Italian Lakes + Switzerland
 

My husband and I are planning a 7-8 day trip and are hoping to hit Switzerland and northern Italy(Lake Como, maybe Cinque Terre?) In Switzerland, we want to do Lucerne & explore the Bernhoff Oberland region. We'd love to hit Lake Como/Bellagio & Cinque Terre if possible in that window of time. Any tips on where to fly in/out, if that's a reasonable amount of time, how to get to/from, what order to go in is appreciated!

Four regions in 7/8 days? No way. Lake Como plus Bernese Oberland is ok, enroute to the airport in Zürich stay the last night in Lucerne.

You must be kidding. Pick two of those--my choices would be Luzern and Lago Como.

We did a similar itinerary..flew in and out of Milan MXP. Then drove in a large circle: Milan, Lake Orta, Grindelwald, Pontresina, Bellagio on Lake Como, back to MXP but we had 16 days.

Replace lake Como by Lake Maggiore (at least as beautiful) and your journeys get much easier:
Zurich airport - direct train - Lucerne - direct train - Interlaken - Spiez - direct train Stresa/Lake Maggiore - direct bus Milan MXP airport.
You may also turn back from Stresa to ZRH airport with just 1 train change at Berne.
If you continue to 5Terre, fly back from Milan MXP or Rome FCO (the airports of Genoa and Pisa would be closer, but they have no overseas flights).

From the responses above you can see that your itinerary is WAY TOO ambitious. If you could cover all of the places you want to visit all you would see would be views from the inside of a car or train.

Definitely fly multi-cities or open jaws to eliminate time consuming backtracking. You could fly into Zurich and home from Milano.

Buon viaggio,

Try to add a few more days to your trip but if not consider:

Fly into Zurich and immediately take the train to Lucerne. spend day there recovering -Lucerne's top site is Lucerne itself - no laundry list of things you just must see save the gorgeous city of its gorgeous lake itself.

2- a Day on Lake Lucerne by boat - get off at Vitznau perhaps and take the mountain train up to Mt Rigi, one of the most famous venue points in Switzerland - see for alps for miles around or take the boat to Alpnachstad to take the thrilling mountain train up Mt Pilatus for rave views - take the aerial cableway down to suburban Lucerne and bus back to the town center.

3- Go to the Berner Oberland - the Jungfrau Region for 3 days - ensonce yourelf into a mountain town like Grindelwald or Wengen - eyeball to eyeball with soaring glacier-girdled Alpine peaks - to me and many the fabulous Jungfrau Region is the absolute highlight of Switzerland for a first-time tourist.
a myriad of toy-like mountain trains and aerial gondolas go off in all directions - or you can take lake boats on the two lakes bookending Interlaken. Take the train to the Jungfraujoch and Europe's highest train station and a Top of the World look - walk to a nearby glacier - frolick in perpetual snow.
The Jungfrua Region has so so much to offer - 3 days will just wet your appetite for a return visit.

Day 6 - take train down to Stresa in Italy - on beautiful Lake Maggiore - just off shore are the three famous Borromean Islands, each with a different lure on it - Stresa is a charming lakeside town with many hotels a short walk from the train station.

as neckverd says - replacing Lake Maggiore for Lake Como makes your train trips much shorter and Lake Maggiore is just as glorious in its own right as is Lake Como IME.

day 7 Lake Maggiore

day 8 - Milan - see the famous Duomo - make reservations if possible to see the very famous Last Supper painting in a sumptuous church.

That's about the most you can do in that short framework - seeing the absolute highlight of Switzerland and one of the loveliest Italian lakes - no time for the Cinque Terre but you could substitute the Cinque Terre for Lake Maggiore if you want and end up in Milan.

For lots of info on trains check www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com. a Swiss Pass for Switzerland could be a great deal as it covers not only trains but lake boats and city trams and buses and gives 50% off expensive aerial gondolas and trains to mountain tops.

Or you cold also easily do Lake Como if you go to tjhe Jungfrau Region first - then Lucerne and from Lucerne take a train to Como - so either lake is easily done though Lake Stresa would mean less time on trains and more time outside.

If you want to go from the Interlaken area to Lake Como you'd either have to go all the way to Milan and then back out to Como or from Interlaken go to Lucerne and then via Arth-Goldau - so if wanting to do three things I'd do like: 1- Jungfrau Region
2- Lucerne
3- Lake Como

with the most time in the Jungfrau Region - 2 days each in Lucerne and Como - but again Lake Stresa is a lot more convenient and having done both lakes I do not say how anyone could say one is better than the other - both are fabulous!

Why take the boring train via Lucerne if you can travel by Post Bus over the Alpine Passes (from June 20th until Oct 11th)? For example:

Interlaken dp 12.33 via Meiringen - Stein Glacier - Susten Pass - Goeschenen - Lugano to Como ar 17.46

Interlaken dp 8.33 via Meiringen - Grimsel Pass - Nufenen Pass - Airolo - Lugano to Como ar 16.13

Oh yes I forgot about that neat way out of the Interlaken area - I've done it myself too! but it depends on the months - those passes were blocked by snow as early as mid-September - for a few days once when I was there.