgable locals seem to offer great advice.

Have a look at www.SwissFamilyFun.com for lots of great kid friendly trails, adventure activities, etc. in the Jungfrau region + Switzerland as a whole.

If you can find a place on the lake on Lake Luzern I think that would be great. We’ve stayed at a lake house in Fluelen where you could swim right from the house. Your kids would love that and you can take the boat from there to sights along the lake, as well as train to the wider region.

You don’t need to spend your last night in Zurich. Luzern is an easy 1 hour direct train to the airport.

I’d recommend 8-10 nights in Wengen or Mürren + 4-5 nights on Lake Luzern (not the town, but lakeside). Thun is great but it’s a day trip option from Mürren or Wengen and I think you’d enjoy exploring another region. If you can’t find lodging on the lake, I’d look for lakefront on Lake Brienz, Lake Thun, Lac Leman or one of the other lakes in Switzerland. Being waterfront is an awesome experience.

From Luzern you can even do an easy day trip to Lugano and Morcote to experience Italian Switzerland via the high speed tunnel train.

If you want more help with your time in the Jungfrau, feel free to reach out. We spend our summers living in Mürren and my nephews, as well as friend’s kids come to visit us every year, so I’ve explored a lot of the kid friendly options.

You have definitely scheduled a wonderful trip. How you divide your time really depends on how much hiking you want to do. We are returning to Lauterbrunnen for our 4th visit, our most recent was in 2023. This time we are staying in Grindelwald, the last time, we found the lovely little village of Isenfluh after a 2-night stay at Giessbach Hotel, which we recommend highly, and the train trip up to the Rothorn from Brienz. . Using the cable cars quickly gets expensive unless you've bought a Swiss Travel card and trains for your excursion. We have always traveled by car because we headed to remote locations and had gear that would make train travel for extended times difficult. We loved the trip up to the Schilthorn and a visit to Trummelbach Falls on a trip where Lauterbrunnen was our base. We used RIck Steves' guides to get around, but we never made it to Gimmelwald, and because my husband may be using an electric wheelchair this trip, we opted to skip it again. It might well be the prettiest spot in the valley, but just being there, staring at the waterfalls spilling down the cliffs and the great peaks in the distance clears my head and nourishes my soul. It's one of those places that virtually every view is awesome.

This trip, we are staying near First, just outside Grindelwald, and think there are activities there that your children will enjoy if you head up to First. If you are traveling by car, there are some amazing sights to see near Meiringen, including the funicular up to Reichenbach Falls known as the place where Sherlock Holmes died. The Holmes connection is a bit corny but the ride itself is beautiful. Deeper into the Alps, beyond Meiringen is one of the steepest funiculars in the world. I believe it's called the Gelberbahn. That should be one of the most memorable activities of the trip.

We are making our first excursion into Kandertal, the valley to the west of Lauterbrunnen. It is a bit different, a bit wider, and it has many lovely alpine lakes. You might want to add a few nights there. Or head to Stoos, which is on a lovely plateau just east of Lucerne. Again, a great funicular that rolls as it climbs to the top. And good accommodations.

With a group of teens/tweens, I think you decision to make Lauterbrunnen your primary focus makes sense. There are plenty of beautiful places to see, but it means train or car time. You are heading to one of the prettiest places inthe world and there are enough cablecars and kayak companies in the region between Lauterbrunnen and Lucerne that you'll find plenty of lovely places to hike and vistas to enjoy.

Have a fantastic trip.

Despite being to Interlaken multiple times, we've not spent much time in the nearby Swiss cities, though Lucerne looks lovely. On our last trip, we were knocked out by the beauty of Lake Uri, as we drove along it's eastern shore toward Brienz. We are now debating whether we should stay near Lake Uri and enjoy a boat ride or should stick with our original plans to spend a few days at Lake Walensee, which doesn't draw huge international crowds. Some of the longer boat rides if you are staying in or near Lake Lucerne will take you into Lake Uri, and the ride will be unforgettable.

We enjoyed Montreaux and Chillon Castle very much and had a wonderful stay just outside the city, with views of the Alps beyond the lake that were glorious.

Thank you all so much for the great tips and help! I am noting all of these places down.

Any advice or experience with camping jungfrau? There's a bungalow available the week we're looking at Lauterbrunnen. We're not big campers, but the bungalow has its own bathroom and kitchen, plus 2 bedrooms for my family.

We’ve stayed at a lake house in Fluelen where you could swim right from the house. Your kids would love that and you can take the boat from there to sights along the lake, as well as train to the wider region.

Do you mind sharing the link for the rental? :)

The place we stayed is booked all of August, so it wouldn’t be of help to you, but here is one with lake access in Fluelen and there is a whole set of lake houses in nearby Sisikon as examples….

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1458503847036180092?viralityEntryPoint=1&s=76

https://www.schenker-arch.ch/ferienvilla-am-see

All the advice given thus far is excellent.
Since you will travel in the peak of peak season, make sure you book your hotels asap. Europeans, esp. families, plan their vacations months, if not a full year, well in advance. Many smaller inns reserve rooms for their regulars. So, since you are a biggish family, do your lodging research now and book soon.

Thank you! We ended up booking a week at camping Jungfrau and then a lakefront property for 5 nights in lake Thun. I know they're geographically close, but options were limited. You're right, most stuff was booked already! I've been planning this trip for months, but Switzerland is our last stop in our 6 week journey, so I'm finally booking it now. I've written down all of the tips on where to go and what to see in the Jungfrau region, thanks again

We spent a week in Oberhofen on Lake Thun in 2005 and had a great time taking the bus, boat, and trains to various places around Switzerland using a Swiss Travel Pass. We've been back to Thun several times since then. It's possible to swim in the lake from various access points near Oberhofen. I recommend taking the cogwheel train to the top of the Niesen (if the weather is good). You can also hike back down if you are so inclined. Boat trips on the lake are a good option. If you take the boat to Interlachen, I also recommend going on the Lake Brienze boat to Giessbach Falls. The old hotel is worth a lunch and the hiking trail along the waterfalls is much fun. The Harder Kulm cable car (from Interlaken) is also a scenic trip, especially later in the day). Bern is also a good day trip from Thun. Lots to do and see.

Longer, but doable trips from Thun include:
1. Aletsch glacier. Take the train from Thun to Betten Talstation (transfer at Brig). Buy a day pass at the Talstation. Take the cable car to Bergstation Bettmerhorn (including a walk through Bettmeralp between cable car stations). Hike down part of the way if you are so inclined. We took the cable car back down and rode the train from Betten Talstation to Flesch and then took another cable car up to Bergstation Eggishorn and then back down later in the afternoon. It was a long day but worth the views of Europe's largest glacier from the top.
2. Another long day trip, but worth the effort is from Thun to the Aguille du Midi in Chamonix, France via the Mont Blanc Express Railroad.
3. Day trip to Luzern with a visit to Mt. Pilatus or Rigi Kulm.
The Swiss train system is flexible and reliable enough to take longer excursions. It's an education just to experience the benefits of a good public transport system.

Thank you Karl!

I'm second guessing Camping Jungfrau and wondering if we'd be better stationed in Murren or Wengen. There are AirBnBs that are priced similarly to what I paid at Camping Jungfrau. I thought the campground would save us money, but it was surprisingly expensive for the week; we did get a bungalow and it looks really nice, just more than I'd expect in a campground.

Thoughts on keeping where we have as our base? Or is Wengen or Murren a more central option for exploring the area?

Depends on the locations of the places to say Mürren or Wengen but either is better than Camping Jungfrau.

Wanderweg, can you elaborate more? Is it the location or the campground itself? I'll take any recommendations on specific areas in wengen or murren :)

I don't think there's a way to add a screenshot as I'm trying to show the map of a rental I found in Wengen. It's on Am Acher or Schonegg in Wengen, the 3rd floor of an apartment house it looks like.

The views from Wengen look phenomenal. The travel distance to get to other areas of Lauterbrunnen are my concern. The Cliff Walk in Grindelwald is nearly 2 hours from Wengen, one way? I suppose everything takes longer since you have to maneuver around all of the mountains and valleys? I'm just working through this out loud since we'll have 3 kids with us and I want the pretty views while also being realistic about seeing what we want to see with the kids.

Would love any thoughts on the Wengen location and how transportation would be from there vs down in the valley at Camping Jungfrau.

Thank you for who sent me the Swiss Family Fun link, it's been invaluable!

I’m not sure exactly what you’re looking at, but to First from Camping Jungfrau takes 1 hr 34 min including having to take a bus from the campground to the train station (or walk 22 min through very traffic heavy streets, which makes it around 2 hours) OR you can go in 1 hr 33 min from Wengen.

CJ isn’t as convenient as you think, as the train station is a 22 min walk and as I mentioned, the streets are extremely crowded with cars and people everywhere. If your concern is convenience, CJ is the opposite of that. In August it can be quite warm and people everywhere on the streets with sidewalks not wide enough to fit everyone isn’t the romantic picture you probably have it in your head of staying in the Swiss Alps. It’s hard to perfectly explain to you why it’s so much better up in the mountains as opposed to in Lauterbrunnen but once you’ve gone and experienced it, you’ll definitely get it :)

Get a place in Wengen or Mürren within easy walking distance to the train. If you want to send me a private message to look over the places you’re considering I can give you more insight into which is more convenient and best for your specific needs.