Italy/Switzerland March 2015 - advice gladly accepted!

I just hope you realize, March is still the winter sports season on the Alps. If you visit at this time of year, go with a different set of expectations.

Yes, we do. Regrettably, March is her best time, as she will begin working after graduation in May. We live in Wisconsin in the midwest of the USA, and are very familiar with winter's cold weather. Will we encounter overrun hotels and big crowds in the mountains? Shall we book only one night in Lauterbrunnen? Add a night to Venice? That's why I'm planning and booking early, and saved the end of the trip for Switzerland, hoping for better weather.

What a delightful gift!! And it's good you're starting so early in the planning. I can comment a little on Italy; I'll leave it to others to comment on Switzerland.

Your day in Rome MAY be theoretically possible, but it would be really exhausting, with little time anywhere. Ideally it would be nice to have a day for the Vatican and a day for the Forum and Coliseum. However, there are walking tours that will take you through the Vatican in 3 to 4 hours, and through the Forum and Coliseum in another 3 or 4 hours. So if you feel you have the stamina to do that (a huge amount of walking, much of it on uneven surfaces), you could try to put those tours back to back. You would also need to allow time between tours to get through traffic from one part of Rome to another, so you should probably book both walking tours with the same company; they could perhaps arrange a transfer for you. I have used Context Travel many times and have always been pleased with them. You might take a look at their website. The quality of their guides is amazing, and they limit walking tours to six people.

Re Pompeii, since you're not going to have a lot of time to learn transit systems, it might be easiest to arrange a day tour from Rome to Pompeii. I used Dark Rome last fall and they did a nice job. It took a full, 12-hour day. I would've liked more time in Pompeii, but the people I was with wanted to do a tour. The tour we took combined a hike up Mt Vesuvius with a visit to Pompeii (and a lunch stop). If I did it again, I'd skip Vesuvius.

In Venice the distances are shorter, so with a full and very exhausting day you could probably do a quick visit to the places you mentioned -- assuming there won't be huge crowds in March. But you're not going to have time for the "wandering" you mention.

So... above are my thoughts about what's theoretically possible if everything goes perfectly and you both have enough energy and flexibility. I think it would be much more enjoyable trip if you could drop one stop in either Italy or Switzerland. That would make for a less pressured trip, and add the possibility of exploring and wandering. I would add at least one day of that time to Rome, and also add a day to Venice so you can actually experience the city.

Also, plan to lose 1/2 to 3/4 of a day each time you change locations (pack, check out, get to train station, find the right track, get lost somewhere in the process, travel, and repeat activities at the other end of the trip).

Regarding rail tickets in Italy, I don't think you need a pass. If you can set your travel days far enough in advance, you can buy nonrefundable discounted tickets. The Rick Steves guide books are really good at providing the details on this type of logistics.

Enjoy planning this w your granddaughter!

Thank you Sherry and Dick! I thought my plans might be a bit too ambitious! The last I was in Europe was for my daughter's graduation gift. I'm now in my later 60's, in excellent health! I would love to add 4 or 5 days to the visit, but she doesn't want to miss any class time. I'd read about Dark Rome Tours, and thought they sounded excellent. Have you been on their Semi Private Vatican Tour or the Rome in a Day Tour - 8 hours? Or the Extended Colosseum Tour with Underground Chambers? Viator offers a 14 hour Pompeii Amalfi Coast small group tour (limited to 14 guests), but I read this company is a tour re-seller. Is that bad? Can't find a similar Dark Rome Tour.

I thought the Italy pass looked expensive. Thank you Dick for confirming that.

Perhaps we add one more day to Rome, and delete one day in Lauterbrunnen. Or would it be best to base in Lucerne and do a day trip to Junfrau?

Thanks for your help!

Viator is a reseller. My travel companions booked through them for Pompeii, and the tour was done by dark Rome. It might be worth an email to dark Rome to see if they still do that tour.

I've not done any other dark Rome tours because Context has been so reliably great. When I toured the Vatican with Context Rome, I had already been there on three earlier trips. And yet, despite my familiarity with the sites, I learned so much... Six of us visited the museums and St. Peter's with a PhD-level art historian whose specialty is Baroque art. I've never found another walking tour company that has that quality of guides.

And regarding what to keep and what to drop, could your granddaughter help make those decisions?

Enjoy!

Regarding the Swiss portion, although it is the ski season, March 18 and 19 will be past peak time (Feb and early Mar) and midweek, so you will not be competing with the weekend warriors from Bern. You might look at getting rooms in Wengen if the price is right. You really won't know until later this year.
You realize it will take the better part of 7 1/2 hours to get from Venice to Lauterbrunnen, and a bit more to Wengen. If you left around 9 am you would not arrive until 4:30 pm or so. That is going to eat up an entire day. It might be better to have a bit more time there to double your chances of good weather to go to the Jungfrau. So I would plan on leaving around 3 pm on the 20th if the morning gives a good weather window. You'll still have time to do the beautiful train ride to Luzern in the daylight. You can play that one by ear as you don't need train reservation it goes once per hour.

Thanks, Sam! May consider adding one night to Rome, and staying in Lucerne vs Lauterbrunnen, taking a day trip to Jungfrau. Does that work from a time spent traveling standpoint? Really wish we could add a few days. I thought of leaving Venice late the evening of the 17th, but it looks like we'll be transferring trains a couple times and would not be able to sleep.

By the way, was just in Green Bay (I live in WI) for the Day Out With Thomas event at the National Train Museum. Really enjoyed seeing and walking through all the old trains on display.

I would vote for the Matterhorn, it is such an iconic mountain with great history and is visually very impressive.

I am not a train person but a quick search on google maps shows a route from Venice to Zermatt in about 13 hours and Zermatt to Zurich in less than 3.5 hours. A lot of train transfers but feasible!

On our first trip we went to Chamonix-Mont Blanc, Zermatt-The Matterhorn and Lauterbrunnen-The Eiger because eliminating any one was impossible for us. Trip planning is all about building a list of places and events then trimming it down to fit available time and budget - just don't trim out the most important items!

Enjoy the trip!

Venice to Zermatt only takes 7 hours by the most direct trains, similar to the time to Lauterbrunnen. How to Look Up Train Schedules Online gives you the DB train schedule link and tips for using it.

Staying in Muerren or Wengen gets you up closer to the mountains than either Lauterbrunnen or Luzern. I have not been in March.

In Venice, there are a few cheaper hotels are near the train station but that neighborhood is a bit farther from the sightseeing. Some more recommended accommodations are easy to get to by the vaporetto/boat from the train station.

The Hotel or Locanda San Marcuolo is near the station in Venice but more important is only 50 meters from a vaporetto stop (San Marcuolo). Quiet area. Gondola rides are very pricey, but you probably know that already.

I agree that the Vatican Museums, St. Peter's and the Colosseum/Roman Forum is a lot for one day. You might want to tour one of them on your own so you can set your own pace. Don't forget the Galleria Borghese.

What a great graduation gift!

Thank you all for your advice/comments. As my granddaughter has 6 weeks off for winter break, we are now considering a December trip vs. March, so that we may have a few extra days. We are thinking of leaving the US for Rome on 12/29, spending 4 nights in Rome, 2 in Florence, 3 in Venice, 4 or 5 in Switzerland, which would allow us to travel to Murren for 2 nights, ending in Lucerne for 2 nights. I'm glad we were still in the planning stages with no tickets booked. I am a little concerned that we will find cold weather in Venice, but we are hardy midwesterners and much of our Florence and Venice time will be indoors. Having an extra 4 days will make for a more comfortable pace. I've been reading about Dark Rome Tours - overall the reviews are encouraging. Any comments? Suggestions? Would it actually make sense to do a full tour in Rome, Florence and Venice? I did take an Italian/Swiss tour years ago and felt very rushed, missing sights I'd wanted to see.

I had thought about staying near train stations for convenience, but I'm hearing that it would actually be less convenient. Has anyone stayed at Rigi Klum Hotel? The idea of staying in the mountains is especially appealing, and I had read somewhere that there wouldn't be the skiing there that you'll find in other areas, so it is less crowded.

Again, any help is greatly appreciated.

In winter, I'd allow more time in Florence than Venice... It's my impression that Florence offers more indoor options if the weather is wretched.