Suggestions for trip with 5 year old

Hi All, I will be travelling with my husband and 5 year old from Asia to Switzerland next June. My main aim is to stay in an alpine village (Wengen or Murren) and also see the Jungfraujoch. I've read so many wonderful trip reports and have decided to attempt the following:-

(1) Arrive in Zurich and take the train to Lucerne and stay for one night

(2) Travel from Lucerne to Wengen or Murren for 4 nights

(3) Travel back to Zurich and stay for 1 or 2 nights before flying home

I would be grateful for any thoughts on whether the above is manageable for a 5 year old child. I had read that to travel from Zurich directly to Wengen / Murren would take 4 hours and did not think my 5 year old would be able to manage the journey, especially after a 13 hour flight from Asia. Hence, my decision to stay a night at Lucerne. Appreciate any views on this. Many thanks !

Hi tje55,

I think your plans are realistic with a young child. The quickest train journey from Zurich airport to Wengen takes more than 3 hours, or more than 4 hours via Lucerne and the scenic Golden Pass line (which is what I would recommend). It makes sense to only travel as far as Lucerne after your long flight.

I would recommend to stay in Zurich for one night only. You add the extra night to Lucerne or Wengen. Both of these offer plenty to see and do and are more enjoyable for a child I would say. See the links for more information Lucerne and the Jungfrau region.

Airport hotels in Zurich are listed here: myswissalps.com/zurichairporthotels.

Does this help?

You could not have picked a better destination for a 5 year old. My only suggestion is to stay longer. So much to see and do. And your child will be thrilled with all the forms of transportation. Unless there are things you want to do in Lucern,I do not think it would be a problem to travel all the way to Wengen on arrival. Children sleep easily on a train. It lulls them to sleep. I'd go directly to Wengen. Especially since your time is so limited. Remember, a young child is more likely to sleep on the flight as well and will not be as tired as you are.

You can prepare your child for the trip by reading two books available at - http://geni.us/mUq

These books will also help you decide how to spend your time and what to do.

This will be one of the best trips you'll have. You will treasure the memories and bonding.

Thank you very much for all the responses! I feel more relieved now knowing that what I am hoping to achieve is manageable.

Travel Bug - I am interested to read the 2 books you have mentioned but have not been able to access the link you provided above. Are you able to let me have the title of the 2 books? Really appreciate your help!

The books are only available at the Apple iBookstore. They can only be read on a Mac, iPad, or iPad mini. They will be a great way to prepare your 5-year-old for this adventure. Type the title into the search window at the iBookstore. Grammy Takes Logan to Switzerland and Grammy Takes Foster to Switzerland. Here's another link that might work. http://geni.us/2uyN

I had another thought about where you stay. Wengen and Murren are both delightful options. Both are traffic free villages, one on either side of the Lauterbrunnen Valley. There is a slight advantage to staying in Wengen because it takes less time to get to the valley to catch the train to other locations of interest. From Wengen, it is a short train ride to the Lauterbrunnen train station. From Murren you can either go by cablecar and bus or by train and cablecar. Both are fun to do, but take more time.