dknill76

My daughter, 21 ,and I are going to Venice for 2 days...off to Florence for 2 days and then Interlaken for 4 days and ending in Zurich for 3 days. We are kinda winging it as to what we will be visiting...one must do item is parasailing in Interlaken..otherwise, we are open. Any suggestions as must do's and see's would be greatly appreciated. Also, I am totally confused as to whether or not we should purchase a Swiss Card or buy rail tickets as we go.

travelmamana

When are you planning on winging this? I would not wing your accommodations especially if it is in the peak season.

Dukey1

I would probably buy point to point tickets especially if all you are doing is going from A to B and it sounds like that is it for you since you supply no further details.

For Italy you can use italiarail.com which is a lot easier than usingg the Trenitalia site in my experience.

You can use the www.sbb.ch/en site for tickets in Switzerland. You have to remember that above Interlaken and assuming you are going to want to do that there are railways other than the Swiss Fed ones and with the hald fare card or Swiss Card you will get 50% off; SwissPass will get 50% off on some sections but only 25% on routes such as Grindelwald-Jungfraujoch-Wengen.

I was just in Florence a few days ago and am in Grindelwald as I write this. I assume you don't have any issues about what to wear and that's good because in Florence people were wearing just about everything from shorts on up and down. Of course, later in the year who knows?

Toucan

Answering a few questions will help with suggestions.

Any special reason you will be in Zurich for 3 days? I can think of many better places to spend your time in Switzerland or Italy.

How much time are you giving for travel between these places?

Is your trip 11 days from flight arrival in Europe to departure?

dknill76

Ending trip in Zurich...staying in hostels until Zurich....wanted to be close to airport to get home

dknill76

We have all our accommodations reserved...leaving ourselves open to excursions...want to get feed back about the area and what is worth the cost...especially in Switzerland.

dknill76

To Dukey1....in regards to dress...very funny...daughter is there now..had above knee khakis and wasn't allowed into one of the churches...she was allowed to view the church on top and perimeters...thanks for your feedback...I will be still stressing until I decide what Swiss train travel package is right for us. :0!!!!

nytraveler

In Italy one is expected to be respectful of the religion - which means - for adults(anyone over 12 or so) - making sure your knees and upper arms are covered when entering churches.

Agree there is no reason to stay in Zurich for 3 nights in order to leave from there. Zurich is primarily a business city and I would definitely stay elsewhere - with more to see and do in the mountains.

neckervd

Trenitalia offers usually discounted
Venezia SL - Firenze SMN
Firenze SMN - Milano C
Milano C - Spiez
tickets, if you book early in the web.
For the remaining legs, buy just point to point tickets
Spiez - Interlaken
Interlaken - Bruenig - Lucerne
Lucerne - Zurich airport (if you do it in 1 day, otherwise buy 2 tickets: Lucerne - Zurich HB and Zurich HB - Zurich airport).

I agree with everybody above: Zurich is not among the first places one should visit in Switzerland. People who have less than 3 weeks for a visit of Switzerland should skip it completely.