PalenQ

I know the trip from Switzerland to Spain is unorthodox, I've been looking at getting the Global Pass from Eurorail since I will be taking the train during my entire 15 days or so in Europe and that would allow me to leave Switzerland and make my way down to Barcelona through the south of France.>

for lots of good stuff on European trains and passes and alternatives to them check out these IMO superb sites - www.ricksteves.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.seat61.com.

Karl007

Yes, I think I will add two days for Florence, pick one museum there and then another few sites. It's true, if I'm ever back there I can take more time plus I'll know what cities I most enjoyed. Everyone has their own favorites and cities they'd like to spend more time in. Some people seem 'bored' with Venice after two or three days, others could live there.. it all depends on the traveller. Plus, it just makes sense to add a stop there since it's on my travel route from Cinq Terre to Venice (leaving me with less of a big train trip)

4 days Rome (1 day trip to Pompeii
2 days Cinq Terre
2.5 days Florence
2.5 days Venice
3 days Switzerland

(all including travel times (which is why the .5 days)
A brisk pace, but if I pick and choose accordingly, book most of the sites I most want to see in advance to skip the lineups and only try to see a few sites per city should be a good trip to get a feel for Italy and Switzerland as a desert.

If I want I can always book a second trip back to Rome or Florence for more exploring if I fall in love, but if I'm never able to be back there, I'll have seen my top choices.

jft

I would check pricing out the individual train tickets before getting a pass.Sometimes if you book in advance the rates are really good. Or see if there is an Italy only pass and buy the short portion for Switzerland separately.
The walled town of Lucca is lovely if you wanted a more low key place to visit instead of a busy city like Florence and it is close to Cinque Terre. You might want to consider staying somewhere on a rail line like lucca as a base and do day trips from it instead of hopping around with luggage from one to the other. We stayed with friends in a small village and did day trips to Portovenere, cinque Terre and Lucca.
Where you choose to go will depend on your personal interests. For me , I like a balance between busy and relaxing, big cities and small towns.
Your trip as laid out looks doable.
I didn't read when you were planning to go and where you were planning to fly in and out of- and which airlines.

Karl007

I'm planning on going in september or october. Flying in from Canada to Rome (haven't booked the tickets yet so airlines are still 'up in the air' (har har) and flying out from Switzerland (I'd be near Lucerne (haven't checked out the airport closest to there yet)

I'm glad people seem to think the trip is doable. I won't have much luggage, I'm doing a backpacking trip, so a single backpack and staying in hostels. I think I'll have a great unrushed and balanced trip by picking my top 5 things to do and see in the cities I'm interested in. The only way I would get in trouble is if I tried to fit in by top 20 things or something like that, I just have to priorities and book in advance to save time and I'm getting confident that I'll be fine. Also, I'll be getting a taste of what traveling is really like and get more of a feel for the kind of places and things I like to do and see so I can better plan future trips. We all have our own styles of travel it seems and it depends on your goal. Some people say you can't 'experience' a city in two days... I'm aware that you can see everything a city has to offer in a few days but it's like in any city, if you plan right and priorities you can usually see the major sights you wanted to see and have some time to stumble upon some things you didn't even know existed (and that's what makes your trip personalized. To 'experience' a city I'd have to live there for several weeks and even then!

Karl007

I've started looking at what to book and costs and all that, and yeah, taking the train from Venice to Lucerne seems like not the best way to go.. With a quick search I found a cheap flight from Venice to Zurick for 70 bucks and I'd be there all and all within 2 hrs! That's half the price of the train tickets (because of all the transfers) Seems like the way to go.

Also after tallying up all the separate train tickets for my journey through Italy it still comes it at
quite cheaper than buying the one country pass. So again, I'll go with that. If I buy my tickets online in advance is that the same thing as make a reservation, or do I have to do that separately by phone or once I'm in the city?

A quick budget guestimate has me around the 3000 dollar mark as a budget for my trip (100 bucks a day(food, hostels and sites)+ train tickets, sounds+open jaw ticket which I found online (haven't booked yet though) at 1100 bucks. (Montreal-Rome // Zurick-Montréal.

Probably end up at a bit over 3 grand canadian... seems reasonable.

adrienne

<< I found a cheap flight from Venice to Zurick for 70 bucks and I'd be there all and all within 2 hrs! That's half the price of the train tickets (because of all the transfers) >>

I don't think you can get from Venice to Zurich in 2 hours. It will take you an hour to get from Venice to the airport and you have to be there at least an hour ahead of the flight so that is already 2 hours and then the flight time and getting from the Zurich airport into Zurich. If the flight is 2 hours your time will be about 5 hours.

I'm not telling you not to fly but you have to be realistic about the amount of time it will take.

I don't understand what you mean about the price of the train tickets because of all the transfers. Train tickets with transfers don't cost more than tickets with no transfers. What do you mean by this.

<< so a single backpack >>

I suggest a small roller bag rather than a backpack.

mamcalice

Just a note about Cinque Terre in late September or October - probably not great beach weather. And you will not find sandy beaches, mostly rocks or pebbles except for a narrow stretch of sandy beach in Monterossa. But CT is still worth two days.

Florence is one of the easiest cities in Europe. Everything is within walking distance around the historic center and it is very easy to navigate. You can cover a lot in 2.5 days.

I think your trip is shaping up well.

Karl007

''adrienne''
ah I didn't realize it would take that much time to get to the airport. Still the train would take me 10 hours to get to Switzerland and cost more than that flight... the again I'd have to train it from the city to the airport and vice versa once I land... it would end up costing me more to fly.. and that's if there's no delays. I'll keep looking.

''mamcalice'' thanks for the heads-up. I will just relax then and put my feet in the water if it's too cold to swim (or rent a Kayak or something, explore the area, maybe do the first hiking trail since it's quite easy) for my first day (technically half day by the time I get there from Rome) and night there. The second day I'll hike the rest of the towns etc then leave for florence the next morning or that evening.

annhig

ah I didn't realize it would take that much time to get to the airport. Still the train would take me 10 hours to get to Switzerland and cost more than that flight...>>

Karl, good point about the time the train takes, but it does have some advantages over the plane - seeing the countryside, chatting to other passengers, being able to move about. IMO train travel is more part of the journey than a flight is.

Karl007

Yes, apparently the views from Milan to Luzern can be quite spectacular and since the main attraction for me are the alps I shouldn't think of this as time wasted but as touring the scenery. I would still get there around 3pm, which would give me the rest of the afternoon/evening to tour a bit of the area.

The next day I would like to do a day trip to Jungfraujoch (top of Europe) -more trains!- .. so should I base myself in Lucerne? The third day would be spend exploring more of the area until I have to get to the airport in the evening for the plane ride home.

annhig

The next day I would like to do a day trip to Jungfraujoch (top of Europe) -more trains!- .. so should I base myself in Lucerne?>>

not really. the best place to start a journey to the Jungfraujoch is somewhere in the Berner Oberland - Wengen or Grindelwald, or Interlaken at a pinch. Luzern is too far away to make it a reasonable day trip.

Karl007

Would getting a swiss pass be a good deal? It seems to be since it would take care of my train travelling fees as soon as I cross the border from Italy (and the trains seem more expensive here) plus reduces at 50% the cost of most sightseeing places (like Jungfraujoch - ice palace etc.

Karl007

I should add that might flight home will be in Zurick so perhaps I should base myself in Bern? the first day there after the long but hopefully beautiful train ride I will be able to visit the area probably only during the late-afternoon to evening. The next day I do my day trip to Jungfraujoch, the rest of the evening would be again at Bern (shame I'll be only seeing it late in the day for these two days...). Then the final day would be morning to noon in Bern and then off to Zurich for the afternoon to evening (depending on what time my flight leaves.

I'll be doing some research on Bern and Zurich to see where I'd like to spend the most time in.

Rostra

Mt. Vesuvius.

I don't know how tight a Pompeii daytrip timeline is for this but seeing as how you really want to see a volcano give it a search.

If going in the summer I believe Pompeii is open to ~7PM?

The Rome to Pompeii journey is 2:05-2:32hr.

And somewhere very nearby the Circumvesuviana train station and Pompeii entrance is the bus stop for the bus to atop Mt. Vesuvius and then a ~25min? walk.

I don't know how long the whole roundtrip would take but it should get you back for a good few hours in Pompeii.

Google; bus "pompeii to vesuvius" and maybe you can find schedules and locations and such.

The bus stop near Pompeii's entrance is called the 'Porta Marina'.

Karl007

i don't think I'll have time to do both, but I will plan it as a 'plan B' sort of thing... if the weather seems good at the top and whatnot. If the weather isn't good I wouldn't be seeing much.

adrienne

The train to Wengen is 8 hours; to Bern 6.5 hours.

Where are you going in Switzerland that takes 10 hours for the train?

Karl007

8 hours and 6.5 hours from Milan or from Venice?

annhig

you can just as easily get a train from Venice to interlaken [a good base from which to do a day trip to the Junfraujoch] which will take about 7 1/2 hours.

depending on when you plan to get to Interlaken, you could go onto Wengen in the same day, which would get you closer still, but give you a longer trip when you move on.

trains from Interlaken to Zurich airport take between 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

personally i would go to Wengen, spend as much of the rest of my holiday there as i could, and aim to do the jungfraujoch on a clear day.

suze

Well I'm no expert and can't really help with much but whoever said Venice is "not so great" is outta their minds! It's THE most amazing city. I've only been there twice and spent 4-5 days each time which was barely a taste of it. As far as expensive, compared to Switzerland it's a bargain (lol!).

adrienne

<< 8 hours and 6.5 hours from Milan or from Venice? >>

I thought you were going to Switzerland from Venice?

The times I gave are from Venice SL. Wengen is 4.5 hours from Milan. Bern is 3 to 2.5 hours from Milan. I just checked again but you can check as well.