vinodm

We are a family of four and this is our first trip to Europe. We are going to arrive in Zurich on 07/26 and leaving for US on 08/03. We would love to see around Switzerland, Italy (& Paris If Possible). I noticed some 7 day bus tours but those depart only on Sundays(Early Morning - We'll be late to catch that). The other alternative I was looking at was renting a car - which seems economical, but I see a lot of posts suggesting Non Driving Zones / Lack of parking and Strict Driving rules (I am getting little nervous...) I would like it to be a comfortable and economical trip. Please guide me with a detailed possible itinerary , including hotel/motel information in each city. (I would like to see around atleast Switzerland, Venice and Rome..)

UAPremExecflyer

Welcome to FT!
I'd suggest you need to do some homework yourself.
FT is not a travel agency. Members will happily critique an itinerary and offer suggestions. They will not build one for you.
Suggest you need to figure out what your interests are and budget is.
Also, you will be on the ground for eight/nine days and you want to fit in Switzerland, Italy and Paris?
You need to be much more realistic. Pick a couple of locations and focus on those, otherwise you will spend all your time traveling, packing and unpacking.

JBord

I agree.

OP - I think you will have to at least drop Paris or Rome. You may be able to visit Venice, a little of Switzerland, and one of those two cities, but even that is pushing it.

Are you leaving from ZRH to the US? This means you have to start and end your trip here and limits your travel time even more. I think you need to consider creating a loop either by train or car (train will likely be easier buy may be more expensive for 4 people).

Something like Zurich-Milan-Rome-Zurich. As the other poster said, please do a little homework to narrow your itinerary and many here will be happy to help you tweak it.

exilencfc

I agree that you need to limit the number of places you visit or you will spend the whole time in transit. With 8/9 days you can realistically fit in 3 places at most. Also be aware that Europe, and Switzerland especially, is not a cheap destination.

manneca

I have never taken the train in Europe. I much prefer to drive. Driving is OK, but you do need to watch out for areas where driving is forbidden, which is mostly in large old cities.

From the map it looks like southern Germany and Austria might be more doable from Zurich than either Rome or Italy. Places look close together and tho speed limits are high, it always takes me longer to drive somewhere than it seems like it ought to.

I prefer Dorling Kindersly guide books because they have lots of pictures. I'd get one for Switzerland and think of one or two other places you'd like to visit.

I don't know how old your children are, but take into account their interests.

Driving in Switzerland can be beautiful, please obey all traffic rules. I ran a red light because I got really, really tired of waiting in line. It was a photo camera and it cost me over $400.

vinodm

Thanks much for the tips. My kids are 15 and 18. I have built a tentative itinerary as follows: Would greatly appreciate your input: (Rent an SUV in Zurich)
7/26 - 7/28 - Zurich and Nearby areas
7/28 - 7/30 - Venice
7/30 - 8/02 - Rome
8/02 - Rome to Zurich - Spend Night and Leave for US on 8/03.
I also found a bus tour : but it only leaves on Sunday morning and we are arriving in Zurich on Sunday afternoon
http://www.taketours.com/milan/2-7-d...-443-2320.html

757DUD

Hi,
your travel plans is still packed. I would consider dropping either Rome or Venice. You have 7 days in europe and plan to spend 3 days travelling, packing and unpacking. On the other hand each of the cities give you enough things to explore for 7 days.

757DUD

PS: I would definitly recommend to take a train. Faster and much more convinient.

greg5

You'll not want to rent an SUV in Zürich. I'm not sure you'll find one for rent here. But there really isn't any need to have one. Additionally, it will be quite difficult to find adequate parking for it. Downtown Zürich itself is insane to try to drive though.

You only have one full day in Zürich. It would probably be better to drop Rome or Venice. I've not been to either, but either one is a long trip. I'd recommend dropping both and perhaps spending more time in Switzerland, or go to someplace like the Cinque Terre. Pretty much everything other than museums will be closed the weekend of August 1st, as it's a holiday, and everything is closed on Sundays anyways.

JBord

Here's your problem...you could easily spend a week in Rome. I think the time you have allocated to Zurich and Venice are fine.

If you're convinced that you want to get to all 3, I'd suggest traveling by train, and taking overnight trains between each city. I don't find the trains to be incredibly comfortable for sleeping, but you'll get some sleep and be able to make the most of your time in each city. This also gives you a solid 3.5 days in Rome, which is reasonable. I haven't looked at train schedules, but check out the overnight options.

Also, plan your time in Rome very carefully ahead of time. Figure out what you want to do, which sights you have to see, and be resigned to the fact that you won't see everything there on this trip.

Other than the Zurich area, if you're venturing about, don't rent a car anywhere else. You won't need it in Rome or Venice for the amount of time there.

bobunf

A week in Rome?!. You could spend a lifetime in Rome and still have much to see, do, learn and enjoy.

A week in Zurich is more like it, and even that is skimping. It’s Switzerland’s largest city, population of metropolitian area 1.8 million, inhabited for thousands of years, Roman history back to 15 BC. Named the city with the best quality of life in the world -- as well as the wealthiest city in Europe. Here are some possibilities, amongst hundreds:

Grossmunster Church on the very site where the saints Felix and Regula were buried in 286 AD. Felix had been part of the Theban Legion, whose 6,666 men converted to Christianity en masse, all of whom were executed for that outrage – all except Felix. But he and his sister, Regula were captured in what is now Zurich and decapitated (the Romans behaving a bit like modern day ISIS). But Felix and Regula, got to their feet, picked up their heads, walked 40 paces to an appropriate place for burial, and laid down in death. Like St. Dennis.

The incredible Kunsthaus, founded in 1787.

The Bodmer house with the Thomas Mann archives

The beautiful Lake Zurich

The Swiss National Museum (Landesmuseum), built in 1898, takes the visitor from prehistory through ancient times and the Middle Ages to the 20th century.

The Fraumunster Church with its fantastic Chagall windows, was built on the ruins of a Benedictine convent, founded in 853 AD, the abbess of whom had been the effective ruler of Zurich from 1045 AD to 1524 AD, a casualty of the Refomation.

Take a day trip to the Swiss Alps, the Rhine Falls, or Lucerne

And on and on. Seven days really is not enough.

But also, experience the culture, people, languages, attitudes, food, music. Find ways to engage the locals. Buy a Zurich newspaper. Attend a concert. The kids may learn a little something of the incredibly diverse human experiences and capacities. Maybe even a little history currently utterly unknown to them. The experiences could change their lives.

But not if they spend all day, every day, looking out of bus, train or car windows, looking at the occasional mountain or building, watching TV in the hotel room and packing/unpacking

exilencfc

I don't think you want an SUV full stop. I don't know about Zurich, but a lot of Venice is completely car free, and you'd have to be nuts to drive around Rome (where you probably couldn't park anyway). Throw in the fact that Europe tends towards narrow roads and small parking spaces.

I would seriously think abut just staying in Zurich and one Italian city and maybe making some daytrips out to other places.

You certainly don't need to go on a bus tour, Europe is safe and pretty easy to get around.

David-A

Tip 1: If discussing this online, stick to named months. Even though it's clear from 07/26 is 26th of July, I would still at speed read 08/03 as the 8th March, not 3rd August.

Q1: What times are your arrival and departure flights?

You don't need a bus tour, especially not as a family of four with children of the ages you give later.

You don't want a car at all.

Other than perhaps for a day if you want to get out into the countryside. But even then - if it is in switzerland, there is a lot you can achieve by train.


This is what I would do:
Look at each of these places, look at the tourist information and reviews etc online, and work out what you would like to do at each of them.

Different things appeal to different people. Then be realist with the time taken in each city to (1) get between places, (2) actually see places - allow time for any queues, buying tickets, stopping to actually look at things. Remember to allow time for meals etc.
That will give you an idea of how much time you want to devote to each place.

As others have said, don't forget the time hassle with packing and repacking and time spent moving between places.


Personally, because people are different and have different interests, I can't gauge how much time I'd suggest in each place. Have a look and see what jumps out as 'must dos' then be realistic when adding up the time necessary.

A lot of bus tours are synonymous with people barley seeing anything of a place, such that absolutely everywhere becomes a 'want to go back to'. As other have said, many big cities people can never exhaust, however with a bit more time, you can actually say you have properly seen other places - such that you can move onto future places in any trips in future years, etc.