Titlis is great, especially for kids. It’s no wonder Eric loves it, with so many things to do.

The first time we went, the weather was stunning, it was early august, on a hot Saturday, zero clouds. cover. The views on the way up are stunning! Then there’s the revolving gondola, unique on its own. Then you reach the top. To go out, you need to take the elevator to the up most level, or use the stairs, like we did. There is a small terrace right next to the exit with some picnic areas. Very few. And it can get crowded. We had lunch here. The views at the top are simply gorgeous. Eric was excited about playing in the snow. Don’t forget some impermeable boots and a cap. We forgot his glasses, but improvised with mine. And check temperatures to dress accordingly. There was no cloud on the sky, sun was shining and it was really really warm. It was perfectly fine with a T-shirt.

How to get here. Titlis can be reached by a series of cable and gondola rides starting in Engelberg. Find the exact location here. There’s a parking lot right next to the station (5CHF/day).

Tickets. During the summer months, Titlis can get very crowded, so buying a ticket ahead of time using their website might be the best idea. Alternatively, getting there before 10 am increases the chance to avoid the crowds. Apart from the classical ticket booths, they have some self ticketing machines, which we used on our second trip there. It’s faster this way. When we got there the second time, everyone was queuing, instead of using the self service ticketing machines. Buying the ticket online might be also more cost effective, as they have the occasional offer. We got tickets up to the top of Titlis for 77CHF/person online, while the actual price at the cashier was 96. And online tickets have a 3 month valability. You can save quite a little bit of cash with online buying. The offer was available in summer 2020, not sure if this happens on a regular basis. The offer was only for a return trip to the top. Other rides were at the same price online or at the ticketing office. Kids under 6 ride for free.

The Titlis cliff walk. If you walk further ahead, you reach the highest suspension bridge in Europe, the Titlis cliff walk. It’s just 5 min walking distance for am adult. If you travel with kids… well Eric stopped a lot to play in the snow, to ask questions, etc, so it took us about 15 min. The bridge is very safe and it’s not very long. There’s a photo-point if you want to have your photo taken on the bridge and it is properly indicated, but the views are what this bridge is all about. They will leave you mesmerized.

The glacier cave. If you walk past the bridge, there are a couple of stairs to reach the glacier cave. It is a short tunnel in the rock first and then there’s the tunnel carved in ice. The floor is really slippery. Eric fell, ‘cause he was so excited and started jumping and running.

Playgrounds at Trubsee. The intermediary station at Trubsee is great for hiking and amazing for kids. To get only here from Engelberg station, we payed 36CHF/person return trip (in September 2020). At Trübsee, there are many activities you can do. There’s a zipline (for adults only), which is rather a short ride and not sure if it’s worth it (you can see the same views as you walk). It’s a good option if you never tried ziplining before. Next to the station, there’s a children’s playground (nothing short off a small paradise) packed with trampolines, a bouncy castle, a bike track, slides. On the terrace, there are some wooden towers and slides, as well. The main attraction for Eric is always, ALWAYS, the trampoline! If you manage to get your kid going further away from the trampolines area and descend toward Trubsee lake there is also a cute playground next to it. It has climbing towers, slides, balance trails, rope park, underground tunnels, suspended bridge. So much fun! For picnics and barbecues, there’s a special designated area, next to the playground, on the lake shore. There’s plenty of chopped wood for fire.

Hiking options. There’s a circular easy route around the lake, taking about 1h suitable for small kids and a slightly longer route suitable for older kids (above 6 years old). Each trail comes with a puzzle. For smaller kids, the flyer with the puzzles are available either at the Engelberg or Trubsee stations. For the older kids doing the longer trail, a wooden coin is required to solve the puzzles at each station. The coin can be purchased for CHF 5 either at the Englerberg station or the self-service restaurant at Trubsee Alpine Lodge. More info here.

Additionally, what we also did was a hike up to the waterfall. It’s 25 min hike from the Trubsee gondola station, it took us a little more, since Eric stopped to pick and throw rocks into the small river every now and then. The trail is completely flat. It is a very easy hike. To reach the waterfall, we followed the path to the playground next to Trubsee and then from the playground we walked along the river up to the waterfall.

Rowing on Trubsee. Another thing we did here and enjoyed it was rowing on the lake. You can rent a boat at the dock. It’s 2-3 min walk to the dock from the Trubsee station. It’s also self renting, there’s a box where you leave the money. In 2020 it was 10 CHF /hour. You can rent for half an hour as well. The boats are well maintained and there are life jackets under the seats.

Other activities on Titlis and Trubsee are available here.

Worldschooling ideas for families traveling with kids. Titlis was a good opportunity for Eric to see mountain biomes and experience first hand how altitude changes the vegetation. Before going here, we actually studied relief and mountains (including glacier and permanent snow zones).

Additional fun in Engelberg. A picturesque small town tucked into a valley cornered by majestic mountains has always tons of activities on offer, from adventure courses, kayaking, hiking along river canyons (Aaschlucht) to easy lake walks around Eugenisee. But what we discovered is a nice playground with wooden rafts and great barbecue and picnic spot. We strongly recommend making a stop at the Robinson Grotzenwäldli playground after visiting Titlis.