7 days Frankfurt,Switzerland Italy

Do those 7 days include your arrival and departure days? And where are you flying into and out of? Even under the best circumstances this sounds awfully rushed, but if you provide a little detail on the dates and airports, some of us might be able to take a stab at it.

We are arriving Thursday morning. Spending Thursday and Friday in FrankFurt. Would like to do two days in Lake Lucerne area, and two days in Venice. Flying out of Frankfurt the following Thursday.

Since I have no idea when you're traveling, I won't quote any prices. Also, is it just the 4 of you? Ugh - that's ALOT of distance and moving around! By train, Frankfurt>Luzern is 4h. Luzern>Venice is 6h30m-7h (and shorter than any flight I've found, unless you're made of money), and a night train from Venice>Frankfurt has an OK transfer in Munich at 6:00am. Flights b/n the 2 don't seem to help...but again I don't have exact dates. Is there any way to change your departure city to Venice? Remember, you'll spend €100-200 and up per person for a night train. The time savings not having to backtrack to Frankfurt would be great. Every time you change locations takes time - packing, checking out, getting to the station, getting to the train, figuring out the transportation to the hotel, checking in, etc. 3 countries in 6 days is b.u.s.y.

Thanks Eileen - my wife will be accompanying us as well. Would it make more sense to rent a car? I will certainly look into flying out of Venice.

Can you leave someone at home? That messes up any 4-person night train compartment arrangements ;-) IF you rent a car, you'll probably need to leave it in the same country you rented it in; otherwise, your drop-off fee could be €100s! I'll leave driving recommendations to those that have driven in these areas. There may be slow mountain roads (switchbacks, etc.), mountain passes/tunnels, tolls, holiday travelers, road construction to deal with. I'm a train traveler. A European-sized (probably manual-transmission) car for 5 adults AND luggage...hmmm...and fuel (€€€)...other considerations. Not a no-go, just considerations. And for the poor driver - this is ALOT of driving! Is that a vacation? It may be...or not. Any train reservations should be made well in advance (3 months) for the best prices - you can save ALOT! And if you go the night train route, you'll need those ASAP, too - they typically sell out early.

If you really want to go to Venice on this trip, change your departing flight from Frankfurt to Venice. You just don't have time to do it any other way. If this is not possible (or is too pricey), skip Italy this time, and just spend more time in Germany or Switzerland (hardly a hardship).