Hello - we will be coming off of a Cruise in Basel Switzerland on July 26th in the morning and flying out of Munich on July 31st. Having never been to this area before we are a little overwhelmed with all the choices of sightseeing. We were interested in visiting Salzburg Austria also. Can you please give us some advice on a possible itinerary?
You do have lots of options, that's correct, but you can't really go wrong.
July
26. Arrive Basel. Train to Luzern (2N)
27. Pilatus excursion
28. Train to Salzburg (2N)
(with a sightseeing stop in Zurich)
TRN 2632
Dep 09:10 LUZERN (Switzerland)
Arr 09:56 ZUERICH HB (Switzerland)
RJ 169
Dep 14:40 ZUERICH HB (Switzerland)
Arr 20:03 SALZBURG HBF (Austria)
29. Salzburg sightseeing
30. Train to Munich (1N)
31. Depart Munich
Take the train (or drive) from Basel to Zurich and then Zurich to Innsbruck stay in Innsbruck 2 nights
Then Innsbruck to Salzburg 2 nights and the last day July 30 in Munich
or
If interested in Alsace France region (it's pretty) you can take train from Basel to Colmar or Salzburg and explore that area.
as there is a high speed rail back to Munich from Strasbourg.
The only drawback is that there are some long train rides with changes involved especially if you go through Switzerland.
I like djp_syd's plan. The only change I would make is:
26. Arrive Basel in the morning. ½ day looking round Basel, then train to Luzern (2N)
27. Pilatus excursion, or Rigi or Titlis, but only if it is a clear day. If not do a boat trip.
Going from Luzern to Zürich, there are two trains per hour, so no reason to decide on one beforehand, just go to the station as soon as you have checked out and get the next train. There is are left luggage lockers at Zürich station where you can bump your bags for a few hours. If you decide on a last few hours in Luzern, you can skip the time in Zürich.
The train from Zürich to Salzburg is long, but apart from the last hour is through mountains.