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Travel to France, Italy & Switzerland during July 10 - 30, 2013

Travel to France, Italy & Switzerland during July 10 - 30, 2013

Old Jan 24th, 2013, 04:03 AM
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Travel to France, Italy & Switzerland during July 10 - 30, 2013

I and my friend (2 as couple) plan to travel to France (Paris only), Italy (Rome, Milan, Pisa, Florence, Venice), Switzerland (Geneva, Zurich, Lucerne, Interlaken, Mt. Titlis, Engelberg) for 19 - 20 day trip (inclusive of arrival and departure day).

Therefore would like assistance of registered members who can guide on the following matters -
1) Whether we are missing any particular city or location during our trip that needs to be surely visited as this is our first trip to Europe.

2) What would be the "Ideal Place" to stay during night as we intend to visit the locations in day and travel at night / stay. Do we get motels / youth hostels which are not expensive as we intend to keep the budget of stay at low so that most spends go towards enjoying the other options in these locations? What are the facilities available in these motels / youth hostels?

3) What transportation should be used generally i.e. whether all these locations should be visited by train / private rented car / Bus as I heard that Train travel is very expensive. So what would be the mix of these options. Please do elaborate as it will help us a lot given that we would be strangers in Europe. Is it safe to travel at Night from one location to other.

4) Can we take a single Europe Visa so that we can travel all the 3 countries without having to make separate visas. Apart from that I heard that there is some train pass by which all the locations can be traveled by Train / Bus without any hassles and the same is not expensive.

5) Can anyone please assist in devising a Travel plan which will assist us to cover all location in best time possible so that most time is available for locations where there is lot of options to see and visit? I mean I would like someone please suggest where should I start my trip from and End at?
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Old Jan 24th, 2013, 05:39 AM
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>>>travel at night>>Can we take a single Europe Visa so that we can travel all the 3 countries without having to make separate visas.>>Apart from that I heard that there is some train pass by which all the locations can be traveled by Train / Bus without any hassles and the same is not expensive.
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Old Jan 24th, 2013, 06:23 AM
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>>>Apart from that I heard that there is some train pass by which all the locations can be traveled by Train / Bus without any hassles and the same is not expensive.

Yes indeedy for Switzerland those passes can be an absolute bargain - covering not only trains but lake boats, postal buses, city trams and buses and giving 50% off gondolas to mountain tops as well as free entry to 400+ Swiss museums.

and in Switzerland's fabled Alpine regions like the fantastic Jungfrau Region around Interlaken - to me and others the absolute highlight both literally and figuratively of Switzerland, cars can not even be driven beyond certain towns and then must be parked and you have to take public transportation.

So I would definitely consider a Swiss Pass given the several train trips you indicate - to me it would be a no-brainer given what you are planning - as for France and Italy you are better off buying individual tickets - those in combo with a Swiss Pass would be the way to go IMO.

And if you itinerary is set in stone then you can score nifty discount tickets for France-Switzerland and Italian trains at www.voyages-sncf.com and www.trenitalia.com - French and Italian Railways sites respectively - note those often cannot be changed from the specific train you reserve nor refunded and since they are sold in limited numbers must be booked weeks in advance to guarantee availability.

There is a Eurailpass but the benefits of a Eurailpass in Switzerland are limited - the Swiss Pass covers far more trains and gives far more benefits than a Eurailpass does - forget any notion of any Eurailpass IMO.

For loads of great info on European and Swiss trains I always spotlight these IMO fantastic sites - www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.ricksteves.com and http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/id3.html. For schedules I always use the German Railways online English schedule site - www.bahn.de/en - schedules for trains all over Europe.
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Old Jan 24th, 2013, 06:37 AM
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You have 11 cities marked for 19-20 days is ridiculus. You must not go so many places. Every time you travel it costs you money, and you only have one day , or maybe two to see some amazing places. This is a tour of bus and train stations , this is not a tour of Europe.

You should pick 5-6 places and enjoy seeing them. This is a visit to Europe, so you should SEE Europe.

Since budget seems to be a concern have you looked at a

www.busabout.com/

They are like a bus tour, but there is no tour, the bus just goes from place to place and you can get on and off as you like to visit places.
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Old Jan 24th, 2013, 09:01 AM
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Actually, I count 12 places in 20 days. Absolutely ridiculous, as noted. No time for travel between them. And a budget trip to Switzerland? Not going to happen.
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Old Jan 24th, 2013, 10:54 AM
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I count 12 places in 20 days>

several of those places are very close together - like Pisa and Florence and Lucerne, Engelberg and Mt Titlis are all from one base so do not count 12 places in 20 days as separate places they are moving between - more like 8 places in 20 days which I do not find ridiculous at all as I often do similar type travels. That said in Switzerland I may suggest dropping say Zurich - a modern city or even Geneva and concentrating on the Alpine regions that we all dream about - making about 6 bases in 20 days - every doable IMO.
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Old Jan 24th, 2013, 11:55 AM
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) Can we take a single Europe Visa so that we can travel all the 3 countries without having to make separate visas.>

Yes because all the countries you are visiting are in the Schengen Zone, inside which immigration at borders has been eliminated - land in a Schengen country and you automatically have the right to travel freely in all other Schengen countries and now that Switzerland is a Schengen country you'll have no problem.

Americans and many other nationalities automatically get tourist visas upon landing and showing the passports - no pre-arranged visa needed. But many country citizens are required to obtain a Schengen Visa before arrival.

What country are you from?
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Old Jan 28th, 2013, 10:06 AM
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I sincerely thank to all of you who took time out of your busy schedule to provide some inputs as these suggestions would be so much value to me.
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Old Jan 28th, 2013, 10:12 AM
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Please suggest the places that should be covered for a 10 days trip in Switzerland. Ideally what would be costs that will be incurred for locations to be seen in the suggested places in Switzerland. As rightly pointed by some of you, that Switzerland is expensive country, but I even donno what would be the Total costs which includes cost of travel, motel, food, specific costs on excursions etc....Please do help me to provide accurate / estimated costs so that I can be well prepared as I will be arriving for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
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Old Jan 28th, 2013, 11:33 AM
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ravibrgri you are asking people to do all your work for you. I suggest you visit and pay a travel agent if this is what you want.. we are just travellers ourselves, no one would have all that information memorized , so you are just asking up to look it all up for you!
I suggest you read a guide book, and decide where in Switzerland you wish to go, then look at hotels in those places for prices ( you can ask people to suggest good hotels they liked in each place) and then you can ask for help for suggestions on which site to look at for train tickets and prices.
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