Crazy itineraries

Sasha, I have noticed a lot of these itineraries, too. I cannot help but think these plans are conceived out of Instagram posts and shallow travel articles in publications online and in periodicals. Color that with lack of experience with public transportation and places that are not car friendly coupled with limited vacation time and a belief that this is their only chance as they are unlikely to return to the region/country. And then there are the tour companies that have two-nights-here-and-two-nights-there itineraries that inspire moving fast which, one one’s own, are not as easy to do.

Yes, many Swiss trips look like a collection of “doing” the mountain activities like Trotti bikes and ziplines. While it is not my cuppa, the Swiss have built these playground activities and as we know, if you build it they will come.

I always feel bad when I see a post using words like “desperate” or “overwhelmed”—-usually because they are trying to include too many stops and activities, or they have such a limited budget they simply cannot do as much as they wanted. And I am dismayed when I see itineraries that have people traveling from Cinque Terre to Wengen in a single day. Did they not check the travel times before booking their hotels?

Like Laurel, I believe this is in large part a result of all the Instagram photos and blogs of these wonderful places. But I also think the RS tours, videos, and guidebooks are partly responsible, especially for whetting the appetite for certain places—-the Berner Oberland and Cinque Terre. Though I notice that none of his suggested itineraries puts Swiss Alps and Cinque Terre in the same trip, so I have to wonder where that came from.

Seems lots of folks lately are booking last minute flights and then trying to plan, unaware of the difficulty of securing last minute lodging, in addition to unrealistic itineraries. That would overwhelm me!