Interlaken with teens high summer : 3 nights what should we/can do and visit ?

[Rollonsummer1]

Realistically using Interlaken as our hub what should we aim for and is there anywhere to swim etc ?

Interlaken is between two lakes with bathing areas. If they like James Bond a trip up the Schilthorn from Muerren is a must. There are walks down from the middle station or at village level. Boat trip on either of the lakes. Walk along the valley from Lauterbrunnen to Trummelbach falls or the Aareschluct near Meiringen and the Reichenbach falls (Sherlock Holmes). Grindelwald and Wengen are worth a visit. There will be activities like rafting or climbing bookable through the tourist office/skischool.

2nd what LIZS said. We took cable car from Grindelwald and walked most of the way back down. There were a couple of restaurants and a huge adventure playground on way back. Loved Aareschluct (gorge you can walk through and spot the dragons) and the Reichenbach Falls. Meiringen is nice - Sherlock museum and the obliquitous meringues. There is a little (steam) train from Brienz up the mountain side. Both this and the cable car were eye-wateringly expensive though as I recall.

Definitely head up towards the either the grindelwald or lauterbrunnen valley on at least one day. There are various cablecars as mentioned above. One nice option is to get the train to Grindelwald then the cable car that goes across the face of the eiger. This takes you to Eigergletscher where you can walk down to Kleine Scheidegg. You can then get the train down to the lauterbrunnen valley. It is possible to walk right down but is about a 4 hour walk or you can do section walks between the various stations.

If you don't fancy lake swimming there are two outdoor swimming pools with stunning views, one you can also access the lake beach. DD enjoyed the trottibike scooters down the hill after getting the cable car up, I couldn't get the hang of it at all! There are loads of adventure sport options, everything is just so very expensive.

@LIZS thank you ! No they are not interested in it at all. DH and I like JB but not sure if enough to visit an attraction around it.

Would latunrean (sp) be a day trip from interlaken ? That sounds beautlful !

@helpfulperson that is very helpful thank you do you think we could do that in a day trip from interlaken ?

@Maiyakat thank you !
Where is this please which town /lakes are you refering too.

Nb: we are not walkers or bikers we dont have any proper walking shoes.

Meiringen has an outdoor swimming pool.

Lauterbrunnen is half an hour max by direct train/post bus. From there you can take a train up to Wengen and beyond or furnicular/train to Muerren , both car free and lots of easy walking on good paths with mountain cafes, or just walk further along the valley.

I was on a school trip to Interlaken in nineteen eighty six. We stayed at the Hotel Krone.

And there is a 360o revolving scenic restaurant at top of Schilthorn (great buffet) as well as 007 exhibition.

I recommend the train up the Jungfrau- highest station in Europe and a good chance of snow at the top.

We did a week in Wengen last summer with 3 teens. Have been there many times before but not in summer since they were little.

We mixed chilling out and hiking with a couple of 'big ticket' days.

Rafting down the River Aire from Uttigen to Bern was a hit with everyone. Takes a couple of hours, you just float down, can pull up to the side at any point for a break/picnic and as long as 1 person stays in the boat, the others can jump in the river and swim/float down at the same speed as the boat. You set off from Uttigen train station and can then get the train back from Bern.

A couple of us did paragliding from Murren, also excellent

Others of us hired bikes from Grindelwald and headed up to Grosse Scheidig. They had regular push bikes and it took them about 5 hours to cycle up and less than 30 mins to come back down. They are keen cyclists. I would recommend hiring electric bikes!

There is an outdoor swimming pool in Wengen, with a stunning view that does surprisingly cheap food for the area and is a sun trap for much of the day. Also in Wengen a pretty decent crazy golf course (better than the one in Grindlewald)

Lauterbrunnen is very close to Interlaken on the train but if you're going to head that way, I'd go further and go up to at least Wengen or Grindlewald, or Kleine Scheidig. Don't just stop at Lauterbrunnen.

I'd also take at least a decent pair of trainers, you will do at least some walking even if you're not hikers

Be prepared for everything to be sooooo expensive. It just is.

Fab bit of engineering! Just check the webcam before buying tx. My late father had always wanted to visit, but in the olden days, you just took your chances. Complete whiteout at the top.

absolutely possible as a day trip. Leaving Interlaken at 9.00 you can be at Eigergletcher by 10.00. The SBB app is good for public transport times and prices.

Couple of useful youtubers. Alpins in the Alps and The Travelling Swiss, both with alot of content about visiting this area.

Not sure if you have to be 18, but I did paragliding off the mountain there. It was really fun.

There's a swimming pool in the centre of Interlaken and one on the edge of lake Brienz at the edge of the town. We did the trottibikes at Beatenburg which is about half way along lake Thun, you can also get them in Grindlewald.

There's lots you can do without walking but as previously said before it all comes at a price.... We stayed in a hostel so saved money by self catering.

No you don't, my son was only 13 and it was fine.

Would definately recommend trips to the schilthorn walking through Murren and jungfrau. Both amazing with stunning scenery.

@Flomingho thanks and they are possible day trips from intelaken ?

Definitely, it is not a big area

@xyzandabc thanks and would. Going further be doable in a day trip

Further to where? I think all the places mentioned can be reached with an hour or so , trains and cablecars willing. Jungfrau is a destination that takes a few hours overall https://www.jungfrau.ch/en-gb/jungfraujoch-top-of-europe/?srsltid=AfmBOoqPO2TdbY55-TqzWyC7zAWzsCaO-s7sO__9G2x5hnLJxdvR4KhK but you can pause the journey at Kleine Scheidegg, Wengen/Lauterbrunnen/Grindelwald (depending which route you choose) or to explore. Schilthorn likewise you can break the trip in Muerren, Stechelberg or Lauterbrunnen https://schilthorn.ch/en/Welcome. I ‘d suggest choose one of these for one day and either Meiringen/Aareschlucht, lake Brienz or Thun, or Bern for the other.

You might want to consider an area pass which gives free access to public transport and some lifts (Schilthorn for example) and discounts on others (such as Kleine Scheidegg to Jungfraujoch) https://www.berneseoberlandpass.ch/?utmsource=meta&utmmedium=cpc&utmcampaign=berneroberlandpasswelle1&utmcontent=winterfoto&utmterm=allgemeingrundrauschen&fbclid=IwdGRleAPh6hJleHRuA2FlbQEwAGFkaWQBqyz-1ntOeXNydGMGYXBwX2lkDzE3Mzg0NzY0MjY3MDM3MAABHmAB6D8WXKewxfbnXYl3YA1mlKdAO8wCLnTL6fRRwzcgQoscKHNBVqUmV1E9aemzSJCrQW2RwoR3A44dcn-8Q&utmid=120239287763720681

Yes, Wengen, Grindelwald, Kliene Sheidegg , Murren are all easy day trips from Interlaken. Jungfrau is too but that is super super expensive.

Have a look at public transport on Google maps for an idea of how long it would take by train.

@xyzandabc thanks three nights two proper days in intelaken and maybe really warm.

What would you say are priorities I don't think we will get too far so on this trip maybe miss junhfra

We haven't done mountains proper so just want a whistle stop tour.

We may stay in Lucerne a night is it worth doing mount pilatus there or just go straight to intelaken ? @LIZS that's really helpful thank
I'll see if it's suitable for a short trip and we may have a car,not sure.
I'm hoping to stay in a youth hostel

Pilatus is fine but I would not make a special trip, alternatives in the Lucerne area is Titlis at Engelberg(rotating cablecar and bridge across a void) or mountain trains up Rigi. The same pass seems to extend to Lucerne area and some of the lifts there. It moght start to feel a bit samey if you focus on peaks! There is a small lake (Lungern?) with swimming beach part way up the road towards the Brunnig pass on the Lucerne side.