Need planning a trip to Switzerland

It's is our first trip to Switzerland and we are a family of 4 - kids are 6 and 5 years old. We have planned 5 nights and wanted tips on the itinerary. Our current plan is to stay in interlaken for all 5 nights but we are open to suggestions

Day 1. Arrive in Zurich from US - visit Lucerne on way to interlaken
Day 2. Jungfraujoch/ lauterbrunnen/ trummelbach falls/ grindelwald and wengen. If we can't do all we can do some on a later date
Day 3. Titlis
Day 4 open
Day 5 open

Our current thoughts for day 4 and day 5 are options from Vaduz, zermatt, montreaux, Lausanne, Geneva or bern.

Should we stay at interlaken all night or split with lucerne - one consideration is moving around with luggage. Also what places would be good to visit on the open days. Should we consider the glacier express though I feel it's too long - what is the best portion of the glacier express that can be covered by local trains if possible.

Thanks a bunch

What time of year are you going? It makes a big difference.

You are trying to do way too much, particularly with two kids. For example, from Interlaken to Jungfraujoch alone is pretty much an all day thing, especially with little ones in tow.

You should stay in one base, you lose a day of your vacation when you change bases with all the logistics.

For the most part your itinerary has you visiting Swiss cities and spending lots of time on trains. While some of the cities are nice, cities are not the main attraction in Switzerland. The thing that is most magical about the country is the Alps and the the pristine countryside. And keeping two kids boxed up on trains for several hours a day every day is a recipe for a less-than-ideal vacation.

Interlaken is not a great spot, more of a transportation hub. Far better are one of the car-free villages up in the mountains. We especially like Wengen.

Kim11

Thanks for the insights. We plan to be in Switzerland mid to end of may. Would your suggestions change with this info.

Bernese Oberland mountain areas are just starting to open up again by mid-May. All of the mountain transports will be running by then.

I recommending spending your 5 days based in Wengen and tour the area from there. If not enough hotels are open in Wengen by then, Grindelwald would be a good option. I usually don't recommend Grindelwald as there are cars, busses, and tourists there but not so much in mid- to end-May. And certainly dramatically better than Interlaken.

I would stay concentrated on the BO, it's too far of a journey to backtrack to Titlis (by Luzerne) from there. You can easily occupy yourselves with wonderful short trips that feature countless things for the little ones to do from either a Wengen or a Grindelwald base. The mountains in this area are more dramatic than those near Luzerne as well, so yet another reason not to backtrack. I have a 35+ page document on the region that describes many of the things to do, transport tips, a section on things to do with kids, etc. It is written from a Wengen base but easily translatable to Grindelwald. Happy to send it to you but need your email address to do so. Send it to me by Private Message if you would like a copy.

After a long flight from the US I would head straight from Zurich to your base destination. Your kids will be exhausted as will you and I don't see how you could possibly enjoy a few hours in Luzerne before heading out to your final destination after all of that. And, as mentioned before, with this short of a trip you should overnight in one base only. The train ride from Zurich airport is 3 - 3.5 hours to either base I mention, then you'll be there and able to relax.

Kim11

I would be happy to receive the document. How do I send a private message

Hi Wannagoswiss,

Just click on her name and you'll see the option.

Thank you Mr/Ms Moderator. Do you have any comments that you would like to add. Any thoughts on the itinerary.

Hi Wannagoswiss. I agree with Kim that it's more relaxed to pick one or two locations for such a short stay, and mainly explore the surrounding region. Some longer day trips are fine of course, that really depends on your owns preferences. The timetable will help you in your planning.