18 days this June (2024) in Europe, first trip there and looking for advice

First, if those places interest you ... go. But if you want to avoid tourist traps .... your list is by definition a list of tourist traps. But I always figured the tourists flock in for a reason. So not necessarily bad.

First trip and renting a car? Again, great if that's what works for you, but not add to the learning curve issues.

I like to plan my trips based on the number of nights I will be in each place. Two nights gives you a full day of sightseeing. People often say “day” when they actually mean a travel day, when you’re spending a few hours packing in one place, hours traveling, then time checking in at the second place. Next thing you know, you’re down to just a few hours to do any sightseeing.

Are your flights booked? If so, are they changeable? You could fly into Munich and start from there. Or end in Lake Como and fly out of Milan instead. This avoids losing time and money backtracking, since you want to sleep in the city you are flying out of.

We have rented cars on several long trips, but we are a family of 4. For two, I would reconsider renting a car. You definitely don’t want/need one in Switzerland, Munich or Venice. Driving in Europe is becoming more and more complicated with environmental restrictions in many cities (including Munich), vignettes required (including Austria and Switzerland), pedestrian only areas, and speed cameras galore (my husband’s favorite souvenir). It’s definitely not as simple as “get in a car and go”.

Your itinerary (excluding Slovenia) is pretty much a grand tour of Europe. Not off the beaten path by any means. You might really enjoy Ljubljana and the surrounding mountains. But if you really want to explore areas, you need to slow down and cut a couple stops. I think our travel styles are similar, and we’ve been to all the places you mention, except Zurich. We prefer to stay 3 nights at each stop. Our favorites in this region are: Ljubljana, the Dolomites, Salzburg, Wengen and Stresa.

Why are you not flying into Munich and out of Zurich on a multi- city ticket?
Public transportation is great in these areas, and a car is a hindrance and very expensive, with gas, crossing borders , vignettes, parking, tolls, and maybe tickets (ZTL zones mean anything to you?)
Must sees = tourist traps. This is not necessarily bad, but is a conflict of philosophy.
Less time in Munich and more time in Salzburg (and Berchtesgaden.)
Skip Zurich.
Does two days men three nights, or does your two days mean transportation time, which gives you a day and a half in an area?
Add a day to Venice, we stay in the quiet back canal area of Cannaregio.
I love Lake Como, we stay in Varenna, we like Hotel Du Lac, ask for a lake view room with a balcony.
As most folks book lodging 8-9 months in advance, I'd recommend securing hotels asap. Europe was very busy last year , and this is expected to continue.
Read the carefully-written responses posted under each of your proposed countries , do Searches here, and review the Trip Reports for very useful personal recommendations.
Have fun planning and have a great trip.

Vignette also required in Slovenia.

Have you identified places to park the car in all those places? Have you researched the amount of time necessary to drive between those places?

Loving all this info! Please keep it coming. We did research travel time between places but good to know about the ZTL, parking and vignette restrictions. Also we are unsure about the time involved in crossing borders. Anyone have thoughts about this?
The reason we are flying in and out of same place was because of renting a car and the hefty fees for returning in a different country. We had considered flying in and out of Munich but we’re meeting friends in Switzerland so wanted to focus our start and End there.
We did price out the trains as well and it was similar to the car rental, but we hadn’t considered cost of vignettes, parking etc.
We did 2500 miles in 14 days when we went out west, and the drives were an enjoyable part of our trip. But we have never driven in Europe so not sure if it will be enjoyable or a nuisance, so I do appreciate the info. We are flexible still regarding car versus train.
Our much more well travelled friends have been all over Europe and recently went to Slovenia which they highly recommend, so hoping to keep that in our itinerary, but would be open to cutting back a day or 2 in Switzerland.
Thanks for the lodging info in Lake Como. Would love more suggestions like this as we are starting to look into lodging now.
I’m thinking this initial trip will be to get a basic feel for Europe with the hopes of returning and doing more time off the beaten path in the future. But I’d love ideas about little hidden local gems as far as restaurants, lodging, things to see along our route and hopefully we will fit a few in. Again, total Europe rookies, so please keep info coming!

Does anyone have sugggestions about carrying local currency versus credit card use? We know everywhere we will be uses Euros except Switzerland which is Swiss francs. We’re unsure which is best or how much local currency to have and best places to get that. Thanks!

...carrying local currency versus credit card use...unsure which is best or how much local currency...best places to get...

Credit cards are widely accepted, but there are places that don't accept them. And for small purchases it is just easier to use the local currency. In addition, we have experienced a number of credit card "fails" due to technology problems. In short, we always have currency in hand, and it has saved the day a number of times.

We always obtain the local currency before we depart the U.S. Many will say just get it from an ATM upon arrival. But do you really want to try to find an ATM, perhaps wait to use it, and then hope it works? And do so when on strange ground, and jet lagged?

You should be able to get one or two hundred euros from your local bank, or even the AAA club offices. Regardless, be sure to let you credit card and debit card issurers know your travel plans so they don't see an overseas transaction, think it is fraud, and lock down the accout. Some places needt to be notified, and some don't. Just check to be sure.

Oh, never cut back on days in Switzerland. The Alps are spectacular and the scenery unparalleled. I hope you're spending time in the Berner Oberland. And a car in Switzerland is a hindrance, with the excellent rail system.
For our last several trips, we found in most places we just tapped our phones, accessing our credit cards in our Apple Wallets. I rarely got my physical wallet out.
For cash, make sure you use bank- affiliated atms- the other charge inordinate fees.
Use the apps to buy rail tickets, and look into the various Swiss Travel passes. Don't bother with any type of Eurorail passes. Swiss- SBB, Austrian OBB, Germany DB Navigator.
I can't stress enough the need to book lodging asap. Your choices diminish daily. Do your research on booking.com, but contact the hotels and book directly, for best prices.
Good luck!

1) Renting a car gives you more mobility, but requires you to plan more for the logistics of renting a car. First, you must have an International Driving Permit that you can acquire via AAA. Second, you must rent a car that suits you. Pick a size that will take all your luggage in the trunk. Never leave anything in your car that is visible from the outside or you will invite a break in. Further, you must pick lodgings where parking is available, preferable without additional cost.

2) You will need a car with a navigation system or if you have a cell phone with maps for the area so you can use Google Maps or another such device for navigation. Also, fuel in Europe is very expensive, about double what it costs in the USA.
3) Having a rental car in a big city like Munich is a liability, since parking is difficult and expansive. Parking in Venice is forget about it.
4) Second, you have allowed very little time for Munich and Salzburg. Remember, you have to factor travel time. Plan your trip and use mapquest to factor in how long it takes to go from point to point. Traffic is more a problem in Europe than the USA, especially near major cities. You won't see much in Munich in two days. Zurich to Munich will take you 3 1/2 hours, and that is if you don't slow down to see sites and traffic is light. If you spend two nights in Munich, you will have one full day to see that city. You won't see much in one day. Plan on staying at least 3-4 days.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=mapquest+driving+directions&t=osx&ia=web&iaxm=directions&start=what%3AZurich%2520Airport%2Cwhere%3A8058%2520Z%25C3%25BCrich-Flughafen%252C%2520Switzerland&end=what%3AMunich%2Cwhere%3ABavaria%252C%2520Germany&transport=drive
5) You mention going to Salzburg for 2 days, again, you need more time. Check out things to do on TripAdvisor.com in Salzburg.
6) Slovenia in three days, pick where you want to go. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g274862-Activities-Slovenia.html
7) Venice is a wonderful place, I have been there several times. Again, two days is just silly. Plan for more time and again, research WHAT you wish to see while there. Suggest arriving there by train. Pick your lodging near the main train station so you can drag your luggage there. Lodgings are very expensive in Venice, but near that main train station there are more reasonable B&Bs or small hotels.

So far you have allowed 10 days for this portion of the trip, when you need 14-17 days.

Consider eliminating some of your places. Switzerland is wonderful, but one of the more expensive countries in Europe. My favorite palaces are Interlaken and Lucerne. Geneva is great and there is much more.

Do your research and plan your trip, be sure to leave time for travel between places and plenty of time to see what is important to you.

Based on what most are saying here we are rethinking our mode of transportation and thinking of cutting out Munich to add a day to Salzburg and a day to Venice.
Since we already booked our flights in and out of Zurich we are thinking the following;
Land in Zurich, stay overnight
Take train from Zurich to Salzburg, stay 3 nights
Train Salzburg to Slovenia, stay 3 nights, rent a car while here
Train Slovenia to Venice, stay 3 nights
Train Venice to lake como, stay 2 nights (haven’t researched this yet but assuming this exists)
Train to Switzerland, stay 6 nights
Fly home from Zurich
Anyone have thoughts?
Planning to try and lock down our locations so we can spend this week getting our lodging booked.
Really appreciating this info!

Anyone have lodging recommendations? We booked Albergo Milano in Varenna Lake Como based on someone recommending that area. They stayed at hotel de Luc which was booked and they gave us that recommendation. It looks incredible.
Looking for suggestions in Munich, Saltzburg and Venice.
In Slovenia we’re looking at the Bahinj area and then Piran.
In Switzerland looking at Montreaux, Zermatt and Lake Lucerne. Would love tips if anyone has info to share!