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Switzerland, Lake Garda, Venice trip

Posted by on

Greetings!

My family (myself, my wife and 2 kids) are planning a trip to Switzerland and Northern Italy. For context our two will be 10 and 12 when we travel . We are tentatively flying from Orlando to Zurich the night of July 2, 2026, arriving morning of July 3, and flying out of Venice July 17. This gives us 14 night.

This is the itinerary I am thinking right now.

  1. Fly into Zurich July 3. Go straight to Lucerne when we land, July 3-5 Lucerne. One day in city, another day MT Rigi
  2. Bernese Oberland region July 6-7.
  3. Zermatt July 8-9
  4. Travel to Lake Garda July 10
  5. July 10-13 lake Garda
  6. July 14-16 Venice
  7. Fly out Venice July 17

Questions:
1. Should we stay in Interlaken, Grindenwald or Wengen?
2. Should we skip Zermatt and focus on Bernese Oberland only, then move to Lake Garda?
3. For accommodations should we consider Airbnb or hotel? Best sites for booking?

I will have more questions but looking to first book flights, figure out stops and accommodations.

Posted by
30 posts
  1. Wengen
  2. You are not spending enough time in the Bernese Oberland. If you weren't visiting that region, I would suggest Mt. Rigi, but I don't think Mt. Rigi is worth a visit if you are spending time in Bernese Oberland. I say this from experience. We visited Mt. Rigi after Bernese Oberland and wish we hadn't wasted our time doing that. I'm not sure what you plan on seeing at Lake Garda, but you might consider reducing it down to 2 nights in order to spend more time in Bernese Oberland. Zermatt is a gamble due to weather. You need to decide if seeing the Matterhorn is worth the gamble.
  3. I don't have any suggestions. We stayed in Murren, not Wengen. Are you traveling by train? I'm not a fan of Airbnb unless it is the only option in the area. Lots of places offer family rooms, which is a good budget option if you don't mind sharing a room with your kids.
Posted by
3527 posts

I have one suggestion: Change the order, so that you end in Luzern. Or add a night or two in Lugano in stead for something different:

This summer the Brig - Milan railways is going to be closed again for rebuilding. This time between Iselle and Domodossola, so you will not have an easy time getting to Italy from Zermatt. Better end near the Gotthard route. You even have a direct train to Peschiere del Garda from any town on the Gotthard route.

Posted by
2 posts

Good to know about the railway work. That changes things quite a bit as it pretty much rules out Zermatt for me due to the hassle connecting to Italy

Does it make most sense then to do Bernese Oberland first and then take the Gotthard route from Lucerne to Lugano, then Garda/Venice? I am thinking then we spend the bulk of the Switzerland portion of the trip in Bernese Oberland with a full day each in Lucerne and Lugano.

If we cut out Matterhorn is it worth doing Pilatus instead?

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