Comments on my itinerary.....

Hey, Melissa...a lot of exciting places on your itinerary! My only feedback would be this:

1. Slow down and cut some of these stops! As I read your post, you're scheduling, in just a few weeks, the following: Gimmelwald, Cinque Terre, Certaldo, Pisa, San Gimignano, Florence, Civita, Rome Naples, and Pompeii--flying in and out of Zurich. IMO, WAY too ambitious, and no matter how much fast-paced you like to travel, this would be frustrating and exhausting without giving any of these tremendous places a fair look, really.

2. Some of the things you love, i.e. nature, hiking, photography, small towns, unique experiences, music...they take a little patience sometimes, and can depend on weather, too. Another reason to cut back on this plan.

I guess, if I had to rework this for my tastes, I'd save Switzerland for another trip...a lot of time there with the flight in and out of Zurich, but nearly all of your itinerary is Italian. Why not fly into Milan or Genoa, take the train to Cinque Terre, bunk down there for 3 nights or so, see Pisa as a day trip, then spend a few nights in Florence on your way to the Tuscan hill towns, before hitting Rome and Naples. Maybe fly home from Naples, then, to avoid backtracking? Siena is nice as a home base in Tuscany, too. Buon viaggio and good luck!

Melissa, I agree with Gio. I'd eliminate the Switzerland portion of your plans. To get from Zurich to Gimmelwald you'll have to take the train to Interlaken Ost, from there the BOB train to Lauterbrunnen, from there the bus to Stechelberg, and from there the cable car to Gimmelwald. By the time you've done that, given your arrival time in Zurich, you will have no time to explore the Gimmelwald area on that day. Once you're there, you'll want to spend multiple days on the trails, not just a day. So, I'd suggest leaving it for another trip so you can do the Berner Oberland area justice, particularly since you are a fit hiker and will really want to get out and explore. Furthermore, weather in May can be iffy. You might find that on your one day in Gimmelwald the mountains are "socked-in" by clouds or rain, hence no views. It's a real crap-shoot having just one day for perfect weather. Furthermore, going to Gimmelwald strikes me as being really out of synch with your trip in Italy.

Even your Italy trip seems crowded to me. If you like small towns and unique experiences and since you are physically fit and love nature, hiking and photography, have you considered any of the national parks (besides CT). Although you're not into "big/must see" sites, you seem to have a lot of them on your itinerary. Since you're arriving via Zurich, why go all the way south to Naples and Pompeii? (Lots of added travel time!) Why not focus north of Rome, say in Umbria or Tuscany--idyllic countryside and lovely small towns with lots of unique and off-the-beaten-track experiences. You don't want your trip to be so fast-paced you can't sit beside a fountain or stream and play that nifty little Martin guitar you're taking along.

Dwayne's suggestion about even limiting the scope of your Italy trip makes real sense to me, too!

I agree that it would probably be best to save the Switzerland portion for another trip. Also, since you are covering such a broad area north to south, have you considered flying 'open jaw'? It would be much more convenient if you fly into, say, Milan then fly out of Naples. That way you won't have to waste the time you have abroad backtracking on a train. With this, you would have more time for each stop.

You could arrive then train to Cinque Terre and spend a few days there (including a short daytrip to Pisa). Then add a day to Certaldo to give you a chance to visit another small town or two around there (believe me, there are many worth a stop). Then add a day to Rome, which will be worth it, even though it is a "must see, big city" stop. And you can even add a day to Naples.

However, if you're not a fan of the big city stops, might I suggest basing your stay down south in Sorrento? Here, you'll be in a smaller town, while having full and convenient access to the small Amalfi coast towns as well as Naples, Pompeii, Capri, etc. Naples is unique in itself (and worth a peek), but not quite the most pleasant of stays.

Even with this you may have a day or two extra to spend, which you could add to any of these stops. That would even it out well overall.

Hi Melissa,
From your post I,m going to take that you already have roundtrip tickets to Zurich.

I would ask you to look at your Naples stay. Naples is hectic and grueling for most people. If that and maybe even Rome were knocked off, it would make for a more stress free itinerary. Two weeks and a loop from Zurich to Tuscany and Umbria and back would be a nice trip.

Thanks everyone for your responses. I have already booked the flights in/out of zurich months ago because I got a cheap fare of $600 rt, so changing my starting point is impossible. I decided to add a day to gimmelwald by taking a night train on the 15th and arriving to CT early on the 16th. I also eliminated Pisa the side trip. I may add a day to the Umbria region and minus a day from Rome. I actually never backtrack on the trip since I travel all the way back to Zurich on one night train, (leaves Naples at 2000, arrive Zurich next AM). Hopefully it will all work out, and we are flexible so if we end up really like someplace we might just stay there extra. That is why I put my least desirable places at the end....so we can cut them out if need be.