jayajune84

Hihi! I am looking to travel to 4 places in Nov - Switzerland, Vienna, Rome and Venice for our honeymoon. Do you think this is a possible route or what would be recommended?

I am thinking of the following itinerary:
Fly into Switzerland - 3 to 4 days (how would you recommend to travel to Vienna?)
Vienna - 3 to 4 days
Rome - 3 to 4 days
Venice - 3 to 4 days
Switzerland - 2 days then fly out of Switzerland

Which part of Switzerland should we fly into?

Looking forward to your recommendations!

Kathie

You don't need to fly in and out of the same city or country. It is usually more efficient (and no more expensive) to fly into one place and out of another. This is called an open-jaw ticket. If you fly, say, into Switzerland and out of Vienna, you will eliminate a day of travel. It would also allow you to consolidate your time in Switzerland.

How much time do you have on the ground in Europe? It eats up half a day to a full day to change locations, so if you want 4 days somewhere, that will require 5 nights. Personally, I recommend not less that three full days at each stop, which would mean 4 nights.

nytraveler

November is off season in Switz. Too early for winter sports and too late for hiking and pretty outdoors. Many hotels and restaurants are closed for renovation/owners vacation before the big ski season and many of the cable cars are shut for repairs/service. The days will be short, gray, trees leafless, grass brown and everything will be quite dreary. If you must go to Switz then figure out primarily indoor things or determine with mountains are still available for ascent (IF you can get a day without heavy clouds). I would bag Switz - since you really don;t have time for it anyway.

If you can tell us the dates of your arrival and departure - so we can figure out how many days you really have - and can make suggestions on where to fly into and out of (probably into Vienna and out of Rome or vice versa).

jayajune84

thanks for the reply!! We are thinking of about 14-18 days in total. If i were to bag Swit, are there any other places along the way that is worth visiting or rather I would have the time to visit?

greg

Why return to Switzerland?
Which part of Switzerland to fly into? Depending on where you are going (you did not post this info) and what kind of flight you can get. Geneve is convenient to western half while Zurich is more convenient to the eastern half. However if the arrival time, layover considerations, prices are not favorable, you might use the other airport.
If flying from Vienna to Italy, then any place in Italy can be a candidate. However, if taking a train, look at train schedules. www.bahn.com. Venice is 8hrs from Vienna while Rome is 12hrs. Why Rome then Venice?

Man_in_seat_61

For trains from Switzerland to Vienna, use www.oebb.at from 29 euros with print-at-home tickets. The daytime Zurich-Vienna Railjets go via the scenic Arlberg Pass, lovely trip!

For Vienna-Rome by direct EuroNight sleeper train, also use www.oebb.at from 49 euros with couchette or 89 euros with a bed in a cosy 2-bed sleeper.

Rome-Venice from 29 euros, www.trenitalia.com

asps

Vienna is an a quite eastern position - old prince Metternich once said Asia begins from the outskirts of Vienna - and travelling on ground to/from Vienna takes a long time. Consider flying.

neckervd

November in Switzerland is often cold, foggy and rainy. If you are not particularly interested in some Swiss museums, cathedrals, monasteries, castles, medieval city centers or so, you better spend more time in Rome.

kleeblatt

Switzerland can also be amazingly beautiful in the mountains in November.

I'd skip Vienna and concentrate on Switzerland, Rome and Venice, all doable by train.

sandralist

While I am sure it is beautiful in Switzerland in November if the sun shines, I would be concerned about rain and fog hiding all the views for the few days I might be there. I would prefer Paris, Vienna, Venice and Rome

neckervd

"Switzerland can also be amazingly beautiful in the mountains in November"

No doubt, it CAN. I spent many beautiful and rather warm (until sunset only!) days above 3000m/9900ft in EARLY November.

But there are statistically more ugly days (rainfall resp snowfall, storms, thick fog, etc.) than fine days. And it may be difficult to reach places above 2500m/8000ft, because most mountain railways/cableways don't run (except Gornergrat and Jungfrau) and most mountain hotels and restaurants are closed.

kleeblatt

Neckervd: I've spent many a warm day in the mountains until early December.

However, this isn't a competition on who's right. November is notoriously undervalued in Switzerland, especially in the mountains, but you are indeed correct in saying many things are closed at that time, although most major cable cars are open all year round.

May might just well be the worst month to visit in Switzerland. Cold, rainy and very April-like.

Dukey1

Sorry, but I've been to Switzerland in April and it certainly wasn't "cold" and foggy and rainy every day.

kleeblatt

Dukey1: I said "May". April has become a delight.

neckervd

Kleeblatt:
everybody is right, because the weather is always unpredictable in the Alps.
I was once at Hotel Torrenthorn (8000ft) in early December: sunny and no snow. The following year there were tons of snow in November already.
As to cablecars (funiculaire/Standseilbahn/funicolare) and cableways (téléférique/Luftseilbahn/funivia), those leading to year round inhabited places (like Riederalp) run all the year round whereas those leading to other places (like Mont Fort) are usually closed between summer/automn and winter season.

kleeblatt

I once had visitors here the first two weeks in October. It was foggy every day. Boy, that was frustrating.