Munich, Tuscany, and Lucerne--too much?

Having been to Lucerne, I can understand the desire to visit it. Also, my ancestors are from Salzburg and want to visit there some day.

Frankly, there's so much to do in Germany and Austria I don't understand trying to pack in one trip what most folks do in at least two. To me it would make more sense to do Germany or Tuscany, but not both.

I think your husband and yourself need to do a detailed comparison of travel by train and by plane. For instance, instead of going to Lucerne, check to see how long it would take to fly from Munich to Florence and back.

I see a lot of time being eaten up getting from one place to another. For instance, it will take as long to get from Florence (southern Tuscany even longer) to Lucerne as it took me to fly from Atlanta to Los Angeles on my business trip two weeks ago. Those 6 hours seemed interminable. When you do arrive, you will probably be tired from traveling. Essentially getting from Italy to Lucerne and from Lucerne to Munich will eat up an entire day of time that could be spent in Florence, which is getting shortchanged in your current plan.

I think your plan is doable IF you have checked for and then booked the trains you want. There might not be 'night' trains available for all your itinerary. If so, go for it, but plan a cushion of time so you don't miss your trains. Then book your accommodations immediately. Summer is very busy tourist season; hotels/B&Bs/rooms sell out.
If that doesn't work, since you really want to see Lucerne, you could just do Munich, Salzburg, and Lucerne, and spend more time in each city. But again, book immediately.

Save Switzerland for another trip. Assume you will go again! It would be better to spend more time in Munich and even make a Salzburg a two or three night stop. (We wished we had had more time there when we only spent two nights. A day trip is not sufficient, IMO.)

Dropping Italy is a thought I had as well, maybe making Switzerland a bigger part of your plans. Just depends on your interests.

You will have some long transfer times anyway but by going only to Munich, Salzburg, and Florence/Tuscany you can easily fly to Munich the day before your flight out.

Bottom line: it seems too rushed to me with a LOT of time in transit so something’s gotta give. Plot out transportation alternatives on www.Rome2Rio.com.

I think your husband is correct. It is fast, but doable. Is it what I would do? No, not necessarily. But we all travel in different ways. Some of us love nothing better than to spend a week or more in one place before we move on. Others, especially on their first few trips, would rather have a sampling of several different places, and go back later for deep dives into individual places.

The one concern I have is the amount of time being eaten up on your longer travel days. You could save quite a bit of time if you flew from Munich to Florence instead of a long (likely sleep deprived) night on a train. And whatever the closest Tuscan airport is to Zurich (then train to Lucerne). And finally, flying back to Munich from Zurich. I love European trains as much as the next person. But for longer trips, I'll at least look at the possibility of flying.

Thanks so much for your thoughtful replies, everyone. I think, as you guys have indicated, that it's doable...just not necessarily the recipe for a good trip. We don't want to feel rushed, but we also want to see all I can while I'm there. That said, it makes the most sense to forego the Lucerne portion and save it for the next time. As much as I'd love to go, Tuscany is more of a priority for us, and probably more wallet friendly, too.

6 of the 14 days include getting from point a to b with the associated pack/unpack, get to the train station or drive in your car and figuring out where you are going. My travel style is to never count the travel day for that city Even if at night (and don''t know if that service is available) transit can be fatiguing. I would recommend just Munich, Florence, and Tuscany. Save Lucerne and Switzerland for another trip. You can spend two weeks just kicking around Switzerland!
My recommendation for Southern Tuscany is Montepulciano. We have stayed there multiple times and never get tired of the city. Always finding new spots in town and nearby. Lots of opportunities for day trips. We usually stay outside of the city at Villa Poggiano. Wonderful place with such a gracious owner. Mid August can be hot (first time in Italy was around that time and it was over 100 in Tuscany! vowed never again in the summer) so make certain that you acclamations have a/c. Not all do.

Enjoy your time. Follow the motto "less is more"!

True about “wallet friendly.” Switzerland is very expensive.

Wow, John! I didn't even consider that Tuscany would be nearly 100 degrees in August.

I think, at this point, we're considering completely refocusing our trip. Where, we're not sure. We are committed to a round trip Munich flight, so I'll do some more thorough research and see where that leads us.

Everyone's input is much appreciated--you guys have saved us from a potential disaster :).

Perhaps you can refocus on Munich, Salzburg, and the Dolomites in Italy where it will be cooler if you stay up in the Val Gardena, Alta Badia, or even the Sesto Dolomites nearer the Austrian border.

"Saved us from a potential disaster" ... as long as you get there, whatever you do will be GREAT! Maybe there are things that could be tweaked, but you will have wonderful memories, even (especially ?) "errors" that turn into funny stories.