Switzerland with Kids: Why This Fairytale Country Is Ideal for Family Travel

When you think of Switzerland, images of the Swiss Alps, chocolate factories and cheese wheels likely come to mind.  And you wouldn't be wrong.  But Switzerland has so much more to offer, especially for families with kids.  I had the opportunity to spend some time there with my 6 and 8-year-old, knowing that they were the right age to take advantage of the many kid-friendly adventures the country offers.  So come along on a short journey and find out why Switzerland is a fairytale country that is ideal for family travel.

Getting Around

Most of the time, getting from point A to point B is what kids consider "boring."  Long plane rides, car trips across the countryside and even many train rides have kids looking for a screen to watch, a game to play or an activity to keep them occupied.  In Switzerland, the transportation IS the activity. From Gondolas in Grindelwald with cartoon cows on the outside to trains with playgrounds to steep funiculars in places like Stoos, kids get excited about going from one place to the other in Switzerland.

With all of these different transportation options, does come some complexity.  There are different passes you can purchase.  One that covers all the trains in Switzerland, but doesn't necessarily cover other modes of transportation.  There are regional passes that cover some of the gondolas and funiculars, but not others.  Some passes give you a discount on certain modes of transportation, while others do not.  It's a lot to think about.

Which pass you get, or if you get a pass at all, depends on where you are going, what you want to do and how many people are in your travel group.  For my family, we rented a car and drove almost everywhere.  This made it not worth it to get any additional travel passes, since we would mostly be using gondolas and funiculars and not the trains.  Driving gave us more freedom to decide when and where we wanted to go, including getting to some of the more popular spots before many of the other tourists did.

One thing to note if you do rent a car in Switzerland, you will need to pay to park pretty much everywhere, including your hotel.  Luckily, there are a couple of apps you can add to your phone, like EasyPark, that make paying for parking super easy.  Parking in most places runs 1-2 CHF per hour.  So while you will have to pay, it isn't going to break the bank.

Playgrounds

No country has as many playgrounds with stunning mountain views as Switzerland.  And you don't have to travel far to find many of them clustered together.  In the Grindelwald/Lauterbrunnen area there are eight playgrounds alone.  Each with a unique view and feel.  My kids spent hours at the various playgrounds in the Alps.  And their ages were perfect for this activity, as my 6 year old was big enough to do everything, while my 8 year old was still young enough to enjoy them for a long time.

For mom and dad these mountain playgrounds gave us time to just sit back and enjoy the views.  Some playgrounds like the Bort alpine playground, even had relaxing outdoor chairs facing the mountains.  I

could have sat at those ones all day long.  One thing to note is that ther isn't a lot of shade at most of these playgrounds as many are above the treeline.  So be prepared to be in the direct sun.

Canyons, Caves and Waterfalls

With mountains and winter in Switzerland, that means plenty of opportunities for melting snow to create waterfalls, canyons andcaves.  You will find them in almost every part of the Swiss Alps.  And they make the perfect late afternoon stop on a hot summer day.  The caves and canyons run anywhere from 10 - 40 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than the outside temperature.  We also found that many of the caves and canyons also gave us a reprieve from the crowds.  While the entrances were many times packed with people, once inside, the crowds thinned out.  This gave us more time for photos and to just enjoy the experience.

The amount and power of the waterfalls you can see in Switzerland depends on when you go and how much rain there has been.  We went in July and Switzerland was in a bit of a drought.  During this time we saw the full spectrum of waterfall power.  From the Thur waterfall that was completely dry to Trummelbach Falls that was gushing like an open fire hydrant.  While the waterfalls of Switzerland aren't as numerous as somewhere like Norway or as impressive as Iceland, they are still worth a stop as many of them are easy to access.  And they are something that both kids and adults will enjoy.

Interactive Hikes

As if the Swiss Alps aren't beautiful enough to hike on their own, the Swiss decided to make them even more enjoyable by adding activities for kids along the way.    The most common among them is marble runs.   The fun contraptions where you drop a ball, usually about the size of a baseball, and it rolls down a series of obstacles.  We only did one while we were in Flims, which has one on the Botsch La Bova trail.  We bought our marbles at the ticket stand for the gondola, took the gondola up the mountain and hiked down the trail.  This is one of the newer runs and had some very long contraptions.  The only downside was that it did start raining halfway down our hike.  While rain is not uncommon in Switzerland, it did make some of the wooden marble runs not work as well, as the ball would stick to the wood at times.

A more unique hike that we experienced, also in Flims, was the Connbachli trail.  This trail walks along a stream and kids can put in a boat, tied to a string, and walk along as it floats down the stream.  Lots of fun for the kids.  The trail is mostly shaded, which makes it cooler on a sunny day.  Boats can be purchased at the tourism office or kids can bring their own.  The trail is fairly short and flat so you wont hear complaining about tired legs.

Adventure Parks

There are several adventure parks strewn across Switzerland.  These parks have everything from ziplines to alpine slides to bounce houses.   That means many are very kid-friendly.  One of our favorites was Erlebnisberg Pradaschier located near Chur.  This has a toboggan run that is the longest in Switzerland at 3 kilometers.  My daughter thoroughly enjoyed going down this slide multiple times.  Luckily we were there on a day where it wasn't too busy so the wait time wasn' that long.  There is also a jump park at Erlebnisberg Pradaschier with trampolines and a small tower to jump from.

Another park we spent the afternoon at was Sattel-Hochstuckli.  Here there are trampolines, an alpine slide and a tube run.  At Sattel-Hochstuckli there is a pass we bought that got use unlimited use of all the activities here, which was nice to not have to worry about how many times we wanted to go down the slide or tubing.  The rides were the shortest of anywhere we found, but there are about a dozen bounce houses and/or trampolines to keep the kids busy for hours.

Accommodations built for kids

So many things in Switzerland are built for kids, including accommodations.  I had no problem finding hotels with playgrounds, activities and family rooms with kids beds.  This differs from so many places in Europe where it can be a struggle to find a hotel room big enough for a family.  There are two places I want to highlight that we especially enjoyed in Switzerland.

The first is the Bretterhotel in Brienz.  The highlight of this hotel was the slide in the room for the kids.  They got to wake up in the morning and slide down to get ready for the day.  This hotel also had a playground and a soccer-style mini golf game (for a price).  The hotel isn't very big, so if you want to stay here, you need to book early.

The second hotel we really enjoyed was the Stoos Lodge in Stoos.  For us, this was a last-minute switch to this hotel since we needed a hotel with air conditioning.  They do offer family rooms, but they were sold out when we booked, so again, book early if you want a family room. This hotel offers a huge indoor playground and a kids club to drop your kids off.  For dinner, they offer a kids buffet where they can eat all they want, things like pizza, pasta, chicken nuggets and fish sticks.

Final Thoughts

Switzerland has a lot to offer for kids and families.  And I didn't even discuss some of the chocolate and cheese tasting options available.  The ideal age to bring kids to Switzerland is between 5 and 10.  That age range is where they will be old enough to walk to and participate in most of the hikes and other activities.  Once kids are over 10, the playgrounds, marble runs and adventure parks lose their excitement.

Is Switzerland expensive?  Yes, it's one of the most expensive destinations to travel to in Europe, and the world.   While the playgrounds and hikes are free, the gondolas, funiculars and chairlifts to reach them are not.  If your child is 5 or under, many things are free or deeply discounted.  And in general kids under 12 do get discounted tickets for most attractions.  Each site has its own rules so be sure to check if you are on a tight budget.

One thing that surprised me a little was how warm it was there.  We spent most of our time in the Alps and even in towns like Grindelwald and Stoos, the highs were in the mid 80s most days in late July.  The peaks were a little cooler, but not by much.  That being said, it is still a country in the mountains and weather can change rapidly so you'll want to be prepared for anything.

So what do you think?  After reading this, are you ready to take your kids on a journey through Switzerland?