priya87

Me and my husband are planning to go to Italy and Switzerland for our honeymoon in April end. Our itinerary is as follows:
Rome - 2 nights
Florence - 2 nights
Venice - 1 night
Lucerne - 3 nights (including one day travel time from Venice to Lucerne - tickets already booked thru trenitalia.com)
Bern - 2 nights
Rome - 2 nights

1. I am unable to figure out whether out whether a Swiss pass will be beneficial or should we just buy tickets over the counter?
2. Broadly we plan to cover Mt Pilatus in Lucerne, Cailler chocolate factory tour from Berne, visit to Transport museum during this visit in Switzerland. Will the Swiss pass cover concessions/ free stuff here?
3. Should we book tickets from Lucerne to Bern online or buy the same from station since the services operate hourly.
4. Should we make advance online bookings for inter-Italy tickets as well?
5. We plan to use trains/ buses and walk wherever we can to economize the trip. Any other suggestions for cheap places to eat, places to visit, free tours etc. will be highly appreciated.

mjs

I don't even know where to start with this itinerary. I might describe it as a trip to find out if two people are compatible with each other. You don't have enough time to see/experience your destinations and you are on a budget to visit some of the more expensive places in Europe. Five moves including two long train rides and two flights in two weeks is a lot. Have you made out a list of things you want to see/do during your trip? What kind of budget do you have not including airfare?

janisj

By <i>any</i> chance are you from India? I ask because we often see similar plans from honeymooners from the sub continent.

This ia a horrible plan. Sorry but it is.

What you will have is:

Rome - 1.5 days (jet lagged)
Florence - 1 day
Venice - a few hours
Lucerne - 2 days
Bern - 1 day
Rome - 1 day

You need to decide if you want to enjoy your honeymoon seeing fewer places -- or do you want to rush rush rush and see very little besides trains and hotel rooms.

StCirq

Even if this weren't a honeymoon, it would be a terrible plan. It's particularly brutal for a honeymoon, though. You will have absolutely no time to enjoy anything or to relax. It will be go-go-go constantly, packing, unpacking, waiting in train stations, trying to make sense of foreign languages and directions. Just no fun at all. No use suggesting places to visit and free tours, as you won't have time for any of that. And "cheap" should never be used in the same context as Switzerland - it is frighteningly expensive there.

HappyTrvlr

We planned one trip to Northern Italy and Switzerland , flying in and out of Milan. Roughly Milan, Lake Maggiore,Italy, then drove to Grindelwald, Switz, Pontresina, Switz., Bellagio on Lake Como, back to MXP for flight home. We picked up rental car in Milan and returned it to MXP, Milan's airport. It was a beautiful trip, not stressed at all.

priya87

@mjs: I am marrying my best friend and boyfriend for the last 9 years. So we are pretty good on the compatibility front
Both of us are also young and fit, having completed a few high altitude treks in the recent past. Since this is our first trip to Europe, we want to take a leap of faith and have a feel of all these cities. Our budget per day is preferably USD 150-200 per day.

@janisj: thanks for your reply. Yes we are from India and I can totally understand that you can't experience a country in such a short time. Its equivalent to the usual travel itineraries posted by Europeans and Americans when they want to see India in one or two weeks, which is huge by the way. But its a start and we want to make the best of it.

@stcirq: Appreciate your advise about Switzerland not being cheap. Any advise to make it less expensive is welcome.

@Happytrvlr: Thanks for sharing your experience. Can you please share your travel report for the trip? Will he really helpful.

janisj

>>I can totally understand that you can't experience a country in such a short time. <<

This current plan won't have you experiencing much of anything except packing/moving/trains

>>But its a start and we want to make the best of it.<<

Yes - it os a start, but not a 'best' start. What things are already set in stone, pre-paid/un-changeable.

We can help you fix things, but not if you've booked everything.

nytraveler

What is that 150-200$ supposed to cover? If you think you are paying for hotels, meals, sightseeing, transit within cities and transit between cities for 2 people that is a laughably small amount. It can cover hotels if you are careful and staying in modest places - but possibly not in Switz - since the franc is worth more than the US$. It won't cover anything else.

Separately, you are spending a huge percentage of your time just getting from one place to another and have very little time left to see any sights, never mind having any time to just relax and soak up the local culture.

With the time and money you have I would stay in italy, which is substantially cheaper, and limit my stay to 2 places so you have time to not only see some major sights but to relax in a cafe, watch street life in a piazza and get at least a taste of life in Italy.

mnag

Priya, If I could share my exp. We covered N. Italy and Switzerland as well. We did the trip with 3 other families with young kids. Our primary interest was covering scenic lake region in Italy and Bernese Oberland in Switzerland (based on my research the most stunning). Seems like you may appreciate cities more than we do but want to share anyways since you mention that you are hikers.
We planned our trip as follows:
Venice (one full day after landing which for us was enough although of course one can spend several more days in Venice itself), Lake Garda (2 days), Dolomites region in Italy (3 days...stunning stunning stunning....gorgeous villages/hikes/scenery I cannot emphasize it enough), Lake Como (3 days...quite touristy), Return rental car in Milan and take the train to Interlaken/Wengen for 5 days in the Bernese Oberland area (no car needed). Fly out of Zurich.
A bit hectic (and the drive from Bolzano in the Dolomites to Como was quite long) but certainly enjoyable (and we did all this with 8-9 year old kids).
If you are looking for hiking/scenery I would not skip the Dolomites. Same for Bernese Oberland. Also consider flying into one city and flying out of another (in Switzerland) to limit your time on trains/back tracking. Don't mean to add to the confusion but just share our exp incase it helps.

suze

I would subtract at least two cities so you have a little more time in each place (for me I'd cross off Florence and Bern). You're still moving at a very fast pace. Also I wouldn't split Rome into two separate visits.

Maybe something like???
arrive Rome & train directly to Venice - 3 nights
Lucerne - 3 nights
Florence - 1 night
Rome - 5 nights

Sassafrass

Suze just gave you a very good plan. I hope you give it serious consideration. I might take one day from Rome and give it to Florence, but I wouldn't be adding bases, just altering the focus a bit, and that is a personal interest, which might not be yours. If the days in Rome were a day too much for you, you could do a spontaneous day trip, so Suze's plan is probably best.

StCirq

The two people who mentioned doing similar trips without a lot of stress were DRIVING at least part of the time, and one was allocating 3 and 5 days to different venues. That is a whole different ball of wax from packing up, checking out of a hotel, getting to a train station, taking a train, then doing the reverse at the other end of the ride every day or so.

suze's plan makes good sense. IF you have a bigger budget.

And no, unfortunately I'm no good at suggestions for getting by cheaply in Switzerland. I've tried, but when a MacGruyère and fries costs more than I normally spend for a nice 3-course lunch in France, I just can't make it work. Your daily budget just might be adequate for a cheap hotel, but that's about it - no museums, no tours, no trains, not even much food. If that's the budget for the two of you, sorry, but it simply can't be done.

neckervd

Skip either Florence or Venice or Switzerland, otherwise you will see nothing but trains and transfer buses.
If it must be, sleep at hotels as close as possible to the railway station in order to minimize the time you need with transfers.
Never waste a whole day for the Venice - Switzerland train trip. Leave Venice at 16.20 by direct train to Montreux ar 22.23, sleep there, continue the next day to Bulle, put your luggage into a locker and go on to the Cailler chocolate works. Go then by direct train (every hr) from Bulle to Bern after that (unless you want to visit Gruyeres before).

Visit Lucerne after Berne and proceed finally to either Basel or Zurich and fly back to Rome (easyjet has cheap direct flights).

suze

Good point about the budget! I missed that part. If the $150-200usd per day has to include a place to sleep, that's not going to be enough to get by in the cities you have chosen. Perhaps cut the trip back to one week and two places? because then you'd have enough for a nice vacation.

sundriedtopepo

I'm not an Airbnb person, but

https://www.airbnb.ca/s/Lucerne--Swi...s_tag=DXyWP1eY

At least April end is not high season.

StCirq

Just to give you a couple of examples of things you may not have thought about:

1. Entrance to the chocolate factory at Caillier will cost the two of you about the equivalent of US$25.00. If you buy chocolate, there goes your whole day's budget.

2. Historically, weather in, say, Bern at the end of Aril is rain, rain, and more rain.

PalenQ

2. Broadly we plan to cover Mt Pilatus in Lucerne, Cailler chocolate factory tour from Berne, visit to Transport museum during this visit in Switzerland. Will the Swiss pass cover concessions/ free stuff here?>

concessions? food - no pass won't cover just pays for train fare- will pay for 1/2 of entry to Swiss Transport Museum - it will cover the Golden Pass train or regular trains between Bern and Spiez and Zweissimen to Gruyees and Broc-Factory (stop for trains to factory). Will give half off trains or gondolas to Mt Pilatus. Would also cover lake boats on Lake Lucerne.

But I doubt if a pass would be a good deal for you -not enough traveling - check www.sbb.ch for regular fares. Buy Lucerne Bern tickets in Lucerne - no problem getting on trains and seat reservations are not required and few Swiss seem to make them - usually since the train starts in Lucerne it will be half empty or so.

Just buy regular tickets probably. For lots on Swiss trains and passes check www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

Pilatus - take steep thrilling mountain train up and gondolas down to Krens, in suburban Lucerne - you can take a train to Alpnachstad for the Pilatus train but boats may be a more mellow way to go there.

Actually since you are going from the Italian border to Lucerne and then Lucerne to the Italian border check out the Swiss Transfer Ticket + Half-Off Half-Fare Card - it gives you a trip by train from any border station to any place in Switzerland and then a trip back to any border station - like to Italy and in between your half-off Half-Fare Card gets you 50% off everything that moves transport-wise - Mt Pilatus, the Golden Pass trains or regular trains to/from Broc Factory, lake boats, etc. Check above sites I give for details on the Swiss Transfer Ticket.

And yes in Italy advance book ASAP at www.trenitalia.com for deep discounts Swiss frontier to Rome and Venice to Swiss frontier - can always buy in Switzerland but probably full-fare right before the train.

Have you looked into flying into Zurich and out of Rome? May have been discussed above but I did not wade thru everything.

janisj

>>Our budget per day is preferably USD 150-200 per day. <<

Please clarify . . is that just for accommodations? Or for everything? For one of you? or Total for the two of you?

That makes a huge HUGE difference, and if it is $150-$200 for everything for both of you . . . not easy in Italy and impossible in Switzerland.

PalenQ

You'll probably spend most of your daily budget for 2 tickets up and down Pilatus plus getting there by train or boat.

Lucerne is pricey on hotels - Interlaken a good base for the Jungfrau Region which is much more an Alpine wonderland than Mt Pilatus has many budget hotels - nothing fancy but clean and proper.

For a few-day visit to what many say is the highlight of Alpine Switzerland, including moi - head to Interlaken or one of the mountain villages reached by train from it:

https://www.google.com/search?q=jung...w=1745&bih=868

nytraveler

For us to really help you you really must clarify the budget you listed.

I read as for 2 people - perhaps you mean per person.

I assume it covers everything - perhaps you have already paid for hotels - which would bring it into the possible range if you are VERY careful.

Any more info you can provide - can you do open jaws flights or have you already bought RT to and from Rome - meaning you have to waste time making a big circle would be a big help.