charli47

My husband and I are planning a trip to Switzerland in the summer 2013 (early as July or as late as late September). Help with following:

Travel Day - Houston - Zurich - with option of doing immediately via train:
*Lucerne for 2 nights or
*go directly to Lauterbrunen and stay in Murren, Gimmelwald or Wengen

Then stay in Wengen for 3 nights or 4 nights if we miss Lucerne

Then go to Montreaux and Geneva area OR go directly from Lauterbrunen down to Varenna and spend the rest of the time in Lake Como, Italy area or Cinque Terre area and then fly back from Milan or Venice to Houston.

Questions:
Is Montreaux/Lake Geneva a better idea than northern Italy. Or should we stick with all Swiss trip?
Is July a better time than September? How long before things are shutting down in October?

Thanks!

suze

I'm crazy about Vevey/Montreux, it's one of my all-time favorite places. Lausanne and Gruyeres nice too. Geneva proper not so much. July or September should both have nice weather. I'm not sure what you mean about "shutting down in October". I also love Venice. I've done a Vevey/Montreux/Venice Italy trip several times. Not exactly the standard but it was great. Haven't been anywhere else in northern Italy to make comparisons.

PalenQ

Is July a better time than September?>

Not in the Swiss Alpine resorts - a busy time for hikers and busy also in northern Italy - September seems to be fairly nice weather but the latter in the month IME the more likely to be cool and damp. Easrly to mid September see far fewer crowds and weather is usually decent - especially in northern Italy.

It does not take much travel in Switzerland on trains to make a Swiss Pass pay off - good on not only trains but lake boats, city buses and trams, postal buses and free entry to 400+ Swiss museums and 50% off most gondolas to mountain tops. For loads of great stuff on Swiss trains I always spotlight these fine fine IMO sites - www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com. En route to Montreux and Lake Geneva you can take one of Switzetrland's iconic scenic trains - the Golden Pass - takes a tad longer than the fastest route but is oh so much more scenic - goes via Gstaad, where you may want to stop off for a few hours in the world-famous resort.

neckervd

I suppose you are aware that the airports of ZRH, MXP and GVA are more or less close to each other: 1 1/4 hrs by train from Como to MXP, 3 1/2 hrs from Como to ZRH. So choose the airport which suits you best.
If you fly home from MXP, check Lake Maggiore, as (if not more) beautiful than Lake Como and of easy reach from everywhere in Switzerland as well as from MXP (only a few miles aeway).

The weather in the Alps is unpredictable all the year round. In late Septemver, there may be some fog over the lakes (Geneva, Maggiore and Como).

msteacher

Definitely go to the Lauterbrunnen valley area. The mountains are spectacular! Seems like you have all good choices in front of you, but personally I would vote for the Italy route. Lake Como is stunning (or Maggiore) and the Cinque Terre should be nice in Sept. (I would not do the CT in July... Too hot and too crowded). Plus, you should find things to be a bit cheaper in Italy than in Switzerland. But no matter what you choose, you are going to have a wonderful time. Enjoy!

PalenQ

Cinque Terre area and then fly back from Milan or Venice to Houston.>

If go to Cinque Terre and September is a wondrous time there - tourist mobs gone weather fine - then you could also fly out of Pisa's International airport as an option - quite close by train to the Cinque Terre.

Grassshopper

One of my favorite trips was a few days in Montreux/Vevey (take a steam boat ride to Geneva or Lausanne and train back) and then the train to Domodossola, Italy, then hop on the Centovalli Train to Locarno.

Locarno is the Ticino region of Switzerland and has all of the glories of Italy but none of the inconveniences. In other words, enthusiastic people, Italian language, Italian food... but the trains are on time, and no laundry hangs from windows. You can visit the lovely castles in Bellinzona, hike some wonderful Swiss trails, take a gondola up a mountain for fabulous views. One of my trips highlights was taking the Centovalli train to the last Swiss station (the route connects with Italy), renting a bike at the station and riding back to Locarno. FUN!

charli47

Thanks everyone for great responses. I will review the itinerary and keep plugging away. I have come away with that early September is good.

Keep em coming! I promise to do a thorough trip report.

PalenQ

go directly to Lauterbrunen and stay in Murren, Gimmelwald or Wengen>

Murren and especially Gimmelwald are more isolated than Wengen - and do you mean Gimmelwald - the hamlet of a few hotels and houses out in the middle of nowhere or do you mean Grindelwald, a much more logical choice.

I stayed in Gimmelwald one night and it was so so isolated - great to do for one night but more would have driven me stir crazy - plus if day tripping the gondola up here may not run late - do you mean Gimmelwald?