Planning a trip to Switzerland or Switzerland/Italy in July. Would love to hear which itinerary you would choose and why (and/or any modifications to these itineraries). We are in our early 40s returning to Europe after 20 years (but new to all of these sites except Florence, which we LOVED) We love to explore the outdoors, love great food, a little shopping, and a not a crazy fast-paced itinerary (we want some time to relax and explore, but see a lot).

Thank you for any feedback!!!

Option 1: Switzerland Only
Day 1 - depart
Day 2 - Arrive in Zurich
Day 3 - Zurich
Day 4 - Lucerne
Day 5 - Lucerne
Day 6 - Lauterbrunnen/Wengen
Day 7 - Lauterbrunnen/Wengen
Day 8 - Zernatt
Day 9 - Zernatt
Day 10- Lausanne
Day 11 - Lausanne
Day 12 - Depart Geneva

Option 2: Switzerland and Italy
Day 1 - depart
Day 2 - Arrive in Zurich
Day 3 - Zurich
Day 4 - Lauterbrunnen/Wengen
Day 5 - Lauterbrunnen/Wengen
Day 6 - Lake Como
Day 7 - Lake Como
Day 8 - Cinque Terre
Day 9 - Cinque Terre
Day 10- Florence/Tuscany
Day 11 - Florence/Tuscany
Day 12 - Depart Florence/Pisa

1 st option demands a Swiss Travel Pass for sure - Zermatt is kind of the same as Jungfrau Region except for famous Matterhorn - I'd stay 4 days in Berner Oberland where there are so so many neat easy day trips like lake boat rides on the two lakes bookending Interlaken.

2nd option get a Half-Fare Card or just pay regular tickets as not traveling enough to warrant any pass but if stay 4 days in BOB then look at Berner Oberland Pass. For lots on Swiss trains check www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.seat61.com; BETS-European Rail Experts. I'd take a day from Zurich and add to Wengen area and maybe skip an insanelyh mobbed Cinque Terre and do day trips from Florence into Tuscany as well as more time in Florence itself. You also might substitute Lake Maggiore instead of Como simply because it is easier to get to by rail from Interlaken area and is just as nice IME. Stresa makes a convenient stop by train.

I'd chose # 2 simply because I love Italy - Switzerland too but so expensive.

For me, every moment I spend in transit is a moment I'm NOT spending seeing things I've always wanted to see. Too, I hate going somewhere and not having sufficient time to see or do what I want to see and do in that location. So for me, the choice is easy: Option 1 (although I'd tweak it a bit). YMMV.

I'm with kja. Ten days isn't a lot of time for exploring the areas TS has in mind.

Option 1, only because July is not a great time for the CT or Florence. Wouldn't want the day in Zurich either.

OP wished for beach time - I know Lake Geneva and Lucerne have beaches but is it warm enough to swim? # 2 also has a lot of moving around - just two night stays which means a half day less factoring in travel time.

>>> We love to explore the outdoors
So why is Zurich is in your itinerary? It is not that Zurich does not have places to spend time. It appears it is incompatible with what you are looking for unless you are planning to visit Rheinfall or other outdoor places from there. Unless your arrival in Zurich is late in the afternoon, you can zip straight to Luzern or even Lauterbrunnen to satisfy your other requirement
>>> not a crazy fast-paced itinerary
by eliminaing a check-in-out cycle. Another consideration visiting low altitude locations in Switzerland in July, in case you have not thought about it, is that many hotels don't come wth AC in Switzerland. The locals would say it is not needed, but I have spent most miserable nights in Switzerland during heat waves when the room temperature would stay above humid 28C at mid-night and no AC! Italian hotels usually come with AC even though most are quite wimpy.

The sequence:
Lucerne / Lauterbrunnen/Wengen / Zernatt / Lausanne
can benefit from further thinking. Three of them are at a lake or close to lakes, while other three are at or close to high mountains. You might want to rationalize the itinerary to cover your interest without duplicating. Zermatt is risky in that if you get rained out, there isn't much else to do there. One compromise is to stay in Lauterbrunnen or Lausanne and monitor the weather early in the monring and head to Zermatt only if the forecast makes it worthwhile to visit Zermatt. Yes, it consumes time, but it protects you from staying in Zermatt consuming two nights with little benefit if rained.

>>> we want some time to relax and explore
Both CT and Florence have changed over a decade. If you visit either in July, you will be in the middle of the massive flag waving group tourist crowd. You want to take a train between CT villages? It is like riding a packed big city subway during the rush hours. There are also long queues for the boats between villages, if the boats are running at all. If you want to relive what you remembered from 20 years ago, "time to relax" cannot involving sleeping in late. Both CT and Florence still offer quiet walks without being surrounded by selfie stick toting tourists if you get up and walk around before 8 am before the day trippers pour in.

Both are ambitious options, but we are used to fast-paced travels. We travel only with carry-on luggage; we do a lot of homework about such things as travel options, often purchasing real tickets online in advance; and we walk a lot. It largely depends on your travel style. Switzerland will be expensive and probably cooler; Italy cheaper and probably warmer. All will be busy in the summer. Having said that, we always want to welcome new posters here. One suggestion would be to continue your questions about one trip all in one thread. When you posted three days earlier on a different thread, some of the same people responded and others provided input as well. It is helpful to posters here to know what has already been offered, and frankly sometimes a poster may forget that you have already discussed this trip. Happy New Year!

I thought your question sufficiently different to easily merit a separate post and think it will help focus attention on your new question. JMO! Please don't worry about comments that suggest you "should" have done otherwise.

A "suggestion" is a lot different than a "should." And, perhaps the OP started a new thread because you told her in the original one that she spelled Cinque Terre incorrectly ("Terra") and then you incorrectly told her that her misspelling "WILL make a difference in your searches." Perhaps you might make a New Year's resolution to not be so pedantic.

@ whitehall: Best wishes for the New Year

Same to you and all the others who contribute here.

And @ jent516: You, too! I do hope our digression hasn't been too disruptive.

(BTW, I did try a few searches before I posted, and I just tried again, to be sure I'm speaking from experience. One search took me to places in Rome, another to New York, etc. I was honestly just trying to be helpful. But hey, whatever! I have confidence that jent516 can find a way beyond these unnecessary -- and rather pedantic! -- accusations. And if there's any confusion, I hope she'll ask -- even if she fears that she'll prompt another unnecessary and unpleasant fight by doing so.)

If you are being "honest", you will know that google automatically defaults to the correct spelling. And, Bing does the same thing. Even if you override that, you still get mostly correct results, many also with the wrong spelling. Even with the correct spelling, you might find the occasional Cinque Terre Restaurant in Seattle.

Indeed. But some sites of value for planning travel don't.

Thank you all for your comments. I appreciate your understanding (whitehall) as I am new to these boards. I did consider re-posting to the original thread but was unsure what would be best. I will take all of your comments into account. Thank you for your feedback!

Greg -- Zurich is in our itinerary because my husband has an office in Zurich and would like to see the office, as well as some friends who now live there (with possibly a place to stay!) So our stay there will be short and perhaps we shorten it to one night, but that is why.

kja -- Option 1 (although I'd tweak it a bit). YMMV.
Would love to know how you would tweak this. And what YMMV means lol. Thank you all!!

Any other feedback on how to make this itinerary best would be great! ps. We do not need to lay on the beach! I was more thinking scenery, hiking, exploring, etc.

Happy New Year!

YMMV means "your mileage may vary"-- meaning that because we all travel for different reasons and with different preferences, what works for me might not work for you.

The tweaks I would make would be to skip Zermatt, adding that time to the Bernese Oberland. You can't count on the weather once in the mountains, so several days in one place gives you a greater assurance that you will see what you want, and there are plenty of options for bad-weather back-up plans from Lauterbrunnen or (better) Wengen.

I really enjoyed Lausanne -- primarily for its museums. It doesn't sound like that's your priority. So you might consider Montreux instead (perhaps staying in Vevey) so you can more easily see the Chateau de Chillon, take the train to the Rochers de Naye, etc.

Just some things to consider.

BTW, I think Zurich is underrated -- enjoy!

Your version that brings you to Italy included Lake Como. Even for me, two nights on Lake Como, especially at a busy time of year, might not be enough. We did a 2-part trip report on our fall 2017 time in the northern cities and lakes including Como. We had two full days there (3 nights) and felt like we covered a lot but weather was perfect and fall crowds not quite as bad as summer. I have included the first part of the report that covers Varenna as our base for Lake Como. Although we had a preference for Lake Garda, there is little question that Lake Como is breathtaking. Trip Report: Part 1 Northern Italian Lakes & Cities (12 days October)

If you had asked:

Day 1 - depart
Day 2 - Arrive in Zurich, direct train from airport to Lucerne
Day 3 - Lucerne
Day 4 - Lucerne
Day 5 - Lake Lugano or Como
Day 6 - Lake Lugano or Como
Day 7 - Cinque Terre
Day 8 - Cinque Terre
Day 9 - Florence/Tuscany
Day 10 - Florence/Tuscany
Day 11 - Florence/Tuscany
Day 12 - Depart Florence/Pisa

Option 2: Switzerland and Italy
Day 1 - depart
Day 2 - Arrive in Zurich, direct tran to Lake Geneva
Day 3-4 Lake Geneva
Day 5-6 - Zermatt
Day 7-8 - Stresa/Lake Maggiore
Day 9 - Florence/Tuscany
Day 10- Florence/Tuscany
Day 11 - Florence/Tuscany
Day 12 - Depart Florence/Pisa

logistics would have been much easier