HELP! Lake Como to Switzerland and only have 7 Days

To start, omit Geneva and Liechtenstein. They are not the highlights nor the mountains. Unless you're flying home from Geneva. Or do you have to get back to Milan? This makes a difference to choosing a logical route.

From Varenna, you can take the local train north to Tirano, where you meet up with the route of the Bernina Express. This corner may not be so convenient on a future trip, so I'd choose it this time. Might as well spend a night or two around St. Moritz, especially if you want to hike. Then you might need to choose just one more area - either taking the Glacier Express route to Zermatt or heading to the Lauterbrunnen area on regular train connections. Or Luzern requires less transport time than either of those, if time is getting short.

If you have Rick's Switzerland book, see p. 406 for a map with driving times. These may be loosely equated to train travel times. Each chapter also summarizes train service to the next destinations. Then see actual train schedules through the Deutsche Bahn link at Looking Up Train Schedules and Routes Online or through SBB.ch.

You'll probably want some variation of the Swiss Travel Pass, such as 8 consecutive days for $400 per person. There are cheaper options for 3 or 4 travel days but not for 5 or 6. You don't need the pass to cover Italy, since trains from Milan to the border cost only about $20 per person (and the Malpensa Express train does not accept passes).

P.S. Pass options could always change in 2018, so you can check those later. Plan the itinerary first.

Stand by for a flurry of posts that will suggest that you:

1. just spend all of your time in Italy (or Switzerland). A Sunday arrival to a Saturday departure is only 6 nights on the ground. 1st day or so you will be fighting jet lag. Also if you have a round trip flight via Milan the backtracking will cost you more of your limited time.

A multi city / open jaws flight into Milan and out of Geneva might be in order.

1. Cut back to just one sight in Switzerland. (Previous reports on this forum say that April / May is not the best time to visit the Alps as it is between the winter and summer seasons. Lots of mud and closed hiking trails.) Lucerne or Geneva should be okay that time of year.

This is pretty much the standard advice given to previous questions about 7 day trips. Let's see what others have to contribute to your situation.

thanks both! For return flight to NYC, I planned on flying out of whatever airport made the most sense for our itinerary. Pricing seems pretty even for area airports, so we are totally flexible on that. Hoping this helps with timing

Not having to get back to Milan is a significant help, but if you haven't bought tickets yet, I'm with Robert: One country is more than enough for the amount of time you have. Your departure day doesn't really count at all, because you won't have time to accomplish much more than eating breakfast, checking out of your hotel, and getting to the airport (probably 3 hours before flight time). On your arrival day, even if you are scheduled to land at 8 AM, it may be hours before you get through the airport and drop your bags off at your hotel. You won't have a full day, and you'll be jetlagged and quite likely sleep-deprived. So this comes down to five actual fully usable days. I wouldn't want to waste any of that precious time relocating from Italy to Switzerland.

I have no personal experience with Swiss weather or hiking conditions in April, but it's true that it is often stated here that April is not a good month for hiking. From my own visits between late May and the end of June, I can tell you that even then there is a risk you'll have 3 or 4 days in a row of rain and low clouds, sometimes accompanied by fog. I've had days when I could hardly see anything out the train windows because of fog.

Edited to add: And Switzerland is extremely expensive. You'll pay a lot for hotels, transportation and food. I'd want to be reasonably sure I'd be able to do and see my top priorities if I was paying Swiss prices. Italy is far more affordable.

If you are flying into Milan - I would head first to Varenna and stay for a couple of nights. I prefer Varenna over Bellagio (Varenna is slightly quieter and its on the main railway line). You can easily ferry around on Lake Como - much to see here and it Is beautiful. We stayed in Michelangelo B&B in Varenna - Its was one of my favorite B&B's. Rooms are beautifully decorated and the view from the private balcony is breathtaking. The young guy who runs it is supper nice. I would suggest if you want a taste of Switzerland to take the Bernina Express route from Tirano (about an hour away from Varenna on the same line). You can just take the regular train using the Swiss Pass instead of the actually Bernina Express train. You could stop along the way for a night or two. At the end of the route, you could go to Luzern and then fly back from Zurich. As someone else has mentioned, the Bernina Express and the Engadine valley is a little out of the way and you are so close to it. The train ride through this part of Switzerland is just amazing. I really enjoyed this lesser known side of Switzerland even after a week of being in the Lauterbrunnen Valley. If you really want to go to Interlaken/Lauterbrunnen and/or the mountain villages (murren/Wengen) then it is possible from Varenna but a 5 hour train ride would eat a big part of a day just getting there. Also you don't have many days to buffer if weather is rainy/foggy.

I would take out Zermatt and Geneva (The Matterhorn is wonderful but often covered by clouds). Geneva is not one of my favorite cities. I would skip it - much more interesting places to visit in Switzerland.

It is easy to combine the Italian Lake and Switzerland. You can make a loop from Milan if you rent a car or use trains.
Forget St-Moritz as it is not attractive, lots of concrete buildings. If you want to head that direction stay in charming Pontresina nearby. Best option is to go to the Berner Oberland and stay in Grindelwald. Take the train from Interlaken which is not in the mountains. Grindelwald is the picture perfect Switzerland and has train service. The beaity is breathtaking.Visit Lake Como before or after Switzerland. Fly in and out of Milan MXP. We enjoyed that trip and rented a car.

thank you all!! most helpful!!!

beautiful scenery with mountains and vistas, good food, and a romantic feel.

I agree that the Bernina Express or the regular train on the same line will give you beautiful scenery with mountains and vistas, and a romantic feel. Good food, not so much. I've always found in Switzerland that cheap(er) and nourishing is better than sit down dinners, and I spend my money elsewhere. That may not be a concern to you. Raclette done the traditional way and fondue (if you are drinkers) may help you feel very exotic. A couple of bratwurst and fries may feel Swiss.

What is it that is attractive about Lake Como to you?

I love it there but don't often return because it is out of the way for me.

It isn't that I don't like Lake Como -- I do, lots - but I like mountain scenery with lakes in the foreground and find plenty of that in Switzerland and Austria. Then again, the Swiss lakes don't get photos of George Clooney on the covers of magazines. A bit less in the way of palm trees too, unless you are at Lugano or Locarno. But more snow.

My husband is Italian and basically has demanded we finally head to Italy.... I've already been to Italy many times, although not the Lake Region... Switzerland was always on our to-do list, so I thought a good way to give him some italy would be in this way.

We do not get to travel much given our work and salary, so doing these trips is VERY rare. We don't have much time either, so we have to cram things in. I know not idea, but we have to make do best we can with the time we have.

Just a comment about where to stay on Lake Como....we just returned in last month from Italy we stayed in Bellagio and loved it. We visited Varenna and although I get that it is on the train line - we found it boring. We took the mid-lake boat and toured all the towns (2 couples) and all thought Varenna was forgettable.

Have you considered Lake Maggiore? If you really want to see the Matterhorn you can train (or drive) to Stresa and then Zermatt, spend 3 or 4 nights in each. Then retrace your route and fly home from Milan.

I found this article on Rome2rio and it has details on many options to visit the lakes.

Add another day, flying back on Sunday, if at all possible.

Enjoy the planning and the trip!