Feedback and recommendations - Italy & Switzerland- August

Is this for a trip in 3 weeks? Have you looked at where you are going to stay? If it is for 2024 I would see where you can get reservations first.
If for 2025 then maybe ask your family what they would like to do & have them help plan it?

You are flying into Zurich and then heading straight to Italy. You have one day in Switzerland, riding the Bernina Express. And then you plan to take an 8-hour train plus bus ride to the Dolomites to spend only 2 nights there, before heading to the hottest and most crowded places in Italy— Venice, Florence and Cinque Terre. You will spend a lot of time on trains. And have a lot of trouble finding lodging for a family of 4 in these places, especially Cinque Terre and Lake Como.

The route map you have is for driving. Trains do not go from Tirano to Trento to Bolzano like that map shows. You have to go from Tirano to Milan and then east to Verona to get to Bolzano. And that city is not in the Dolomites. It is another hour on a bus to get to a Dolomites village.

The route by train from Milan back to Zurich is different too.

I apologize for being so blunt, but this is not a good plan. It would be much better to just stay in Switzerland, in the Alps and lakes. Maybe include Lake Como if you can find a good place to stay.

At the very least, I would drop CT and Milan and add 4 nights in Berner Oberland, Switzerland. CT because its going to be hot and crowded and Milan because, honestly, its probably the least interesting of other options. I would stay in Luzern not Zurich the night before you go home, unless you have an early morning flight. And if this is a 2024 I would be looking for accommodations right now.

I have booked return flights from Zurich for Aug-6 to Aug-21st.

It has to be for 3 weeks from now.

No way to book flights for Aug 2025 yet.

There are two concerns that I have with this itinerary.
a) Are we missing out on the highlights in switzerland ? Should I trade off Dolomites, Milan and Lake Como for more time in the Swiss Alps
b) Is the above itinerary too many destinations in too little time?

Your concerns are valid, and unfortunately the answer to both your questions is “yes”. Too much moving around to widely-separated destinations which are not the best choices for last-minute planning and August travel. Your Italy time occurs over Ferragosto, the mid-August Italian holiday which is the busiest time, with crowded trains and other issues. Lodging could be very difficult, especially in cinque Terre and nearby beach towns.

How old are your children? What are your goals for this trip? Hiking, sightseeing, museums, art and culture, outdoor adventures, exploring small villages, or mainly escaping the heat? It seems the latter is one reason you chose to fly to Zurich, at least from reading your other thread about Spain and Portugal.

I won’t try to come up with better solutions until we hear back from you about this, as any suggestions I can offer might not match your goals.

Thank you for the responses. Kids are 11 & 15. And the trip is in 2024 (not 25).

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How old are your kids? It's possible your family would enjoy Verona, which would be an easy stop after ending the Bernina Express. Venice will be hugely crowded. If you can skip it, that woud help. From Verona you could go to the Riviera, but I would suggest staying in Sestri Levante or Levanto, not le Cinque Terre Itself. Then go to Lago di Como.
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Would this itinerary be Zurich -- Chur -- Tirano -- Verona -- Riviera -- Como -- Zurich?

How old are your children? What are your goals for this trip? Hiking, sightseeing, museums, art and culture, outdoor adventures, exploring small villages, or mainly escaping the heat? It seems the latter is one reason you chose to fly to Zurich, at least from reading your other thread about Spain and Portugal.

I won’t try to come up with better solutions until we hear back from you about this, as any suggestions I can offer might not match your goals.

Thank you for responding.
My kids are 11 and 15.
Primary goals are Sightseeing, Architecture,Exploring small villages, Exploring local cuisine & some mild day hikes.

Zurich -- Chur -- Tirano -- Verona -- Riviera -- Como -- Zurich?

Having 5 , not the 7 stops your original plan had, is more manageable and , for what my opinion is worth, an improvement.

The challenge is find lodging on such short lead time. Good luck.

You will pass right through several small towns on Lago di Como on your way between Tirano and Verona (you have to get to Milan to catch the train to Verona). You might as well make your Como stop then, as on the way back to Zurich it would mean a detour, unless you wish to stay in the larger and less appealing city of Como at the south end of the lake. through August you will have a bus link between Tirano and Colico before you reach the lakeside towns, so do not be surprised by that. Use Trenitalia.com to view the routes and schedules. town names must be spelled in Italian.

We have read in this forum that lodging in Varenna, the most popular small town, is scarce at this point. Also try Bellano, another lakeside town on the train line just north of Varenna. Or look at Menaggio, directly across the lake from Varenna and connected by a short ferry ride. You can get to Milan for onward travel to Verona by bus from Menaggio to Lugano (a lakeside town in Switzerland) and then a short train ride to Milano Centrale.

It might help to look at a map of the Swiss and northern Italy train lines. Varenna is not on the map but Menaggio is. Milan is just off the map at the bottom.

https://www.travelswitzerland.com/en/download/swiss-travel-system-map-en-2023/?wpdmdl=14294&masterkey=63a023c8da36c

From Verona you might consider heading to Malcescine on Lago di Garda for your beach time, instead of all the way down to the Italian Riviera. Most hotels there can arrange a shuttle to [pick you up at the Verona train station, and return you there after your stay. Or you could ride a ferry down the lake to Desenzano and pick up the train there.

https://www.visitmalcesine.com/en

To return to Switzerland at any point you have to go through Milan again. Unless you want to take the Bernina Express in reverse. but the best option for August travel is the train from Lugano or Locarno in Switzerland over the Gotthard Pass. This is marked as a scenic route on the map I gave you.

I will make one lodging suggestion and that is for Verona. The town is busy in summer due to the opera in the Roman amphitheater, but I found reasonable prices and family rooms for our visit last September at Pepita Lodge, just outside the city walls and a 10-minute walk from the train station.

http://www.pepitalodge.it/en/

Thank you all! These tips are really helpful
So far, I have made some reservations for stay as below(All cancellable until July-24)
* Aug - 6 Night : Lucerne Old town
* Aug 7, 8 Nights : Murren Switzerland Hotel
* We will most likely be taking the Bernina express on Aug-9th.
* Aug 9,Aug 10 Nights- Stay undecided
* Aug-11 , 12 , 13 Nights: Venice. I know that experts on here asked about skipping Venice if possible, but my 4 member family voted me down 3-1 on that.
Aug - 14- Aug 20 : Undecided.

Can you all please chime in on the above schedule?
@Lola : Should I consider Verona for 9,10?
A seaside/Ocean stay is something our family would really like- Is Adriatic something I should look at after checking out from Venice?
Compared to Venice, how would the weather and crowd in Florence be?

Thanks again!!

Stay longer in Lucerne and in the Berner Oberland.
In Lucerne, you have the beautiful boat ride to the cogwheel train to Mt Rigi.
You want out of the summer heat, but you're only in the Alps a few days . No one is ever ready to leave the BO, so I recommend five days in either Murren or Wengen.
Coming off of the Bernina Express, which ends at Tirano , you can catch the regional train to Varenna, Lake Como. Granted reservations may be hard to find at this late date, but it would break up the trip to Venice.
Florence is often very hot, as the heat gets traps in the area.
As far as Venice crowding, there's plenty of charm on the back canals, away from the crowds . We stay in the Cannaregio area, which is peaceful, charming, and quiet. Yet, it is only a ten minute walk to a vaporetto stop on the Grand Canal. Also, there's Row Venice, group rowing lesson on the back canals, about 90 minutes and 100 euros total for your family. They kids should love it, and it's harder than it looks. I love Venice!
And, there are Venice beaches on Lido, altho I've never been there.
Good luck, and I hope you decide on an itinerary - soon- that will give you a wonderful family trip.
Safe travels!

Florence is hotter than Venice, and lacks the cooling breezes that Venice can have. today, Venice will get to 87 degrees, and for the coming week the high temperatures will range 87-92. Florence, to compare, will be 98 today, with daily highs ranging up to 103 over the coming week.

Temperatures in Verona are similar to Venice and yes, it is a nice place to visit. The Roman arena there is in much better shape than the coliseum in Rome, and is in use today for concerts and opera. You can visit on your own during the day or book a guided tour that explains all about the gladiators, etc.

https://www.visitverona.it/en/poi/arena-amphitheatre

https://www.italy-museum.com/venice/guided-tour-verona-arena

For a beach, you could consider spending a night or 2 at the Venice Lido after you visit the city. It is a short vaporetto ride away and the island has a beach 12 km long. The little town there has hotels and restaurants. The beach itself is pretty typical—-flat and sandy, and dotted with sun lounges and umbrellas that you rent for the day.

https://www.visitlido.it/en/experiences/a-venetian-beach-holiday/

It is not the scenic rocky beach with colorful village houses spilling down the hillside like you can find on the Mediterranean coast, but it is a fine beach for swimming.

Or there are others further south on the Adriatic coast.

• Aug 9,Aug 10 Nights- Stay undecided I would extend the stay in Murren, as two nights is too brief.

Aug - 14- Aug 20 : Undecided.
You must return to Zurich for the flight home, right?

From Venice you could take a ferry to Croatia. There is a direct flight to Zurich from Rijeka.
If you prefer to stick to Italy, Senigallia is lovely. There is a direct flight to Zurich from Ancona.

Hello and thank you to everyone who provided inputs. Below are the arrival and departure dates that we have booked.
Arrival Departure
Lucerne 6-Aug-2024 7-Aug-2024 ;
Murren 7-Aug-2024 9-Aug-2024;
Verona 9-Aug-2024 11-Aug-2024;
Venice 11-Aug-2024 14-Aug-2024;

We still have 6 more nights left. Our plan is to split that between Lake Como and Bernese Oberland.
@Lola : Would you recommend travelling to Bellagio from Milan on the way back from Venice(Maybe a night stopover at Milan to recharge). Or is that too much of a hassle?
Murren is pretty expensive, so are there alternate spots that would serve as a base for the second leg of the Bernese Oberland trip?
Or Lucerne be a better location to spend 2 nights?

Thanks again all.