Please help! Late and overwhelmed planning out itinerary

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/switzerland/family-trip-itinerary-advice-needed-please

You received great advice way back in April. Have you integrated any of that into your itinerary? You are really late to the game for lodging, esp for five folks. Availability may determine where you go and where you stay.

Good luck!

Just really quickly, Wengen is super family friendly, has working ag, public swimming pool, beautiful public picnic spots, car free, and dead center in the lift network in the BO (so efficient to do lots of different things) It's a very good place to take children, not that other places aren't. There are playgrounds in Wengen, and a really great one up the cable car from Wengen - centerpiece being a massive cow with a slide inside where you come out on the tongue.

As for trotti bikes, you can ride the lifts up the long Grindelwald and trotti bike for miles and miles down. It's also the largest agricultural zone in the area, and there are a lot of farmers doing cheese out of their barns etc up there.

Also there is a Mountain coaster on a different lift up the steeper mountains behind Grindelwald, lots of fun. It's zigzags through cow pastures which is nice. I have no idea what the cows think about it.

And then there is a big mountain gorge right next to that, with expeditions and huge swings.

One thing that's going to be your benefit: Switzerland is expensive, are the transit passes for the mountain lifts in railroads in the BO, but they're almost free for kids. A lot of stuff for children in Switzerland is highly discounted, so take advantage of amortizing that into your adult Top of Europe passes et al.

Have a great time

Picking up a rental car in Italy and leaving it in Switzerland will be spendy. ( ~$700-$800 extra)

Find lodging in the Berner Oberland (Wengen, Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen or even Interlaken) NOW! Accommodations in Switzerland are nearly fully booked this summer. Start with Booking dot com for an overview of what your options might be. Look to other Scenic Railways such as the Gotthard which will get you to Luzern vs. Chur where the Bernina ends. Easy to get to the B-O from Luzern. Definitely ditch the rental car in Italy and take trains in Switzerland.
So, two nights Luzern, 4 nights B-O, last night in Zurich is my suggestion.
Then go from there for the rest of your planning.
Once you have a "home" base you can make plans from there.

If you have trouble finding a place in Wengen/Grindelwald/Lauterbrunnen/etc, there are also many other wonderful mountain destinations you could look at which offer great scenery and the activities you mentioned. Close by, you could have a look at somewhere like Hasliberg, which is still close to Lauterbrunnen/Wengen/etc but not as big with Americans. There are great hikes for families (Muggestutz is a big hit with my friends' kids), trotti biking, etc.
Or since you are interested in Bernina Express, you could look at places closer to that route's end stations, near either Chur (for example, Arosa/Lenzerheide) or St Moritz (would not stay in St Moritz myself, but plenty of great smaller towns in the surrounding area).
You can also do all the mountain stuff in Engelberg, which has amazing scenery, tons of kid friendly activities and is only about 45 mins from Lucerne.
And for those who think Zermatt is not their thing, I can recommend staying in the Saastal instead, one valley over from Zermatt. You can do a day trip to see the Matterhorn if you want, but spend the rest of your vacation in a much quieter and cheaper region that has amazing scenery.
I love the Berner Oberland as much as everyone else here and I totally understand if you have your heart set on it, but the prices and lack of availability are driven by its popularity (primarily with Americans, especially this year). I just want to point out that it is not the only beautiful, easily accessible mountain destination to visit in Switzerland!

With Bernina Express and Appenzell in the wish list, it sounds like you are trying to stick to the Rick Steves recommendations. Those two things add a lot of train time, and with such a short amount of time I would suggest, as others have, with sticking to Luzern or nearby Rigi, and the Berner Oberland mountain villages.

Look at the Swiss rail map to see just how far east you have to go from Milan to catch the Bernina Express, and how far back west to get to the Berner Oberland.

https://cdn-doc.myswissalps.com/docs/default-source/rail-network-maps/swisstravelpass.pdf?sfvrsn=7788603a_56

Trottibikes are at Grindelwald First, at least those are the only one I know of. But I suspect you would be happier staying in one of the smaller mountain villages such as Wengen or Mürren.

It is true that many hotels are fully booked, and in particular space for a family of 5 is scarce. But I see some September availability in this 6-person apartment in Mürren, named Chalet Oberdorf. We have stayed here with our family and it is wonderful. I would go back in a heartbeat.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/VacationRentalReview-g188084-d6588573-Chalet_Oberdorf_Murren-Murren_Jungfrau_Region_Bernese_Oberland_Canton_of_Bern.html

This is the TripAdvisor listing so you can see the reviews, but you can rent it on Air BnB. I just can’t post links to the AirBnB app.

Hi Lola- Bosmom is going in August per her April post!
I continue to believe that securing lodging for her family should be priority #1 and then she should proceed from there.
Hopefully, she will come back to this thread later today and provide us with an update!

Go to Booking.com ASAP. Once you find a place to stay, then concern yourself with activities. So come back after you secure a place to stay in the BO. You need lodging!!!

Thank you all so much! We found a place to stay in Wengen!!!!! Yay!
Thank you all for your amazing recommendations (Hank) and for giving me the confidence to skip the Bernina Express (beejaybeechio and Lola). Lola, I took your advice and looked over the map! It just didn't make sense (for this trip at least). It's very hard when you want to see everything! Suddenly your week gets eaten up quickly!

As we will be coming from Italy, here is what's shaping up so far:
Leave rental car in Italy (not sure where yet) Take train to Lugano, walk around, have lunch, explore, stay the night. Then spend the bulk of our time in Wengen, making day trips in and around the area.. 2 nights in Luzern, 1 night in Zurich to be close to the airport.

Thank you all again! I look forward to posting a trip report!

Sounds like you make great choices in your itinerary - well done!

Ask the Wengen Tourist Information office about municipal picnic/ barbecue areas that you can walk to. There's a couple of them and it's fun with a family. Also remember there's a public pool in Wengen just on the uphill side of the town. Nice view from there if your kids want a swim.

Happy for you, bosmom!
Fun for your family in Wengen might include Lauberhorn Crazy Golf, which I just discovered perusing the Berner-Oberland Pass website. Your train trip to Luzern from Wengen includes the Golden Pass route from Interlaken on, so that will give you another scenic ride.
Have a wonderful vacation!