Switzerland adventure ideas with 16 year old son
Travelmom is planning a special mother-son trip to Switzerland from July 3rd to July 9th, focusing on outdoor adventures like hiking the via ferrata in Murren, parasailing, and canyoning in Interlaken. They also want to see other sights, such as waterfalls and Jungfraujoch, and are looking for accommodation recommendations in the Jungfrau region that are accessible by public transport.
- Consider staying in Wengen or Murren for easy access to the Jungfrau region and stunning views.
- Check out the Outdoor Interlaken website for various adventure activities available, including guided via ferrata trips.
- Book accommodations quickly, as summer is high season, and look for apartments that may be available outside the typical Saturday-to-Saturday rental schedule.
- A Swiss Travel Pass can be beneficial for unlimited travel on trains, buses, and boats across Switzerland during your stay.
AI-generated summary-
My son and I are embarking on a mother/son adventure this summer. We will be in Switzerland 3-July through 9-July. It is his trip; after years of thinking about it, he chose Switzerland over going anywhere else in the world. Hiking the via ferrata in Interlaken was his inspiration so that is definitely on our list of things to do.
We are considering parasailing and canyoning in Interlaken. Other things we are considering include visiting the falls and ziplining in Neuhausen am Rheinfall, visiting Zermatt, and riding the train to Jungfraujoch, but we are open to any suggestions. We are looking for a mixture of adventure and sight-seeing.
All suggestions welcome.
Thank you!
Travelmom
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Hi TravelMom,
Your son has picked the best country to have an adventure in. My first choice would be to concentrate on the Jungfrau region. There are any number of fun activities ranging from lazy paddle boarding on Lake Thun, to adrenaline producing Paragliding and bungy jumping in Grindelwald. There is the Cliff Walk at First above Grindelwald as well as the First Flyer and of course, the Jungfraujoch.
I don’t know of any via Ferrata’s at interlaken, but there are certainly some nearby. I would recommend taking a guided trip to make the experience smoother and more enjoyable. http://www.outdooractive.com/ en/via-ferrata-routes/interlaken/via-ferrata-routes-in-interlaken/5569842/
If you have a look at Outdoor Interlaken’s website, you’ll get a good idea of what the area has to offer. I have no direct experience of them, but they offer a wide range of activities. http://www.outdoor-interlaken.ch/en/summer
For sight seeing, the Grindelwald Gletscherschlucht is interesting, as are the Trumellbach falls in the Lauterbrunnen valley (a few Kms away). On bad weather days, you could take the ferry to Thun, which is more interesting than Interlaken.
I hope this hasn’t been too confusing. I do understand why your son is smitten with Switzerland, I was too at his age.
Have Fun!
Alan
Thank you for the comments and suggestions Alan and Chantal! You are correct Alan, I was mistaken. We were looking at the Via Ferrata in Murren (it was on a website touting the many adventures in the Jungfrau region – I mistakenly thought it was in Interlaken).
I very much appreciate your suggestions. I need to book accommodations. Any suggestions for the best town to stay in to enjoy the Jungfrau region? We will not have a car so I’d like to be close to transportation.
I will look at all the websites you both suggested. Thank you!
Jennifer (TravelMom)
Hi Jennifer,
The most popular village in the Jungfrau Region, at least on this website) is Wengen. Mürren is also a great option nearby. Both are car-free villages so everyone has to take a train or cable car to reach them anyway. Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald are bigger villages and a bit more popular with the average tourist (more shops, restaurants etc).
All our town pages also have tabs for hotel suggestions, with notes on their location distance from town and rail stations etc.
If you’d like to look into apartments/chalets for rent you can click here.
Hi Jennifer,
Picking a town is a very personal choice. Most people seem to recommend the first place they stay at because of the impressions it can leave with the first time visitor. That’s certainly my experience, I always stay in Grindelwald because it completely blew my mind when I first went there in 1978. The other towns Lucas mentioned are all spectacular and Wengen, in particular, is very popular. All the towns are very well connected by rail, so all of the activities I mentioned are easily reached.
As far as accomodation goes, I normally suggest staying at a holiday apartment if you are going to stay for a week or more as they can be considerably cheaper than a hotel, but I see you are arriving on a Tuesday and most FeWos (Ferien Wohnung – German for Holiday Apartment) are let Saturday to Saturday. Still, it doesn’t hurt to ask.
Alan
A number of apartments in Wengen are available for other than a Sat to Sat stay. However you are going during high season so you will need to book accomodation quickly if you are looking for an apartment. Good sites to try are http://www.swissmaidservices.com, http://www.alpineholidayservices.ch, and http://www.interhome.com. The latter site lists only 1 week availability but they often will let for less than that.
Hi Jennifer-
You’ll find a few enthusiasts on this forum. 😉
Wengen-
This article is accurate and complete:
http://www.myswissalps.com/forum/topic/tips-about-wengen-and-the-jungfrau-region-by-kim.
You can learn a lot from it.
Slowpoke
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