Interlaken, Wengen, Montreux

We're looking at the following Itinerary:

16 July - Overnight ICE train to Berlin > Interlaken. Either of these:

Berlin Hbf (tief) 16.07.11 17:19 dep
Interlaken Ost 17.07.11 07:28 arr

Berlin Hbf (tief) 16.07.11 19:19 dep
Interlaken Ost 17.07.11 08:57 arr

17 July - One night stay in Interlaken

18/19 July - Wengen - Should be very easy to get to here from Interlaken and back again?

20/21 July - Montreux back via Interlaken on the Golden Pass Line

21 July - Train from Montreux to either Lyon or Toulouse

We're not German residents, but three Australian tourists so we're quite unfamiliar with European trains. A few questions:

Given our itinerary, what's our best bet for the Swiss trains as far as the Swiss Pass etc. go? We'd like to catch the train up to Jungfrau, as well as get good seats along the Golden Pass from Interlaken to Montreux. Is there a pass that's worth it for us, or should we just be buying tickets individually?

Also, does this factor in at all with our tickets from Germany or to France?

Is two nights in Wengen enough, or should we perhaps not stay a night in Interlaken or stay only one night in Montreux? I know most people recommend avoiding Interlaken in favour of the smaller towns but we would like to see some of the night life.

Also, I think we've factored in ample time to get from place to place, but if anyone can point out any holes in our itinerary, that'd be fantastic!

Many thanks in advance.

1) Don't take the ICE, not comfortable sitting in a seat, fork out more and take a sleeper train (i.e the 22:14 platform 2 one that arrives in Basel at 07:55).

2) Don't stay in Interlaken. It's a transport hub, nothing more, quite unremarkable and uninspiring. Stay somewhere nearby in the mountains, e.g. Grindelwald, Wengen, lauterbrunnen, something like that. You'd have the advantage that you get a cheaper train up the Jungfrau from there because you've already covered some of the journey.

3) For train passes it can get complicated, refer to http://www.seat61.com and see the info on rail passes there. http://wwww.myswitzerland.com may also be able to help.

4) There are no bad seats on the golden mountain pass train (I've taken it personally) - there are great views no matter where you sit.

5) For the jungfrau, check the weather forecast for the top before you go. If they say it's gonna be crap and overcast don't bother going, mist is the same whether you're at sea level or at 3,800 metres, you still can't see anything.

Your Swiss itinerary: Full Fare Half Fare Swiss Pass
Basel - Bern - Interlaken................ ....56 CHF..........28 CHF
Interlaken - Wengen...................... ....14 CHF..........07 CHF
Wengen - Jungfraujoch - Wengen. ..153 CHF..........77 CHF ......116 CHF
Wengen - Gstaad - Montreux......... ....67 CHF..........36 CHF ..... .05 CHF
Montreux - Geneva........................ ....28 CHF...........14 CHF ....28 CHF
Half Fare Card.............................. .........................110 CHF
Swiss Pass for 4 days. .. 226 CHF
Total Full Fare............................ .....320 CHF
Total Half fare card...................... ..........................270 CHF
Total Swiss Pass.................................. .........................................375 CHF

Thanks so much!

We are going to book either the 9:08 or 13:08 train from Interlaken > Montreux. Will trains be running early enough to get down from Wengen in time for the 9:08? I have read that the journey is about 45 minutes, but I am not sure how early the trains leave from Wengen and if we can arrive comfortably in time.

You can set your watch by the trains in Switzerland, so efficiently on time are they. Refer to http://www.sbb.ch for the timetable info.

Thanks! Had been struggling to find the timetable...