Itinerary check/tips/advice please

I know some people do the Matterhorn day trip from Montreux, but it's too much to me. There are so many things to do from Montreux. It's just an hour to Geneva so you can see if actually going into France is important to you--the towns between Montreux and Geneva are very appealing. I wanted to get to Vevey and tour vineyards, but it did not work out. I think kids will love Castle Chillon. My husband was there for the week prior to me for business and did some hikes above town (watch out for donkeys). I read of a chocolate train so hopefully someone can share if that is something worth pursuing or not.

Sounds like a great trip!

I haven't done Locarno, so I can't speak to that. For Montreux, you can do a day trip to Yvoire, France by taking the train to Nyon and then taking the boat across to Yvoire. That's a much better option than Geneva.

The English audio tour for the Chateau de Chillon is great and I highly recommend walking there from Montreux along the lake promenade and then taking the boat back. It makes it more of a full trip that way and the view of the castle from the boat, as well as walking up to it from the lake promenade, are both excellent.

If you haven't already, make sure to take a look at www.swissfamilyfun.com for lots of great ideas for families/kids in Switzerland.

Thank you so much for the replies! Very excited to see castle Chillon. Love the idea of doing both a lake side stroll and then a boat ride back. Sounds absolutely dreamy! Yvoire looks gorgeous too will definitely try to make that happen if we can.

Valadelphia your comment about the donkeys made me laugh! Was expecting you to say sheep or cows haha.
Wanderweg- pulling up swissfamilyfun now! Thank you!

Last time we did the half fare pass with the BO pass, but my husband wants to do the full fare pass so we don’t have to think about it while we travel. I’m going to do the math but does anyone know if I would still want the BO pass with that? And does the full pass still provide the discount like the half fare pass does?

A couple of suggestions.

Take the Treno Gottardo to Locarno from Zurich. It is direct every 2 hours, 8:05, 10:05, 12:05, etc. It will take about an hour longer than using the Gotthard Base Tunnel, but you will get to see the Alps rather than travel underneath them. Those trains have an additional connection at Arth-Goldau at other times.

Take the scenic Centovallee railway to Domodossola on the way to Montreux. you then go through the Simplon Tunnel to Brig, then a train to Montreux. This route passes through Visp, and if the weather is clear, you can take a side excursion up to Zermatt to see the Matterhorn.

Adding that if you have not bought airline tickets yet, you could fly into Milan Malpensa aand get an hourly train to Locarno from there with a change in Lugano. Takes 2 1/3 hours.

If you get the Swiss Travel Pass, you can get a discount on the Jungfrau Travel Pass while in Wengen. Kids are are free with the free Family Card I assume you will get, although they will have to pay 30 CHF for the children's JTP.
https://www.jungfrau.ch/en-gb/jungfrau-travel-pass/

Sam, these are great suggestions! Thank you! Definitely would prefer a more scenic train route especially for the kids. I can’t wait for them to see the alps.
Great suggestion to detour to Zermatt en route, I’ll be keeping an eye on the weather! If we don’t get lucky with sunshine, is Domodossola worth checking out on the way?
I forgot there was a Jungfrau pass! We did the BO pass last time but glad the stp will get us a discount, and yes absolutely getting the family pass. I love that younger children are able to travel free with parents!

I don't now that there is a whole lot to see and do in Domodossola. The EC train from Domodossola to Montreux does not stop at Visp, but you would have to change at Brig, either to Visp, or there is a direct train to Zermatt at Brig, but it departs from tracks in front of the station, not inside the station itself. So check the Zermatt web cams on your phone before you get to Domodossola and make a decision whether or not you want to do that.

If you take the Centovalli from Locarno at 7:50, the connection is pretty tight in Domodossola (8 minutes) to the EC train, but there is a regional train 10 minutes later to Brig. The connection there (12 minutes) going to Montreux also calls at Visp and you can decide whether or not to make a detour. With a Swiss Travel Pass, you can change plans at the spur of the moment.

Sam-really appreciate the fantastic train information! So helpful. Thank you!

There is a direct Treno Gottardo train between Luzern and Locarno that runs on 2 hour centers starting around 7 AM. We will be taking that in the opposite direction for our transfer from Locarno to Luzern, definitely looking forward to the scenery on that route!