Travel to Switzerland ) and Northern Italy : weather better May or October

Weather can be fickle in either month in the mountains in particular, but we like October and have had good weather luck. Plus the crowds have been less in October. I think that may be especially true of Venice. Give yourselves time in Muerren so that if you have poor weather one day, you have a better chance of decent weather another day.

Don’t rush! With 14 nights, I would stay 3 in Lucerne, 4 in Muerren, 4 in Venice and 3 at a lake. Stresa on Lago Maggiore might be a more convenient stop between Switzerland and Venice. Fly into Zurich and out of Venice.

I agree with Laurel (no surprise) on the October time, especially for Venice.

Put Mürren first and Venice last. This gives you a better chance of good weather in Mürren, and lower crowds in Venice. After Mürren, head to Luzern for 2-3 nights. From there, I recommend the Bernina Pass route to Italy; this takes you through the Engadine area which is known for nice weather in the fall, and then directly to Varenna on Lake Como. Like this: Luzern to Pontresina or a village nearby for one night, then train over the Bernina Pass to Tirano, changing trains there for the 1.5 hour trip to Varenna. We did this route on our last trip to Venice and really enjoyed the journey.

Here is a vote for early May (just not May 1 as that seems to be a European holiday and Venice was NUTS!!!) While we have never traveled in Oct., we find early May and late April to be lovely. Spring brings lovely blooming things. ( Be forewarned if you or your traveling companions have allergies!) We did experience rain in the Cinque Terre, but the weather in Venice was beautiful, as was Varenna on Lake Como, Zurich and Lucerne. All boat transportation was still a "go" as well. My brother and his wife traveled this route in late September a few years ago and had on and off weather. The best thing to do is decide which time of year works better for you and just GO!!

Wouldn't it likely still be ski season in early May in Mürren, or at least shoulder season with things shut down?

I agree with Laurel and Lola.

The Lauterbrunnen Valley, and Mürren can be too early in May, particularly early May. There can still be snow on some trails and may well be mud. Or it may snow - I've seen photos of snow in the third week of May in Wengen and Mürren. I have also walked up from there in a tee shirt and shorts in May.

The problem is, nobody knows. The best time to know how next May will be for weather is on the first of June. These days there are extremes, whether or not you believe in global warming.

October can be much more predictable.

Take rain precautions in whichever month.

Sorry if I’m hijacking this thread, but for those of you who visit Murren often, which month would you pick with the best chances of no rain? We visited the area in mid-June, and it rained 2 out of 3 days. But the one sunny day made up for the 2 rainy ones, with some incredible views while hiking.

We were in Lucerne this past May, last weekend of the month. It was in the low 80s , pretty humid, chances of rain but it never materialized. We took a lake trip to Weggis and Mt Rigi and got good views. We were in Lugano the previous two days (climate similar to Lake Como) and it was sunny, high 70s, no rain. The week before that, we were in Italy (Florence, Pisa, Venice) and it rained part of every day - but only on one day did it rain all day . Temperatures were in the 70s.

Overall, we had more rain on this May trip than we would have liked, but it often passed after a couple of hours, and one advantage to May is that the days are much longer than they will be in October.