We're meeting friends in Florence this summer. My proposed itinerary: On the way, get to Florence, possibly by stopping in Zurich. On the return, go from Florence to Zurich in one day, spend a day in Zurich, fly back. Our travel time is more flexible on the return, so I need a faster option to get to Florence than I need for getting back to Zurich. Our flight arrives in Zurich at 7 AM, and we need to meet our friends in Florence around 3 PM. The easy option would be to book a flight from Zurich to Florence. I don't want to book an early time though in case the flight to Zurich is delayed or it takes a long time to go through customs and get back through for another flight. How much time do I need between arrival in Zurich and departure to Florence? I have read about some of the train options, and that sounds good too. We will have our luggage though, so I don't know what to expect as far as having to change trains along the way and think an express train might help us out. I realize that we're missing the opportunity to get off the train and visit places along the way, but this seems like a good compromise over flying and missing it altogether. What is the best train option for both directions? On Gotthard Express, it looks like we could go from Lugano to Lucerne (train and boat) or Lugano to Arth-Goldau. On Bernina Express, we could go from Tiirano to Chur. Or what would be a good option for the regular trains? Am I trying to do too much and should I try to fly between Zurich and Florence instead?

Rather than paying for another flight and guessing on a departure time, I would rebook the flight from home to Zurich and instead fly into Pisa, Florence, Rome or even MIlan. Any one of these would be more convenient to heading to Florence immediately on arrival. Even the fastest train option from the Zurich Airport to Florence takes nearly 6 hours.

If you are meeting friends in Florence the same day you land in Europe you should fly into Florence. I suppose you could fly into Pisa or Milan or Rome and train to Florence if you have enough time. If you have to fly into Zurich for some reason there may be a direct flight to Florence that works for you but I doubt you will have many flight options,

I agree. Why fly into Zurich for Florence? You have I think a half dozen Italian airports that would be closer.

Obviously Florence but you might need to connect. OTOH it would be safer than an unprotected connection in Zurich
Pisa likewise
Rome you might find a direct flight
Milan same
Bologna back to connecting.

Plus a few smaller ones.

Your plan only has eight hours. Back out arrival time including immigration and baggage collection. If you take the train the fastest routing I'm seeing would take almost seven hours and get you to SMN just after 3pm

i love trains but fly into Italy at least, open jaw if you want to fly out of Zurich

Zurich airport - Florence Santa Maria Novella:
By train, it should be feasible lilke this:
Zurich airport dp 9.01 - Zurich HB ar 9.13, train change, dp 9.33 - Milan C ar 12.50, train change, dp 13.40 by train Italo - Florence SMN ar 15.35
If you prefer a more hazardous solution with shorter changing times, you may arrive at Florence at 14.04

Swiss/ITA havwe non stop flights ZRH dp 8.50 - Florence airport ar 10.00.
If you are fliying with Star Alliance (United, Air Canada, Lufthansa....) you may get the wole flight on he same ticket

FYI, any flights you book today for travel in 5-7 months could have a schedule change or two, and you might not be informed until somewhat shortly before your departure. The airline will automatically rebook you on flights that work for the airline but not necessarily for you.

FYI#2, having the entire journey on the same ticket doesn't guarantee you'll arrive in Florence by 3:00 p.m. It just means the airline(s) are obligated to get you to Florence eventually. If things really go sideways, like your first flight is seriously delayed or cancelled and there are no seats open on later flights to Florence (in high season summer!), the airline could even book you on a flight to FLR the following day. Extreme example, but entirely possible (and has happened to us). This option is the easiest in a physical sense (just change terminals in Zurich) and might be worth the risk if the possibility of arriving late (or even very late) in Florence is NBD. Any way you do this journey involves one risk of delay or another. Only you can decide what level of risk you can tolerate.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts on this. As far as the reason, I was primarily interested in riding the train in one direction and in seeing Zurich. I realize the train ride is going to be long, but it seems like there's going to be lots of time at the airport too.

But why not fly into Rome (or Florance or Pisa) and out of Zurich?

Rome airport to Florence by train takes 2.5 hours, one change
Florence airport to city center takes 20 minutes by tram or taxi
Pisa airport to Florence by train takes 90 minutes, one change

The train ride south of Milan is going to be pretty boring . Maybe the bit between Zurich you'll see something but in general I wouldn't consider it anymore exciting than riding the subway

We are not fans of EC trains. They are often late and often fully booked. On our train trips from Zurich or Basel, where we live, we much prefer to take an IC train to Lugano, then switch to the local train to Milan, and then to Florence

Reasons:
ICs are usually much less crowded and tend to run on time. Except for peak periods or special events, you don't need a reservation (but never hurts to have one). We usually sit in the quiet car and recommend it, but only if you like it quiet and won't be having long conversations at a volume only slight above a whisper.

The view from the Lugano train station is gorgeous. If you want to take a break for lunch, the Ana Capri restaurant across the street is not the average train station dining option, it's a real restaurant.

From Lugano to Milan, you can take the regional train, which is actually a Swiss train and quite modern. It's usually uncrowded and is scenic around the lakes. It also has a level entry setup so you can just roll your luggage onto the train, no stairs. (tip: when looking at train info on the SBB site or app, the abbreviation FL means a low entry system. Does NOT always mean you can just roll your luggage onto the train, but you won't have any steep steps.

Once in Milan, it's the usual minor chaos, with no place to sit and with the boards tending to not announce the track number until just before the train leaves, even if the train has been at the track for a while.

I second Weisser Tee, but:
The view from Anacapri is stupendous, but the food much less.
At certain hours of the day, the Tilo to Milan can get crowded too

In oder to reduce somewhat the "usual minor chaos, with no place to sit and with the boards tending to not announce the track number until just before the train leaves" you maxy have a look at https://oraritreniitalia.com/orari-s...ilano_centrale

We have had perfectly fine dinners there. No, it’s not Bottegone del Vino level, but fine.

The RE trains we’ve taken to Milan (dozens of times) and back have only rarely been crowded and not bad at all in first class.

I didn't say that the TILO (RE80) Locarno - Cadenazzo - Lugano - Mendrisio - Chiasso - Como - Camerlata - Seregno - Monza (change for Tirano - Poschiavo) - Milano C are ALWAYS crowded.
But it may happen. Above all in the evening.
But I agree that first class at the head of the train is the best solution.

BTW: the South-North journey with immediatec onnection at Lugano can get rather stressing

Yes, that's a good option that I will check into.

Yes, that's a good idea that I will check into.

Thanks for all the info neckervd and Weisser Tee. I'll check the schedules when they are released. This will be a Saturday in June. That is probably more chaotic.

If you want a scenic train ride through Switzerland why not fly into Zurich a day earlier and take the Bernina express into Italy and get to Florence the night before you see your friends. Do worry that you might just fall asleep on a train after a long flight unless you are the sort who sleeps well in planes.

I get the impression the OP isn't able or interested in changing the arriving flight.