16 days in Switzerland and italy
Mar 22nd, 2016, 10:13 PM
#1
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16 days in Switzerland and italy
Hello guys and gals ..
I m need of your help please.
I am traveling to Switzerland on the 18 of May 16 ... Landing in Zurich and flying out of Rome on the 2nd June.
Now here's the problem .
First time going there .
Going with my parents ( 55 years old ) so they can travel well.
And the plan needs to be nice . As m taking them and I really want it to be nice .
Ohkay here is the crux of the trip.
We all mostly interested in sightseeing . Not much into museums
18 May Landing in the morning in Zurich .
18 night Zurich
19 travel to Lucerne
19 to 21 3 nights in Lucerne .
Ohkay first is Lucerne worth staying for 3 nights . As I plan to travel to the mountains , Interlaken, zermatt from Lucerne . Is this feasible ?
22 to travel to Venice .
Question ? How do I go to Venice ? Can I go from Lucerne somehow or I gotto go to Zurich and then catch a train or fly.
Day 22-24e in ? Venice. sleep Venice. (3NIGHTS)( hire a car from mestre)
Day 24 - Drive to Tuscany [where?] arrive at about lunchtime. Check in. [by now it's mid afternoon] spend rest of afternoon exploring ?
Day 24-26 - Tuscany. ( 3NIGHTS )
Day 27 - travel to Sorrento/Positano [do Capri as a day trip] (drive time from Tuscany to positano around 5 hours )
Day 27-29- Sorrento (3 nights)
Day 30- Drive to Rome. arrive about lunchtime.
Leave car in Rome
Day 30-2-Rome ( 3 nights)
Flight is at night so mite have to check out early . Need to figure out where to keep the bags.
Day 2nd June 10pm flight go home.
Guys all suggestions are welcome .
I plan to drive more .
Please let me know if I should spend lesser or more time at place ?
Thank you guys !
I m need of your help please.
I am traveling to Switzerland on the 18 of May 16 ... Landing in Zurich and flying out of Rome on the 2nd June.
Now here's the problem .
First time going there .
Going with my parents ( 55 years old ) so they can travel well.
And the plan needs to be nice . As m taking them and I really want it to be nice .
Ohkay here is the crux of the trip.
We all mostly interested in sightseeing . Not much into museums
18 May Landing in the morning in Zurich .
18 night Zurich
19 travel to Lucerne
19 to 21 3 nights in Lucerne .
Ohkay first is Lucerne worth staying for 3 nights . As I plan to travel to the mountains , Interlaken, zermatt from Lucerne . Is this feasible ?
22 to travel to Venice .
Question ? How do I go to Venice ? Can I go from Lucerne somehow or I gotto go to Zurich and then catch a train or fly.
Day 22-24e in ? Venice. sleep Venice. (3NIGHTS)( hire a car from mestre)
Day 24 - Drive to Tuscany [where?] arrive at about lunchtime. Check in. [by now it's mid afternoon] spend rest of afternoon exploring ?
Day 24-26 - Tuscany. ( 3NIGHTS )
Day 27 - travel to Sorrento/Positano [do Capri as a day trip] (drive time from Tuscany to positano around 5 hours )
Day 27-29- Sorrento (3 nights)
Day 30- Drive to Rome. arrive about lunchtime.
Leave car in Rome
Day 30-2-Rome ( 3 nights)
Flight is at night so mite have to check out early . Need to figure out where to keep the bags.
Day 2nd June 10pm flight go home.
Guys all suggestions are welcome .
I plan to drive more .
Please let me know if I should spend lesser or more time at place ?
Thank you guys !
Mar 23rd, 2016, 01:35 AM
#2
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There is almost nothing to do at Zurich if you don't like museums and similar things.
Lucerne is NOT a transport hub. A day trip from Lucerne to Zermatt is theoretically possible but doesn't make much sense; up to Gornergrat and back, you would stay about 9 hrs in trains.
Zermatt is more or less along the itinerary from Interlaken to Venice.
A non stop drive from Florence (capital of Tuscany) to Positano would take about 7 hrs. Count 9 hrs with a lunch break and another short stop.
Lucerne is NOT a transport hub. A day trip from Lucerne to Zermatt is theoretically possible but doesn't make much sense; up to Gornergrat and back, you would stay about 9 hrs in trains.
Zermatt is more or less along the itinerary from Interlaken to Venice.
A non stop drive from Florence (capital of Tuscany) to Positano would take about 7 hrs. Count 9 hrs with a lunch break and another short stop.
Mar 23rd, 2016, 02:31 AM
#3
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It's true that Lucerne isn't a transportation hub, but they do have a few direct trains to Milan, where you could change to a direct train to Venice. The trip to Milan is scenic, but not as much as some other train trips in Switzerland. Lucerne is also a very nice town to stay, and it's not so hard to take some mountain trips from there.
We took a day trip from Lucerne to Brienz, for example, which is a very nice town on Lake Brienz, and from there we took a little steam train up the mountain. It's not a famous mountain, nor a very high mountain, but there was snow on the top and beautiful views, and we also had time to walk around Brienz, which has some nice woodcarving shops, in a very attractive town that isn't packed with tourists.
There are also two mountains near Lucerne, where people make day trips, but I've never done it, although I've been to Lucerne twice. One is Mount Rigi and the other is Mount Pilatus.
If you want a really nice scenic trip from Lucerne to Venice , I would suggest stopping for the night in Lugano, a beautiful lakeside town in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland.
To do this, you could take the lake boat from Lucerne to Flüelen, and then the scenic train ride over the Gotthard pass to Bellinzona, where you'd change trains to get to Lugano. This trip would take about five hours, and, if the weather is nice, both the lake trip and the train trip are very scenic. This route is called the William Tell Express, but you don't need to buy the expensive tickets with that name. Just get a lake boat ticket to Flüelen and a train ticket from there to Lugano. They serve meals on the boat, and they are pretty good.
The next day you could take the train from Lugano to Venice, changing trains in Milan. This trip would also take about five hours.
We did a similar trip last summer, but we weren't going to Venice, but returning home to Le Marche.
If you want to do the entire trip in one day, you should skip the lake part of the trip, and just take a train from Luzern to Venice, changing trains in Milan. This would take from 7 to 8 hours.
We took a day trip from Lucerne to Brienz, for example, which is a very nice town on Lake Brienz, and from there we took a little steam train up the mountain. It's not a famous mountain, nor a very high mountain, but there was snow on the top and beautiful views, and we also had time to walk around Brienz, which has some nice woodcarving shops, in a very attractive town that isn't packed with tourists.
There are also two mountains near Lucerne, where people make day trips, but I've never done it, although I've been to Lucerne twice. One is Mount Rigi and the other is Mount Pilatus.
If you want a really nice scenic trip from Lucerne to Venice , I would suggest stopping for the night in Lugano, a beautiful lakeside town in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland.
To do this, you could take the lake boat from Lucerne to Flüelen, and then the scenic train ride over the Gotthard pass to Bellinzona, where you'd change trains to get to Lugano. This trip would take about five hours, and, if the weather is nice, both the lake trip and the train trip are very scenic. This route is called the William Tell Express, but you don't need to buy the expensive tickets with that name. Just get a lake boat ticket to Flüelen and a train ticket from there to Lugano. They serve meals on the boat, and they are pretty good.
The next day you could take the train from Lugano to Venice, changing trains in Milan. This trip would also take about five hours.
We did a similar trip last summer, but we weren't going to Venice, but returning home to Le Marche.
If you want to do the entire trip in one day, you should skip the lake part of the trip, and just take a train from Luzern to Venice, changing trains in Milan. This would take from 7 to 8 hours.
Mar 23rd, 2016, 04:37 AM
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I'm sory - but you are trying to cover way too many places in too little time - the most common error on one's first trip to europe.
In you scheduling you have made a couple of common mistakes:
You are counting many days several times: for instance you count the 27th twice - once as a day traveling from Tuscany to Sorrento and again as a day in Sorrento. It can't be both. And you have done this everywhere. Unless you are stating this day at 6 am and staying up until midnight - you just don't have the time sightseeing you think.
Also you are underestimating travel times - as in assuming 5 hours from Tuscany to Sorrento - when really it's going to be more like 9 hours once you allow for a quick lunch and another brief pit stop.
Yo have not done your homework on travel times at all. Doing Zermatt from Lucerne is close to madness - it would just be one very long day on the train.
And why waste a day in Zurich when you don't want t see the museums - must better to take a train directly form Zurich airport (train station in basement) to Lucerne right off the bat (only takes an hour)
You really need to lay this trip our day by day - including here you will start, what travel there will be (actual train times plus time to and fro the station at each end - using bahn.de for schedules) and then where you will sleep that night. This will show you how much time you are spending just moving from one place to another versus actually sightseeing.
Also - it's not really clear what you plan on seeing/doing in each place.
And I would fly home from Naples versus Rome since you really have no time in Rome at all.
In you scheduling you have made a couple of common mistakes:
You are counting many days several times: for instance you count the 27th twice - once as a day traveling from Tuscany to Sorrento and again as a day in Sorrento. It can't be both. And you have done this everywhere. Unless you are stating this day at 6 am and staying up until midnight - you just don't have the time sightseeing you think.
Also you are underestimating travel times - as in assuming 5 hours from Tuscany to Sorrento - when really it's going to be more like 9 hours once you allow for a quick lunch and another brief pit stop.
Yo have not done your homework on travel times at all. Doing Zermatt from Lucerne is close to madness - it would just be one very long day on the train.
And why waste a day in Zurich when you don't want t see the museums - must better to take a train directly form Zurich airport (train station in basement) to Lucerne right off the bat (only takes an hour)
You really need to lay this trip our day by day - including here you will start, what travel there will be (actual train times plus time to and fro the station at each end - using bahn.de for schedules) and then where you will sleep that night. This will show you how much time you are spending just moving from one place to another versus actually sightseeing.
Also - it's not really clear what you plan on seeing/doing in each place.
And I would fly home from Naples versus Rome since you really have no time in Rome at all.
Mar 23rd, 2016, 10:31 AM
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You are trying to do too much.
Assuming that you have booked your flights already, you probably need to cut out two of your stops, and spend 5 nights in 3 bases, or perhaps shave a night off one or two for intermediate stops. You could split time in Switzerland between a couple of locations, or you could pick one base (maybe in the Berner Oberland) and use the trains to make daytrips. If you're flying out of Rome, going as far south as Amalfi with an itinerary that starts in Zurich is probably a bad idea. I think I would also cut out Venice. Maybe go to Tuscany via Milan or Lake Como. I would also try to minimize the driving--a car would be useful in Tuscany, but you might get by with public transportation elsewhere.
Assuming that you have booked your flights already, you probably need to cut out two of your stops, and spend 5 nights in 3 bases, or perhaps shave a night off one or two for intermediate stops. You could split time in Switzerland between a couple of locations, or you could pick one base (maybe in the Berner Oberland) and use the trains to make daytrips. If you're flying out of Rome, going as far south as Amalfi with an itinerary that starts in Zurich is probably a bad idea. I think I would also cut out Venice. Maybe go to Tuscany via Milan or Lake Como. I would also try to minimize the driving--a car would be useful in Tuscany, but you might get by with public transportation elsewhere.
Mar 29th, 2016, 06:23 AM
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Hey thank you guys ...
Your suggestions have been really helpful..
Firstly Switzerland ... Yup have been thinking of not staying any night in Zurich but the fact that m not gonna see Zurich at all .Just feels a little odd ..I do realize now that there's not much to see there .. So as u all suggested I just mite completely skip the night in Zurich.
As you kept mentioning that Lucerne mite not be the best place to do the trips from. I do realize that .. I planned of Lucerne COZ initially I was planning to fly from Zurich to Venice ..
Anyways . Which place do you guys suggest in Switzerland keeping in mind that I do need to travel to Venice.
And yeah thank you guys I did not realize the trave time to positano from Tuscany .. But I still have to kind of do that .. So maybe I reduce a day somewhere ((where??))...
Thanku you guys .. Your suggestions are really helpful
Your suggestions have been really helpful..
Firstly Switzerland ... Yup have been thinking of not staying any night in Zurich but the fact that m not gonna see Zurich at all .Just feels a little odd ..I do realize now that there's not much to see there .. So as u all suggested I just mite completely skip the night in Zurich.
As you kept mentioning that Lucerne mite not be the best place to do the trips from. I do realize that .. I planned of Lucerne COZ initially I was planning to fly from Zurich to Venice ..
Anyways . Which place do you guys suggest in Switzerland keeping in mind that I do need to travel to Venice.
And yeah thank you guys I did not realize the trave time to positano from Tuscany .. But I still have to kind of do that .. So maybe I reduce a day somewhere ((where??))...
Thanku you guys .. Your suggestions are really helpful
Mar 29th, 2016, 06:44 AM
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IMHO, I would skip Zurich, Zermatt and Lucerne (although Lucerne is nice) and go directly to the Berner Oberlander area, the best area for mountains. Stay in a hotel in one of the higher towns with a view of the mountains. There is always a discussion about which town to go to - Grindlewald vs Wengen - whoever one you would choose, be sure to have a view from your room. There is so much to do in that area and if one day is too cloudy to go up the Jungfrau, you still have a couple of others to give it a try.
Go to Venice from there, knowing that you will spend the entire day doing so. The trains are easy to use, even though you have to change trains, but that is a small price to pay for the beautiful scenery and relaxing time in the Alps. Buy some food, some drinks, some chocolate and make a day of it in First Class on the trains to Venice.
And when going by train, try to travel only with carry-on luggage!
Go to Venice from there, knowing that you will spend the entire day doing so. The trains are easy to use, even though you have to change trains, but that is a small price to pay for the beautiful scenery and relaxing time in the Alps. Buy some food, some drinks, some chocolate and make a day of it in First Class on the trains to Venice.
And when going by train, try to travel only with carry-on luggage!
Mar 30th, 2016, 02:08 AM
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If you like to minimize train changes, you can board a direct Visp - Brig bound train at Zurich airport (run every hr), change at Visp to a local train to Zermatt, the only Swiss resort town close to the highest mountains of Switzerland, leave Zermatt at 8.13am, change at Brig to the Venice bound train and arrive at Venice at 14.40.
