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Hello,
We are travelling to Switzerland for 16 days in July with a 3-year old. We would like to do some family-friendly hikes and bike around town where possible. Below is a draft of our itinerary. I would greatly appreciate the experts here to let me know if we are packing in too much and whether we can do all of this with a toddler.
Also, should we stay in Lauterbrunnen or Wengen? We’d prefer a lower altitude town, so don’t want to stay over at Murren.
Much appreciate your feedback and advice.
- Day-1: Arrive in Zurich by flight from the US around noon. Take the train to Lucerne from the airport. Spend late evening in Lucenre [Stay in Lucerne]
- Day-2: Sightsee Lucerne, may be a trip to Mt. Pilatus [Stay in Lucerne]
- Day-3: Trip to Mt. Rigi and take the boat from Vitzanu to Lucerne [Stay in Lucerne]
- Day-3: Train to Lauterbrunnen in the morning, spend afternoon in Lauterbrunnen valley [Stay in Lauterbrunnen / Wengen]
- Day- 4 to 7: Visit Brienz, jungfraujoch region, bike and hike [Stay in Lauterbrunnen / Wengen]
- Day-8: Train from Lauterbrunnen to Brig (leave in the morning and spend majority of the day sightseeing Brig) [[Stay in Brig]
- Day-9 / 10 – Day trip to Aletsch Glacier and another day trip to Zermatt and Matterhorn [Stay in Brig both nights]
- Day-11: Train to Bern [leave in the morning, spend afternoon in Bern]. Train from Bern to Colmar, France. Stay in Colmar
- Day-12 to 13: See Colmar, French countryside (Kayserberg, bike the wine route). Stay in Colmar both nights.
- Day-14: Train to Zurich in the morning
- Day-15: See Zurich
- Day-16: Flight back to the US [early morning]
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Hi sv2018 and welcome to MySwissAlps!
Wengen tends to be the town of choice at MySwissAlps. Wengen is only about 300 meters lower than Mürren though, so if altitude is important stay in Lauterbrunnen.
I can’t say I know what’s best when travel planning with a young child but the itinerary seems quite doable and not too rushed.
If you aren’t set on Zurich I’d come in on day 15 – it isn’t far from Colmar (I don’t think its as interesting a city unless you are looking for shopping and/or museum visits etc.).
For further suggestions on what to do in the Jungfrau region click here.
For details on Swiss rail passes for your trip have a look here – as well as our page on how to choose a rail pass. The Swiss railways timetable will help you plan out all your trips.
Thanks Lucas for your reply.
We were thinking of Colmar primarily to visit some of the countryside and vineyards. Do you have any other recommendation for a short trip outside of Switzerland for a couple of days?
Hmm nicer than Colmar and Strasbourg? Tough one. We’re a Swiss tourism website only, but the Black Forest area is lovely and can also be combined with Colmar/Strasbourg.
Hi SV
Normally I would recommend Wengen but you mentioned biking around town and Wengen is fairly steep for bicycles. Although not as picturesque or charming as Wengen, Lauderbrunnen or even Interlaken might work better if you plan on bike and boat rides with a 3 year old. Mark
Thanks Mark and Lucas. We are going to look for accommodation and then decide where to stay in the Jungfraujoch area. I believe the train to Wengen from Lauterbrunnen is only 15 minutes? We were planning alternate between biking and taking the trains with the bikes in places where it gets steep. Let me know if that won’t work.
Yes, the train from Lauterbrunnen to Wengen takes around 15 minutes. You can take along your bike in most trains. Read more here about bike transportation.
Hi sv2018 and welcome!
>I would greatly appreciate the experts here to let me know if we are packing in too much and whether we can do all of this with a toddler.<
IMO (and after 19 trips to Switzerland) I would say that you are moving WAY too much. A couple of rules of thumb for you to consider about travel in Switzerland and nearby:
1. Every time you change a base you lose a day with the logistics: travel, checking in/out, packing/unpacking, finding your bearings in a new place, etc. This is only amplified when you have a toddler.
2. Two nights in one base = one day in that base.
You are proposing 5 bases in 15 days. That is at least 2 bases too many. You will spend your vacation watching Switzerland go by out of a train window, much like watching it on television. I recommend that you prioritize what you want to do/see then reduce the number of base changes accordingly.
Another source of information about the Jungfrau region of Switzerland are the series of PDFs posted here:
http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/tips-about-wengen-and-the-jungfrau-region-by-kim
The region is extremely child-friendly
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