Help!

Pack lighter, reduce your load. You have been warned by multiple peeps on this thread.

Also as I am reading (thank you!) when we are in Murren we definitely want to explore so do I need to by passes to get from town to town?

Yes, you’ll need passes to economically enjoy all the trains and lifts. We like the Berner Oberland Pass which kicks in with half-price beginning at Montreux and fully covers travel starting at Gstaad in your way from Geneva to Lauterbrunnen. Download the “Area of Validity” in the link I posted to get a view on all that is covered with the pass. The price of that trip just from Geneva to Mürren will be significantly lower.

It can be challenging to find space for large suitcases in trains but people do it all the time. Luckily most trains are accessible these days with few stairs for platform to train and the stations have ramps and elevators.

The Man in Seat 61 offers a lot of great advice on Swiss train travel here https://www.seat61.com/train-travel-in-switzerland.htm.

As I am calculating things unless the train apps are wrong I would be spending way more on the passes than booking through trains. 150x5 for 3 days is way more than booking through the train apps. Am I missing something? Im going to wait until the new book comes out May 2 and research more for sure.
THanks

Are you considering your day trips using lifts and trains while you stay on Mürren? Each time you go from town-to-town as you mention in your original post, you’ll be paying full price. You can also look at getting Half-Fare Cards but we find the BO Reg Pass noodles out for us every year.

First off. the full fare price for each person 16 and older is 90.80 CHF from Geneva to Muerren. Where are you going after Muerren?

Stuttgart.
The train prices I got from Trainline was 266CH from Geneva to Murren, am I missing something?

Sam can you tell me where you got your price from? If its that much then the private transfer makes more sense.

www.sbb.ch/en. They run the trains.

I haven't figured out how to reply to one person. We are only staying 2 days In Murren so I really don't think we will be doing much besides visiting Murren and Lauterbrunnen, we are just doing a fast couple of days through Switzerland and Germany then flying home as we are spending most of our time in Paris.

Why don't you rent a van instead.
You get it down to 52 CHF per person by purchasing Saver Day Passes 60 in advance of your planned travel date. These are nonrefundable, so be sure of your plans.

How old are the kids? How much luggage are you bringing? Can each person manage whatever they are bringing independently?

The cable cars can be very expensive (40CHF+ round trip for some). The prices that you see on the SBB app assume you have the Half Fare Card, so if you don’t intend to buy that (120 CHF each), you need to double the price you see.

When you train to Murren, just know your exact stops along the way from Geneva and make your way to the door of the train each time you're getting close to your stop/transfer so you can get off as quickly as possible. On the Sbb app it will show you which track you need to get to for your next train on the journey so that you can efficiently move. When we're doing long routes I look over the whole route with transfers and make notes of which locations/tracks we are transferring at and at what times so that about 5 minutes before each transfer we're making our way to the exit to efficiently transfer.

Once you get to Lauterbrunnen at the base of the cable car, give your luggage to the workers at the cable car. They will put it on the special luggage cable car rack and transfer it for you all the way to Murren so that you don't have to take it on the cable car or the little Murren train. That doesn't save you lugging your stuff from Geneva to Lauterbrunnen. but it does help some.

My husband and I spend 3 months in Europe every summer including 6 weeks of it in Murren, so we have 3 months worth of luggage to take with us up to Murren and we've never missed a train transfer or found it impossible. It's a normal amount of travel day annoyance, but not impossible if you pre prepare your routes and pay attention.

Someone mentioned renting a car - if you do this you have to account for parking fees in Lauterbrunnen, the Swiss road tax pass for the car, gas and hassle. Plus it only gets you to Lauterbrunnen, so it doesn't save you still having to cable/train part of the way. I personally wouldn't mess with that.

Rent a car in Switzerland and it includes the vignette. But the OP has not told us the whole itinerary. Are they going to Geneva to stay there or just on the way to Muerren? It would be cheaper to take a train to Basel with a connecting train to Interlaken. And where are they going after Muerren? Germany was mentioned but where?

I updated my question, when I searched rental cars it came out to 3400$ for a van big enough for all of us so that is not at all cost effective that was from Geneva turning in at Frankfurt.

That is because you are renting it in one country a returning it in another. Check the price renting it in Geneva and returning it in Basel. You only need it in Switzerland and just for a few days.

Edit. Reading your edited post, your 12 yo daughter counts as a child and can travel with you when you when you buy a Junior Card for 30 CHF. So with 4 Saver Day Passes at 52 CHF plus a Junior Travel Card, that comes to 238 CHF to get you to Muerren.

At Deutsche Bahn, you can buy a ticket from Muerren to Stuttgart for the whole family for 159.60 EUR in mid June
https://www.bahn.com/en

When is your trip?

As a Swiss, I'd say you are crazy to bring large suitcases on a trip to Europe and particularly to Switzerland. First of all these days the train operates assume people travel light - that means you need to have a suitcase that will fit in the over head or on some trains under the seat. So you will need to be able to easily lift the case over your head to place it in the rack. If you can't do that you'll need to place it in the common baggage space if there is one and if there is space for your case. You will not be allowed to occupy additional seats or space, especially during peak hours.

Every day I see some people struggling with large cases on Swiss trains and the don't look like they are having a good time. Especially if they are fined by the conductor for placing luggage on additional seats during peak times.

I would advise you to SERIOUSLY reconsider your plan of everyone taking a large suitcase and a carry bag. That is an inordinate amount of luggage to be hauling around. I've been on a lot of trains in Europe, and although just because it can be done, does not mean it should be done. How do you plan to get from CDG to your hotel in Paris? From your hotel in Paris to the train station? European hotel rooms can be significantly smaller than what you are accustomed to in the States, and that is a lot of luggage to cram in to those rooms. Purchase some eBags packing cubes and you will be surprised at just how much you can get into a carry on bag. Take a look at the Half Fare Card for your time in Switzerland.

I doubt if a Half Fare Card would help, as 4 people would have to buy them, so that is a 480 CHF outlay. You could then get a free Family Card and the 12 yo would travel with you free. You would need about 960 CHF worth of full fare tickets to justify the expenditures, and I don't see that happening with this itinerary.

Also, large suitcases are a pain to move between platforms, especially if stairs are involved. The stairwells are usually pretty steep. There are most likely elevators around, but it takes time to find them.
Good luck!

I also see that going from Stuttgart to Frankfurt airport, there are direct ICE trains that you can buy now for 57.20 EUR for the whole family.