Switzerland, France and Italy - 18 days

I recommend all 28 days in Switzerland or take away 14 days from Switzerland and add them to Northern Italy- Milan, Italian Lakes and Venice.Or Milan, Piedmont, and Liguria.

Hi Suki, it is 18 days and not 28….how I wish ☺️

Switzerland, France, and Italy are all next to each other. The Netherlands is farther north. So just on that basis I'd suggest the first combination. Here you'll find a lot of good information on how to plan a trip and itinerary. Here you'll find more information about each country you're interested in. I also suggest checking some guidebooks out of your local library to see what interests you in these countries. I like Lonely Planet as well as the Rick Steves guides.

This forum is most helpful in dealing with specific questions or choices you may have. It will be important to let people know what time of year you want to travel, and whether you want to drive, stick to public transportation, or combine them.

I think two countries will keep you really busy, and suggest Switzerland and Italy. Of course, you could spend the entire trip in Switzerland.
Is your trip 18 nights on the ground? What time of year?
Once you review a few travel guides, and perhaps look at the suggested itineraries in RS' books, you can decide what areas in each country hold your interest. Then, come on back here with more specific regional questions.
Have fun planning!

All three countries are special:
1) Switzerland is more of the most scenic countries in the world. Also, it is one of the cleanest. However, it is about 50% more expensive than the surrounding countries of Germany, Austria, France and Italy. I recommend Interlakken as a great base. Lucerne is worth a visit. Lots to see in that country.
2) Italy is loaded with history (ancient, medieval, Renaissance and modern), also tons of art and scenic places as well. The big three of Rome, Florence and Venice deserve about 12-14 days alone. There are many other great places in Italy, but his is your first trip.
3) You immediately think of Paris, but we love Normandy, Alsace (near Germany), Provence (SW) and the French Riveria as well as the Loire Valley.

Suggest that you only do TWO countries. You need five or six days each for Paris and Rome.
You probably should take the train, don't try to rent a car if you aren't use to driving in Europe, especially Italy.

There are some MUST see museums, I include the Vatican museum and Sistine Chapel at the top. Also, in Florence Academia (David) and the Uffizi. Do a gondola ride in Venice.

One website that will help you is “Rome to Rio” which will give you some ideas of transportation options (train, bus, car) from point a to point b, amount of time to travel from point to point and cost. You will still need to check train and bus schedules of the different transportation companies to make a final plan and perhaps get reservations. I would suggest getting some good guide books such as RS Europe Through the Back Door and RS guidebooks for the individual countries. His books are very helpful in terms of basic guidance on “getting there and away” from each location and much more. They are my main go to for information. My suggestion is to concentrate on two countries rather than three otherwise you will be spending a lot of time getting from point a to point b and the trip will be a blur. Europe looks small on a map but it still takes time to get from place to place. Count each travel day as a day lost. Five different locations equals five lost days. You need to prioritize what is important for you to see.

Thanks Dick. We plan on leaving around the 9th of September and was thinking of driving but after reading some blogs I am now confused as to whether I should use trains or combine both? Suggestions from experienced travellers like you and others would be nice.

Europe is well connected by public transportation. Unless you are exploring the countryside, you don’t need a car. My preference is the train.

Netherlands and Switzerland are an quick flight connection. Amsterdam, Geneva, and Zurich all have very close-in airports and frequent local trains into the cities and other, smaller towns. See www.skyscanner.com for intro-European flights.

Avoid backtracking by flying into one city and home from another on a “multi-city” transatlantic ticket.

If you want to touch France but not necessarily Paris, then consider that you can get to the Chamonix side of the Alps with a couple of scenic train connections. See also https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/switzerland-rail-passes for an overview of Swiss train routes.

I suggest you decide which airports you want to use and then plan the trip based on that. For example, fly to Zurich, train to Lucerne for 3-4 nights. Take the train to the Iterlaken and spend 3-4 days in the high mountains (Wengen or Murren would be my choices). From there you could go to Italy (Cuomo and then end in Milan) or Paris. Milan and Paris both have frequent flights back to the US and Canada.

Switzerland is almost unbelievably expensive so beware of that. I'd be tempted to spend most of the time in France and Italy -- which seem livelier to me, lovely as Switzerland is -- and a short visit to somewhere like Zurich or Lucerne.

Thanks geovagriffith. I did some reading and you are right we probably won't need a car but I am just thinking in terms of convenience. With car we can stop whenever and wherever we want and enjoy the view in Switzerland.
But in Italy that is questionable. thanks for the info and suggestion, will do some more reading and will come back to you before finalising.

Thanks Mary. I am looking into the transportation part, your input is very informative in terms of transportation and number of days

seems, when looking at a map of Switzerland, the distance between locations is deceiving. So what looks like a short drive actually takes a long time, because of the mountains. Trains are frequent and you can get just about anywhere by train. And in many of the most scenic places (Zermatt, Mürren, e.g.) cars are not allowed in. You have to factor in fuel and parking costs if you want to drive. And stress on the driver. Have yourself a relaxing trip and use the excellent rail system there.

Thanks Stan. You have a point….I think train makes more sense. Thanks so much.

I am planning a trip in 2022 that is a loop through the Italian lakes, Switzerland, Alsace region in France, then back to the Dolomites, Venice, returning to Milan. We plan to drive, but car rental prices are insane (2-3 times normal) right now. If you rent a car, you want to pick it up and drop it off on the same country to avoid one-way charges of up to $1,000. This is why we are doing a loop (over 3 weeks).

For your trip, you could fly into Venice for a couple nights, then train to Lake Como for a few (2-3) nights. Take the scenic train Bernina Express from Italy to Switzerland, stay one night before continuing to the Berner Oberland region of Switzerland for 5+ nights. Then train to Colmar or Strasbourg for 3-4 nights. From Strasbourg you can take a bus directly to Frankfurt airport and fly home.

I agree with the others that the big cities deserve 5 nights, so you probably don’t have time to add Paris or Rome.

i have changed the trip slightly.

Now from Canada, it is Switzerland, Italy and Greece. Flying into Switzerland, here take a train to Italy and then fly to Greece and back to Canada.

5 days in Switzerland
8 days in Italy &
5 days in Greece

is this doable?

It depends on what you want to do and see in each country, but I think 5 days in Greece is very, very short. There are some transportation challenges in Greece. Most islands require either a ferry or a flight. There aren't a lot of fast trains on the mainland; some popular tourist destinations require use of buses. Ferries, flights and buses tend to take longer than fast trains. You may end up with not a lot of feet-on-the-ground time if you go to Greece for just a few days.

Where are you thinking of going in Greece? If you're returning to Canada from Greece, you'll want to spend your last night in Athens. Have you found a non-stop flight from wherever you'll end up in Italy to your first stop in Greece? If you have to change planes somewhere, that may significantly increase the cost and time required to make the Italy-Greece connection.

Wait what … Switzerland, Italy AND Greece... that's crazy. Drop the third country. 18 days split between Switzerland & Italy makes some sense but I've spent 18 days just in Italy.

Thanks Acraven,

I didn’t realise that. Will check again and will get back to you for your review. Thanks