Whats the best way to plan?

I am probably the last person on this forum to figure this out, but I recently discovered that using https://google.it/maps is a way to plug in two Italian towns or cities with dates & times, with a quick result of several options, each with bus route or train route numbers, connection times and connection towns, etc. Very nimble website and very useful for planning options. I cross referenced the info that this website gave me with trenitalia and SITA bus websites, among others, and the google.it info was correct. Good luck with your planning!

Are you familiar with Rome2rio.com? It's really easy to use. You plug in two destinations and it gives you travel options (including time and cost) between the two places. It also shows a map, which I find very helpful. This should help you get started.

Keep in mind that if you rent a car in Italy and drop it off in Switzerland or Austria there may be some expensive drop-off charges. You can do a dummy booking on a car rental site to test this before you get too far in your planning.

I flew in and out of Verona, spending several days in Verona each time.

From Verona you can get a train that goes to Bolzano, Italy on the border with Austria and then change trains to continue into Innsbruck. ( I have also gone to Bolzano via train from Innsbruck on a another trip). From Bolzano, easy to access the Dolomites, which are quite different from the Austrian Alps, small villages in the region great hiking and scenery.
From Innsbruck, great train/bus connections in the region and on to other areas in Austria, such as Bad Ischl, which I loved, Salzburg, Vienna etc.
But back to Verona, which I also loved, took day trips to Mantova, Trento, Bologna, Modena. Venice is also close by train, although not a day trip IMO
I did go to Lake Garda, very close to Verona, but personally did not enjoy it as much as other parts of N.Italy.
Seemed overdeveloped and for me way too many tourists. (Yes, I know I am a tourist, put prefer to avoid the masses if possible).
Did not consider Switzerland, the Austrian Alps were wonderful, and the area around Bad Ischl has good access to the Alps, glaciers, cable cars, etc. Also, according to my research Switzerland is much more expensive than Austria and Italy.
I use google maps a lot, and Rome to Rio, which is an amazing site that shows all the options, train, bus, car, taxi from point to point in a search format. Also displays a map which is great to see how all these options might work out on the ground.

Maybe I can help, as we have been to Switzerland and Italy several times, and most recently ( last month) did one that included the Lago di Como and Venice from Switzerland.

Rome2Rio is a great website for planning routes, but not for costs, as it does not take into account the discounts offered with advance purchase of train tickets. For example, we saved over 50 CHF on our tickets for a ride on the scenic Bernina Express from Pontresina to Italy by buying in advance on the Swiss train website.

You do not say where you are starting or what airlines you like, but you can do a nice loop flying into Zurich and out of Innsbruck with British Airways. From Zurich, head straight to Luzern, only an hour away, and spend two nights. Use the day to take a boat---train---cablecar---boat trip on Rigi, a nearby mountain. Very scenic, with opportunities for walking/hikes at various points.

Then, because you want to get to Italy before too long, I suggest you take the highly scenic Bernina Express train route from Chur to the Italian border at Tirano. This means skipping other areas of Switzerland such as the Berner Oberland, which some will consider heresy but I do not. I made four trips to Switzerland, all with lots of time in the BO, and never got to ride the Bernina Express until this last trip. I wish I had done it sooner as it was really spectacular.

I highly recommend the place we stayed along the way, in the small town of Samedan ( instead of pricy St. Moritz or Pontresina). From Luzern you would arrive in time to take a nice afternoon hike. The next day, board the train heading south to Pontresina (8 minutes away) and change there for Tirano. This can be any regional train; it need not be the dedicated Bernina Express train. At Tirano you change to an Italian train and ride 1.5 hours to Varenna, a lovely small village on the shores of Lake Como. Spend two nights.

The ride from Varenna to Milan is one hour; change there for the fast Frecciarossa or Intercity train to Venice. Book early on Trenitalia to get tickets as low as €19 and make sure the destination is Venezia Santa Lucia ( Venezia S.L.), not Venezia Mestre.

Spend at least three nights in Venice---our favorite place in the world ( we have spent a full month there and never tire of the place). You might consider an apartment so you can shop at Rialto Market an "live like a local."

I suggest you rent a car when leaving Venice and explore the Veneto for a few days, ending at Bolzano where you can drop the car ( should be no drop charge as you are still in Italy). The train will take you to Innsbruck in a couple of hours. This should leave you 2-3 days for Austria----not enough, but better than no time at all.

Thank you for the quick replies. Airport and flights haven't been purchased yet. Looking into getting the route planned and go from there. Prices will be a factor too.

We spent 10 weeks in Italy while my husband was working. When we had a week to travel, we went to Germany, Austria and Switzerland (by car). Our favorite spot, thanks to Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door, was Hallstatt, Austria. It is an hour drive from Salzburg. I would spend a day in each. We went to Luzern and stayed long enough for a hike into the Alps, but not too long, because it is unbelievably expensive. Milan to Lake Como to Venice is all easy by train. Depending on where you get flights to, you can do a circle Milan-Lake Como-Venice-Austria-Switzerland. I would recommend train in Italy and car from Venice up to Austria and Switzerland, but you may not need a car, if you get enough info on train routes.

I would echo Charlene's post upthread and begin with the Rome2Rio site, chiefly to get a sense of logistics and what would work from a time standpoint. Then use Trenitalia for Italian rail travel or the Swiss rail site (http://www.sbb.ch/en/home.html) to get an idea of routes & rates. On either, you won't be able to book until March or April for July, but if you have a set plan you can save a lot of money by booking early, especially with SBB, which I used for all French & Swiss rail travel, and I assume it would also work for Austria.

Everyone has been quite helpful. After playing around with Rome2rio (which is a great site) I am thinking of maybe cutting out Switzerland and spending more time in Austria. Even though we have two weeks, don't want to try and fit in too much.

If you are older than 61 you can get a discount card from Austrian rail. Covers all the trains and the buses that are managed by Austrian Rail. At least 40% discount. You can order from the Austrian rail site and it will be mailed to you in the US.
Do not have to be an EU citizen. You may be asked to show an ID with your age, but I was never asked.
Saved me lots of money when I was traveling in Austria. Cost is 29 Eu but since I traveled only by bus or train, it was a good value.

VORTEILSCARD Senior

Ok, so Switzerland is out. I am wondering if we are better off with skipping the Lake Como area? It looks so pretty, but, wee would have to fly into MIlan and take the train up then back track through Milan over to Venice. Wondering if it is smarter to fly into MIlan and stay in Verona for a few nights and day trip from there. There are places to see from there with in a 45 minute train ride. Then head over to Venice for a few nights then on to Austria.

I think your last post is a good plan.

I posted this on the General Europe board as well but wanted too add here since this is where I started.

Our original plan did have us going to the Lake Region, but wasn't sure if it would eat up too much. Not sure if that was a good idea...or do we not do Munich and add a night at the beginning and see the lakes. Still playing around with the end of the trip and Here is the rough draft. Side/day trips are just ideas and know we won't do them them all. Flights aren't booked yet so the price and availability will come into play.

7/1 NY to Milan
7/2 Milan to Verona by train
7/3 Verona - day trips maybe to Mantua or Trento
7/4 Verona
7/5 Train to Venice
7/6 Venice
7/7 Venice
7/8 Early train Venice to Innsbruck, Austria - get there and see Innsbruck a bit. We would also like to visit Mittenwald/Garmisch Germany from there and maybe Bad Tolz as well. Maybe visit Brixen and Sterzing?
7/9 Innsbruck
7/10 Innsbruck
7/11 Train Innsbruck to Salzburg - while there we want to visit Haalstatt, Bad Iscl
7/12 Salzburg
7/13 Salzburg
7/14 Train maybe to Munich...not sure and stay two nights or maybe add another night onto another city and stay one night in Munich. We could also skip Munich and fly out of Austria if the prices are better
7/15 Munich
7/16 Fly home