Lauterbrunnen > Zurich > Salzburg > Vienna !!!

I would take the scenic route to Luzern, and stop there for a couple of hours. Then to Zurich, and just change trains there for Salzburg. Luzern is much prettier and interesting than Zurich. The train station is right on the lakefront. So if you want to spend a little time along the way, do it in Luzern rather than Zurich.

PS, There is a train on the scenic route at 5:57 am. It just requires you to change trains at Meiringen.

Regarding Zurich - Salzburg: The xx:33 departures are with a change in Munich. I would aim for one of the direct trains that leave at 40 minutes past every even hour.

I would not change bases between Murren and Lauterbrunnen. These places are only about half an hour away from each other. You're only moving neighbourhoods basically.

Sam - thank you for your advice! We'll take the scenic train through Luzern and stop there for a little while. Do you think 1.5 hours would be sufficient to grab a snack and a sandwich for lunch and to wander across some of the bridges? I doubt we'd have time for the RS walking tour in that short of a time span. We can add in more time, but that would push our Salzburg arrival time back a bit.

Thank you for the tip on the earlier train option! I didn't see that before!

WengenK - do you recommend the non-stop trains because they are simpler than having to stop in Munich? Or is it due to the more mountainous scenery?

We originally made the Murren reservation for 3 nights and were unable to extend for another night when we changed our plans from staying in Zurich to sticking in Lauterbrunnen another day. I will see if it's possible, otherwise we'll have to stick with Lauterbrunnen! At least it's going in the direction we need to go :)

Thank you both!!

With the confines of 24 hours (and 12ish hours of sunlight: from 7AM to 7PM) and about 8 hours of trains... where is the best place to spend those non-train hours?
-Luzern
-Zurich
-Salzburg

From Sam's previous comment, it sounds like it might be worth skipping Zurich this time and spending a couple (?) hours in Luzern and then the rest in Salzburg. I'd love additional insight if anyone has it!

If you take the 5:57 am train to Luzern, you arrive at 8 am, a bit early for lunch, but for breakfast. If you leave Luzern at 11:35, you will make the 12:40 RJX departure to Salzburg, arriving at 6:03 pm. This route is direct a pretty scenic through the Arlberg Tunnel and down the Inn valley. It has a restaurant car if you want a snack, or buy some supplies at the grocery store in Luzern station.

I recommend the direct route for two reasons:
- That route is more scenic.
- Going via Munich adds the risk of you missing the connection due to a delay, and unfortunately delays are common on the Zurich - Munich route.

I don’t understand what the point is of going to Salzburg for one late night and leaving the next morning is? You won’t see a thing. If you’re not going to spend any time in Salzburg, then just spend an extra day in the BO and then take a quick direct flight from Zurich to Vienna.

If you’re going to go to the trouble of doing the train all the way from Lauterbrunnen to Vienna, then you should have some sort of meaningful time along the way, unless you just really love sitting in trains as your vacation.

Sam - great idea. Thank you!

WengenK - understood. Thanks for the explanation!

wanderweg - you bring up a good point about how the flight option would save time. We considered flights, but unfortunately, they cost about 4x as much as buying supersaver train tickets ($300+ instead of around $70 per person). We opted to spend our money elsewhere on this trip and plan to proceed with trains. It will make for a long travel day, but are hoping to make the most of it and enjoy the scenery as we go. In fact, our original trip plan was to slowly work our way through Switzerland and Austria over a ~5 day period, but now we have 4 days in BO region and 1 longer travel day. We're big hikers and outdoors people and are eager for time in the BO region!!

I concede that the Luzern/Zurich and Salzburg times are shorter than ideal, but having some ideas mapped out will help us make meaningful (albeit short) memories while there! Planning out our restaurants, city walks, etc. will hopefully help to make that happen!

Additionally, thanks to these excellent replies, we will consider staying in Luzern instead of Lauterbrunnen on Monday night. Our Lauterbrunnen hotel has free cancellation.

That possibility would allow more time in Luzern (dinner that evening and a few hours the following morning) and we could more reasonably take the train that arrives in Salzburg at 16:00 the following day. That gives 3 hours before sunset and however much time the following morning before leaving for Vienna. We have not selected the Vienna train time yet, but will likely select a mid-morning departure that allows for lunch in Vienna.

An alternative option to consider is skipping Salzburg altogether, since at most you’d have a few hours to sort of see a glimpse. Instead add the time in nature, since you’re big hikers + some meaningful time in Luzern. Moving down to Lauterbrunnen doesn’t meaningfully advance you any closer to your destination (20 minutes is negligible) and the time it takes to check in/out of hotels is going to erase any “savings” you got. Plus after being in Murren you’re not going to enjoy staying down in Lauterbrunnen.

Stay in Murren for 4 nights to really soak in all the hiking + buffer days for weather, move to Luzern on Tuesday morning to explore Luzern for the day and then take the train from Luzern to Vienna on Wednesday.

Or, if Salzburg feels important to you, stay in Murren for 3 nights, train to Salzburg directly from Murren on Monday, stay in Salzburg for 2 nights so that you actually get a day there and then move to Vienna.

Questions 4&5 - Salzburg is special and small. I would not skip it. It is a town for walking. No need to actually visit the fortress - admire it from the river or Mirabell gardens. Walk past Mozart’s birthplace, have dinner at the Augustiner Brau. Stay in a hotel in the center, like Hotel Elefant.