Need help in planning for 5 days trip in Switzerland

If by five days, you mean four nights, I would spend them all in Murren in the Berner Oberland. Or as an alternative, Lauterbrunnen (in the valley below Murren) or Wengen (across the way from Wengen). This will be the most relaxing (no switching hotels) and allow you to soak up the beautiful mountain scenery. Or if you have bad weather, you will have a good chance of getting at least one good day if you spend four nights. From either Murren or Wengen, you can see Trummelbach Falls and Jungfraujoch. There's also tons of great hiking.
Mt. Titlis is near Lucerne. I'm not familiar with Rhine Falls. Forget about Interlaken; it's just a stop over on the way to Murren or Wengen.

If you have five nights, you could spend three nights in Murren and two nights in Lucerne. But I would prefer all five nights in Murren.

As for getting there, I'm guessing flying into Zurich would be the fastest. You could take the Eurostar to Paris and then the train to the Burren Oberland, but that would be a long trip.

Thanks for your response. How about travel from Zurich to Murren or Lucern? Also I assume public transportations are available to visit Jungfrau and Mt titlis from murren or lucerne.

Do you have any suggestions regarding hotels or accomodations?

How about travel from Zurich to Murren or Lucern? Also I assume public transportations are available to visit Jungfrau and Mt titlis from murren or lucerne.

You can assume you can get from anywhere to anywhere in Switzerland by train, including places you cannot get to by road (Mürren, Wengen amongst others).
If you have only 4 nights, stay in one place, and that should be the Jungfrau area of the Berner Oberland (Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, Mürren or Grindelwald). Plenty of hotels, just look on the internet. None of these places are cities, they are medium and small tourist-orientated towns.
Do not buy a tour, just book transport to and from Switzerland, a hotel and possibly a Berner Oberland transport pass.
Luzern can be done as a day trip, and the route to Luzern is over the Brünig pass, which is a scenic rail route.
Bern is also a possible day trip, if you get fed up of mountains.

You can fly from London (multiple airports, multiple airlines) to Zürich, Geneva or Basel. From all three airports you can get by train to anywhere in Switzerland.
When you leave for Paris, you can do that by train, just as quick and a lot more comfortable than flying.
Look up train times and prices on the SBB (Swiss Federal Railways) website: http://www.sbb.ch/en/home.html
But consider a Berner Oberland Pass as you will probably be doing lots of mountain transport in the area.

Psk,
You've gotten great advice so far. The posters know what they are talking about. I've essentially done this trip 6 times, twice each with each of my 3 kids. Make that 8 times, because they've gone back with me twice as adults now--to the exact same places. That's how much they enjoyed it.

You don't say how old your kids are, but I'll assume they are old enough to walk a distance. If so, here's my advice. Don't make "mountains" your destination. Make walking thru the alps looking at them your destination. Along the way they'll walk past goats and cows and farmers and cheese-making and have a chance to take their own pictures.
Sure, you could take the train from Lauterbrunnen or Grindelwald up to the Jungfraujoch, but it will take most of the day, be expensive, your kids may possibly be bored being in a train too long, and get up there and find yourselves in a cloud. Or, you can take one of many trails and keep the kids occupied. Plus, I'd rather look AT the mountains than look down at teeny-tiny little things in the distance.
Here's what I'd do: There are lots of ways to get to Paris. Once there, take the TGV (bullet train) to Geneva. That's a 3 hr ride and you can find out more about it at

http://www.seat61.com/Europe-train-travel.htm

If your kids need a 2 hr break, you can rent free bikes ( www.geneveroule.ch ) or visit Calvin's church. Then get into the alps and stay there. Lauterbrunnen or Murren or Wengen or Grindelwald would work. In Geneva you can buy the tix and you will change trains in Bern and Interlaken Ost (not West). My fav in Lauterbrunnen is to rent a trailer at www.campingjungfrau.ch but your budget may differ.
From Lauterbrunnen you can walk over to Trummelbach Falls on the cloudiest day, but on any decent days take the following walks:
Grutschalp to Murren (and maybe further to Sprutz Falls and Spielbodenalp or up a cable car to the Schilthorn) map here: http://www.mappery.com/Schilthorn-Summer-Trail-Map

Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg (save for the clearest day) map here:

http://www.mappery.com/Jungfrau-Grindelwald-region-summer-map
(Google image "Mannlichen")

Grindelwald to First (cable car) then 45 min walk to Bachalpsee (Google image it) then back down to Grindelwald, if time then also cablecar to Pfingstegg where your kids will enjoy the Rodelbahn (Google image "Pfingstegg Rodelbahn")

There are lots of other trails and things to do, but this will get you started. Your kids will travel free on Swiss trains and cable cars if you get a "Family Card". You 2 can either get a Swiss Transfer Card (in advance) or a Berner Oberland Pass (in Bern) to save money. Rick Steves discusses these elsewhere on this site.
Rhine Falls and Interlaken pale in comparison to these trails. You could take a side trip to Lucern, free with the Berner Oberland Pass, and if so, your kids will like the mirror maze in the Glacier Garden right next to the Lion Monument.
Given that you'll use cable cars and trains anyway, and likely will have a train pass, train travel is your best option. Cars are a nuisance once in the Jungfrau area, and trains run everywhere every 1/2 hour or better .
Allen

Thank you much for your response with details. BTW, my kids are 14 and 9. If I understand correctly, I assume I should skip Jungfrau or mt titlis and instead do lot of trail walking which would be more fun for kids. Correct me if I am wrong.

I found out that Lake Thun is an another wonderful scenic view to visit. Is it worth to add that item in my itenary ? I see following highlights in mySwitzerland.com website. What are the main places should be considered to include? How about the boat ride?

Thun’s Old Town – the narrow lanes with the historic buildings of the nobility and the townhouses of wealthy burghers are presided over by the castle with its imposing tower and four corner turrets.

Thun’s Wocher-Panorama – the 360° circular mural, which was created between 1809 and 1814 is the oldest painting of its kind in the world.

The Castle of Spiez – medieval castle with a fortified tower, Early Romanesque Castle Church and Castle Gardens, inside the castle is a large banquet room and examples of baroque living culture and furniture. Castle Concerts.

St. Beatus Caves – Unterirdische Bäche und gewaltige Tropfsteinformationen können auf einem beleuchteten Rundgang besichtigt werden. Am Eingang lebte gemäss Sage im 6. Jahrhundert der Heilige St. Beatus.

Niederhorn (1950m) – hiking and skiing area with a view of Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, Lake Thun and Lake Brienz. It is reached from the Beatenbucht pier by two cable car segments.

Niesen (2362m) – a steep funicular on the southern shore of Lake Thun takes visitors to the vantage point on the pyramid-shaped mountain, which is topped by a restaurant and offers a 360-degree panoramic view.

Lake Thun – alpenrandsee, a lake in the Bernese Oberland with lovely lakeshore villages that are reached by excursion ships of the Lake Thun Fleet - among them is a paddle steamer.

Oberhofen Castle – in a beautiful park on Lake Thun - houses an important exhibition about Bernese cultivation of home decor from the 16th to 19th century.

Justistal – a prominent valley on the north shore of Lake Thun, popular hiking area, known for the large-scale annual “Chästeilet”, where the cheeses produced during the Alpine summer are distributed among the farmers.

Psk, your kids are a great age for this trip. Mine were around 13 and 14 and now at twice that age they still go back.
You are correct, I would skip Mt. Titlis and going to the top of the Jungfrau. You'll be seeing the Jungfrau for sure, just not sitting on top. Going to the top (Jungfraujoch) is a nice trip, though expensive (about $200 each adult), but I think kids would rather hike and explore than sit on a train most of the day. You can decide for yourself, though. Here are some pics and info for the Jungfraujoch trip:

http://www.seat61.com/jungfrau.htm

And here are some pics from a family (not mine) that took the trails below. Note that the pics near the bottom with the cows are taken at Mannlichen, which is the start of the 1.5 hr Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg trail, looking at the snow capped mountains (including Jungfrau) the whole way:

http://www.mominzurich.com/lauterbrunnen-our-10th-wedding-anniversary/

Allen

Thank you everyone for your response and time.

After reading through forums, i assume I can buy Berber Oberland Transport pass to travel around lucern, interlaken, lake thun, etc. I see price as 122 for an adult. So I can buy only for 2 adults(244) with kids free. I assume i don't have to spend any extra other than this 244. Please clarify as I am confused. Also will the same pass work to commute from murren to jungfrau using train and cable car?

Thanks again for your responses.

It's called a "BerNer Oberland Pass", website here: http://www.regionalpass-berneroberland.ch/
And the map showing what it covers is here: http://www.regionalpass-berneroberland.ch/assets/pass-and-infos/geltungsbereich/BLS-RAIL-Regio-BE-XL-17-web.pdf
The price is CHF 250 for 4 days, I don't know where you got your price from? See here: http://www.regionalpass-berneroberland.ch/en/pass-and-infos/pricing/
For your kids it says:

For children 6 - 16 years (15.99) and dogs gives a Regional-Pass for CHF 30.-. The Junior-Card, Children's Co-Travelcard and the STS Family Card are not valid.

"i assume I can buy Berber Oberland Transport pass to travel around lucern, interlaken, lake thun, etc" - If you look at the map, yes, you are covered to those places. I don't think local buses in Luzern are covered, just trains to get there. Boats on Thunersee (Lake Thun) are covered.
"will the same pass work to commute from murren to jungfrau using train and cable car?" - As you can see from the map, you are covered from Mürren to Kleine Scheidegg, but above Kleine Scheidegg up to Jungfraujoch you get a 50% reduction.

Thanks for your response. So In addition to 250CHF per adult I have to spent only additional 50% of ticket from Kleine Scheidegg up to Jungfraujoch. Is that right?

Correct. 50% past Kleine Scheidegg

Thanks. What about the commute from zurich to murren and back from murren to zurich (on return)? and also from murren to geneva (round trip for visiting)? Do I have to take swiss pass or point to point ticket?

The Berner Oberland Pass and the Swiss Pass are two different things.
If you have a Berner Oberland Pass, and are travelling on one of its days. Then you need a ticket to or from the edge of its area (Bern) to Zürich. If not on one of your pass days, then you need a ticket to or from Mürren (If that is where you are staying).
Ditto for Geneva.
I guess you actually want to get to Zürich airport, not the city centre, in which case you want Zürich Flughafen station, not Zürich HB.

A Swiss Pass is valid for the whole of Switzerland, see map here (page 2): http://www.sbb.ch/content/dam/sbb/de/pdf/freizeit-ferien/ferien-kurztrips-schweiz/internationale-gaeste/sts-geltungsbereich_en.pdf
If you have one of them, you are covered all the way to Zürich, Geneva or anywhere else in Switzerland. But (big but) you get less coverage in the mountains, only up to Mürren/Wengen, above there only 25% discount instead of 50%.

I know it is complicated, you have to do the sums yourself and choose which you want.
Look up train times and fares in the SBB (Swiss Railways) website: http://www.sbb.ch/en/home.html

The Thun sights are OK, and are worth considering on a dreary day, but personally I wouldn't give up even an hour on a nice day in the Lauterbrunnen/Grindelwald area. There's 10 days worth of stuff to do in the L/G area. But if you think you might have different interests, then Google images is your friend to check them out ahead of time.

Thanks for your suggestion. I am trying to find the activities by looking at the pictures in google. Could you please list of activities that we could enjoy with kids in Lauterbrunnen/Grindelwald area so that I will try to figure out our interests.

Thank you so much for your response and time in replying.

Hi,
I'm planning 4 days in Jungfraud area, after arriving Zurich airport.
I heard about Jungfrau travel pass 3 days which costs 180 (CHF), so i planning the ticket as follows
1- buy train ticket from Zurich- Lauternbrunnen which i will stay there for 2 nights
2- buy Jungfrau travel pass 3 days for travelling within area
https://www.jungfrau.ch/shop/en/tickets/bergbahn/angebote/jungfrau-travel-pass
3- buy Interlaken - zurich ticket for the return day

My question is:
- is the above ticket plan is the best in term of cost? How about Berner Oberland Pass?
- can i buy supersaver for ticket #1 and #3 for better price?

Thank you!

Chris,
I browsed the webpage www.sbb.ch and tried to look for the details for the trip from Murren to Bern and found the one of the options and trying to understand. this route shows 3 stops. Should I change the train ? if yes, i see only 3 mins gap changing from R726 to LB 102. Is time enough to switch ? As a first time traveler, we may have difficulty in identifying the right train. Please help me to understand. Also I see there are different types of travel with such as ICE/TGV/RJ, IR, RE/D refer link http://fahrplan.sbb.ch/bin/stboard.exe/en. What does it mean ?

7:06 Murren BLM
R726 direction Grütschalp
Show interim stops
Grütschalp
Arrival 07:19

Change
2'
Walk 0 m
(individual section) from Grütschalp to Lauterbrunnen BLM

Grütschalp
LB 102 Direction Lauterbrunnen BLM
Expected occupancy
Departure 07:21
Show interim stops
Lauterbrunnen BLM
Arrival 07:25

Change
3'
Walk 72 m
(individual section) from Lauterbrunnen to Interlaken Ost

Lauterbrunnen, Platform 2
R 126 Direction Interlaken Ost
Expected occupancy
Departure 07:33
Show interim stops
Interlaken Ost, Platform 2A
Arrival 07:54

Change
6'
Walk 0 m
(individual section) from Interlaken Ost to Bern

Interlaken Ost, Platform 7
962 Direction Basel SBB
Expected occupancy
FZ
Departure 08:00
Show interim stops
Bern, Platform 6

I browsed the webpage www.sbb.ch and tried to look for the details for
the trip from Murren to Bern and found the one of the options and
trying to understand. this route shows 3 stops. Should I change the
train ? if yes, i see only 3 mins gap changing from R726 to LB 102. Is
time enough to switch ? As a first time traveler, we may have
difficulty in identifying the right train. Please help me to
understand. Also I see there are different types of travel with such
as ICE/TGV/RJ, IR, RE/D refer link
http://fahrplan.sbb.ch/bin/stboard.exe/en. What does it mean ?

Don't sweat it. There are only two ways out of Murren and they both lead to Lauterbrunnen. You can take the tiny train from Murren to the wee village of Grutchalp, then take a cable car down to Lauterbrunnen. Or from Murren you can take the cable car down to Gimmelwald then down to Stechelburg. From there take the bus to Lauterbrunnen.

From Lauterbrunnen get on a train heading to Interlaken. From Interlaken get on a train heading to Bern. Destinations are clearly labeled and if you get confused, ask the person at the ticket window or a conductor.

Lauterbrunnen to Interlaken/Bern is a common route so there will be several departures per hour.

PSK, that listing (which is slightly less confusing when it appears in tabular form on the website), does not show show 3 stops, it shows 3 changes of train (4 trains).
As you will discover when you go to Mürren, it is physically impossible to go directly to Mürren without changing trains.
You get to Mürren the following way:
1) Change trains at Interlaken Ost. The train to Lauterbrunnen will be waiting on an adjacent platform.
2) At Lauterbrunnen walk across the road to a cable car and take the cable car up a mountain.
3) At the top of the cable car (Grütschalp), change to a small train (same building) this runs along the side of the mountain to Mürren.
That last train is not connected to the rest of the Swiss rail network, and runs horizontally half way up a mountain. How they got it up there I have never worked. It is very spectacular.
There is a video of the cable car and the Mürren Railway here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1NdWipvTCo

There is an alternative, from Lauterbrunnen bus then a different cable car. There are no roads to Mürren.

Coming back down from Mürren, you do the whole process in reverse.

• Yes, those short connection times are OK, each method of transport is waiting for passengers from the previous one.
• ICE/TGV/RJ, IR, RE/D are different types of train, you can ignore that.
• Each of the trains (apart from the cable car) have intermediate stops, and the train to Bern carries on to Basel (it says so). If you click on each train number, it shows all the stops.

Thanks Chris. How about the safety during the travel?

psk, not sure what you mean by "safety during the travel". Trains rarely have accidents, a lot safer than roads.

Psk, by "Google images is your friend" I mean that you can look up some of these places, such as "Justistal" or a castle name, and see if that's something your kids would love (and if it is worth the time traveling to somewhere to see just one or two things). You should also compare it to Google imaging things like "Lauterbrunnen hikes" or "Bachalpsee" or other places I mentioned.
You also asked about activities in the Lauterbrunnen/Grindelwald area. There are quite a few (like Lauterbrunnen musuem, or Rodelbahn at Pfingstegg), but I want to promote just taking a trail mentioned and see how it goes, instead of scheduling activities, one after another. Speaking for myself and my family, we take vacations to get away from the "scheduled activities" and the L/G area is perfect for that. Sometimes we wanted to see how far we could hike, other times we spent an hour petting cows and goats and taking pictures, or picking blueberries on the side of the trail, or browsing thru the local stores and trying different foods. We've always scheduled a lot of "flexible time" so that the trip feels like a true vacation and not like a marathon of activities. Nonetheless, we always tried one new trail each day--sometimes for 2 hours, sometimes for 6 hours.

Chris,
Is it safe roam around the places alone and keeping our personal items? Also is cable car available late night to return to murren?

I will say that the Lauterbrunnen/Murren area is safer than wherever you are right now. I would trust these Swiss farmers with my life. It's next to impossible to get lost since the mountains and valleys keep you oriented.
That said, there are always tourists around, so you should keep your passport and money on your person, hidden, and Rick Steves has travel gear in his store for that. Still, we camped there many years and left everything but the above in our unlocked tent--no problems.
In the summer, the last cable car from Laut. to Murren is around 8:30 pm, or around midnight if you go up via Stechelberg. You can check for yourself at www.sbb.ch/en Use military time. If you go hiking around First or Grosse Scheidegg, the last cable car/bus down from there is around 6 pm.

psk, Mürren is a village of 450 residents. There are no cars, the only way in or out is by cable car or on foot. People are walking around the village and all over the surrounding mountains all the time. I very much doubt there is any much crime.

I just looked on SBB website. The last cable car from Lauterbrunnen to Grütschalp with connecting train is 19:38. The alternative route, bus to Stechelberg then a different cable car to Mürren, last departure 23:25.

I am not sure you understand quite what these places are like. Mürren is a small village cut off from the world on top of a cliff half way up a mountain. That is why people like it. Shoe's description is good. I hope you enjoy it.