We will be in Switzerland from August 13-23 with 3 kids, ages 10, 8 and 5 and trying to figure out the itinerary. We have so far booked the following: fly to zurich, 2 nights in Lucerne, then Wengen for 3 nights, zermatt for 2 nights and then not exactly sure where to go. We fly out of Geneva. Can you give me some advice on where we should stay between zermatt and geneva for 4 nights? Are we moving around too much? Plan on taking trains everywhere, which seems daunting to me with lots of luggage and kids but from what I've read, seems to be the way to go. FYI, Wengen interests us the most, seems as if we could spend an entire week there, but we do want to see as much of the country as possible. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Hi rzt,

Well I do think you are moving around too much. Remember that every time you move, you lose around half a day of vacation with all the chores and details of packing up and checking out, then checking in and unpacking. It may take even longer with three children who may be a bit slow getting things done.

I also don't think that you see a lot when you move around a lot -- what you'll see are the major sights of a few places, plus some train stations and hotel rooms and hotel lobbies. Instead, if you stay in one place for a longer time, you'll have the time to get deeper into it, to find the paths and alleys and the trails that you'll remember the most.

So for those reasons, I think you should spend maybe three nights at the places you've already decided on, either Wengen or Zermatt. I might stay at Wengen for four nights and Zermatt for four as well, for five and three.

Anyway, you can easily spend your last night somewhere on Lake Geneva, a lovely spot. I would suggest Vevey (about an hour from the airport) or Morges (maybe 30 minutes).

Let me know if you'd like more info!

s

At least the kids will get a free Family Pass to match any Swiss Pass the adults buy - and good because even on things like cable cars the Swiss Pass may give only 50% reduction on the kids then will always go free (even on the Jungfrau Railways!) - get that when you buy your pass - which for your travel plans is IMO a no-brainer. The adults can buy a Saver pass - two names on one pass cheaper than buying two individual passes. Swiss Pass covers trains in full up to Wengen from Interlaken and up to Zermatt as well.

Hi again, I meant to take three of your four extra nights and spend them at places you're already staying at. And the fourth night on Lake Geneva. Sorry, that wasn't clear!

s

Thanks for responses. So the 2 best places to base myself would be Wengen and Zernatt, 4 nights each and then do day trips? And spend last night near Lake Geneva? I agree that I should lessen all the travel time and would prefer to just stay put if day trips will be easy, although my husband would prefer to move around every day and "see" as much as possible. Are there many interesting day trips easily accessible from each place? Places of interest for us between Zurich and Geneva: Lucerne, Montreux (and Vevey), and Gruyeres. Are trains the best idea for day trips? This is my first trip there and hard to imagine getting around easily with all these trains!

I like Zermatt a lot BUT i am not sure I would base myself there for any day trips unless you are planning to take a trip to a location in the general area...I say this because you are going to be on the train back and forth from Zermatt to anywhere else out of the area you might want to go.

Would any of you be interested in visiting somewhere along Lac Leman itself such as near Montreux and the Castle Chillon?

I honestly think two nights IN Zermatt is plenty, especially if you aren't there for winter sports..you can walk the entire length of the village in an hour or less and unless you want to buy high-priced jewelry, see the church, etc., that's kinda that...other than the trip up to view the Matterhorn of course.

I'd find somewhere along the lakew for the last couple days and taking the train from there to the Geneva airport for your flight out is a breeze.

I'll chime in with a vote to spend your last day or two in either Vevey or Montreux. It's easy to take a train to the Geneva airport from those towns (approx. 1 hour). You can see Chateux de Chillon, do the scenic tram Rocher de Nayes, and take a boat ride on Lac Leman. Depending your day of the week you can go to the wonderful farmer's open air street market (Tues & Sat in Vevey, Fri in Montreux).

I knew Suze would say this and after many years I am finally going to stay IN Vevy in September so I'm biased but I still think along the lake is better than hanging around Zermatt for four days.

I only didn't comment on the earlier parts of this person's itinerary because I've never been any of those places to compare!! But I know I love flying in/out of Geneva, and staying somewhere on Lac Leman (Moreges, Lausanne, Vevey, Montreux, Villaneuve, etc.) and have done that trip more than a few times (friends live there).

You could take the train directly to Luzern on the day of your arrival. The next day travel to Wengen for 4 nights, then to Zermatt for 4 nights. Spend the last night or 2 at Vevey---the children will love visiting Chateau de Chillon, and unless your flight leaves Geneve very early, you can get to the airport from Vevey.

Zermatt offers lots of activities for children:

http://www.zermatt.ch/en/page.cfm/fa...lli_summer_fun

You might want to consider basing out of Luzern and Wengen the whole time, using the train or a rental car for all of your day trips. My sister and I leave for Switzerland (already been once with the husband) and I will be basing out of Zurich and the Lauterbrunnen Valley. With our Swiss Flexi Saver Passes, we can pretty much see every region, esp. if we leave on the earliest trains. Since I've done a similar itinerary before, I know it works. People on fodors have, in the past, advised me that Zermatt is not nec. a good base; but, it's the one stop (to see the Matterhorn) that I have not been to before and was hoping to add for my upcoming July trip.

A problem to me with basing in Zermatt for some days is that the whole valley end could be clouded up - for days sometimes and then what do you do - twiddle your and your kids' thumbs

the Interlaken- B O B area provides a wealth of day trips that could be done in the not unusual foul weather - to Bern, one of Europe's prettiest cities IMO and which has covered walkways in its town center. Or even to Lucerne - kids would love the Swiss Transport Museum's hands-on activities (with a Swiss Pass you also get free admission to some 400 museums and sites - like at this great-for-kids museum - and adults to - one of the world's premier transport museums. Or even to do a boat trip on the lakes that bookend Interlaken - on the covered deck, etc.
Do not be daunted by Swiss trains - yes they are so many and that's why they are so great - two trains an hour going anywhere - just show up at the station and hop on - with a pass so easy - literally just hop on any train. Some trains even have kids play areas! Anyway for a lot on Swiss trains, railpasses, lake boats, etc. - these fine sites packed with info: www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.sbb.ch - Swiss Railways site with schedules and prices; www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com and http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/id3.html - note that you can buy Swiss Passes at any Swiss train station but they are currently (last i checked a few weeks back) and have been significantly cheaper for the exact same pass if bought in the U.S. - why? a mystery to me but you can compare prices in U.S. dollar prices and Swiss francs on the sbb.ch Swiss Railways site.

Thank you all for your responses! I will go over all this with my husband and start making some changes. My kids are most excited to see the Matterhorn, so must fit that in, but agree that it wouldn't be the most interesting base. The Lauterbrunnen area seems most interesting for us - is it easy to get to Lucerne from there for a day trip? And also, from which base would be best to get to Zermatt- from the Lake Geneva area? It's still hard for me to comprehend these day trips by train as I am so unfamiliar with efficient train travel coming from the US!

I personally would stick to the plan you first gave us, with spending two nights in Lucerne. This will allow you time for the transport museum (yes, the kids should love it) and also take a boat ride and maybe go to the top of Pilatus. If you just do a day trip to Lucerne you will miss a number of things, IMO.

rzt---you can easily learn to use the Swiss rail website to see train schedules and how long various journeys take.

www.rail.ch for English. Just put in the "to" and "from" and pick a hypothetical date in the next week or so.

Using this, you will see that Luzern is on your way to Lauterbrunnen/Wengen from the Zurich airport. It makes a good place to stop for a night or two upon arrival in Switzerland, rather than traveling all the way to Lauterbrunnen right away (a journey of several hours).

There are hourly trains that leave right from the airport and go directly to Luzern with no train changes, taking an hour to get there. (There are other trains in between that require a change in the main Zurich station, best avoided if you can.)

As for Zermatt, it is not easy to do as a daytrip. One problem is that the Matterhorn is a shy mountain. You may or may not see it on any given day. And you could leave your base in the Geneva area with the Matterhorn showing clear on the webcams, only to arrive and find it shrouded in clouds again. If seeing the Matterhorn is really important to your kids, it is best to spend a couple of days there. Or explain to them how difficult it is to see, and skip that stop.

We have travelled several times to Switzerland while our son was between 8-14 years old. His favorite places were Lucerne (Mt. Pilatus with tobaggan run), Wengen (trip to Jungfraujoch), Zermatt (trip to Klein Matterhorn to play in the snow) and Vevey (excursions to Chateau de Chillon, Lausanne to see the International Olympic Museum and to Gruyeres & Broc to tour the cheese and chocolate factories).

I would not stay more than two nights in Zermatt. I love Zermatt, but other than going up to Klein Matterhorn and visiting the museum, not too much for the kids to do. If you get the Swiss pass, post bus and local busses (Vevey area and Lucerne area) are included as are many museums. Our son (now 20) still talks about the day we walked up to Gruyeres and met a cow (with Swiss cow bell) face to face.

You will have a GREAT time.

Fun for kids in Zermatt:

In case you don't wish to click on the link I provided above, here is a list of the activities recommended for children:

--Adventure: zip lines, suspension bridges and much more await you in the Forest Fun Park!
--Sport: let off steam during a fun-filled day!
--Ice time: visit the highest glacier palace in the world at 3,883 m.a.s.l.!
--Tee-off: show Wolli how well you can play mini golf!
--Whistling concert: the marmots will show you how it’s done!
--Helicopter: visit the Air Zermatt base and admire the helicopters up close!
--History: interesting facts about the history of the Matterhorn in the museum!
--Cable cars: take a look behind the scenes to the cable cars of Zermatt Bergbahnen AG!
--View: enjoy a view of the most beautiful and highest mountains in Switzerland on Gornergrat!

There is also a trampoline/bungee jumping area:

http://www.zermatt-fun.ch/trampoline/english.html

And Trottibikes ("dirt scooters") for older children (age 9 and up).

There are also places with easy level trails (around Riffelalp, near the min-golf) for short hikes.

A lot of people dismiss Zermatt as "too touristy" or a "one-mountina town", but we were really glad we finally made it there on our fourth trip to Switzerland, and I can't wait to return.

BarbAnn also mentioned the summer luge run (Rodelbahn) on Pilatus. There are others near Kandersteg and Grindelwald (at Pfingstegg). These are always a hit with children.

The Interlaken/Wengen area also is great for kids - they would no doubt love taking the paddle-wheel steamers on the two lakes that bookend Interlaken - and all the gondolas and cable cars and the Jungfraujoch train - the highest train station in Europe and surrounded by a sea of ice - they have dog sled rides and other things for kids and they can walk to a glacier! And there is also a summer tobaggan or luge ride down a mini-mountain in Interlaken. I'm sure there is mini-golf as well and swimming in either lake too.

And the Ballenberg Open-Air Museum, overlooking Lake Brienz, is a terribly kid-friendly place - if you get a Swiss Pass it gives free entry to 400 museums including this one on days you use it for 100% covered travel

http://www.ballenberg.ch/en/Welcome

You mention being anxious about catching trains with a lot of luggage. My advice is to not take a lot. We travelled for 5 weeks last year with our two children aged 12 and 9 and the rule was if they couldn't carry it they couldn't take it. We carried things like the toiletries but they carried all their own clothes, toys, books and even soccer balls. The eldest was carting about 7kg and the younger about 5kg which they managed easily in a backpack. They could easily manage to walk at least a kilometre with this. They also had a day pack with things for the journey or the day's outings. Your youngest might struggle with all their stuff but could easily manage their own little day pack with the essential treasures. Less is always best but especially with kids and travelling around. We would easily wash things out in the hotel or apartment (took some pegs with hooks to hang in the bathroom). The only thing we really noticed was that we had no gloves to play in the snow so they wore their socks instead! Not perfect but good enough for the time of year we were there. We all loved Switzerland, the children especially.

And the Swiss Railways also offers a baggage check on trains - give it to them say in Interlaken and retrieve your bags at any other station - including the Train to Air scheme - check your bags right to your plane - of course there are rather significant charges for these thanks but they can be a lifesaver for folks with tons of luggage.