Hello fellow travelers!
I am new here and need help. I have a trillion tabs open and have been down the rabbit hole for a few days now and am overwhelmed. It is our first time to this part of Europe and want help with itinerary.
Here is the plan as of now: We are signed up for a river cruise with Scenic from Amsterdam to Basel in late May-June 4. They will transfer us to Zurich airport and from there we are on our own. I would love to see Basel but there are so many other wonderful places to see. My biggest concern is when traveling by train how we get our luggage around with us. Renting a car would be nice but I hear the train is the best option which I would agree but don't want to bring our suitcases with us when doing tours etc.
Starting the 4th we would like to tour Zurich a bit before heading to Lucerne a few nights but may not be easily accessible if grabbing the train south. We would like to stay on the lake at Hotel des Balances for 2 nights.
I'm a photographer and would really love to see an old traditional swiss feeling town so was thinking of heading to Grindelwald rather than Murren for a night or 2. Not sure if a train goes there or not so perhaps we can take a taxi there and back to the train station and head to Brig. From that area we want to take the Glacier Express and ultimately get closer to getting to Lake Como. I'm not sure if the trains all run daily. We don't want to have to stay in a bunch of different hotels and not be so rushed so any input on a better plan is welcome.
I am on Rome2Rio and looks like the only way to get from St. Moritz to Lake Como is by bus? It seems a rental car would be so much easier but crossing the border and not wanting to drive winding mountain roads is the reason I want to avoid it ( as well as not speaking the languages).
We will stay in Lake Como and from Como we will go to Milan then end up in Tuscany where we would like to stay on a farm with a local to experience the culinary delights. Trying to find a good spot in Milan and Tuscany still. I hear it is the Jubilee year in Italy so am a bit concerned with that.
Sorry for the lengthy post... I appreciate any pointers!
Erin