Zermat-Lugano-Laspezzia-Rom

[THAIPHUKET]

1. I want to thank for your comments on Scotland, they were certainly not made in vain. I or someone else will use the info.

2. I decided now on the following route Switzerland, Zermatt-St. Moritz by the famous Glacier Express http://goo.gl/yciWO then by the Bernina Express over the alps to Lugano http://goo.gl/FDmI7. ( this looks expensive 600CHF p.person, what do you think, better to book on the net seperatly?? )

From there by train to Milano, the beautiful Cinque Terre ,Pisa- Rom

This site has a valuable info in train tickets

http://goo.gl/vCGWG

Question=

flight price comparisons have been much covered here, what are good sites to compare hotel prices in Europe?

I guess the best price guarantee is not worth much because it requires hard work to prove your case, or??

[manarak]

I live in Switzerland - my impression is that everything is very expensive here.

I don't know if you absolutely need to go to Switzerland, or if a tour of the Italian Alps, French Alps or Austrian Alps (or Bavaria) would also be suitable.

What I know for sure is that you will get much better value and service in the latter countries.

I once took the Jungfraubahn up to Jungfraujoch (Glacier) "top of Europe", and I felt the price of over 100 CHF per person was a rip-off.

[viacc65]

I live also in Switzerland (south part) and remember that here it's one of the most expensive country around the world (the transportations will increase again end of year ) and you choose to take an interesting trip in some famous areas such St. Moritz/Lugano here and also in Italy Toscana (5 Terre) and for this reason it will be very exepensive!

Firnally your itinerary look a bit stressful like Japaneses tourist who usually want to visit Europe in short time; I suggest since the highs fees to concentrate your trip just in one country!

[heretostay]

Don't let anyone deter you - The Glacier Express (Zermatt-St. Mortiz) is breath-takingly beautiful and a unique experience. Be sure to have lunch on the train (you many not actually get a choice).

Sure Switzerland is expensive. What isn't these days? But no one has built a railroad like The Glacier Express. Worth every franc.

Happy travels.

[THAIPHUKET]

I heard that much but it is always good to get some elses view. As you say nothing of value comes for nothing.

Also your comment about the lunch is interesting. I thought of skipping it, mostly these things are pure rip offs which you can easily leave a bad taste to the whole experience.

[Patsycat]

I also live in Switzerland. It is expensive, but worth it!! In the Summer the temperature can get up to 28-30 degrees, and apart from a few thunderstorms the weather is perfect.

The mountain railways are awesome, also on the bigger lakes like Geneva and Zurich you can do some nice boat trips choosing your own itinerary (getting off and on as you please). I like the boat trips because you can see how the other half live in their mansions on the lakeside!!

[daveh]

Last year, my wife and I made our way from Rome to Zermat via train. It was very expensive, but I would not have done it any other way.

You might want to consider getting a Swiss Pass (search online for it). There are different kinds. There is one that basically gives you 50% off discounts. Had we done that, we would have saved a bit of money.

In Zermat, this pass will save you lots of money if you plan to take the train up to the top of Gornergrat (which I recommend).

[THAIPHUKET]

-THanks daveH , that is helpful.

Anyone with more good hints??

BTW how was Rome compared and what did you do , where did you stay?

Arraged by yourself or??

Hope you don't mind my draining your brain!!!

[daveh]

I booked the entire trip myself. Our route was: Rome -> Pompei (Day trip) -> Cinque Terre -> Milan -> Venice -> Lugano -> Zermatt -> Luzern -> Basel.

I prebooked our hotels in Rome, Venice and Basel. For all other hotels and train tickets, I winged it. We went in May, so I wasn't worried about finding places to stay after getting off the trains.

Rome was okay, but not our favorite. We didn't have the best of luck for food in Rome. Most places we ate were mediocre and expensive. For Venice, we actually didn't stay in the city itself, rather we saved a little by staying just outside of the city in Venezia Mestre. There are regular trans and buses, so getting into Venice is easy, however, I think they stop running late at night.

It is hard to say what our favorite places were because we went to them for different reasons. I would say Pompei is a must see. I'm really glad to have gone. We booked a train there and from the train station walked to Pompei. It was wonderful walking around the ancient city streets.

Rome - History. Colosseum, architecture, The Vatican if you are into that.

Pompei - Ancient Living. A must see. Full day trip from Rome.

Cinque Terre - Beautiful sea side towns. Relaxation. Nice hiking. Unique

Milan - Shopping.

Venice - Unique. It's the Bangkok of the west...well, it is Venice.

Lugano - Could have skipped this. It's okay...but nothing great.

Zermatt - Beautiful Mountain Village/City (Was just on The Amazing Race). Great for hiking and natural beauty. Getting there is part of the fun.

Luzern - Nice small city on a lake. Very Swiss. Lots of expensive Thai food.

Basel - Just our departure city. Nice old city center. Easy to walk around.

[manarak]

Venice - Unique. It's the Bangkok of the west...well, it is Venice.

Bangkok of the West?

Wow - I could never compare the two. worlds apart, couldn't be more different.

And Venice is an extreme rip-off.

The water taxis there will want about 50 to 75 EUR for a 5 minute ride. Avoid!

If you want a small hotel that isn't too expensive, you can try Casa Dogeressa.

Stayed there and it was good and reasonably priced.

My mind wanders back to "Bangkok of the West"... I'd Mexico City is the western city that's most like Bangkok.

[daveh]

Venice - Unique. It's the Bangkok of the west...well, it is Venice.

Bangkok of the West?

Wow - I could never compare the two. worlds apart, couldn't be more different.

And Venice is an extreme rip-off.

The water taxis there will want about 50 to 75 EUR for a 5 minute ride. Avoid!

If you want a small hotel that isn't too expensive, you can try Casa Dogeressa.

Stayed there and it was good and reasonably priced.

My mind wanders back to "Bangkok of the West"... I'd Mexico City is the western city that's most like Bangkok.

Bangkok was once known as "Venice of the East" because of its canals. I was making a joke that Venice was "Bangkok of the West". Venice is worlds apart from Bangkok.

If you want to try a gondola but don't want to pay loads of cash, you can ride the gondolas that simply cross the grand canal. I think the cost is around 1.50 Euros...may be even less. By comparison, the public toilet was about 1.50 Euros. It's often cheaper to stop in a cafe and buy an espresso to use their toilet than it is to use the public ones.

[THAIPHUKET]

DaveH thanks, that helps to focus. For the train tickets, did you book any of the rail passes ? How would you do it in hindsight?

[daveh]

DaveH thanks, that helps to focus. For the train tickets, did you book any of the rail passes ? How would you do it in hindsight?

I didn't buy any rail passes because most seemed to require that you make reservations in advance for a fairly substantial fee. This wasn't really required for Italy where the tickets were less expensive than in Switzerland. in Switzerland, in hindsight, I should have purchased the SwissPass I mentioned before.

[Patsycat]

In Venice you can also stay at the Lido, where they have cars. i don't know if it is cheaper. It's across the bay thingy. With regular boats to Venice.

What's the saying "You should always see Venice before you die"!!!

The Swiss Pass rail ticket is the way to go if you are travelling around. I am sure Google will help you with that.

Don't forget the Montreux Jazz Festival in July. I am trying to get tickets to see Santana.... sold out but maybe on the day!!!

I hope you have a great holiday and look forward to some photos!!

If you come to Geneva, pm me and we can meet up for a drink. I shall be here all summer, no Thailand holidays this year...

[THAIPHUKET]

Very kind indeed. I love the Swiss lakes, spent much time in Lausanne at the Beau Rivage, a dream