Switzerland and Venice Itinerary help
 

I am looking for help, suggestions, advice, thoughts, and general ramblings on our trip to Switzerland and Northern Italy next spring.

We are looking to see the Swiss countryside, enjoy great fresh local food and wine, and hike. We live in the middle of a city, so we were hoping that the Swiss mountains would offer us a respite. We are in our 30's, very active, and it will be just the two of us on this trip. After Switzerland, we are flying out of Venice and, while I have traveled extensively in Italy, have never been to Venice.

Here is the itinerary we are pondering:
Apr. 1st: Arrive in Geneva, walk off the jet lag a bit, and make our way to Montreux. Stay at the Hotel Masson Montreux.
Apr. 2nd - Visit the wine region, hike between the towns, see the Chateau de Chillon.
Apr. 3rd - Continue visiting the area
Apr. 4th - Take the train to Interlaken - perhaps stay in Murren?? visit the area through the 8th.
Apr. 8th - Train to Chur to take the Bernina express (I'm not sure if this is practical yet) to Lugano. Stay in Lugano area through the 10th.
Apr. 10th - Train to Venice until we fly out of Venice on the 14th.

As you can see, I have researched the first part of the trip, but have yet to get into detail on the second half. Suggestions for mid range hotels in in those areas would be great. We prefer small hotels near the areas as opposed to hotels situated in the middle of the action.

Also, we are aware that we will be there over Easter weekend. Per the itinerary above, we would be taking the Bernina Express on that Sunday. Any issues or suggestions based on this timing would be appreciated.

Finally, the reason we chose the three areas of Switzerland was to see part of the French, German, and Italian speaking parts of the country, but we are open to suggestions. Since this will be in early April, we were conscious that hiking will be limited in very high altitudes.

Please excuse the accidental "Trip Report" box check!!

weather2travel.com climate guides April still cold in the Alps

myswitzerland.com good info

Have done your journey a number of times persoanlly I

would stay on the CisAlpino seat61.com

a super nice train for price for me last 3-4 euro per hour

I just hop on off as I like the route from Geneva(french part)

goes to Interlaken stop there for your mountain time

then go on down to www.stresa.org that is the train route

Spend some time there will be warmer and has wonderful

Isola Bella a do not miss then Milan hang a left

for an hour and a half to www.sirmione.com

the Pearl of lake Garda then on to Venice.

Otel.com Booking.com eurocheapo.com for great deals guides

Aronund Geneva Neatest cheapest town Evian les Bains

Interlaken usually splurge fro victoria there

Stresa like the Grand Hotel Dino

Hotel Eden in Sirmione Orwell Pound stayed there very nice

Venice in May stayed room #211 www.hotelapusania.it 59 euro

and for a splurge www.bauervenezia.com from $200 both Otel.com

ricksteves.com good euroewbie info always insuremytrip.com

Patriot or Amex comp insurance always wise...

Happy Travels,

Agree in beginning of April you can still have snow in the mountain towns and it may impede your hiking. If it were me I would go at least a month later - and still be ready for chilly nights.

qwovadis - Thank you for your suggestions! I have looked into the web sites and have a few questions. How do you differentiate the CisAlpino trains from others on the rail europe web site that you gave? Also, is Sirmione doable as a day trip from Venice? It looks like it is via train. We would prefer not to "hotel hop" as we are doing that quite a bit already.

Nytraveler - Unfortunately, we are going during the two weeks that works for our vacation schedule. If hiking is not doable in the higher elevations, what do you suggest? Skiing in or near interlaken? Cozy mountain lodges? or should we just stay in lower elevations as there would be snowmelt?

Hi HeaAndrews,

April in Montreux should be fine. Yes, maybe a little cold and maybe wet, but the flowered lakeside promenade will be nearly deserted, and it will be pretty. Make sure you have time to walk it between Montreux & Chillon (or even as far as Villeneuve).

I hope you are taking the Golden Pass route between Montreux & Interlaken; if you have time, you can stop in Gstaad for lunch and a little walk.

There are lots of hiking trails in the Jungfrau regeion that are open all winter. Yes, you may run into a small mound or two of snow, some melting ice, etc, but nothing to impede your way -- unless there is a large storm or something. Just make sure you are dressed for it -- layers of clothes as well as waterproof, sturdy hiking boots.

Have fun!

s

Swandav2000 - Thanks! Snow and cold don't scare us away, but trail closures and unsafe conditions would! I think we can handle the weather if it is just a little snow.

Any thoughts anyone on the Bernina's practicality/timing for getting from Interlaken to Lugano?

Hi again,

Not at all practical, I'm afraid.

The trip from Interlaken Ost to Chur will take 3h22.

The trip from Chur to Lugano (via Tirano on the BE) will take between 8 or 9 hours. So you are talking about 12-13 hours inside a train in one day.

You can get the exact schedules and fares at the Swiss rail site at

www.rail.ch

Note that the direct route for this trip is about 4 to 5 hours.

I would suggest that you make the tough choice and save the BE for a time when you'll be in the eastern part of the country, and you can manage it more easily.

Good luck as you plan!

s

Anyone have any thoughts on hotels in Murren or the Lugano area?

For the past few years, we've had the most incredible Aprils. Almost summer-like. There will be snow in the mountains but many trails will still be available for hiking -albeit snow-covered.

Olly, I'm glad I read this! We have the same intentions more or less. Want to fly into Zurich and then do the Glacier Express before continuing down to Venice.
My husband hates the cold but as long as there are spring blooms all around the sight of a bit of snow would be welcome.
Is it really going to be too cold third/last week April?

We do have an alternative and that is to do our trip starting in England and Paris, then go on to Venice directly from Paris, eventually ending up flying home from Zurich in late May ~early June.
Does this make more sense - Not too crowded by then??

Nobody??

"Is it really going to be too cold third/last week April?"

I have no idea.

Well, never mind Schuler, thanks for replying anyway!
We have decided to go in late April and hope for the best.

Those with more knowledge than I will correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Murren will be dead In April.

More central is Interlaken. You can get anywhere in the BO from there.

BTW - Would walking around Gstaad and mountain hikes be muddy at the beginning -middle of April?

For kenav,

It depends on where you'll be walking, how much precipitation the area gets, how much snow they got during the winter, etc.

But one of my visits to Gstaad was early May, and the lowlands were dry, and there were yellow wildflowers everywhere. I didn't go hiking in the mountains on that visit, but I'm betting it was muddy up there.

BTW, whether Mürren is dead in April will probably depend on how much snow they've gotten. April can still be a ski month with things hopping.

I personally dislike Interlaken because it's so touristy. If one wants to stay in the flats (i.e, not in the mountains in a place like Wengen or Mürren or Grindelwald), a good bet is Thun.

s

or Brienz

Tagging this for my future trips to this area. Hopefully to start this time next year.