Euro trip itinerary (April - May 2019)

Titisee for the short hike. Gengenbach for the base.

Looks to be exceptionally well planned. I notice the day you arrive in Lauterbrunnen, the Schilthornbahn is shut down for maintenance, but it reopens the very next day.

You would save a little bit of money by getting 30-day Swiss half Fare Cards for 120 CHF pp. You have 166 CHF pp for the 3 travel legs. So you only need 74 CHF pp full fare lift tickets in Lauterbrunnen to break even. A single return trip to the top on the Schilthornbahn is 105 CHF, so that should be easy.

Buy an advance ticket several months in advance to go from Luzern to Gengenbach/Triberg from Deutsche Bahn. 80 EUR for the 4 of you, way cheaper than buying from SBB. Also Gengenbach/Triberg to Munich can be 120 EUR for the 4 of you. Those are the only advance tickets you need to buy. Everything else can be done by Bayern Tickets, except day trip to Hallstatt. That may include a bus.

This looks like a thoughtfully assembled itinerary; we're envious. A few thoughts:

Lauterbrunnen: seeing the village won't take long. You might have time on your arrival afternoon to take the funicular up to Grutschalp and either walk or take the short train trip to Murren, from which the views are amazing. (Or the cog rail up to Wengen.) Dinner at either village might be pleasant before descending back to Lauterbrunnen.

Also, I'd recommend seeing if you can squeeze in a day at the Jungfraujoch. It's a pricey, but unforgettable, experience. [https://www.jungfrau.ch/en-gb/jungfraujoch-top-of-europe/] Were this my itinerary, I'd consider deleting another day somewhere just to spend more time in this region.

There really isn't much to "explore" in Lauterbrunnen, but one exception is the Talmuseum (at the edge of town), about lifestyles in the region. I got reduced entry with a card they gave me at my Lauterbrunnen hotel, but would gladly have paid full price. It's particularly worthwhile in the rain (which is why I went).

Otherwise, from Lauterbrunnen the main thing to see is the waterfalls just outside town.

If you have more time, you can walk through the valley as far as you like, then take the bus back.

I suspect the OP was referring to the Schilthorn on one side and the Jungfraujoch on the other.

A friend and I stayed in Gengenbach. Our B&B owner recommended Schluchsee over Titisee. It's at the end of the train line that goes to Titisee. The B&B owner did encourage us to stop at Titisee "to see all the international tourists." She added, "Then go to Schluchsee, where you will see the German tourists." We took her advice and had no regrets.

Thanks everyone form the comments.

Then we will base ourselves in Gengenbach (black forest). At first I thought Triberg is the way to go - more central … how long does it take to travel by train to Titisee and Schluchsee??

We are definitely planning to visit the small towns around Lauterbrunnen, we didn’t plan to go up Jungfraujoch or Schilthorn as it's very expensive and we will be doing Aiguille Du Midi in the French Alps with a view of Mont Blanc (also cheaper).

It is about 2 hours from Gengenbach to Titisee if you use only regional trains. That should be included with a KONUS Card you get included from your hotel in Gengenbach. Make sure your hotel has that included as part of your stay.

Schluchsee is just 20 minutes further on the train from Titisee.

If you get the Swiss 30-day Half Fare Card, the Schilthornbahn will be half price. Something to think about if it is a nice day. The restaurant at the top of the Schilthorn was Ernst Blofeld's mountain top aerie in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service".

It looks like a great trip. My only advice would be to stay in lodging on either the Murren side of the valley, or on the other side (Grindelwald). Personally I think it is better to actually stay where you want to be than to just do day trips. I have stayed in Gimmelwald many times and I love it so much. It is a whole different feel than just visiting for a few hours.. Also, I love staying in Hallstatt, rather than Salzburg. And why Geneva? It is just a big city and there are so many other possibilities such as Montreux on the lake. Try to get out to Haalem in the Netherlands. It has more charm than Amsterdam IMHO.