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Italy, Switzerland, and MAYBE Austria? - 24 full days - Itinerary Help

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Hi all,

My partner and I are flying into and out of Rome May 5th-May 30th. A few concerns: a) In law's decided to join us for the first 10 days of the trip, so we must try to fit as much of Italy into those days as possible. We are thinking: Rome May 5th-9th, Florence 9th-12th, and Venice 12th-15th before we depart ways and they head back to Rome. It's a quick trip, I know, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do when family's coming along. (We're planning to come back and visit Cinque Terre and spend some more time in Tuscany/Rome on our way back as we fly out of Rome on May 30th.) b) As we draft our itinerary, we intended to head to Salzburg from Venice on May 15th, and spend three days in Salzburg/Hallstatt areas (by way of Innsbruck, Kitzbuhel, Zel Am See) as we head west to Switzerland.

We're concerned that maybe we ought to just skip Austria all together and do it a different trip (maybe when we come back to see Germany) since we will be spending about a week in Switzerland before we head back to Italy, but my husband seems to be set on visiting Austria, and part of me would fear regretting not seeing it. (Husband has never been to Europe). If we decide to skip Austria, we will head straight to Lucerne (probably) from Venice, which would also give us more time in Italy on the way back to Rome. Hope that all makes sense!

I feel like as I type, I'm answering my own question (probably forego Austria), but I'd appreciate any push in one direction or another! What do y'all think? I'm open to any suggestions and answering any questions!

Thank you!

Posted by
7283 posts

I would recommend that both your in-laws and you fly a multi-city flight instead of round-trip. No reason to have them go all of the way back to Rome to fly home. And your trip would go much smoother if you flew home from Vienna instead of going all of the way back to Italy.

Your husband and you should sit down and decide if you want (& are able) to return in a few years. If so, then definitely chop the four countries into two - Italy & Switzerland this time and on a different trip Germany & Austria. Each of those itineraries could easily be 24 days each, and you wouldn’t spend so much valuable vacation time in the trains or a car.

Posted by
4 posts

Thank you! We’re definitely planning to return since we are in our early 20s and have lots of time (hopefully) to travel. Unfortunately we’ve already booked our flights as we scored a great deal in and out of Rome.

Posted by
4573 posts

As suggested; pick 2. Switzerland is also accessible from Germany (but Austria is easier to get to from there).
Are either of you interested in specialty trains? The reason I ask is that you might not know about the Bernina Express train. It crosses the Alps from Italy to Switzerland and could be an interesting/scenic way to do an Italy/Switzerland combo. The down side means getting to Milan to board the train.

Here is info about it from the Europe train guru 'man in seat 61'. https://www.seat61.com/BerninaExpress.htm
There is train connection to Lucerne from Chur (the termination point for the Bernina Express).

Posted by
7283 posts

You might also want to look at some photos of the Italian Dolomites, especially the town of Ortesei. You could enjoy a mountainous region without leaving Italy. We’ve stayed in the Dolomites twice, and really enjoyed that area - beautiful and so quaint! It was part of Austria at one point, so there’s dual language signs, etc. Maybe your hubby would enjoy that feel of Austria. : )

You could head there after Venice and stay for several days, then come back down to the Cinque Terre (maybe a couple of days at Lake Como, first?), and then time to enjoy the Tuscany region and ending up at Rome. That would be a full trip and a lot less time on trains/cars.

Posted by
17 posts

So you've got 15 days once you LEAVE Venice? Plenty of time to add Salzburg to your list (and well worth it, I think!). You didn't mention how you were getting around (train or rental car). All of the below can be done via trains, but we found it to be twice as quick and much less expensive to drive. Plus, you get to go on your own schedule, the driving is easy, and the scenery amazing. Plus plus, if you see something interesting (Rheinfels Castle, Linderhof Palace) or a small country (Liechtenstein), you can pull over and check it out!

We did a similar (but backwards) trip last year, and you could do something like this very easily:

3 nights Salzburg (4 1/2 hr drive from Venice - pick up rental in Venice)
2 nights Fussen (3 hr drive from Salzburg)
1 night in Ampass (next to Innsbruck - 2 1/2 hour drive from Fussen)
2 nights in Lucerne (3 1/2 hr drive from Innsbruck)
2 nights in Milan (3 hr drive from Lucerne)
3 nights in Cinque Terra ( 3 hr drive from Milan)
1 night in Bologna (3 1/2 hrs from Cinque) - drop off car
1 night in Rome (arrive via train (2 hrs).

Or you could drop off the car in Milan, train to CT, and then train to Rome and spend 2 nights there.

Anyway you do it, 24 days is AWESOME! Best of luck with your research.

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