My wife and I are fortunate to have won a trip to Europe. We are going to be on a Rhine river cruise for a week May 7-14 and will be landing in Basel Switzerland. My question is, Do you recommend renting a car or using train as our mode of transportation from Basel ch to Venice and Rome Italy? We have exactly a week and had planned on renting but have heard that renting is expensive, Italy is not the easiest to drive in and there is problems with parking in the above two cities. I have also heard that if we have Swiss plates on a vechicle we are going to have a good chance of the car being broken into in Italy. We are planning on flying out of Rome back to Canada instead of making our way back to Basel for return flight. Any suggestions would really be appreciated on train travel, medium prices hotel in Venice and Rome and if renting a car what should we be looking for from a realiable car company. Thanks In Advance

I am confused about a critical detail: are you planning the time in Italy BEFORE the Rhine river cruise? or after? (and as an aside, is the Rhine River cruise a full weeek in duration? I had always thought that Rhine river cruises run from a few hours to a day or two).

Either way, Basel is not the best location in the world to originate, headed for Venice and Rome - - as the old saying goes "up Northeast" (we heard this when asking directions in Boston, just earlier this month) - - "if I was going thayahh (there), I would't suggest starting heahhh (here)".

Does the company awarding the prize <i>insist</i> that you fly into.out of Basel? I haven't checked the mileage between Basel and Zurich (I think it's about two hours by car, presumably similar by rail) - - but from ZRH, there is &quot;low(er) cost&quot; air service to Rome or Venice on Helvetic airlines. Details on www.whichbudget.com

And train is a very good way to get between Rome and Venice.

I am a strong proponent of the value in renting a car for all over Europe - - Italy included - - but there are fw reasons why a car will fit your needs, and you have listed some good reason why it will NOT.

I would recommend talking to the company awarding the trip to you, tell themn what supplemental travel you want to do (after all, you are already changing the date of either the outbound or the return flight already, right?) and see how they might better accommodate your add-on plans.

Best wishes,

Rex

The trip from Switzerland to Italy will be after the week long cruise. We will be already stopping in 3 cities in Germany, 1 in France and I believe one other in Switzerland before ending up in Basel. The company will look after any changes to flying back home and any length of stay after the cruise but of course at our expense.

so... I would ask if they can arrange your flight back home from Rome, even if it is at some added expense to you (so that it is one ticket, not an add-on with an independent carrier - - protects you againt failed connections, at least theoretically).

And I would suggest (as mentioned above) train to Zurich, fly to Venice, then train Venice to Rome.

Currently the fastest rail connections from Basel to Venice are going to take you anywhere between 8-9+ hours with anywhere from one to as many as four changes. If you really think you can drive it that quickly go ahead but renting a car just to get to Venice so you can park it doesn't seem like such a great idea to me. If you plan it correctly you could get to Venice from Basel with one change (in Milan). Going by rail solves a lot of &quot;problems&quot; IMO, including ensuring everyone gets to relax and not just the non-driving passenger.

If you are flying the cheapest way would be to take a train to Zurich and use a &quot;budget&quot; carrier such as Helvetic. You can get a link to the airline by going to www.whichbudget.com

Are you able to meet the luggage weight restrictions that may very well be imposed by flying within Europe...or willing to pay the possible excess charges (or at least be AWARE of what they are)?

thanks to all so far that have returned ideas. It sounds like I will be looking up some cost of train travel in Switzerland and Italy. If anyone knows approximate costs or a good site to find this info please respond back. Thanks Again

Try the Swiss Rail website

http://www.sbb.ch/en/index.htm

I'm going to try to look up the itinerary now.

thanks the web site info

I haven't looked it up but you may be able to fly on Volareweb.com for under $50 per per one way.?

go you!!

I would suggest not getting a car if only because picking up and dropping off in another country (especially if the one is Italy) can be very prohibitive.

Trains are fabulous because you can sit back and enjoy the scenery. Many of the trains I have ridden in Switzerland have windows that will slide down at least partially, so you can take pictures more easily, too.

Vandlquinn,

I can offer you one low-fare flight option: Ryanair from Baden-Baden to Rome.

a) You take the high speed ICE train from Basel at 9:12, arriving in Baden-Baden at 10:40. Schedules and info at:
www.rail.ch

b) You take the bus nr. 205 from Baden-Baden station at 11:10, reaching the airport at 11:30, right on time to check in for your Ryanair flight leaving at 12:50. Bus schedules at:
http://www.badenairpark.de/pdfs/ErwLinie205.pdf

c) As mentioned, your flight leaves at 12:50 and arrives in Rome (Ciampino) at 14:20. Book it at:
www.ryanair.com

The connection would be similar in the opposite direction. Taking the train to Rome would be much longer (min. 10 hours) and probably at least as expensive - the flight from Baden-Baden to Rome is currently EUR 46 all in for May 15.

Venice is more difficult to reach affordably by air from Basel... However with only a week, I would skip Venice and combine Rome with Florence and possibly Milan, flying one way and taking the train the other.

Hope this helps,
Andre

You're bit out of date, mnatella - - I think it was about two months ago that volareweb.com abruptly announced its financial colapse in scandal, and ceased ALL operations that same day.

Duh - just saw that you would be flying back from Rome anyway...

In that case, I would probably not bother with Ryanair and make my way to Rome by train in a leisurely fashion, stopping along the way for a few nights in Lugano or Florence for example.

Hope this helps,
Andre