kcnewby

Hi,
My husband and I will be flying into Milan on the 9th Sept (form Australia, flights already booked) and have 13 days until we need to be in Puglia on the 22nd.
We have seen much of Italy so I'm thinking of doing a round trip through Switzerland.
We are 49 & 56 yrs, love driving (hubby is a track driver so highly experienced), have driven extensively through Italy and Germany so we were planning a road trip. although we're open to the trains but prefer driving..

Here's what I was thinking:
Car return trip
Depart Milan 11th -
11th Sept - Lugano - 1 nights
12th Sept - Lucerne - 3 nights
15th Sept - Lauterbrunnen - 2 nights
17th Sept - Bern 2 night
19th Sept - Montreaux 2 nights
21st Sept - Zermatt - 1 night
22nd Sept - We then drive to Milan, return car at airport and take the 3.55pm flight to Bari (we haven't booked that flight yet) where we have a further 10 Days in Puglia

I understand you cant take cars into some towns - where do you leave the car and how do you get your luggage to your hotel?
I am open to train to Lugano maybe and mix this trip with train and car in specific places.
Is this a doable and recommended itinerary? Although its all fabulous, are there other recommended places we should consider instead?
Would love to drive some of those amazing drives but will they be on that journey?
Please note, I am also open to not returning to Milan and flying out elsewhere... I only thought of a round trip due to the return fees of car hire

Thanks in advance

HappyTrvlr

Jean

My husband loves to drive, too, but when the destinations are mostly cities he sees the advantage of taking trains. Looking for and paying for parking gets old quickly. Switzerland is especially easy to get around using only public transportation.

I would prefer fewer hotel changes. Your plan is 6 changes in 11 nights.

kleeblatt

Cut Lucerne to two nights and Bern to one night (or no nights) and add to Berner Oberland and/or Zermatt.

kja

I must admit that you couldn't pay me to drive in Switzerland, and not because of any difficulty, but because I want to be free to devote every second to the glorious scenery. YMMV.

Do-able, for sure. But it has some quirks.

• one night in Lugano will give you very little time to enjoy the delights of the Ticano.
• two nights in Lauterbrunnen gives you very little time for the Bernese Oberland. I enjoyed Lauterbrunnen, but if you are seeing the views of that stunning corner of the world, partk in Lauterbrunnen and take the train to Wengen.
• I'm glad that I had 2 nights in Bern -- there's certainly more than enough to keep one busy for that amount of time if you want to visit some excellent museums. If you're there for the scenery, I'm not sure staying in Bern makes sense. You might consider shifting at least one night to Lauterbrunnen (or Wengen) and taking a day trip to Bern from there. That would given you a great option if you encounter a day when the whether in the Bernese Oberland isn't great, and it's a nice option on a sunny day, too.
• one night in Zermatt gives you no option if you have bad weather.

If you haven't already seen it, you might find some useful information in my trip report:
https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...thanks-983126/

Hope that helps!

kcnewby

kja Thanks for that. I will have a read of your report....
The more I am looking, I can see why the train is a good option..
Appreciate the reply

kcnewby

Thanks @Jean
It does seem busy doesnt it. The more reports I have read, I can see the advantage of the trains.

kcnewby

Thanks @HappyTrvlr. I think thats a good idea..