Bettinae

My adult son and I would like to fly from Houston, Texas (IAH) to Switzerland or Italy and then fly back to IAH. We are not sure which country to fly into nor which city. We were thinking the schedule below might work. We would like help since we have never been to either country. We are most interested in seeing wildlife, historical places, and the mountains. Thank you so much!

Fly into Rome for 0 nights take a train directly to Naples
Naples 2 Nights
Back to Rome 3 Nights
Florence 3 Nights
Milan 3 Nights
Zermatt 2 Nights
Wengen 2 Nights
Zurich 2 nights fly back to IAH from here.
We would love any helo on the number of days or what we are missing....we have not made any reservations yet so we are open to not going to some of th places or adding/replacing places
Thank you so much!

Yoshi212

Really my only comment is do do the the first 3 days in Rome to allow your body to adjust to the time change and because when you'll be arriving could be anywhere from early morning to mid-late afternoon depending upon routing. After 2 flights I wouldn't want to sent another ~90 minutes on a train to Naples along with going from airport to train station and waiting.
The train ride from Naples to Florence is less than 3 hours and would be backtracking but it's short and a nice ride.
Beyond that it sounds like a nice trip. Quick paced but not overly so.

Bettinae

Thank you so much!! I truly appreciate your insight!!

Have a wonderful day!

Yoshi212

One additional thing. Cross posting is not allowed on FT. It keeps threads focused and information in one place for your own good and for others to use in the future.

I'm going to ask a MOD to use there judgement on placement and close your other two posts.

Bettinae

Oh I am so sorry - I thought it would get more of a rounded response - I am new as of today and I have been watching and now understand that all post go to the main posting site. I am truly sorry and this will not happen again!!

Thank you for your help and I truly appreciate it!
Have a wonderful day!

Yoshi212

No worries. New and longterm members do this too. It's more of an "in the future.." comment.
You should post your topics where you feel they'll get the best answers. You can always ask a MOD to move or merge it to others too by clicking the red & blue circle under your Screen name on posts. I have a feeling this will be moved to the Destinations: Europe forum where you'll get comments on your trip and cities you plan to visit.

Have a good day and keep posting.

Bettinae

Perfect! Thank you so much! I have learned a lot! I will you too! your very nice!

Air Rarotonga

The journeys within Italy are short as they offer high-speed trains, called 'freccie' (en: arrows). Train timetables:

http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en (state railway)
http://www.italotreno.it/en (private company)

I would book the train that fits you better and cost the less :-) Trains in Italy were quite cheap!

I would only stay two days at Milan and if you like mountains and trains, you could ride the Bernina (Milan - Tirano - St. Moritz) and Glacier Express (St. Moritz - Zermatt). An overnight stop at St. Moritz would be necessary:

http://www.myswitzerland.com/en-ch/g...z-zermatt.html
http://www.myswitzerland.com/en-ch/p...a-express.html

If you go to Wengen, a visit on the highest railway station of Europe would be a must:

http://www.myswitzerland.com/en-ch/h...in-europe.html

Trains and livin in Switzerland is expensive. For the train rides, I would recommand you a Swiss Travel Pass, which is valid on most of the public transportation within Switzerland (have a look to the map at the following link):

http://www.myswitzerland.com/en-ch/t...om-abroad.html

Timetables within Switzerland:
https://www.sbb.ch/en/

Bettinae

OMG Thank you so much!!!! I will definitely look at these links - You do not know how clueless I feel about booking into two countries that I have never visited.

Air Rarotonga

No problem. Hit me up if you've question about Switzerland. Also know Italy a bit...

sydunipete

I travel to Italy once or twice a year (I'm part Italian and visit family).

Agreed with the other posters. Trains are cheap and good (unless they are on strike). Also agree to stay in Rome to start with. It's less hassles if your flight is delayed and gives you a chance to shower then get used to the timezone. Rome is rather touristy - but for a good reason.

I'm not sure of your reasons but why Napoli? I suggest use a tour company (I very rarely do this, but this is one time I make an exception) and organise a 2 or 3 night bus tour to Amalfi Coast from Rome. It's spectacular. They will organise Sorrento, Capri, Blue Grotto, Napoli, hotels, pickup etc. It's much easier than train and self-organised. And it's highly recommended.

Why Milano? It's where my family is from so I love the area but it is probably the least inspirational of Italian cities. The Duomo is wonderful. I would suggest instead Venezia. It is very touristy but it is a one of a kind city. Truly unique. (No cars!)

But around Milano you can catch a train to Lake Como. There are regular ferries that will take you to many beautiful villages on the lake. There are walks and an amazing restaurant Isola Comacina (google it) - totally unforgettable experience. I would suggest train to either Como or Varenna then ferry from there. Bellaggio is a popular spot. In fact you could train it to Varenna, ferry to Bellaggio for morning tea, Isola Comacina for lunch, Como for a drink then train back to Milano. A spectacular day.

You could catch a train to Tirano (where I come from) - it's about 2 1/2 hours from Milano but the Bernina Express departs from there and it is the most scenic rail trip (to St Moritz) you can imagine. There is also a beautiful church in Tirano built on the footprints of where the Virgin Mary appeared in an apparition. The Bernina Express train rides straight past the church along the street!

I hope this is of some assistance. Buona vacanza!

cornfedcowboy

3 nights in Milan might be one or two too many in my opinion. If you like the mountains and outdoors go to Lake Como,Maggiore,Lugano, or Garda. All are fantastic. I guess it will depend on the time of year. Then again you can get to the lakes from Milan.

hotturnip

If you like art, 3 nights in Milan actually might not be enough. Besides Leonardo's Last Supper fresco, there's a great collection at the Brera, and a smaller, less impressive one at the Ambrosiana (but lots of Leonardo stuff there). Also the historic church of Sant'Ambrogio, and various other sights (small museums, etc.). Milan gets a bad rap, I think.

I'd second the idea of a bus tour to Naples from Rome. Naples is rather . . . shall we say, chaotic? Doesn't hurt to have a guide.

sydunipete

+1 for Il Cenacolo (The Last Supper). It's hard to get tickets - I think tour companies snap them up as soon as they're released.

beckoa

Welcome to Flyertalk Bettinae,

Please follow the redirect as we send this to our Italy forum.

~beckoa, co-moderator Information Desk

<mod hat off>

Take a peek at the ferry from Naples to Catania. It's a redeye but a very local way to get there. And there really isn't much English spoken here... epic. And on the footsteps of Mt. Etna My family flew back to the mainland on AZ.