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Alps Trip Itinerary Recommendations

Posted by (Boise, ID) on

Hello,
My husband and I are planning a trip to the Alps in early summer 2026 and I am looking for advice/suggestions on our itinerary. Our initial plan, and the itinerary we have put together so far rings the Alps, covering sites in Italy, Austria/Bavaria, Switzerland, and France. However, I am beginning to wonder if we may be trying to cram too much in to our trip and if we should pare it down and spend more time in fewer regions. We will have 3 weeks total for this trip and we will be utilizing trains and also renting a car. The itinerary we have so far is below:

  1. Fly into Milan, go directly to Varenna (sleep in Varenna)
  2. Varenna
  3. Varenna
  4. Train to Brescia, sleep in Brescia
  5. Brescia
  6. Travel to Malcesine on Lake Garda (sleep in Malcesine)
  7. Malcesine
  8. Drive to Ortisei (sleep in Ortisei)
  9. Ortisei
  10. Ortisei
  11. Drive to Fussen, Germany (see Zugspitze en route), sleep in Fussen
  12. Fussen
  13. Drive to Lauterbrunnen Valley (sleep in Lauterbrunnen)
  14. Lauterbrunnen
  15. Lauterbrunnen
  16. Drive to Annecy, France (sleep in Annecy)
  17. Annecy
  18. Drive to Chamonix (sleep in Chamonix)
  19. Chamonix
  20. Aosta
  21. Aosta
  22. Aosta/Milan (either spend an extra night in Aosta and travel to Milan to fly out, or spend 1 night in Milan before flying out) - Fly out of Milan

We are considering essentially cutting the trip in half, keeping the first half of the trip and flying out of Innsbruck in the same number of days so that we have more time in each place, but it's also so difficult to take these other sites off the itinerary! Any thoughts/suggestions would be much appreciated!

Thank you!!

Posted by
2548 posts

We went to many of these places during a 3 week road trip last summer. If you are looking to cut , I would cut days 1-7. Fly into Innsbruck or Venice and drive to Ortesei. This would give you a lovely mix of lakes and mountains.

I would add nights in Lauterbrunnen because weather will impact those amazing views you are going for.

Posted by
17456 posts

I will strongly endorse your inclination to cut the trip down by half. There is no benefit I can see to moving around so much—-all these mountains and lakes are beautiful, and there is no point in rushing around to see them all in one trip. spend more time in each place to really enjoy it. It has taken me probably 4 trips to include them all; combining in one trip at most 2 countries, not all 4.

So definitely add time to Malcescine and Ortesei, and consider another location in the Dolomites if you wish, or maybe someplace in the Austrian Alps.

You will likely want to drop the car in Italy before continuing to Austria, as the drop fees for crossing the border can be significant. Bolzano is easy, athen take the train from there to Innsbruck.

If it becomes difficult to find good flights out from Innsbruck you could end in Munich and fly home from there. You could make time for Fussen if that is high on your list.

Then next time fly into Zurich, spend time in Switzerland before moving to Annecy, chamonix and athen Aosta for a flight home from Milan.

Posted by
11 posts

Thank you so much for your responses! What fantastic advice Lola!! It's really helpful to know that dropping a rental car off in another country comes with steep fees; I like your suggestion about dropping it in Bolzano and continuing on train from there. Thank you thank you! You have helped me feel confident cutting the trip down and your suggestions are fantastic!

Posted by
7 posts

Hi,
I've read your itinerary. The area around Chamonix is amazing, the same as Aosta Valley where I live. Around Courmayeur, Cogne, Aosta there are different hikes and the nature & cultural heritage are simply stunning. Doing a hike close to the Mont Blanc is a really nice experience. Chamonix is a little bit more international and bigger than Courmayeur. Understanding Courmayeur and its habitants took me some years but I've found real good friends.
Hanna

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