realistic airfare & train to Jungfraujoch

" I am finding about $1600-$1700 per ticket (from Utah) - is that about right?"

Unfortunately yes. Airfares this year are higher than ever, and you are going in peak season. Of course you can look into different days, different airports (Zurich vs. Geneva), etc. But as a marker of how high prices are now, I just got an e-mail from Delta, promoting their $900 fares from New York to London in January and February! For years, a reasonable amount to pay for this was $400-500, and now they're pushing it as "only" $900!

"the top of the Jungfraujoch - does this need to be reserved in advance? "

No, you just buy your ticket and go. In fact, since you are quite wisely staying in Mürren or Lauterbrunnen, and staying for several nights, you should go only on a day when the weather is good.

I'll leave the complexities of passes and children's fares to others - I was there in September 2014, but for 2015 they made major changes in Swiss train passes, and I don't know what's been done for 2016.

Passes are a much discussed topic if you do some searching. The short answer is, in CH it ain't easy to choose.

If you stay in Murren, to get to the Jungfrau I believe you'd have to backtrack down to Lauterbrunnen. Which isn't too far, but involves a tram and a bus. Or a train and a tram. Alternative is to keep on going up to the Schilthorn, if you can bear to hear the James Bond theme approximately 500 times! The good news is, if you're in Murren you'll have a pretty good idea of what the weather will be like (along with webcams) so you'll know when to go.

Your children will travel for free on the Jungfrau train and everything else if at least one parent gets a Swiss Pass of some sort and requests the free Family Card. The best pass for the Jungfrau Trip is a Half-fare Card, which gives you 50% off that trip and all train and cablecar travel. ( other passes only give you 25% off the Jungfrau trip above a certain point). The savings on the Jungfrau trip will almost pay for the Half-fare card. So I suggest both parents get one.

https://ricksteves.raileurope.com/activities/swiss-half-fare-card/index.html?bookEng=Activities

great advice - thank you! we will definitely get the swiss half fare card. I don't quite follow how to get the family card? it says at a train station - just at the window or is there a kiosk? thanks again for the great suggestion.

That aspect is new----when we used the Family Card it came with the Swiss Passes we bought.

You could call Rail Europe and ask. But I assume you would have to pick it up at a ticket window, because the agent must see the children and their passports, and enter their names and ages on the FamilyCard.

Or you could buy the Half Fare Cards when you get to Switzerland. Then you would ask for the FamilyCard at the same time.

Check the prices in CHF and $$ to see which is better----often they are different.

And welcome to the Forum!

Swiss train travel is indeed designed for families with kids. The transportation system is 2nd to none, and your kids traveling for free (with the Swiss Family Pass) is a fantastic bonus. Murren is also a fantastic destination for your family stay.

rhonda,

A few comments to add.....

As you're planning to go to the Jungfraujoch, staying in Lauterbrunnen would be the most efficient method since that's the transportation hub for that area. While you could certainly stay in Mürren, that will add to both your cost and travel times, since you'd have to travel through Lauterbrunnen anyway to reach the Jungfraujoch.

Lola has provided an excellent description of your best options for passes with the children. The subject of the "right pass" for Switzerland is never an easy one to answer, as that often depends on which specific sights each traveller is going to visit. I had to use a spreadsheet to work out my best options the last time I visited that area, and even with that my choice came down mostly to an "educated guess".

To visit the Jungfraujoch, you'll first have to take the cogwheel train up the hill to Wengen and Kleine Scheidegg, and then transfer to the red Jungfraubahn cars. There are restaurants and other facilities at Kleine Scheidegg if you want to stop for a snack or whatever before you make the trip up the hill. While there are restaurants at the Jungfraujoch, they tend to be on the "expensive" side so you'll have to decide which option works best for you.

If you want a mountain top dining experience, you could also consider the revolving restaurant at the Schilthorn and the "James Bond experience". While that's also a bit on the pricey side, sitting in a revolving restaurant at 10K feet is somewhat unique so I never mind splurging on that. It's also a spectacular trip up on the cable cars.

I'd like to second Lola's comment - welcome to the forum!