5-6 days post Rick Steves' tour - best country to visit: Switzerland or Italy?

It is true that Switzerland is pretty expensive--one way to help you decide might be to search accommodations and see how that looks. (Try to stay IN the mountains if you can swing it, as it really is worth it.) You may decide that since you are already in Europe, it makes sense to tack on Switzerland, but you need to take travel time into consideration (it's quite efficient being the Swiss train system, but it is still a time investment to get from place to place). While accommodations and food prices may be high, the main activity (being in mountains) is free!
Next, I would plan out the travel for each options and see what gives you the most "bang for your buck." Any ONE of those places would be an amazing trip, so choosing the option that gives you the most time on the ground is how I would work it.
I consider Italy prices roughly comparable to US city prices. An advantage to Italy is that you will be flying in directly to each city, so no loss of travel time. Three nights in Rome and two in Venice would not be a crime, but I would consider one place with close-in day trips. I think that makes the most of your time. It seems to be nature versus culture, so maybe flip a coin?

If you decide on Switzerland, I would advise against Interlaken. If you’re going all that way, base in the alps, not 40 minutes away. Look at Wengen or Murren instead. We stayed at Chalet Gerbera in Wengen, and it was fabulous and reasonably priced for Switzerland. Food is very expensive, and not nearly as good as in Italy.

If you want the mountains AND great food, you might consider the Dolomites in northern Italy. You could split 5 days between Venice (2 nights) and Ortesei (or another town in the area for 3 nights). That might be the best of both worlds.

If you decide on Rome, you could easily spend the whole time there. There’s plenty to see.

With only 5.5 days I’d choose Rome OR the Alps. There’s plenty to see in either location. I agree with the previous poster that Interlaken is not ideal. If you want to be right in the mountains, then Murren or Wengen are gorgeous. If you want to be in the valley with easy access to Murren and Wengen, then Lauterbrunnen is a good choice.

Rome and the Alps are two of my favorites places. Have a great time, whatever you decide.

Italy. Hands down.
Don't get me wrong, I like Switzerland well enough and the mountains are amazing to hike, but Italy is in a league of its own. Seems a pretty easy choice between the two.

As others have mentioned, with 5 days, one location. In October, my vote would be Rome, the food is wonderful, so much to see and the airport is right there so there’s not much travel time. I didn’t find Rome “dirtier” than any other major city. Now if you had said Naples then we could talk gritty.

Regarding Rome being "dirty".... Rome is not Disneyland with people walking around everywhere with brooms, making sure our experience there is pristine. The city is well over 2000 years old. It was once the center of the known (Western) world and offers so much to anyone visiting it that, of course, it is one of the "big three" of Europe (London, Paris, Rome). If you choose Rome (as I would in your case), you will find that five days will only scratch the surface of things to see and do. Stay there for the full five days.
Viva Rioma!

These are all good options, but my vote would definitely be to spend the full time in Rome. There is SO much to see there, the food is amazing, and you can even take short side trips to places like Ostia Antica or Hadrian's villa. Good luck deciding.

Only you and your sweetheart know which choice is the most appealing for you two.
After visiting both Rome and the Alps several times, my experience was that both are fantastic places for five days. In October, though, the weather in the Alps can quickly become rainy and windy for the day ( or even several days) and, when that happens, the plans for exploring the great outdoors can become less than optimal. To borrow a phrase— it can “rain on your parade.” During October some rain falls during 2 out of every 5 days in Lauterbrunnen. Hiking trails can become muddy.
And there are not a lot of indoor options in the Berner Oberland when it rains. Note that some of the lifts in the area will close in mid-October.

Whichever is the easiest, quickest and cheapest flight. Edinburgh to Rome or Edinburgh to Zurich. 5 days in Wengen or 5 days in Rome both are great. No bad choice.

5 days, pick one or two places.

Switzerland great scenery and expensive
Italy- great history, art, culture and food.

If you are going to Scotland for the RS tour, why not visit England, Ireland or Wales instead.

I would go to FLorence, if you like art. You can go to Siena as well on a day trip.

Stay in Rome and take a day trip to Florence-2 hours on the fast train.

DA1981; You harbour a wish to arrive in Italy. Take a chance. Make the rules. Do what Europeans do. Go to both and have a taste. Have your cake and eat it too. It's your time. Why should you wait any longer?

If it were me with such little time a tour of the alps would come up short on what I would want to spend there to do it justice. While You might discover that October is actually among the driest months in Lauterbrunnen, and elsewhere in Switzerland (always do your own research on factual issues), it can be a bit chilly and for something that special I would want warmer weather ... like early September.

5 or 6 days is a pretty good trip to Rome, or a pretty good trip to Florence with a day trip or two out of the city and early October can be pretty nice weather (and also among the dries months in Italy).

Ryan flies Edinburg to Rome non-stop, but I was surprised at the cost. Still no worse than a non-stop to Interlaken. I recently booked a return trip to Rome ... a hotel and few tours for early July and was surprised that there was so much availability and also surprised that that the prcies were not "terrible".

So, I vote for Rome. Either do it deep or do a day trip out Pompeii or something similar. I think you get more return for the buck and more return for the time invested.