279 posts
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
72625 posts
Hi Travelmom,
Further to Alan’s great suggestions, we have listed suggestions (from sports to scenic trips) on our web page here.
And while you’re getting started with planning your trip, you might find some valuable information here.
72625 posts
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)
72625 posts
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.
279 posts
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
604 posts
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.
7567 posts
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