[Cliff]

15 July 2019 at 8:50:32 #822858

Hi all!

Finally sorted out my travel periods, and got down to planning for our dream holiday to Switzerland for 2 weeks. Unfortunately, the travel period avail for me, 28 Nov to 12 Dec falls right during the off-peak season for Swiss travel, based on what I read. We have 2 kids of 10 and 12 with us, non-skiers and enjoys scenery, nature, and looking forward to some sledding and easier winter hikes. My plans are as follows:

a) Lucerne (3 days) – 28 to 30 Nov

b) Montreux (3 days) – 1 to 3 Dec

c) Zermatt (3 days) – 4 to 6 Dec

d) Wengen (4 days) – 7 to 10 Dec

e) Zurich (1 day) – 11 Dec and depart on 12 Dec

While I have pretty much firmed up my plans & stays for Lucerne, Montreux, Zermatt, I hope to seek advice from the experts here for the planned 4 days in Wengen, after reading that its very quiet, and the Wengen-Mannlichen ropeway will not open until 14 Dec ….

a) In Jungfrau area, we hope to visit as many peaks as we can – Klein Scheidegg, Jungfraujoch, Mt Schilthorn, Grindelwald, First – scenery, sledding and winter walks are what we hope to do. Will that be possible for this period, weather permitting, i.e. are the hiking / sledding trails open at higher altitude in this earlier part of winter season?

b) Wengen is a good base to reach the peaks easier, and there are a few chalets available. However, understand that the town will be very quiet. Are we better off staying in Interlaken or Lauterbrunnen instead? I presume Murren will be equally quiet as Wengen? Any advice or recommendations of a better option?

c) Alternatively, should we consider extending our stay in Zermatt for one or two more days? Will we have higher chances that hiking and sledding trails are open there?

Thanks in advance for any views and advice!

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[Annika]

17 July 2019 at 8:19:15 #917836

Hello Cliff!

You’re travelling in low season indeed, so it’s a bit early for groomed hiking and sledding trails. What is available, really depends on how weather and snowfall develop in late autumn and early winter. There really aren’t guarantees yet for early December. You can still see and do a lot though, if you’re also interested in mountain top visits, scenic train rides, charming towns, maybe Christmas markets, and so on. You can browse http://www.myswissalps.com/ac tivities and try to pick other activities than hiking and sledding. Now, as for your questions:

1) Most of these mountain rides are available, yes. Note that the Schilthorn cable car starts running only from December 9 after a maintenance break, so this should be planned carefully: http://www.myswissalps.com/sc hilthorn.

2) Wengen (http://www.myswissalps.com/we ngen) will be quiet indeed, and so will Mürren (http://www.myswissalps.com/mu rren) probably be. What’s best really depends on your preferences. If you want to enjoy a bit of activity, you could consider the somewhat larger Grindelwald (), Wilderswil or Interlaken (http://www.myswissalps.com/in terlaken) instead. If you’re perfectly fine with a quiet environment and looking for great mountain views mostly, you might still like Wengen!

3) I’m not sure if that matters. Theoretically there could be a difference in snow fall between the northern and southern parts of the Alps, meaning that more hiking/sledding options are available near Zermatt (http://www.myswissalps.com/ze rmatt) than in the Jungfrau region (http://www.myswissalps.com/ju ngfrauregion), or the other way around :-). If you’re interested in both regions, a pretty equal number of days in both makes sense to me.