Zip lining in Switzerland?

Posted by Grace (Wheaton) on 11/23/22 03:11 PM

Hello!
During our visit June 6-14, we will be skydiving. Yay!
Unfortunately, due to severe motion sickness, my husband and my youngest 16 yo will not be able to participate. I am communicating with a skydiving/paragliding company in Interlaken an they said paragliding actually is worse for people with motion sickness so that also is not an option.
Anyone with severe motion sickness that have gone skydiving or paragliding here?

Anyways, I am looking for an alternative experience for them to enjoy and they both love ziplining. I am also doing my own research but any recommendation from this forum based on your personal experience will be greatly appreciated!
Thank you.

Grace

Posted by Lola

Seattle, WA

11/23/22 03:27 PM

16333 posts

There are zip lines at Grindelwald, from the top of the First gondola. Two types, the Flyer and the Glider:

https://grindelwald.swiss/en/summer/see-and-do/activities/adventure-fun/first-flyer/

https://www.jungfrau.ch/de-ch/grindelwaldfirst/first-glider/

I have no personal experience with either, but we have ridden that lift and the kids rode the TrottiBikes down.

Another possibility for adventure would be the Via Ferrata at Mürren:

https://www.earthtrekkers.com/murren-via-ferrata-guide/

Obviously not for someone with vertigo, but it shouldn’t trigger motion sickness any more than hiking in exposed places, or looking down from great heights. My husband really enjoyed it.

Posted by Grace OP

Wheaton

11/23/22 03:33 PM

60 posts

Lola,
Thank you for these recommendations! They look so fun I have a feeling the entire family will want to do it too ;)
I see that you also follow Earth Trekkers! We so appreciate their wealth of information as well as this forum!
Grace

Posted by Carol

Southern Oregon

11/23/22 06:41 PM

647 posts

Regarding Lola’s suggestion at the top of the First gondola, the Flyer and the Glider:
We were at the First gondola this past September. Both of those rides were very popular…and the wait time for both increased as the day went on. In fact, one of those rides had a wait time of over an hour by the time we rode the gondola down. So, plan to arrive early.

Posted by travel4fun

Bend, Oregon

11/26/22 02:51 AM

2324 posts

Our family of 4 has been paragliding in Austria. My husband is afraid of heights, and my younger son gets motion sickness. I get seasick standing on a dock. We all took Dramamine, just in case. I told my son’s pilot about the motion sickness, and it was a very gentle ride - no sudden turns or corkscrews. My husband ended up throwing up about 10 minutes before the ride was supposed to end - probably too much adrenaline in his system. So his ride was cut short. My pilot asked me if I liked roller coasters, and I said I did. So just before landing we did a bunch of corkscrews. Funnest thing ever (but I did feel a little nauseous after the second set). Can’t wait to do it again. So you can definitely customize your experience to some extent.

My son was 13 at the time and still holds it against me that he didn’t get to do corkscrews! We’ll be in the BO next summer and we’re planning to do the First adventure park. Maybe paragliding too.

I’ve never been skydiving, but that period of free fall/tumbling seems like it would be worse than paragliding. Our experience with paragliding was very calm, no sudden drops or lifts. Although my son and I each had kind of abrupt landings -thankful for a big parachute under our tush to soften the landing). Very controlled movements. Maybe it depends on the wind currents, which may be very different in the BO.