Travel to Switzerland and Shannon, Ireland

You should probably hit the Berner Oberland (Interlaken et al) first as it is on the way to Basel. You can get a high speed train from Rome to Milan and change to a train to Spiez and there change to a train to Interlaken. Right now, there is an upcoming sale beginning April 15 to get an 8-day Swiss Travel Pass and get 2 extra days. Iff you have the pass, you will get a discount on the Mialn to Spiez train.

For Interlaken to Basel, there are direct trains. You can get from Basel to Shannon on British Airways with a plane change (and terminal change) at Heathrow. It is pricey at 330 CHF per seat.

Considering your situation I would fly easyJet direct to Basel. There is one direct from Rome at 8:20 arriving Basel at 10:00, currently priced at a little under $200 for two when seat selection and baggage is factored in

Taking the train would require you to have to change a couple of times with your luggage. And if one train is late you could miss the connections. My last two trips to Italy summer 2021 and May 2022 the trains were behind schedule more often than not or there was some threat of workers exercising their rights to go on strike.

Or you could fly from Basel to Dublin direct on 16 June with Ryanair for 53 Swiss Francs then drive to Shannon

Thanks for all the great info. I think the flight from Rome to Basel will be (literally) the way to go. Then we can hopefully take advantage of the rail sale for sightseeing trips by train. Flying into Dublin looks like a possibility too, although our tour leaves from Shannon and we would need a train and bus to get there from Dublin.

Possibly stupid questions--If we went into Germany, do you suppose there is a reasonable flight to Shannon from there? I had thought about flying to Britain from Basel and from there to Shannon, although maybe at a smaller airport than Londons' airports. How would I change terminals if we did the London flight?

Thanks again for your help!

Shannon is a small airport. Besides flights by Aer Lingus to Boston, New York, and London Heathrow, Ryanair has flights to holiday destinations in southern Europe, and also eastern Europe. Aer Lingus codeshares with BA, so a connection through Heathrow is available. Other than that, the Ryanair flight to Dublin and then to Shannon by ground is the only other choice. You can get a train from Dublin to Limerick, which is not far from Shannon.

If you have a lot of luggage and/or the mobility issues are a big concern, I would just take the option to fly to Shannon via LHR even with the transfer. You could request airport assistance to help with getting around the airport if that would make it easier for your husband. This might be the least complicated option, even if more expensive.

Re other options: Besides Ryanair from Basel (which is not always that cheap after you add in bags, seats, etc), Swiss and Aer Lingus also fly to Dublin from Zurich airport (easy to access from Basel or anywhere else in Switzerland). From Dublin airport, there is a direct bus to Limerick (~25 euros each). You could consider flying a day or two earlier and staying overnight there before meeting your group on the 18th at nearby Shannon airport.

And Edelweiss (subsidiary of Swiss) also flies from Zurich to Cork on 16th of June. From Cork (city) there is direct bus service to Shannon airport. You could stay overnight in Cork and then take the bus to meet your group.

If you went Ryanair to Dublin, you would need to stay in Dublin overnight, as the flight lands at close to 7pm. You could not therefore depend on getting the last train to Limerick from Dublin Heuston at 9pm,