First Time Trip for Fam of 4 - Itinerary Advice & Questions

What time is your departure? Staying in Lucerne last works quite well if departure is later than say 11am.

I would consolidate to three bases.
Murren v Wengen to me seems like a flip a coin scenario--I went with Murren, but Wengen would have been equally great based on the consensus I see here..
You won't need a car.

Thank you! Flight times for next June aren't published yet, but it'll most likely be around 9am based on what I'm seeing for this year. Delta direct flights from Atlanta to Zurich.

With kids, the less moving the better. Plus the longer you stay in one spot the more it opens you up to chalet apartments, which is really nice with kids — having your own kitchen, multiple rooms, hang out space, etc. With 9 nights, I’d do 5 nights Wengen and then 4 nights on Lake Luzern OR 5 nights Wengen, 3 nights Meiringen + 1 night Luzern or Zurich. You can get to the airport in an easy 1 hour direct train from Luzern without having to move to Zurich if you want. Meiringen is a doable day trip from either Wengen or Luzern or as a stop off point on your movement between the two or can be a great non touristy option.

Another advantage to doing Wengen + Meiringen as bases is that you could get the 10 day Berner Oberland Pass for your train transportation, which would greatly simplify your life :) I’ll explain that at the end.

For lodging, look at e-domizil, interhome, airbnb, chalet.myswitzerland.com as well as local rental companies (in Wengen there is Alpine Chalet Services, Wengen Apartments, etc.) For Wengen make sure to get a south facing balcony not too far downhill or uphill from the train station to avoid having to "hike" every day to your place. For Luzern, you can look around the historic district or at villages along the lake that have train and boat service. We enjoyed staying at a lake house on Lake Luzern (in Fluelen) and it was fun to be able to swim every day, but a little less convenient for long day trips and the airport.

If you do Wengen + Luzern....
From Wengen
1 day - Cable car up to Mannlichen (amazing alpine playground with great picnic lunch views) + Lieselotte kids themed trail down to Grindelwald Terminal > Eiger Express to Eigergletscher (beautiful views) > Train to Kleine Scheidegg for dessert > Train back to Wengen
1 day - Wengen > Lauterbrunnen > Stechelberg > Schilthorn > Birg > Murren > Allmendhubel (amazing playground + great lunch spot) > optional hike (Blumental Flower Trail) or funicular back down to Murren > easy downhill walk to Gimmelwald for farm exploration/self serve farm fridges and wood fired pizza with a view for dinner > Stechelberg > Lauterbrunnen > Wengen
1 day - Wengen > Lauterbrunnen > Wildserswil > Schynige Platte open air cog train (alphorns, playground, lovely hiking trails) > Wilderswil > Lauterbrunnen > optional Trummelbach Falls > Wengen
1 day - Wengen > Lauterbrunnen > Interlaken Ost > Brienz > optional Wallenberg Open Air Museum > boat ride to Iseltwald (swimming/water activities beach) > boat ride to Interlaken Ost > Lauterbrunnen > Wengen
1 day - buffer day for all the above activities + options for Lauterbrunnen Valley exploration, Grindelwald First, Jungfraujoch, Panorama Trail from Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg, Pfingstegg mountain coaster or optional day trip to Meiringen (1 hr 20 min)
From Luzern
1 day - Old Town + Transportation Museum
1 day - Lake cruise to Vitznau + Rigi or kid trails
1 day - Day trip to Meiringen (direct 1 hr 14 min train) — or alternatively, stop there on the way from Wengen to Luzern if you leave from Wengen early AM, store your luggage and do activities
1 day - Optional Pilatus, day trip to Zurich

Alternatively...
If you want to do Wengen, Meiringen + Luzern or Zurich for a night, then take the Lake Brienz day off of Wengen to add to Meiringen and you can also do Aare, Marble Run, Gelmerbahn and even Melchsee Frutt, which has some fun kids stuff or a day trip to Luzern. You could then end with a day in Luzern to see old town and whatever highlight you want in Luzern before leaving the next day or go to Zurich if the zoo or Lindt sounds more exciting to you (though not sure I’d go for a zoo when you can see those at home :)

More in next post, hit the character limit with all this info, ha!

Continued from above post....

If you do Wengen + Meiringen, I’d get the Half Fare Cards + Family Card + 8 or 10 day Berner Oberland Pass, as it covers both regions, as well as transportation all the way to Luzern or Bern. By doing this, your kids will be traveling for free. For 2 adults HFC is 240 chf + Reduced Fare 10 day BO pass is 632 chf or 8 day 574 chf. You’d then just have to pay for your 1/2 fare train ticket from Zurich Flughafen to Bern on your way to Wengen and your 1/2 fare train ticket from Luzern to Zurich Flughafen on your way out.

If you do Wengen + Luzern, then it’s probably best to do Half Fare Cards (240chf) + Family Card + 5 day Reduced Jungfrau Travel Pass (410 chf) — this will cover what you’re doing in Wengen and then you’ll get 1/2 off what you do in Luzern/Zurich.

I agree with the suggestion to minimize your bases. Even with young teens who were good travelers, we found that to be good advice. I haven’t been to Meiringen, but we spent 6 nights in the Berner Oberland and 3 in Lucerne in June 2024. I think 5 or 6 nights Wengen and 3 or 4 nights in Lucerne would be great. We had a mid-day flight home from Zurich, so we spent our last night in Lucerne.