Trip motivation
For our first big summer trip of 2026, our family headed to Switzerland! We were inspired by pictures of alpine peaks, gorgeous train routes, and other travel bloggers raving about the country’s epic playgrounds. We loved spending a few days in the Jungfrau region using Wengen as our home base to explore misty mountains, gondola rides, and massive waterfalls. We also fell in love with the picturesque town of Lucerne, and even got to experience the local sports culture firsthand by catching a world hockey festival in Zurich! We love European travel because it always offers incredibly family-friendly towns, easy navigating with trains, and so much history and beauty. Traveling internationally with kids can be daunting, but with a little preparation, research, and tips from other travelers, we had an incredibly successful trip!
This post covers our itinerary
For more on our Switzerland Adventure, see our posts here
Planning our Itinerary
I love planning trips, especially through well-traveled places where there’s a ton of information to read through and make plans for. For this trip, I saved tons of instagram reels for inspiration and used the Busy toddler website as inspiration. We were in Lucerne for 2 days, Wengen for around 4 days, and Zurich for our last night. We read numerous blogs and books (Rick Steves is always a must-read for Europe trips). One tip for traveling with kids is take a 3-day best of guide and cut out half of it to make it actually realistic to manage in those same 3 days. Mix in some kid-focused/less touristy options like playgrounds, interactive museums, or a local festival. We did a lot of train and gondola travel on this trip and our kids loved reading their kindles on the trains. This was a great time for just chatting and reconnecting with gorgeous views.
Several months before, I sketched out our plan in excel and on google maps with a balance of activities, rest time, food, rest, and fun. We made sure to research how far areas were and tried to schedule several anchor points with a few optional activities so we didn’t overstuff our schedule.
Overview
Day 7: Return to Zurich, Chocolate samples, & IIHF World Hockey Festival
Day 8: Return home
Flying to Switzerland
For this adventure, we cashed in our American Airlines AAdvantage points to fly round-trip directly into and out of Zurich! About 55k points RT per person. It was an incredible value and saved us a ton out of pocket. Even though we used airline miles to book the actual seats, we made sure to put all of our trip expenses on our favorite travel credit cards to keep building up our point balances for the next big family getaway!
Tips for Long Plane Rides
Sleeping on planes West to East:
- Plan to sleep! For the overnight red-eye flight to Europe, we emphasized that after dinner service, everyone was going to try and get some sleep. I gave each kid a dose of melatonin and they passed out pretty immediately. We packed these cheap pillows from Amazon (They came with eye masks!).
- On arrival, get outside and try to limit naps so you can readjust.
Activities for long flights East to West
- On the long flight, the kids were happy playing with the personal screen and alternating between reading, tv, games, and snacks. When the kids were younger, they loved the Magic Treehouse books and activities in the Magic Ink and small play pack coloring books (Amazon links). We have one Nintendo Switch that the kids love.
- For more on our favorite activities and tips for flying, see our post here.
Lodging
Lucerne: We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express Lucerne – Kriens. We actually booked this one through the Chase Travel portal using our Chase Ultimate Rewards points, making it completely free out of pocket! It was located just a few quick train stops from the main Lucerne station, which made it super convenient to drop our bags and head straight out to explore.
Wengen: For our mountain home base, we wanted a bit more space to spread out and the ability to cook a few meals, so we opted for an Interhome Apartment. I originally found the listing while scrolling through Booking.com, but I ended up booking it directly through Interhome to get the best rate. Having a full kitchen and separate bedrooms in the middle of the car-free village of Wengen was absolutely perfect for a four-day stay.
Zurich: On our last night before flying home, we stayed at the Hyatt Place Zurich Airport The Circle. As huge Hyatt fans, we loved being able to book two separate rooms using our Category 1-4 Free Night Certificates! It was a quick walk to the airport terminal, and meant zero stress on the morning of our flight back to Nashville. They didn’t feed us breakfast but it was ok because we had airport lounge access.
Transportation in Switzerland
Train travel, cable cars, and public transit are the absolute crown jewels of visiting Switzerland. The entire system runs like clockwork, but navigating the ticket options as a family does take a little strategy! For our trip, we used a combination of the Swiss Half Fare Card and a 3-Day Jungfrau Travel Pass.
We bought our Half Fare Cards in person at the Zurich airport train station upon arrival, and we purchased the Jungfrau Travel Pass in person at the station in Wengen. While you can absolutely buy both online ahead of time, buying in person was quick and gave us peace of mind.
Here is exactly how we managed the logistics and saved money:
The SBB App is a Must: Download the SBB app before you arrive. Once you have your Half Fare Card, you can toggle the “Half Fare” setting directly in your app profile. This ensures every ticket you search automatically displays the discounted price.
Free Passes for Kids: One of the best perks of Swiss travel is that kids are incredibly cheap or free. With the Half Fare Card, you can get a Swiss Family Card, which allows kids under 16 to travel completely free on the main rail network when accompanied by a parent.
Pass Exclusions to Watch For: Be aware that regional passes don’t always cover 100% of the alpine adventures. For example, even with our passes, we still had to pay a partial, separate fare out-of-pocket for the Pfingstegg cable car and the Allmendhubel funicular railway in Mürren. Always double-check what is fully covered versus just discounted.
Mountain Logistics: Down in the towns, trains run every few minutes, but up in the Jungfrau region, mountain trains and gondolas are much more infrequent. You really have to keep an eye on the clock! During our Mürren day, one of the main cable cars was down for renovations. Google maps wasn’t always accurate but we got where we needed to go.
Be Ready for Ticket Checks: Unlike some European cities where you scan at gates, most of the Swiss trains had conductors that check tickets on various rides. At several points, the agents asked to see our specific route ticket, our Half Fare Pass, and a physical ID (like a passport) to verify the names. We did see a few people get in trouble and get charged a fine. Keep them easily accessible in your day pack!
Eating in Switzerland
Before we even left Nashville, we were warned by multiple travelers that eating out in Switzerland is notoriously expensive. Honestly, we didn’t really do any big splurges! Even when we tried to stick to “medium” splurges like a more casual lunch, the bill would easily be 150+ CHF for the four of us.
Because restaurant prices add up so quickly, we came up with a game plan that worked perfectly for our budget and our schedule:
The One-Meal-Out Rule: We generally chose to do just one sit-down meal a day, usually for lunch while we were out exploring between hikes.
The Coop Grocery Tour: For dinners, especially during our four days in Wengen, we became huge fans of the local Coop grocery store. We loved browsing the aisles to sample local cheeses, fresh breads, and snacks, and we would piece together an easy, affordable dinner of a pasta and grilled protein to eat back at our apartment.
Travel Day Sandwiches: On our big transit days, we skipped sit-down spots entirely and grabbed grab-and-go sandwiches from the train station bakeries. They are fresh, delicious, and way more budget-friendly.
Festival Street Food: When we were in Zurich for the IIHF World Hockey Championship, we ate street food right at the festival. While it was still on the pricey side, it was expected for a big event, and the lively atmosphere made it totally worth it!
Bring a Refillable Bottle: One of the best things about Switzerland is that the public water fountains everywhere have some of the cleanest, coldest water in the world. We carried the exact same water bottles the entire trip and just kept refilling them for free. Do not waste money buying bottled water!
Other International Logistics
Passport: Before you fly internationally, always check those expiration dates! Remember that Switzerland, like most European countries, requires your passport to be valid for at least 3 to 6 months after your planned departure date.
Phone/Internet: We used Airalo e-SIM cards again for this trip, and they worked flawlessly. We just purchased and activated them right before landing. It is so convenient because your phone automatically switches over to the local Swiss network.
Language: Everyone we encountered spoke English. That said, it’s always a polite practice to teach the kids a few basic words like hello and thank you!
Currency & Payments: Unlike our trip to Italy where we needed euros for certain cabs and buses, Switzerland was 100% contactless. We did not need or use a single franc of physical cash the entire week! Everyone accepted credit cards and phone tap to pay seamlessly.
More Switzerland 2026 Posts
For more on our Switzerland Adventure, see our posts here
