We will be grandmom, mom, & 2 children 8 & 10 travelling for 5 weeks. Will arrive in Rome 9 days and travel a day to Pompeii/Vesuvias. All other travel will be within the city and we will use multi day local passes.
Leg 2 will be 2 days in Florence.
Leg 3 is 7 days in Grindelwald Switzerland using mtn trains gondolas & excursion train to top of Jungfraujock.
Leg 4 not planned, contemplating Nice. Is it too far? Is there a fast overnite train that the children can sleep on?
Leg 5 Paris 9 days. Would like to visit Versailles & Normandy. All other travel will be within the city & we will use local multi day passes.
Please advise any suggestions for how many days of 2 country rail passes to purchase. Also best plan for transportation while in Switzerland.
Thank for any suggestions.
Kathy,
After reading your post, my impression is that's a lot of travel for children that age. Could you indicate if this is your first trip to Europe?
A few thoughts on the places you'll be visiting....
Arrival in Rome: use the Leonardo Express for the trip from FCO into Rome (€11 PP)
Trip to Pompeii/Vesuvius: Take the ES Italia to Napoli and then transfer to the Circumvesuviana for the trip to Pompeii. While that can be done as a day trip from Rome, it tends to be a LONG & TIRING day, especially if you're going to try and fit Vesuvius in.
Trip to Florence: That's an easy trip from Roma Termini via ES Italia/Alta Velocita, about 1H:40M.
Florence/Grindelwald: shortest trip via rail is ~7H:20M with 3 changes at Milano, Spiez and Interlaken Ost. I found one departure at 08:19, arriving 15:39 - Reservations compulsory.
Grindelwald/Nice: that's a LONG trip, regardless of travel time. Day trains are the quickest, but still ~9H with 4 changes. As you haven't finalized that destination yet, you might look at other options.
Trip to Paris: travel time will depend on whether you choose Nice or other location.
Paris trips: Versailles is an easy day trip from Paris via RER. Regarding Normandy, were you planning to stay there for a day or two? Although it's possible to visit Normandy on a day trip, it's not really practical so at least one or two nights would be a good idea. Bayeux makes a good "home base" in the area.
You might want to have a look at the Guidebook Europe Through The Back Door as there are lots of good tips, including Itinerary planning. You might also find it useful to download the free PDF Rail Guide from this website. Click the "Railpasses" tab at the top of the page and then look in the lower right corner.
continued....
Kathy - part 2...
With a Railpass that includes Switzerland, you'll get some discounts on the local trains which will help a bit, but Switzerland is expensive regardless.
Could you elaborate on why you chose Grindelwald. While it's a nice location, it tends to be "touristy and expensive". You might consider trying the other valley from Interlaken, the Lauterbrunnen Valley. The small farming village of Gimmelwald is one of Rick's favourites. There's accommodations available in Lauterbrunnen, Gimmelwald or Murren and while there you could take the Gondolas to the famous Schilthorn (where the James Bond movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service was partially filmed). While there you could have a nice hot meal in the world's first revolving restauraunt, while enjoying a view of the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau. The Switzerland Guidebook also has all the details on the discounts that apply with Railpasses.
Either location would be good, but I just wanted to suggest an alternative.
Good luck with your planning!
Thanks for the info, I think I will try to discourage the leg to Nice since we have not yet planned it. We have found a little chalet in Grindelwald thru HomeAway.com that puts us in the mountains in the snow. Thanks for recomendations on literature.
Kathy