I’ve been to Switzerland several times and am also signed up to take this tour next year. As much as I love Zermatt, with only 2 full days in the Lauterbrunnen Valley, I think it would be a mistake to take the long day trip to Zermatt. There’s just so much to see in and around Lauterbrunnen.

We’ll be spending a good amount of time on the bus during the tour. I wouldn’t want to spend 6 hours one day on the train.

You don’t have to make any decisions now. You could always decide on the spur of the moment to head to Zermatt if you want. No need to buy tickets in advance in Switzerland.

My priorities for the Switzerland part of the tour are repeats of some of my favorites. Cable car from Wengen to mannlichen and walk to kleine Scheidegg. It’s worth going to mannlichen even if you don’t want to walk to kleine Scheidegg. You can always take the cable car both ways. I love walking down in Lauterbrunnen past the town. You can always take the bus part way.

Another favorite is the walk from Murren down to Gimmelwald, then the cable car back up. Last year I discovered a new favorite. Funicular from Murren to allmendhubel and then walk down to Murren.

You could take a boat ride on Lake Thun or Brienz. Having done both, my favorite is Brienz for the incredible water color.

Of course, there’s the Schilthorn and Jungfraujoch. Having seen both, I much prefer the Schilthorn. But, I’ll be skipping both on this tour as I prefer the walks and scenery at the lower elevations.

Forum member shoe has some great info. on the area:

https://lauterbrunnenhiking.wordpress.com/

Another option is to add a couple of extra nights at the end of the tour and head to Zermatt after Chamonix.

Enjoy the tour. I’m looking forward to mine.