 Poster: A snowHead
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Hello,
No skiing information required for this holiday, but I wondered if any snowheads have experienced Interlaken in the summer ? We are off there next week for couple of weeks family holiday and I wondered if anyone has any 'must do' suggestions for us to do. We are hoping to do gentle flat cycling, mostly for me but on pretence of 8 year old, easy downhill stunning mountain walks, bit of swimming, cheap lunches and ice creams and perhaps the odd touristy thing to do. If anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear them.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Hils68 Spent a week there a few years ago, stunning scenery and lovely lakeside town with easy access to trains and ferries which all run like clockwork
The train up through the Eiger glacier from Interlaken was fantastic, though it can get busy so chose when to go, we found after lunch was best time, they even mark the train platform so you know exactly where to stand to get on the correct train carriage
All the boats and trains sync up so easy to get around, the Swiss card was good value though I seem to recall it had to be bought before travelling
Swimming in the lake was nice though a little cold even in the height of summer
Lots of easy walks, nice to walk along the lake shore and then get a ferry back, also lots of gentle gradient valley and mountain walks with a handy restaurant for lunch, tourist information are very helpful. Didn't do any cycling but did see hire bicycles
I am sure that others will be along to give you more information and hope you have a fantastic time
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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We live in Wengen. Interlaken is an ideal base in summer - better than the ski villages. Try kayaking with Hightide at Bönigen - really good. Lots of mountain biking and walking. You really can’t go wrong here.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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You HAVE to do the train up through the Eiger.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Does the half price rail travel card work on the Jungfraujoch? Even if it doesn't I'd recommend getting one. You can get to so much with a short train trip from Interlaken. I would suggest a day trip to Meiringen to do the Reichenbach falls and the Aare gorge. Also the open air museum at Ballenberg is excellent and really deserves a full day (I think you can hire bikes to get round it). A trip over the Rosenlaui on the post bus is an unforgettable experience.
Another great mountain railway is the Brienz Rothorn Bahn. Do that on a day when the steam trains are running.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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In addition to the things already mentioned, from Wilderswil you can take the mountain railway up to the Schynigge Platte, and from the Lauterbrunnen valley you can visit the Trummelbach waterfalls.
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Does the half price rail travel card work on the Jungfraujoch? Even if it doesn't I'd recommend getting one.
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Agree, and yes, I'm sure it does give you at least some discount on the Jungfraujoch. There is also an unlimited Jungfrau Travel Pass (purchase of which the Swiss half price travel card gives you a good discount; may well also be worth buying this, particularly if you're planning on using a few cable cars. We were there for a week with Inghams and had the half price travel card as part of our package, but worked out our 6-day Jungfrau Pass was worth the money) – again, this doesn't include the Jungfraujoch, but does give you a decent discount.
You'll be spoiled for choice with walks, but here is one easy walk suggestion in the Wengen area: Männlichen (top of cable car; there are two fairly close to each other, which can be reached either from Wengen or Grindelwald) to Kleine Scheidegg (station). It's about 3 miles, pretty much flat/slightly downhill in that direction, and has absolutely stunning mountain views of the Eiger, etc. throughout. Alternatively, from the same starting point, you could walk to Alpiglen (also an easy downhill walk and far fewer people), then get a train from there up to Kleine Scheidegg, or down to Grindelwald. Both of those walks pass mountain restaurants towards the end that have terraces with lovely views – and Männlichen/Kleine Scheidegg also have restaurants. As telford_mike says, you can't go wrong – the area has some of the most stunning mountain scenery I've seen. We were also surprised by the amount of gentle walking available; considering the terrain round there, we were expecting most walks to involve hundreds of metres of climbing or descent, but that is easily avoided!
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Does anyone know own if it is possible to do canyoning? I'm thinking of a half day supervised descent of a gorge, suitable for some active and up for it teenagers?
I'm already planning next summers holiday!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Thanks for all those super helpful suggestions. Have made notes of all of them. Just wondered, is it a good idea for us to take bikes with us or is it better just to hire them as and when?? We are driving, so they do add quite a bit to the petrol consumption and wondered whether we would use them enough? Flat gentle cycling is good. Thanks again for help.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Take a look at the Swiss Tourist Board website for the area and any that you're driving through: www.myswitzerland.com
They also have routes for car touring with suggested itineraries. We've found the same for cycling as mentioned for walks i.e. you should also be able to find relatively easier, flatter cycle routes not just in the valleys but also in the mountains, where you can often take a bike up on the gondola/chairlift and have an easy flat/downhill run back. But be aware that some specifically VTT (mountain bike) routes may not be your cup of tea - they seem to use the 'mobility' term to indicate more mainstream cycling routes. We've found that local Tourist Offices often had useful advice for what routes were suitable for easy cycling.
If you do take your bikes with you and then up the mountains, be aware that the tyre pressure will go up much more than a car tyre. My wife's bike had a blowout when we took the télécabine up to 2200m then cycled down to where we were staying at 1500m - we realised it was because of the pressure, which had already been set to quite firm at home, at 20m elevation. So check before you use and deflate if necessary.
We've stayed a couple of nights in both Basle and Berne on the way back from Southern Switzerland - sometimes a city break is a nice contrast to the mountains. Again, myswitzerland.com will usually have special accommodation offers etc. and suggestions for what to do.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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