MySwissAlps.com features ads, commercial and non-commercial 8-day Bernese Oberland/Lucerne trip late June
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This is our first trip to another country so we are extremely excited and out of all the places in the world this is the one we chose. Just wanted some opinions and tips for our itinerary if anyone could be so kind as to provide any. We have an outline for our trip and are trying to fine tune it.
Note: 2 Adults and one 4 year old. Late June/Early July. No specific order for the following days as of yet.
Day one: Arriving at Wengen home base and settling in for a 7 night stay.
Day two: Schilthorn, Birg, Murren exploration, North Face Trail Hike, Allmendhubel visit, and Murren Dining
Day three: Oeschinensee Lake. That’s it. Going to be a day trip. Hiking Panorama Trail, Riding the Summer Toboggan, and lounging at the lake.
Day four: Schynige Platte, Lake Brienz. Cogwheel Train, Schynigge Platte Tour Hike, Lake Brienz Ferry from Interlaken OST, Geissbach Falls, Brienz exploration.
Day five: Easy day or so it seems. Lauterbrunnen, Mannlichen Royal Walk. Trummelbach Falls, Lauterbrunnen Exploration, Playground at Mannlichen, Royal Walk Hike.
Day 6 & 7 = Bad weather / Flex Days. Options include: First – Bachalpsee, Panorama Trail: Mannlichen – Kleine Scheidegg, Harder Kulm & Interlaken area, Jungfraujoch, or maybe even some more time spent exploring some villages. Jungfraujoch seems amazing but not sure if we want to do it given all the other cheaper (and amazing) options available. Plus the Schilthorn seems like a nice alternative.
Day 8 = Lucerne. One day to explore here before heading back to Zurrich.
This is an outline so far. Too ambitious? Not ambitious enough?
Also, we bought a Swiss Travel Pass not really knowing all the other options available. Does there appear to be a better option for us?
I have been reading threads on these forums for a while now and appreciate the insight given here. Any help for our specific case would be greatly appreciated!
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Hi Ahurst0783,
Your current itinerary is nicely planned.
In case of bad weather, your options could also include day trips to Thun and Bern. A rainy day is a good excuse to explore old and historical towns.
I’ve included links in your post so you can easily click them to get more information about each destination.
As you’ll be based in Wengen and exploring mainly the Jungfrau region, the Jungfrau Travel Pass might be a better option for you. If you have a Swiss Travel Pass, you could get it at a reduced price. But you’ll have to do the math to see if it gives you the best value. You can find useful tips about how to choose the best railpass here: http://www.myswissalps.com/train/ticketspasses/practical/chooserailpass
Hope this helps.
regards,
Anna
Thanks for your reply! Is there a list of each railway/bus/gondola/cablecar etc… regarding which is covered by which pass and at what rate? My only issue right now as I downloaded the overview map of the Swiss Travel Pass is that it sometimes seems to be difficult to discern the specific routes (from one location to another) as I am not familiar with the area. The table is clear but am I looking at the right route? Some are very close to each other. I am going to give it my best shot though and it might be doable. Was just curious if there was an easier way.
I seem to have answered my own question in regards to a list for Swiss Travel Pass validity. http://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass/validity
Hi Ahurst0783,
The validity map indeed shows nearly all validity information, but you’ll have to look closely and I understand it can be difficult to discern certain routes. But you seem to have discovered the list of covered activities under “Top attractions covered by the Swiss Travel Pass” at http://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass/validity too. I hope that the map and this list answer your questions. Let us know if you’re still in doubt!
The Swiss Travel Pass is a good option for your itinerary. And if weather in the Bernese Oberland / Lucerne isn’t that great, you can easily travel to other parts of Switzerland if weather is better over there. That’s one of the advantages of the Swiss Travel Pass. Note that you don’t have to arrange anything for the 4-year old: children up to 5 years old travel for free everywhere and don’t need any tickets: http://www.myswissalps.com/train/ticketspasses/practical/discounts.
Hi, on day 2, the hike from Allmendhubel to Murren on the North Face trail with a four year old will take a few hours. You might consider a shorter hike, like the Panorama trail. You’ll also need time for the playground at Allmendhubel. The Shilthorn and Murren dining might be a challenge to fit in before the last cable car departure. The Mannlichen Royal Walk should be the same day as the Mannlichen-Kleine Scheidegg trail. We will be in Murren at the same time. Enjoy!
Thanks for your input DaveF! I hope you’ll have a wonderful stay in Mürren.
HI!
What a great itinerary! I would only make 1 change – on Day 5, stay in the Valley and save the Maennlichen Royal walk for when you go to Kleine Scheidegg because they are more or less in the same area. Do all the Lauterbrunnen activities on 1 day, then the Maennlichen/K.S stuff on another.
You have clearly done a lot of research to plan your trip, so at the risk of adding to any information overload I suggest watching a Youtube video by Izzy and Johnny Harris who did a similar trip with their 2 young children. They had a blast! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNdcwYrHD8s
Viel Spass!
Alan
Thank you so much everyone for the replies! Thanks for the suggestion to separate the Valley and the Kleine Scheidegg area for separate days. Our main worry was that out of 6 full days in the Jung Frau region we may only have 4 with decent weather and having enough energy to do everything. If we separate those 2 days though they should both be relatively easy days and give us more flexibility. That would still leave us with one day to lounge around if everything goes well though which we definitely wanted to do at least once. We shall see.
Enjoy your stay at Murren Dave! That was the other place we seriously considered staying. I will have to take a look at the Murren hiking suggestion you mentioned. I am getting into a little better shape and have a POCO backpack to carry my daughter in so we shall see. She does love to ride in it when she gets tired. 🙂
Arno, thanks for the additional information!
This is the best forum for Switzerland related travel I have come across period.
After researching a bit it appears the last train from Murren to Grustchalp departs at 6:58pm where we would immediately board the last gondola from Grustchalp to Lauterbrunnen. The funicular from Lauterbrunnen to Wengen never seems to sleep so we would always be good there. Still not sure if this is enough time to do everything planned. I am still learning and going over the trip numerous times to find any flaws in the plan.
In place of dining in Murren, you might consider an early dinner at the Schilthorn rotating restaurant. It will be an experience that you will never forget.
Good suggestion! We will try to get there early with the early bird special and get brunch.
Just an updateon dining: On Lauterbrunnen day we will either eat at Weidstubli (I hear reservations are needed though) depending on the time and day or we will head back to Murren after exploring Trummelbach since we will be close by. In Murren we are interested in Stager Stubli. Both of these places are closed on Tuesday so though so we have to keep that in mind.
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