Car or Train? : Italy/Switzerland, August 13-23, 2015

I'd have to spend some time looking at the costs in detail, but suspect that well planned rail trips might be the most economical method, especially with advance purchase discounted tickets. A few points to keep in mind......

• If your house in the Cinque Terre has parking, that would be a benefit. If not, you'll have to pay for parking which will add to the cost.
• If you're planning to hike the Sentiero Azzuro trails in the Cinque Terre, note that only two of the four segments are currently open. There's an extensive network of other trails there, but many go further up in the hills so they're a more "robust" hiking experience.
• Don't forget the compulsory International Driver's Permits for each driver. You'll also have to be vigilant to avoid the dreaded ZTL (limited traffic) areas which are increasingly common in many Italian towns.
• There are also some potentially expensive "caveats" to be aware of when using trains and other public transit in Italy, which you may have encountered on previous trips.

Those train tickets are all pretty cheap and add up to about $150 per person, based on Rick’s Train Travel Time & cost Map, which gives you an overview of faster train travel times in hours, plus regular (full-price) 2nd-class fares. Florence-Lugano is the leg where you could best cut costs with advance ticket purchase (saving maybe $50 per person by booking 3 months ahead).

Car rental and associated costs is not likely to be cheaper. See some cost estimates at http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/car-rental-costs.

As you have just 4 sectors and the distances are not that great I would just purchase walk up train tickets for all journeys, except Florence to Milan before Lugano (on Aug 18 ??). Most of the trains you need will be cheaper regional trains.

I get a cost for rail tickets of 460 euro, assuming you rent a car in Pisa and turn it in in Florence. That would be with an IC train from Milano central to Monterosso and IC train to Pisa, Base Fare. Economy Fare to Milano from Florence, Base Fare to Lugano and return for 3 to Milano. Included is the Malpensa Express train between the airport and Milan.

Fuel, tolls, and vignette if you rent a car at Malpensa and hang on to it for the remainder trip of about 200 euro. So I guess if you can get a car for 250 euros or so for 11 days, its about a wash. Remember, you'll need a big vehicle to carry 4 people, both your luggage plus your daughter's extra luggage. Might be a bit of a pain in Cinque Terre, as I am not familiar with the car parking situation there, and you did not say exactly where you were staying. Don't leave anything in the car for long term parking.
About going to Luzerne for a day. Standard price would be 120 chf per person round trip. You can get a Supersaver fare by buying inside of 30 days of your travel day. That would be a 50% discount, but they would be nonrefundable and train specific. If you hang on to the car, figure 50 chf for fuel, you will already have a vignette (don't for get to buy one for 40 chf when you cross into Switzerland).
Finally, do not get rail passes.

We are staying at DFDEP2 Vernazza, Liguria 19018, Italy (Casa con vista mozzafiato) that we confirmed on airbnb Friday, August 14-Monday, August 17. There is parking at our apartment.

We are staying at Loc. San Michele, 15, Incisa, Florence, Tuscany 50064, Italy Monday, August 17- Wednesday, August 19.

We're now thinking we'll rent a car at Malpensa and drive it to Vernazza and then on to Florence (Incisa) via Pisa. We will return the car to Malpensa on Wednesday, August 19 and will take the bus from the airport to Lugano. Our daughter is much more savvy with Swiss travel and assures us that we can use buses and trains to get around. Pointers on renting in Malpensa and driving around Cinque Terre (hopefully hiking most days) and on to Pisa and Tuscany? Side trips? Must-sees?

We will most likely take a train from Lugano to Lucerne on Friday, August 21, there and back on the same day. If we do purchase discount tickets in advance, do we need to specify the departure and arrival times to and from?

If you are planning on getting a car, definitely book asap. We rented a car in Rome (Termini) and returned at Malpensa - it was very easy. I rented a car that was about two sizes up from the smallest available and it barely fit our family of 4 and our 4 small carrying bags. We had to have one bag in between the kids in the back seat as it did not fit in the trunk. There are. Not many large cars available for rent, thus my advice to book one soon.

We did find taxis for a family of 4 with bags to be convenient and generally a good value. We got a cab from the airport rental car drop off In Florence into our hotel in town for 18 euros. I had expected that to be higher so was pleasantly surprised.