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First trip to Europe...Alps, Italy, etc.

Posted by on

My wife and I and our twin sons (who are graduating high school in June) are planning our first trip to Europe end of June and into July. The plan at this point looks something like:

  1. fly into Geneva for a quick night's sleep
  2. train to Zermatt, Switzerland and spend 2 or 3 nights there
  3. train from Zermatt to Lake Como and spend probably 3 nights at Lake Como
  4. train from Lake Como to Florence and spend 2 or 3 nights in Florence
  5. train from Florence to Rome and spend 3 or 4 nights in Rome

After that is where we could use a little guidance and some recommendations. Our sons will be leaving from Rome and meeting up with friends to spend another 10-12 days exploring Sweden and Finland. My wife and I want to extend our trip for 3 to 5 days. Possibly somewhere along the Almafi Coast, possibly a place not as packed with people during July (from what I have read on various blogs) like Sperlonga (about half way from Rome to Naples). Or, we might consider also flying out of Rome and heading to somewhere else in Western or Northern Europe for those 3 to 5 additional days.

So, any suggestions on how best to spend those few additional days as a couple, to finish our first trip to Europe before heading back to the U.S., would be appreciated.

Posted by
20085 posts

Lake Como has the name, but Lake Maggiore is just as nice and it is right on your way if you stop at Stresa.

Where are you flying home to?

Don't take a quick night's sleep in Geneva when you get off the plane. The train station is right at the airport and you can be on your way as soon as you walk out the green door with your luggage.

PS Don't fly to Geneva unless it is a cheaper or more direct from you home city. Otherwise, Zurich airport is slightly less travel time to Zermatt.

Posted by
11315 posts

In all of these locations you will benefit from spending the maximum number of nights you can allocate, i.e., 3 in Zermatt, 3 in Florence, 4 in Rome are the minimums I would say for staying in each place. Especially in an iconic mountain location, you'll want max days (3 nights = 2 full days) as the weather is fickle in the mountains and you'd hate to have your ONE DAY be overcast with no views.

Rome and Florence are both complex places with lots to do and in the heat you will need to pace yourselves.

Seaside locations will be packed in July. In fact, Europe will be packed in July, so you might as well select a place you want to see and enjoy it. We did find early July in the Tuscan countryside was rather quiet. Maybe 4-5 nights at an agriturismo woudl suit you.

Posted by
2 posts

Thank you Sam. We will also check out Lake Maggiore as you suggested. Flying from LAX, so Norwegian into Geneva offered the lowest rates for their "Premium" (not quite business class) seats, and I don't think they flew LAX to Zurich. The quick night in Geneva was based on our arrival into Geneva (around 8 pm) in the evening, figuring we wouldn't want to then grab the train to Zermatt to arrive well late into the evening. Thought we could get an early train the next morning from Geneva to Zermatt and have that full first day in Zermatt to enjoy.

And Laurel..thank you for your comments, also. I love the agriturismo suggestion and will look into that. That could be a different way to enjoy a few quiet days.

Posted by
20085 posts

Yes, then GVA is a good choice. And yes, take a night's rest in Geneva. You can't get to Zermatt that late even if you wanted.

I see there are direct flights on Norwegian to LAX from Rome, Milan, Madrid, Barcelona, Paris. So any of these would work as a departure point home. If Madrid, Barcelona or Paris, you can get there from Rome on discount airlines like Easyjet or Vueling.

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