Switzerland, Lake Garda, Venice trip

1. Wengen
2. You are not spending enough time in the Bernese Oberland. If you weren't visiting that region, I would suggest Mt. Rigi, but I don't think Mt. Rigi is worth a visit if you are spending time in Bernese Oberland. I say this from experience. We visited Mt. Rigi after Bernese Oberland and wish we hadn't wasted our time doing that. I'm not sure what you plan on seeing at Lake Garda, but you might consider reducing it down to 2 nights in order to spend more time in Bernese Oberland. Zermatt is a gamble due to weather. You need to decide if seeing the Matterhorn is worth the gamble.
3. I don't have any suggestions. We stayed in Murren, not Wengen. Are you traveling by train? I'm not a fan of Airbnb unless it is the only option in the area. Lots of places offer family rooms, which is a good budget option if you don't mind sharing a room with your kids.
   

I have one suggestion: Change the order, so that you end in Luzern. Or add a night or two in Lugano in stead for something different:

This summer the Brig - Milan railways is going to be closed again for rebuilding. This time between Iselle and Domodossola, so you will not have an easy time getting to Italy from Zermatt. Better end near the Gotthard route. You even have a direct train to Peschiere del Garda from any town on the Gotthard route.

Good to know about the railway work. That changes things quite a bit as it pretty much rules out Zermatt for me due to the hassle connecting to Italy

Does it make most sense then to do Bernese Oberland first and then take the Gotthard route from Lucerne to Lugano, then Garda/Venice? I am thinking then we spend the bulk of the Switzerland portion of the trip in Bernese Oberland with a full day each in Lucerne and Lugano.

If we cut out Matterhorn is it worth doing Pilatus instead?

We loved staying in Grindelwald. Grindelwald first was a must visit for us (and maybe with your children as well?) so staying close to that to ensure a stress free day was important.

We did lucerne-grindelwald- Montreux. So I would recommend straight to Lucerne for 2 nights (we did mount pilatus as this was 100% worth it) especially with the tobogganing that I'm sure your kids would love!. We did the silver round trip to sut out the boat as it's just too long to be honest. We also did things the reverse order to most people so we got to do the toboggan run first!.

I have been to lake Garda on a separate holiday so can't advise on trains etc but we stayed on garage on the middle of the lake which was perfect for seeing all sides of the lake. However with children I would recommend sirmoine. You are also then closer to the railway.

Forgot to add I always used booking.com for airbnbs. It's best to have cooking facilities in Switzerland especially.. it's is very expensive!

Reverse the order of the trip, as flying out of Venice can be a challenge , especially for early morning flights. There's no quick way to get to the airport for morning flights. Conversely, flying into Venice yields great views, and it's an adventure approaching your lodging by water, either water taxi ($$$) or Alilaguna water bus ($). Venice is great for walking off jet lag.
Maximize time in the BO. You go to Switzerland for the fantastic Alps, so sleep in them as much as possible. No one is ever ready to leave,
Have a fantastic trip.

PS
Interlaken is a commercial transit center.
Stay in either Murren or Wengen!

Here is the final itinerary I am thinking:

1) July 3- land Zurich, go straight to Lucerne. We land Zurich 10:55 am
2)July 3-5 Lucerne (3 night)
- City day July 4
- Mt Rigi or Pilatus
3) July 6-9 (4 days, 4 nights) Berner Oberland (Stay in Wengen)
-Jungfraujuch or Shilthorn
-Grindelwald First
-Lauterbrunnen Valley
-Relax
4) July 10-leave Italy arrive Lake Garda evening
5) July 10-July 13-Garda
6) July 14-16 Venice-already booked beautiful Airbnb in San Marco
7) July 17 leave Venice (Depart 10:55 AM)

I kept this to 4 bases to maximize efficiency and hotel changes.

Questions:
1) Anything recommend to add or change?
2) Should we do Rigi or Pilatus?
3) Is the Swisspass worth it for our length of stay?
4) Where is the best place for us to base in Garda coming from Switzerland? I am thinking Riva Del Garda or Bardolino but open to recommendations.

Just my opinion after having been to all those places but I agree with Pat, reverse the order. You’re probably going to be disappointed with Lake Garda after being in the BO. We spent 3 nights in Lake Garda, I wish we had spent one or two.

We booked the flights into Zurich and out of Venice based on cost.

Should we consider a one night stop somewhere else on the way to garda? Maybe either Locarno or Lugano just to break up the train ride?

My wife and I have talked a lot and now we are considering a one night stop in Bergamo en route to lake garda.

So it would look like this:
1) Fly to Zurich, immediately trek to Lucerne. 2 nights Lucerne- City and one mountain excursion (Rigi or Pilatus). Leaning to Pilatus for the kids

2) 4 nights in BO

3) Travel day to Bergamo, one night Bergamo, then train to lake garda. Possibly stop in Brescia for few hours along the way

4) 4 nights in garda, the first night will be just arrival, then 3 full days

5) early train to Venice, 2 nights in Venice (basically 2.5 days)

6) fly out

What is experience with Bergamo? Is one night enough or should we cut a night in Garda and do a second night? My thought is it’s only 1-1.5 hour journey to Bardolino so we can spend the next day in Bergamo and leave when we feel we are done.

We considered stop in Milan but feel Bergamo offers more charm.