Feedback on Itinerary please

I think the train from Montreux to Interlaken and Interlaken to Luzern should be plenty scenic. Along with you time in Muerren, you should have plenty of mountain scenery. North shore of Lac Leman and the Vierwaldstaettersee in Luzern ain't bad either.

BTW, age of teenage sons? Under 16 are children and 16 and older are "youth".

Thanks Sam! That's good to know. The boys are 13 and 15.

I did a very similar trip a few years ago... nearly the same stops with 2 less days in Lausanne, 1 more day in Mürren (Gimmelwald for me and my friend), and 1 more day in Lucerne. Lovely trip. I didn't feel cheated by not going to Zermatt.

There is a sale coming up next week on Swiss Travel Pass. Get 10 days for the price of 8 days on a continuous pass. You can get a free Family Card and the kids travel with you free. Use day 2-11. Day 1 is just a short trip into Zurich from the airport (I assume) and day 12 just the train from Luzern to the airport. Kids get half price for those.

I believe you have to order the Swiss Travel passes though a travel agent, like MySwitzerland or Rick Steves to get the promotion. Does not look like it will be offered directly from SBB, but we will find out on the 15th.

If you have a Swiss Travel Pass, you could zip over to Zermatt for a day if the weather report is favorable. Takes 3 hours from Lausanne.

That's great information. Thanks so much! I will look out for the travel pass news next week.

There is always a short train ride from Lausanne to Gruyeres for cheesemaking and another short ride to the Cailler chocolate tour if your teens get bored with "scenery". Also, the castle nearby in Montreaux is a nice short train trip.

I think your itinerary is perfect. I would not recommend cutting a day from Murren for anything. It’s so gorgeous and there are so many great hikes you can do. Plus, you can’t count on good weather everyday.

You are not missing out by skipping Zermatt. It is fun to see the Matterhorn, but you don’t have time and the weather is so iffy, you can’t count on seeing it even if you go. You would have to spend a lot of your precious time to get there and back — it’s just not worth it. The area around Murren is more spectacular.

While in Lausanne, I would definitely plan to see Chateau Chillion, the castle by Montreux. It’s an excellent castle with a beautiful setting, and I feel sure the boys would love it. We took a train to Gruyère one day, and enjoyed that. The ride was very scenic. In Lausanne, we went to the Olympic Museum, which was just okay. We loved walking along Lake Geneva; the views are stunning. Not sure that would thrill the boys, but it thrilled us.

We stayed in Hotel Eiger in Murren, which we adored, but it would be pricey for two rooms. We stayed in Vevey instead of Lausanne, which we loved, but that probably wouldn’t work for your husband. Our hotel in Lausanne was unremarkable.

Hope you have a great trip!

My suggestion would be not to stay in Lausanne, but stay in Vevey in stead. From the point of view of logistics it does not make a big difference. But you are in a smaller, easier to navigate place, and close to the interesting spots.

Sounds like hubby has a conference in Lausanne. Room on the company dime?