Itinerary Help

Stay in Venice instead. Doing a day trip means you see it at its most crowded and touristy. Venice is so much more appealing at night and in the morning when most of the tourists aren't there.

Verona is beautiful, but can be visited in a few hours, a day at most, and Juliet’s balcony is as fake as a 3 dollar bill. Spend more time in Venice and less in Verona. Your kids will be shocked at the uniqueness of Venice.

Volterra is nice little village, but it’s a bit isolated, hard to reach (very curvy road, which gets old after so many times) and not centrally located to take day trips around. Find a place in or near Siena, and use that as a base. You can take dozens of day trips from Siena area, including Volterra, all within 45-60 min drive each way..

Finally, you are there only 2 weeks, yet you are covering a lot of real estate. Are you sure you don’t want to focus on one country at the time?

Great advice from Roberto. I understand including Muerren and applaud the fact that you have planned 5 nights there. You will love it!

I think you need to drop one location in Italy. You have a long travel day from Muerren to Verona or Venice, and since you like smaller locations, rural locations, you are going to love Tuscany if you stay Ina nice hill town. So consider dropping Rome and adding those nights to Venice and Tuscany.

Like Roberto, I would stay in Venice and day trip to Volterra. There is nowhere on earth like Venice and it needs to be experienced overnight.

In Tuscany, an agriturismo might very well suit you. Stay in the countryside and day trip your hearts out. You can fly home from Florence, perhaps spending one final night I that pretty city, Save Rome for a future trip and make the most of the other 3 locations.

Thanks for the input.

This trip has morphed quite a bit since its inception. But Switzerland, specifically the Jungfrau region, was always a guarantee. I don't have a big desire to see the big cities of Switzerland and I don't know if spending the time to go to another mountainous region makes sense.

Verona seemed like fun mid-sized options for the kids. But everyone is right staying in Venice is a better option. I had thought that accommodations would be difficult/expensive. But AirBnB has many reasonable options. Also, the crowds in late June worry me. But I do think it will be worth it. So Venice is in....with maybe a half day trip to Verona.

In my head our time in Tuscany was focused on one town, spending time hanging out in the piazza, strolling around the village, and slow playing it for a few days. The exact town doesn't really matter that much to me. Volterra seems like the low key place we are looking for (if any Rick Steve's recommended town is still low key in summer). My wife likes the idea of a villa/argriturismo just outside of town, but if we stay outside of town I'd want it to be a place with activities, cooking classes, etc.
I don't know if I can cut out Rome. It is eternally iconic. How can you go to Italy without going to Rome....but how can you only spend two days in Rome....

Think of it as going to northern Italy. That way, omitting Rome doesn't seem odd. Every trip, no matter how long, omits more great places than it includes. It doesn't matter as long as you have a great time.

mike,

My preference would be to leave Rome in the Itinerary at the end of the trip, not only because it has a lot of iconic sites that would be of interest to the kids, but it's also a convenient location for the outbound flight.

I would also suggest skipping Verona, especially at that time of year as that's getting into Opera season and rooms will be in high demand and probably expensive. However there is one attraction in that part of Italy that the kids would probably enjoy - https://www.gardaland.it/ .

I respectfully differ from the others here, and would not suggest adding Venice to the list. In the interest of full disclosure, I'm not as enamored with Venice as many in the group. While it's very unique and deserves at least one visit, seeing the sights there during the daytime with the current overcrowding situation may not be a pleasant experience, especially for the kids.

As you may be aware, for driving in Italy, each driver listed on the rental form must have the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. These are valid for one year, and easily obtained at any CAA/AAA office (two Passport-sized photos required, which may be provided by the issuing office). Failure to produce an IDP if requested can result in fines on the spot! Have a look at https://it.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/local-resources-of-u-s-citizens/transportation-driving/ for more information on I.D.P's and driving in Italy.

You may also want to have a look at some of the other posts here concerning the dreaded Zona Traffico Limitato (limited traffic) areas that are becoming increasingly prevalent in many Italian towns & cities especially Florence, which is almost saturated with automated ZTL cameras. EACH PASS through one of the automated Cameras will result in a €100+ ticket, which you won't know about until several months after you return home! This website provides more information - https://www.italybeyondtheobvious.com/dont-mess-with-ztl-zones .

How many days do you have in total? Keep in mind that you'll lose a day on either end of the trip for flight times. You'll arrive in Europe the day after you arrive and the last day will be spent on the flight home.

If I were arranging this trip, I might try something like this.....

D1 / N0 - Flight to Zürich
D2 / N1 - Arrive Zürich, train to Mürren
D3 / N2 - Mürren & area
D4 / N3 - Mürren & area
D5 / N4 - Mürren & area
D6 / N5 - Mürren & area
D7 / N1 - Train to Florence (it will mean an early start and a long day, but will fit well with the rest of the trip - the kids can sleep on the train - if you leave Lauterbrunnen by 07:00, you can be in Florence by 13:00 and still have a half day for touring).
D8 / N2 - Florence, main sights
D9 / N1 - Rent car, travel to Agriturismo in the Siena area (hopefully the Agriturismo has a pool)
D10 / N2 - Agriturismo, touring
D11 / N3 - Agriturismo, touring
D12 / N1 - Either return car in Siena or drive to location in Rome and return car somewhere outside the ZTL areas - you should still have at least a few hours for touring.
D13 / N2 - Rome, touring
D14 / N3 - Rome, touring
D15 / N - Outbound flight from Rome

There are many ways this could be structured and this is only one suggestion. This saves two travel days. You won't need a full day for travel from Florence to Rome, as the trip is only 90 minutes. While it only allows one night in Florence, you'll have a short time to see a beautiful city. You could also add one night in Florence and decrease one night in the Agriturismo. Florence is a great location to use as a home base and take day trips to Lucca, Siena, Pisa, the Cinque Terre or even Venice.

I'd highly recommend packing along a copy of the RS Italy 2019 guidebook, as it will be an enormous help in planning sightseeing, hotels, transportation, etc.

Good luck with your planning!

Mürren is largely a ski resort. What sightseeing plans do you have for that area? We love Interlakken.

Why stay at Verona at all? It is basically a half day to explore the city.

I know you are going more for small towns, but consider going to Umbria and stay in Perugia. Lots to see from that city as well.

Here's my 2 cents:

Even though Switzerland is a focus of your trip do you really need five nights in Murren. You need to do that much hiking. Since this is a first family trip to Europe and there are things you are having trouble finding enough time for in Italy, perhaps you could shorten the Switzerland part by at least one (maybe two) nights.

I would keep Venice in the plan. It's only going to get worse and if you don't get back for many years you and your kids may be glad to have seen it this trip. Do stay overnight so you can experience it early and late. And get up early. Biggest mistake tourists make is sleeping in (telling themselves that after all this is vacation). Better to get up and out early and then go back to the hotel mid day (when it's hot and really crowded) and take a nap. But two (or three) nights is enough to see it. Don't waste hours waiting in line for anything, the 'best' part is just wandering around. If you want to see if from up high take the vaparetto over to San Giorgio and go up that tower - better views than the campanille in Piazza San Marco and no lines. You can skip the inside of the Doges Palace - it's beautiful but takes too much time on a short visit.

You are going to go right by Verona anyway so if you don't mind one night stays I would stop. It's a beautiful, interesting city and will give you a taste of what a medium sized Italian city is like. You could extend Venice by one night and do a day trip but you'll spend some time backtracking plus the same holds for Verona in that it's best early and late in the day. I did it as a day trip the first time I visited it and liked it enough to go back for several days. I think one overnight would be best for your trip. Find a hotel near the train station to make it easy to arrive and depart.

I think Siena is a wonderful place and it gives you enough of a taste of a Tuscan hill town but you can go there without renting a car. A place in the countryside and visiting smaller hilltowns is great but requires a car and I think that would be the least interesting part of the trip for your kids. Do a two or three night stay in Siena if you want to take a 'day tour' to smaller hill towns.

I agree that keeping Rome at the end is a good idea. So much history plus it's just a fun exciting city and I think it will be memorable for the kids.

Here's my photos of Italy - https://andiamo.zenfolio.com/f739967755

Considering the kids, I would go to Venice. My nieces loved it. Verona really doesn't have much to offer them, and as someone else posted, a fake balcony.
Volterra is great, but you have to stay in the town, up on a hill. Parking is about 300 steps (stairs) downhill. Since you are getting a car in Siena, why not find an agriturismo near there and do day trips.

"Mürren is largely a ski resort."

Sure - in the winter. In the summer, it's a great place to be based to see the Berner Oberland, and offers a cornucopia of walks, hikes, lifts, and other adventures. Some do require going down to Lauterbrunnen and back up the other side to Wengen, but this is easy. The town itself is lovely and small - just what you're looking for - but it's big enough to have a small grocery store, ATM, and a selection of restaurants. I'd recommend renting an apartment, which will cut down greatly on costs.

"We love Interlakken."

That is an unusual reaction. Don't get me wrong - I'm glad you had a good time there. But for me, and most others, Interlaken is more about practicalities; it doesn't inspire "love." It's the place you need to go to change trains, boats, or buses. It has large Migros and Coop stores, which are very useful. (When my day bag tore, I got a cheap, and good, replacement at the Migros in Interlaken). Otherwise, what I remember about Interlaken includes sex shops, casinos, jewelry stores, and lots of large hotels and large tour groups - not the reasons I go to Switzerland. There are also lots of restaurants, including the "Paksitani" restaurant (that's what the sign said, like Punxsutawney Phil from Groundhog Day), and TrulyAsia, whose sign read "Vietnam China Thailand Korea" (I have a picture as a memento; alas, I wasn't up for trying it).

There's lots of discussion here on whether it's better to stay in Lauterbrunnen, Muerren, Gimmelwald, or Wengen - all four have their fans. Interlaken doesn't get the same love. Again, I'm glad you had a good time there.

"How can you go to Italy without going to Rome"
"Think of it as going to northern Italy. "

I was going to say the same thing. My first trip to Italy, I went to Milan, Venice, and Florence, and didn't go to Rome at all. Many were scandalized. But I was interested in other things at the time. I had a great trip, and that trip ignited a desire to go to Rome, which I made the focus of my second Italy trip.

If Rome works with your plans for this trip, great. But if it doesn't, for any reason, you can skip it and see it another time, and see other great places on this trip instead.

Are you driving to Volterra? If you stay in town, it's a nice place to be, although two full days is a lot unless you're really taking it slow. I was there for two nights during the Palio di Cacio (cheese rolling races), and with one evening and a full day managed to see the cheese race and most of the sites int he Volterra Card. I liked it; it's beautiful and the people were kind to my Italian, but it's small. I can't speak to getting into town from an Agriturismo, but I met a couple on the walking tour recommended by RS and by me, and they drove in so it's doable. Being on a hill requires a little more effort but the views are worth it.