Switzerland-Germany Itinerary Questions - Family of 4

You've picked 2 very hard to reach destinations on dead-end rail lines. From Munich airport to Muerren is 8 to 9 hours with 5 to 6 train changes. Muerren to Rothenburg is also 8 to 9 hours with 6 to 7 train changes. Your arrival day is going to be very trying.

Can you fly into Munich, do that, then to Rothenburg, then to Muerren and fly home from Zurich? United, Lufthansa, and Swiss all interline with each other. A lot less stress and cranky kids.

There are surely lovely German towns easier to reach from Murren than Rothenburg odT. I can't help you with specifics because I have spent very little time in Bavaria, but with luck one of our German experts will come along and make some suggestions.

You've got some great destinations, but it is a pretty short trip and I agree with other posters that you will spend too much time going between these destinations. I would suggest choosing between Munich and areas near to that ie. Rothenburg, maybe the Rhine or black forest area, or the other direction including Salzburg vs. a Switzerland Itinerary - Lauterbrunnen valley, Lucerne and you could throw in somewhere in southern Germany - Black Forest or Lake Constance area. You really only have 8 full days during one of which you will be jet lagged. I've been to all of these areas, and if I had to choose I would choose Switzerland. If you are looking at costs Germany will be more cost effective.

Thanks for all responses so far -

Sam, is the idea with flying into Munich to reduce stress based on not having immediate travel requirements (train ride into high altitude)? i.e. just stay put first few days? This seems like a good idea.

Appreciate the suggestions Jill - At this point we see Salzburg as more "older kid/adult" friendly, as it is heavy on culture & museums, so perhaps for a future trip!

Any suggestions on accommodations in Murren, considering the family of four?

For your Swiss Travels you'll want to see the entire "area" around Murren. That includes Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, Jungfrau and maybe even Grindelwald as there are some super fun activities like the First Flyer:

https://www.jungfrau.ch/en-gb/grindelwaldfirst/first-flyer/

and the summer luge:

https://www.jungfrau.ch/en-gb/grindelwaldfirst/first-flyer/

By all means get yourself a free Swiss Family Card for your 2 kids because it will make ALL their Swiss travels be 100% Free as long as they're with you. Going to the Jungfrau is a rather expensive trip, too, but this is exactly the right time of your life to take your kids because the Swiss Family Card will make their travels to the Jungfrau 100% free. There are beautiful hikes and "walks" from Murren especially the walk from Murren down to Gimmelwald.

I think you have not allowed NEARLY enough time for Murren.

And as always, if you can get find a room at the Chalet Fontana with Denise you'll be well pleased with the accomodations as well as with Denise's wealth of information about the area.

I agree with those who think you are trying to cover a lot of ground in 10 days.

The SBB website shows that Zurich airport to Mürren is more like 3.5-4 hours than "8 to 9 hours;" it does include multiple train changes. Mürren to Rothenburg ob der Tauber is indeed 9 to 11 hours with numerous changes; it seems to me like that is an enormous loss of time for your short trip. I honestly wouldn't want that kind of travel day as an adult on a 3-week trip; I can't imagine doing it with an 8- and 10-year-old on a 10-day trip.

I agree with Tim that your time in Mürren is a little short, and Jungfrau is worth seeing (if sunny). I also like Jill's idea of thinking more regionally. I think Mürren-Luzern would be a great trip that is not so rushed. Luzern has an excellent transportation museum, a nice lake promenade, and Mt. Pilatus. Mt. Pilatus has a ropes area for kids, a Sommerrodelbahn (toboggan run), a playground, and other activities. Munich-Salzburg is also a nice trip perhaps with a day trip from Munich to Garmish-Partenkirchen for the Zugspitze (the tallest mountain in Germany) and/or Partnachklamm (a gorgeous gorge) and a day trip from Salzburg to Berchtesgaden for Königssee, a beautiful lake surrounded by mountains -- touristy at the main entrance but excellent, non-touristy, family-friendly hiking at the far end of the lake. See here, here, and here for thoughts on Salzburg for kids. If you really want mountains, though, Switzerland is the place to be.

If you are committed to Mürren and Munich as book ends to the trip, you could just have a long travel day to Munich and skip the middle stop (7.5-8.5 hour travel day). If you want to make a stop, I would think about somewhere that is along the train lines that run between the two locales. One way to make the journey from Mürren to Munich is through Basel to Karlsruhe and then onto Munich. For a small-town, split-timbered building experience (something like Rothenburg without so many tourists), I would think about Gengenbach, which is a short train ride from Offenburg (which is on the Karlsruhe to Basel train line). If you spent two nights there, you could use your full day to explore a town deeper in the Black Forest or to go to the outdoor Black Forest museum that chronicles life in the Black Forest with old houses, animals, and live demonstrations; there is a Rodelbahn near the outdoor museum. The other Mürren to Munich option takes you to Zurich and passes Bodensee/Lake Constance. There are several cities/towns from which to choose. Lindau is on the train line and would give the shortest train ride (a little over 5 hours). It's a cute little town with a nice waterfront. For your day on Bodensee, you could consider the flower island Insel Mainau (a little bit of a long trip to get there), the medieval castle at Meersburg, the zeppelin museum at Friedrichshafen (zeppelin rides available, though I have no idea what the cost is), or a number of other activities.

The travel direction Mürren to Munich has the advantage of not needing to move the final night of your trip to be close to the airport for your flight out of Europe. The travel direction Munich to Mürren has the advantage of minimal travel on Day 1 plus one other advantage... ending the trip at the grandest place.

I slept in Gimmelwald instead of Mürren and can recommend an AirBNB chalet rental with a kitchen and with a washer in its cellar (but no dryer), if you are interested. On Bodensee, I stayed in Meersburg instead of Lindau, so I have no recommendation for Lindau. In Gengenbach, I stayed in a B&B that has absolutely wonderful hosts and a large 2-BR space with refrigerator, sitting area, bathroom, and balcony that would be great for a family; I would give it a hearty recommendation for owners/location (within walking distance of train station), though the bathroom is quite dated.

Edit: the Gengenbach 2-BR space is large, not small!

My guess is that Sam suggested Munich first as he thought it woud be a better place to get over your jetlag.

I disagree about Salzburg not being kid friendly. The first time we took my son there at 11 y/o he loved it! We didn't really do any museums, but did do a dinner concert which he enjoyed - it was not the popular Mozart one but it was a sound of music dinner show. We also rented bikes and rode to hellbrunn palace. He also really enjoyed our stay at nearby Hallstatt and our tour of the Salt mine there.

This is not to suggest that it would be a better stop than the Lauterbrunnen Valley. I agree with others that you don't have enough time allocated there. Our first trip there we spent one night, the next two visits we spent 5 nights. Next year we will spend 6 nights:) One really fun thing for kids there is riding the trotti bikes. Take the lift from First to the next station up (before First) and rent the trotti bikes there. You ride them back down to Grindlewald. We stayed in Murren with our two kids at the Eiger Guesthouse which was fine for us. We had rooms next to each other, but not adjoining. Our sons were 13 and 23 at the time though:) I suspect there are apartments for rent that would be much more appropriate.