Itinerary Help For Switzerland And Lakes Region Of Italy
 

Hi, all - My husband and I are planning a trip to Switzerland and the Lake Como region of Italy in mid-May. We will have a total of 9 days and will fly into/out of Zurich. We have an airline voucher that we're using, and this is what we could book without spending extra money out of pocket on airfare. After doing some research, I've come up with the following itinerary, and I'd love to get your feedback.

We're in our late 20s/early 30s and would like to experience the beauty of Alps/Swiss charm and do some activities such as paragliding. We're not very much the hostel type so are looking for areas with hotels that are comfortable and clean.

Zurich (fly in) --> Interlaken/Lauterbrunnen (home base in Switzerland 3-4 days) --> Lakes/Milan (2-3 days) ---> Zurich (2 days + fly out)

It looks like we'll be flying overnight from Miami and getting to Zurich in the morning. From what I've read, it's worth taking the train from the airport straight to the Interlaken region to establish that as home base. (Though I hear Lauterbrunnen might be a better choice?). Day trip to Lucerne, a town I'd like to visit, is possible from here. The rest of the time can be spent exploring the Jungfrau region (and possibly Jungfraujoch (if weather permits one day). Another option would be to stay in Zurich for the night to get over any jetlag and hit Lucerne on the way to Interlaken region.

Then it's time to head to the lakes. Staying in either Bellagio or Como appeals to me more than staying in Milan and commuting. However, we would like to see some sightseeing in Milan, since Italy is of interest for my husband. (Open to recommendations about this dilemma. Is Milan cheaper? Worth staying there instead?) Note: We lived in New York for a few years, and while we appreciate the beauty cities have to offer, I think for this vacation we'd prefer picturesque towns.

Then it's time to head back to Zurich and unwind a bit before heading home.

Feel free to recommend length of stays in each region, or let me know if there's a must-see I haven't mentioned. I know the trip is on the short side but we want to make the most of the time we have! Train recommendations are also very much welcome.

Sounds like a good deal. Instead of staying in Zurich on your last two nights, consider staying in Lucerne. It's generally considered to be a prettier, more interesting town than Zurich with more to see and do.

Plus, Lucerne has a direct rail link to the Zurich airport. Trains leave every half-hour and take about 70 minutes to arrive, depositing you at the airport. In my last trip there, I caught a 7 am train, arrived at 8:15 in plenty of time for my 10:30 flight.

Agree not to bother stayin in Zurich, which is really a business city. Yu can stay in Lucerne then - which is only an hour by train from the station in Zurich airport.

That way you don't have to visit from Interlaken and can spend more time on the mountains or taking the steamers on lakes thun and/or brienz and visiting some of those charming villages.

A day trip to Milan from Lake Como wouldn't allow you to see much. What in particular does your husband want to see there?

That's a great suggestion, @Edward2005 and @nytraveler. Would definitely allow for more time in the mountains, though I have read the Old Town area of Zurich is quite charming.

@bvlenci, The main attraction in Milan would be to see the Duomo and walk around a bigger city. In the very early stages of planning our trip, we were considering heading to Venice, but ultimately decided it was too far off track for such a short vacation. I guess we still want to incorporate some sort of traditional Italian feel into the trip.

Definitely stay in Lucerne the day before your flight and not as a longish day trip from Lauterbrunnen - many folks like Wengen or Grindelwald a lot too - better views of the awesome Jungfrau Massif vs Lauterbrunnen's lovely views but from the floor of a deep valley.

Look strongly at a Swiss Pass or Swiss Transfer Ticket - covers trains in full to Lauterbrunnen, Wengen and Grindelwald and gives 50% off most all gondolas - great sources of info on Swiss trains - www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.ricksteves.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com.
Between Interlaken-Ost and Lucerne you can take the Golden Pass scenic train or regular trains over the same scenic route up and over the Brunig Pass.

Dont mean to hijack post but i have question..What is difference between 3 day swiss travel pass 1st class and 2nd class besides the $113 price difference. I would be using it going between Lauterbrunnen, Wengen & Grindelwald. Also Lake Thun cruise.

difference is you ride in first-class cars on trains - these are nearly empty often when 2nd class can be quite full - a more relaxed ride - between Wengen and Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen the first-class section is tiny and Wengen to Lauterbrunnen may not even have any - not sure but on those trains with short rides not much difference - on regular long-distant trains there is a noticeable difference - many folks are completely satisfied with 2nd class. Me too but I'm more satisfied with 1st class.

Now on lake boat on Lake Thun both 1st and 2nd class passes cover the boat fare but IME only first-class ticket or pass holders can ride on the first-class only open-air front deck - the best possible seats for views. But if you have a 2nd class pass or ticket you can sit in first class on the boat and just pay the difference in ordinary fares between the two classes on that boat.

If you want your pass to cover your back journey from Italy to Zurich get a flexipass, good for X number of unlimited travel days over a max 1-month period - leaving the last day for the expensive Italy to Zurich ride (or check with www.trenitalia.com to see if they have some nice discounted tickets say Como or Milan or Stresa to Zurich in which case only look at a consecutive-day pass which is cheaper per day than flexipasses) - see what the fares are and whether it is better to go consecutive days (getting 50% discounts on gondolas during the whole period) or a flexipass -getting discounts only on days you use the pass - not the off days in between - but with a flexipass you can buy a Half-Fare Card at half-price to use on days not using the pass for unlimited travel days.

Very confusing I know. If interested in talking to an expert I always refer folks to Byron at www.budgeteuropetravel.com whom I've bought passes from for years and IME will answer such questions expertly even if not buying.

Or perhaps no pass at all - check fares at www.sbb.ch - Swiss Federal Railways site- a good thing about a pass in the Jungfrau Region is if up in dem hills and the weather turns funky you can day trip to a Lucerne or Bern (fabulous city IMO) and not worry about the cost. Weather can always be fickle at any time of year - rainy, footpaths muddy, etc. You never know.

And to confuse things more - if you can get a deep discounted ticket from Interlaken to say Stresa or Milan and back then consider the Berner Oberland Pass (sold locally) that covers both the Jungfrau Region and Lucerne area.

Unlike many Fodorites, I enjoyed Zurich and found much to enjoy and appreciate there. Not that I didn't like Lucerne, too -- they're different. If you haven't already done so, consult some good guidebooks (perhaps at your local library?) to see what appeals most.

If I understand correctly -- and I could well be wrong! -- mid-May can be a bit tricky for weather and snow / trail conditions in the Bernese Oberland. While I loved Lauterbrunnen, Interlaken might save you just a bit of time if the conditions in the mountains are bad -- but there are frequent trains connecting the two, taking a bit over 1/2 hour (some are a bit longer), so it probably isn't a big deal.

If your goal is a touch of an Italian experience, another option would be to spend some time in the Ticino -- the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland, including Lugano and Locarno. Just a thought!

@PalenQ and @PVR340PLA, thank you so much for that train information. That is very helpful (though, yes, somewhat confusing!). I forget where I was looking for train information earlier, but I know for some destinations it was telling me that schedules weren't available for May at this time. I will look into the passes you suggested, though.

@kja Ah, yes. We know going in that the weather could be tricky, but as I mentioned, it's the only time we could go w/o paying out of pocket (which is very appealing!) Hoping for the best with that. Thank you for the recommendation about staying in Interlaken, just in case.

And I will definitely look into the Ticino for the Italian experience. I wish we could spend 2 weeks traveling the area. There's just so much to do! : ) As a child, my family would often travel around the states, switching hotels every 1-2 days. That gets very tiresome, so I'm trying to pick good bases for everything.

PalenQ,your info very much appreciated. I now understand the difference but don't know if it warrants the price difference in my situation. Budget may win over comfort and/or convenience. I will be arriving to the area on train from Basel and going to Salzburg after.

Be prepared to find snow above 2000 metres in the Bernese Oberland. May is low season (no more skiing but too much snow for mountain walking) and often rainy. But the infrastructure (Jungfrau railway, etc.) works.

May be you go from the airport straight to Interlaken, then to Lucerne, from there to Lugano and by bus to Lake Como (Menaggio). There are frequent car/passenger ferries between Menaggio - Bellagio - Varenna.

Check another itinerary for the way back to Zurich, may be
Varenna - train - Tirano - Bernina - Pontresina - Chur - Zurich
or
Varenna - train - Chiavenna - bus - Maloja Pass - St. Moritz - train - Chur - Zurich.

All Swiss timetables valid until December 2016 have been published 6 months ago. The timetables for the Italian buses in the Lake Como area (valid until June 2016) have been published 2 months ago, together with the Italian train timetables. The Lake Como boat timetables for May will be published in about 1 month.

BTW: Lake Maggiore and Lake Lugano (both similar to Lake Como) would be much easier to reach from Switzerland than Lake Como, but I know that people from overseas prefer lake Como (contrarily to Europeans).

Budget may win over comfort and/or convenience. I will be arriving to the area on train from Basel and going to Salzburg after.>

The Swiss Transfer Ticket plus half-off Half-Fare Card is perfect for you - gives you a trip to any point in Switzerland from any border station (Basel to Lauterbrunnen for you) then half-off everything that moves in Switzerland or everything you will take and then a train trip from Lauterbrunnen to any border station or airport - in your case the Austrian border - seems this would be a great deal for you. Check it out.

https://www.swissrailways.com/en/pro...erticketcombi; and http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/id3.html#intro - details on the Swiss Transfer Ticket bought thru the Swiss Railways Online Shop and for U.S.-based agents -(not sure about shipping fees for either here or there) - not sure if you can buy this ticket at stations in Switzerland like Swiss Passes -check both sources to see what price is best and easiest if interested in it. Previously it could not be bought at stations there but may have changed as this replaces the Swiss Card in many ways.

BTW: Lake Maggiore and Lake Lugano (both similar to Lake Como) would be much easier to reach from Switzerland than Lake Como, but I know that people from overseas prefer lake Como (contrarily to Europeans).>

I've spent time on each lake and to me Lake Stresa (a k a Maggiore) is just as interesting as Lake Como (though there is no Bellagio - to me one of the biggest tourist traps around, at least during the day when it in season is an absolute mob scene - Stresa is a neat little seaside town - when I was there the municipal band played at night along the lakeside esplanade - the three Borromean Islands just offshore are awesome - each one with a different surprise on it:

https://www.google.com/search?q=borr...w=1920&bih=955

@PalenQ Wow. That is absolutely stunning! Thank you so much again for your input with everything!

Out of curiosity, would it be too crazy to sacrifice Bellagio and swap for a day trip to Varenna so that we can be in Milan's hub with easier access to trains to Venice?

Interlaken (3 nights) --> Milan with day trip to Lake Como and Varenna (2 nights) --> Venice (2 nights) --> lucern (1 night)

A thought on Milan....don't miss walking on the roof of the duomo... A highlight....we like to stay a literal stone's throw from it..and usually stay at the (cheapo) hotel Rio.....but right now are seeing amazing rates at the much nicer..and hugely better breakfast ambasciatori...just FYI. (Well...for our dates in may, anyway)

If you enjoy scenic train journeys, then perhaps you could consider: Zurich - straight to Bernese Oberland - Locarno or Lugano - Lake Como via bus to Menaggio - Bernina Express back to Zurich or Lucerne. Scenery stunning but longer journey. Anyway, another alternative to consider.

PalenQ, I will definitely check out the Swiss Transfer Ticket plus half-off Half-Fare Card..your info is invaluable.