A couple of questions

• Leave Luzern on the right side, when you come out of Meiringen you are on the left side of the train - the lake side - towards Interlaken.

• It doesn't necessarily matter whether you do Birg or Schilthorn first, but I typically recommend going all the way up to Schilthorn first to get the largest views and then on the way down stop at Birg to do the Thrill Walk.

-Doing the boat to Brienz or from Brienz doesn't really matter. You can walk around the boat so there is no restricted views going either way. It's worth the First Class upgrade to sit upstairs, as the boats are insanely crowded.

-You can have a seat reservation and then just get your ticket whenever you want separately through SBB. They are two different things. And if you have a pass like the STP or BO, then you don't need an actual ticket at all, just the seat reservation. The side of the train really doesn't matter for the Golden Pass Express. Honestly, it's just an ok train ride so I wouldn't put your expectations too high on that. There are way better views up in the mountains of the BO then on that train ride.

-Do you have just 1 day in Montreux? If so, prioritize walking the lake promenade to Chateau de Chillon, do the English audio tour and then take the boat back. If you have multiple days, add in walking amongst the Lavaux Vineyard terraces (built by monks over 1000 years ago) or taking a boat ride to Yvoire, France. Vevey is fine, but I'd make sure to do all those other things first. https://swissfamilyfun.com/lavaux-vineyard-hike/

wow, wanderweg said exactly everything I was going to say. So I'll just be quiet now.

(I'll be doing your whole post this April, staying in Brienz.)

I did the Golden Round Trip and bought tickets at the T.I. office in the Lucerne station. It was very easy! Here's the link - https://www.luzern.com/en/information/on-site/tourist-information .

I pretty much was going to say what Wanderweg said too. Hardly surprising as they gave me so much help planning our trip last year.

I agree, if the weather is good go straight up to Schilthort. Such stunning views if you get the sort of clear day that we did.

We caught the boat straight to Giessbach Falls and had lunch at the lovely hotel. There is a link on their website for the timetable for the funicular up and down if you need it, timing is important unless you plan to hike.

For us the trains were even less frequent than the boat, so we had lunch, came back down and got the boat to Brienz. The plan was train back, but the tracks were damaged so we caught the bus.

We bought a saver day pass for the Golden Pass, we booked the Prestige reservation months before. If you have a Swiss Travel Pass of course, that will be your ticket.

I second the suggestion of Yvoire from Montreux, we loved our day there. We also enjoyed the market at Vevey, but that was a Saturday, so it is probably not there every day. We caught the paddle steamer from Vevey to Chillon to explore the castle and then the bus back to Montreux.

We also visited Gruyeres, primarily for the castle and fondue although my husband loved the Giger Museum too.

Another good day was wine tasting at the Vinorama in Rivaz.

We also had a very good meal at Montreux casino and very much enjoyed the Queen museum there.

Such great replies! Thank you all :)

For Giessbach how long would you say you needed there. I see the boats are around every 2 hours. Our intention is to get the funicular up and walk behind the waterfall an back. Is an hour enough time?

An hour for Giessbach Falls is tight. The funicular is not that fast and can have a queue. If you are in that area, consider Aare Gorge (Aareschlucht) https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-us/experiences/aare-gorge/

I think that an hour would be tight.

I go there most years and even now love the approach by ship. I prefer to arrive on the Interlaken to Brienz boat, just for the views arriving.

I'm sure it would also be scenic on the approach from Brienz but I'm an old codger set in my ways, and the route Interlaken - Giessbach - walk - Brienz - train.

Since the boats are every 2 hours, I’m not sure where the 1 hour is coming from.

I usually take the train to Brienz, boat to Giessbach, hang out for 2 hours, then boat to Interlaken.

The funicular is timed with the arrival and departure of the boats.

The hour was coming from the ferrry timetable

For example you can do the below route:

Interlaken 11.07- Giessbach arrival 12.09

Giessbach to Brienz is then either at 13.09 (1 hour between arrival and leaving) or 15.09 (2hours)

Sorry, I was going off of this statement: I see the boats are around every 2 hours.

In the times you have above, arrive Giessbach arrival 12.09, it looks like you have a choice of 1 hour (leave 13.09) or 3 hours (leave 15.09).

3 hours would be too much time for me. I would catch an earlier boat or start in Brienz.