Please sign in to post.

Northern Italy/Switzerland itinerary, 2+ weeks feedback appreciated!

Me and my wife are planning a twoish week trip, mainly looking to hike in the Dolomites/Swiss alps but also want some downtime at Lake Como. Not really looking to explore the cities too much. All feedback is welcome! We think we are on the borderline of having too many stops but open to everyone's thoughts.

July 20th: Land in Venice around 10am, drop bags off at hotel, explore Venice/catch up on jetlag

July 21st: Explore Venice

July 22nd: Rent a car and drive to dolomites. Either stay in Cortina/ortisei 2-3 nights each or just stay somewhere in the middle for 5 nights

July 23rd: Dolomites

July 24th: Dolomites

July 25th: Dolomites

July 26th: Dolomites

July 27th: Either drive back to Venice then take train to Lake Como OR just drive to Lake Como?

July 28th: Lake Como

July 29th: Lake Como

July 30th: Train to Lugano → Lucerne (Gotthard express scenic). Stay in Lucerne one night

July 31st: Train Lucerne → Interlaken. Stay in Bernese Oberland spot (likely Grindelwald)

August 1st: Grindewald

August 2nd: Grindewald

August 3rd: Train Interlaken → Geneva. Stay in Geneva.

August 4th: Geneva to Annecy day trip. Stay in Geneva.

August 5th: Fly home from Geneva

Posted by
23235 posts

Hertz has a rental location at Como S. Giovanni station, so if you rent from them, you could hang on to the car to Lake Como. You would be more flexible with a car as you could stay in Menaggio. I'd steer clear of Varenna these day because it looks like it is turning into one of those over run places due to its easy train access. From Como S. Giovanni there are frequent trains to Lugano to pick up the Gotthard Panorama Express.

You could also shortcut the drive from Ortisei to Menaggio by driving over the Passo Tonale.

Rather than stay in Geneva, consider 2 nights in Montreux or Vevey. Direct frequent 1 hour trains directly to Geneva airport