Sarahliz

Hello All,

I am a new member and this is the first time I am posting.
I need help.Me,my husband and 2 kids aged 11 and 5 are planning to travel to Italy and Switzerland this July.We fly into Rome and end the Italy leg of our trip in Venice.We wish to go to Zurich or Interlaken from Venice and continue with the Swiss part of the trip and end the trip by flying out from Zurich.I have tried to check out trains from Venice to Zurich or interlaken and there seems to be too many train changes .and the travel time is almist 10 hours.The other way is flying from Venice to Zurich which wil save us time but is expensive.Ther is only 1 direct flight by Swiss air.What should I do?how to go about this?Or should i reverse the trip?Like fly into Zurich and after fly out from Rome?
Please do help.
Is it difficult the many train changes as we wil have baggag and wil we end up losing an entire day because of the train travel?Please give me suggestions as to how to go about this.
Another doubt I have is ,is it better to use a rent a car in Switzerland or use the train with the Swiss pass.We wish to visit the Jungfraujoch,Mount titlis,Berne,Choclate factory and cheese factory.


Let me give my Itinery below

Fly into Rome.Spend 4 nights there.
Travel by train to Venice .spend 2 nights.

Go to Interlaken .Spend 4 nights. Then to Zurich.1 night
Fly out of Zurich.

Thanks all for all the help!!

Liz

dreamon

We did a similar trip (with kids) but in reverse. It took us about 7 hours to travel from near Interlaken to Venice. If you check www.sbb.ch/en you'll find the shortest journeys appear to be about 6 hours 20 minutes with two changes. We had many train journeys with lots of changes and found they were pretty straightforward if each person carried their own bag (including the kids). It's also helpful to find out the name of the stop before your's so if you need to rush, you're prepared. It is a full day's travel.

The train and bus system in Switzerland is the best I've ever encountered. For our trip, we would have just found a car a handicap.

I'm not sure how long it would take to get to the chocolate factory etc but it would be a reasonably long journey. There is more than enough to keep you busy in the local area around Interlaken (and maybe Lucerne) so you may find it more restful to stick more locally.

Venice is a magical place and great for kids but it is easy to get separated in the narrow streets. I recommend you make sure that the kids each have a copy of your phone number and hotel address, just in case.

Sounds like a wonderful holiday.

Sarahliz

Dreamon Thanks very much for the info on trains as well as the tip about kids in Venice.Any more tips on travel in Italy with kids?

dreamon

For the four night stays, I would consider getting an apartment. Some days, it works about best to eat a proper lunch at a cafe/restaurant and then have a scratch meal 'at home'. After a busy day out and about, our kids were pretty tired at the end of each day. Sometimes, we'd go back to our apartment late in the afternoon and then head out for a walk and gelati in the evening.
Italian gelati is pretty good and a fantastic bribe or reward.

My daughter enjoyed shopping for glass beads in Venice. We also played a game to see who could spot the most lions (they're everywhere). One of the reasons I love Venice is that there are no cars, which also makes it very safe for children.

Rome has plenty to see without having to spend heaps of times in museums. Visit the market at Campo di Fiori, the Borghese Gardens, spot the tiny cars parked bumper to bumper, check out the hole in the roof in the Pantheon (the only bit of the Pantheon they'll be interested in), enjoy the fountains everywhere but especially Piazza Navona. Rome is a great city for walking but the traffic is chaotic - walking away from the main arterial routes is obviously better.

A pack of playing cards, a traveller's set of Yatzee, a ball and so on will be useful. A notebook/journal, pens and sticky tape to hoard souvenirs such as postcards and bus tickets, etc is a great idea. I would really encourage you to get the kids to carry as much of their own luggage as is practical. It gives them a sense of responsibility that they need to look after their own things and helps you out. Our kids were 11 and 9 and they each carried all their own things in a backpack. A daypack for excursions was also an essential for each of us.

I'm sure you'll have a great trip.

qwovadis

Have done this a lot easiest to just hop the CisAlpino

Train a wonderful Pendolino Train from Venzia Santa Lucia to

Milano Centrale up to Zurich...

Maybe a stop at beutiful Lugano along the way.

www.sirmione.com Lake Garda between Venice and Milan if time.

I do not fly overland route via train is too beautiful.

Happy Journey,

qwovadis

www.seat61.com best training info

Sarahliz

Dream on ,thanks very much for all the info.very very helpful.
Travelling with kids is a different thing altogether.I am sure with all these ideas you have given me we all can have a great time there.This being the first time in Europe ,want to be well prepared and plan a good itinery enjoyable to all of us.

qwovadis ,can i have more info about that train.I checked on Trenitalia website as wel the WWW.Bahn.de and this train was not mentioned.I got a route from Venice - milan - brig- spiez - interlaken .
or Venice - Milan - Zurich.
Are there frequent trains from Venice to Milan at all times to catch the connection to Zurich .Would appreciate if I can get more information as I dont seem to be getting much on the train websites.

Recently a friend of ours stayed at Bern and used that as a base for their stay in switzerland and used a rental car to move around.For the mountain trips like Jungfraujoch and Mount titlis they used the train.My husband is a bit keen on this rental car thinkign we can travel as per our convienience and stop by on the way if we liked some town and just take in the breathtaking scenery.

Do help me out here.Whats better?Car or train ?

Thanks again for all the help.

Jennifer_Scutari

Sarahliz:
My family and I are also planning an Switzerland/Italy trip in July. We found it more economical to fly into Zurich and out of Rome. I also found that the travel between Zurich and Venice is easier than trying to get to places like Interlaken or the smaller towns. So you may want to make Zurich or Bern your base and then take day trips to Interlaken, and the smaller towns. Bern is a great base for visiting places like Luzerne, Interlaken, Engelberg, Fribourg, Geneva, Montreaux. It's pretty centrally located between these places.
I looked up all my train times and approximate fares on these websites: www.eurorailways.com (for train times between big destinations), www.trenitalia.com (for all the italian train times and fares)and www.sbb.ch (for the swiss train information). We found that the Eurail pass was not a bargain, and plan to buy all point to point tickets. We are saving about $700 this way. We will get the Swiss Jr. cards for the kids. It's worth the 60 CHF. One other thing to consider. We are taking a night train from Milan to Sapri (a small village 4 hours south of Rome) so that we don't waste 12 daytime hours on travel. Maybe check into some night train options?
We will be travelling with our 13 and 11 yr old boys. We of course are staying with family in Switzerland and for part of Italy, so our hotels costs are minimum.
I don't have much more than that, as I'm still in the planning stages as well....but so far so good!

Sarahliz

Jennifer_scutari,
Thank you.We are also stil in the planning stage.Let me check we can reverse the trip.Your info about Bern is very helpful.So pretty much I think I wil keep Bern as our base for our stay in Switzerland.
I read all the threads in this forum about train travel in Italy and I also felt its costeffective to take point to point tickets in Italy than taking the Eurail pass.
Yet to decide on Rental car or Train in Switzerland.


wil the vatican museum and St peter;s basilica and Sistine chapel take a whole day ?

dreamon

You COULD spend a whole day in the Vatican but your kids WILL kill you!

As Jennifer has said, kids travel free when you buy them a junior pass for 20chf per child but you may possibly need to have a pass yourselves. Worth checking further.

Catherine_Fisse

Jennifer_Scutari,
Thanks for such helpful information. I also have two boys, ages 11 and 13 and am planning to be in Northern Italy and Switzerland in late July. We will have finished a fairly short tour of Greece that deposits us in Rome, and I figure since we've gone all the way to Europe, we might as well stay a little longer if I can keep the prices reasonable. I'm wondering, since you have kids the same age, whether there are any particular sites/towns/activities that you've uncovered that your kids are excited about? I want to make sure it's really fun for them. Anything you all are particularly looking forward to?
Thank you for any help!