Itinerary help with First Trip to Zurich Switzerland and Rome

Zurich, Lucerne, Murren, Venice, Florence, Rome in only 9 nights???

No - this is a bad itinerary.
1) no need to waste time in Zurich
2) no skiing in April in Murren

Spend 1st night or two in Lucerne. No need to fly to Venice, just get on the train, change in Milano Centrale. Spend some nights and then onto Rome from there.

www.sbb.ch/en for Swiss train schedules

www.trenitalia.com for Italian trains

Stay on Venice island (Santa Lucia station) not Mestre.

Buy your Swiss train tix at the ticket counter when you get to Switzerland. You can even buy your tix onward to Venice from any Swiss ticket counter.

I think a better plan is to take the train to Venice. If you fly you are going to spend hours in a boring airport instead of on a magnificent train ride through beautiful Switzerland. I would go to Lucern the first day (almost as fast to get to from Zurich as Zurich center and a nicer town, less than an hour). Then the next day go to Interlaken ( from where you can do a day trip into the Bernese Oberland mountains, considered by many to be the 'best' of Switzerland. Then take the train to Venice. You'll need to change in Milan but it's easy. From Milan to Venice is about 2 and a half hours and not spectacular, but the part from Interlaken to Milan is beautiful (about 4 hours).

Use https://www.thetrainline.com/ to search and book all your train tickets in both countries. Each country has their own train site but the trainline searches them all and is easier to use (and does not add a fee above the same thing you would pay at each countries train site).

Two nights each Venice, Florence and Rome is pretty rushed. Are you sure you want to do all three? Most people will advise you to pick two of them. However, I did do a pretty similar, rushed trip with a friend who had never been to Italy and she loved it. You will need to do a lot of research to decide what you want to see as you will need to be very selective.

Here's my trip report from that trip: https://andiamo.zenfolio.com/blog/2017/5/italy-through-fresh-eyes---chashing-the-sun-in-italy-in-march

Great advice. Thank you so much.
My daughter will need to book the flights from Rome to join us in Switzerland on Friday April 3 through Sunday April 5. Any recommendation what site she should be booking?
Thanks again.

There are any number of flight search engines out there. Here is Google's: www.google.com/flights You may want to also checking the discount airlines that fly out of Ciampino in Rome.

I wouldn't do just two nights in Venice. By the time you get there, you'll have barely more than one day. People who do such quick trips to Venice often end up not liking the city much--and will tell you one day is enough as a result. The most popular spots in the city (Rialto Bridge ane Market, Piazza San Marco) and the path between them are absolutely mobbed, especially during day-tripping hours. It's really important to have enough time in Venice to get into the back canals and forgotten corners where you won't be surrounded by thousands of other visitors.

Thanks so much for the help and tips.
Here is a revised of our itinerary:
3 nights in Lucerne
3 nights in Venice
3 nights in Rome
I was looking at Hotel Ala-Adults Recommend in Venice, does anyone know if they allow children? my son is 17 years old.
Thanks again,
Cathy

Also I am looking at the Swiss Chocolate tour for 3 hours. Yes or No for the chocolate tour?

Thanks,
Cathy

A 17 year old is hardly a child...especially when it comes to European hotel bookings. He’s quite an adult by European hotel standards.

hey hey cathy
what a fun trip planned for family. glad to see you've added an extra day to venice.been there 3 times and love it. your pick of hotel ala does not except under 18 years old, has a message adult only property, no place for children to sleep. not knowing what your buidget is in euros, here's a few places if interested.
la levantina (we stayed year 2 years ago, 2 bedroom/1 bathroom, washer, short walk from vaporetto san marcuola and train station, ground floor with terrace, on a canal from living room/kitchen, washer, private gate entry. we really loved this place. owner are great, speak english, and easy to communicate.) we always like to stay near a vaporetto stop for easy pickup, without zigging and zagging. you're on adventure through the maze of pathways and alleyways (calles)
albergo marin
andrea flat
palazzo del sale, rialto
city apartments rialto
read the fine print, baggage drop off (some do and some don't) for early checkin, what floor (1st means 2nd for us) lift/elevator or how many steps to climb with luggage. check arrival/departure times.most check in after 2pm unless room available or you will be waiting pushing and pulling luggage over uneven pavement/cobblestones.
europeforvisitors.com has lots of info. do you have a place in rome and did you drop florence?
have a great trip and have fun. any other questions just ask, posters here will give you good bad and ugly so no stressing, adding more gray hairs. pays to do research and list wants and maybes. you can't see it all with your 9 days and moving around so much. remember it takes time to get ready in morning, checkout, getting to train station and time to get to next place to acclimate again (sometimes half day) don't be in a hurry, sit at outside cafe with glass of wine and people watch, enjoy the magic of where you are.
aloha

Early April still has plenty of skiing, including in Mürren which is fairly high. It could be slushy, but enjoyable. Engelberg near Luzern works too.
However... Is it worth taking ski gear halfway across the world for just one or two skiing days?

Also, skip Zürich.

Thanks princess pupule.
You're right. I just looked the house rules of hotel Ala and the minimum age to check in is 18.
I will check out the hotel La Levantina. Yes, I dropped Florence. Any suggestions for place in Rome? Looking a place not so far from John Cabot University where my daughter attends.

Cathy

Regarding Venice and Florence, I would base the # of days on what you really want to see in each city. We enjoyed Cinque Terre, Pisa, and Florence more than Venice, which was as crowded as a Disneyland for adults. But nothing beats our stay in Muerren and Lauterbrunnen in the Berner Oberland, and for us Switzerland's natural beauty was far more enjoyable than fighting crowds and spending time in long lines to see all the bucket list cathedrals and art museums in Italy.