Recommendations requested: Berner Oberland, Zermatt, Montreux itinerary

How late is late for you arrival at Zurich airport. The last direct train is at 20:47 and there are connections via Zurich Hbf available up to 43 past midnight to Luzern and it takes just over an hour.

Don't worry about snow in the mountains, should be plenty. I'd cut Adelboden and add a night to Muerren and Zermatt, or maybe 2 nights in Muerren.

Hi Sam, I land at 10:25pm, So I didn’t think I could make it to Luzern. But that would be ideal.

That’s interesting you said to cut Adelboden because I was leaning toward that but that’s my husband’s choice. I think I need to convince him for a longer stay in Mürren

Perhaps I was reading between the lines when you said,

I prefer to stay in one place at least 2-3 nights rather than a new place each night.

Every time you pull up stakes and move to a new location, you waste a bit of time. But at least in Switzerland, the journey is often a big part of the adventure. It does take a Postbus to get to/from Adelboden.

Too many location changes. If the weather is poor and you only have one day in an area, you will miss the scenery you came for.

Seven nights = two locations in my mind. Luzern plus Muerren, Muerren plus Montreux, Muerren plus Zermatt, or whichever two call to you. If you want a scenic train ride your instincts are good to take the Golden Pass and make Luzern and Muerren your two stops.

If you must, do three locations but not 4 in addition to the Zurich nights coming and going.

Thanks for the feedback so far, I am going to remove Adelboden, and do Mürren 3 nights and I’ll have an extra day in Montreux or Zermatt.

Sam,
Is the 0:43 train to Luzern leave from the airport station or it’s in another part of Zurich? If it’s from the airport, as long as my flight arrives on time and customs and luggage don’t have delays, that should be feasible?

There are trains from Zurich airport to Zurich Hbf where you connect to a train to Luzern, The precise connecting trains are at 23:14, 23:43, and 00:43. However, you say "early-mid December". The precise date is important, as the schedule changes after December 8. So beginning December 9, the last train is at 23:46. You could make that one, but you don't know if your flight will land on time. So maybe staying the night in Zurich is the best idea.

Please do follow Laurel's advice!

Weather in the mountains is both unpredictable and rapidly changeable, so if you only have two days in a place, you may have poor visibility the whole time. You want to maximize your chances of seeing what you spent so much time and money to see.

Seven nights in Switzerland does indeed mean two places, maximum, plus the nights in Zurich you need due to your flights (but no other time there).

I completely agree and can't reinforce enough, that you have to give yourself enough time in each place due to the possibility of poor weather/poor visibility. Before you go to Jungfrau, I'd check cameras for visibility. Jungfrau is expensive. Often, visibility is better in the morning than later afternoon. There can be visibility on Schilthorn and not on Jungfrau or vice versa. If you have the Swiss Travel Pass, Schilthorn is included and there is some fun James Bond stuff at the top that may still be interesting to you even if views are poor.

If you have the Swiss Travel Pass, Chateau Chillon in Montreaux is included and in my opinion, worth a stop.

Hi guys I replied and said I took Laura and all’s advice to have only 3 places and specified in detail my itinerary now that lodging is booked but i guess it violated rules somehow? I was hoping to change gears and get advice on the transport system for my particular itinerary so should I ask it in a new post? Hate to clog everything

OK, back on subject. You might look at the 8-day Swiss Travel Pass for 398 CHF 2nd class per person.
That would cover you local in Zurich, train to Muerren with a stopover in Luzern, train to Montreux (western section of the Golden Pass), Montreux to Zermatt with a stop over in St Maurice, then train from Zermatt to Zurich.

The STP will cover the trip to the Schilthorn fully, but only cover you at 25% from Wengen to Jungraujoch and back. In Zermatt, it will give you a 50% discount on the Gornergratbahn and cable cars up to Klein Matterhorn and back. In Zermatt, a guest card from your hotel will give free transport on the electric buses in town if you want to take them.

Instead of the STP, you could also get 30-day Half Fare Card. This often saves more money than the STP, but you still have to buy tickets for each trip. In addition, it gives you 50% discount on the trip to the Jungfraujoch. With the STP, unless it is a trip that only gives a discount, you don't have to buy tickets. Just board the train you want and show your pass and ID when the ticket inspector comes by.

Ok that is helpful thank you. What site is easiest for me to get all the fares to calculate to compare? The easy ones to find I’m assuming are the main train rides city to city (are there any variances like Golden pass depending on which train you choose?) but I’m wondering where to find all the small things- buses, cable cars, gondola, cogwheel etc.

The only site to use for Swiss train times and prices is SBB (Swiss Federal Railways): https://www.sbb.ch/en
You can also see prices for and buy Swiss tourist passes there.
Any other site is a reseller and may charge higher prices or not list all trains.

Note, that when you look up a trip from A to B, the headline price it shows is discounted, it assumes you have a Half Price Card (as most Swiss do), and may also be a discounted advance-purchase price. You need to click on that price and select "No Discount" to get the full price