14 days Italy + Switzerland with two toddlers and no travel agent: trip report with full costs, what went wrong, and what I'd do differently"
Just finished 14 days across Rome, Florence, Lake Garda, Venice, and the Swiss Alps with two families and two babies under 2. No tour operator, planned everything ourselves.
A few things nobody warned us about:
Cobblestones in Florence will destroy your stroller. Ours didn't make it past day 8.
The Italy to Switzerland train connection needs at least 90 minutes buffer. We had 30. Paid €520 in emergency taxis to make it.
Rome Metro pickpockets are genuinely professional. Wallet gone in under a minute in a crowded carriage.
Switzerland looked like a desktop wallpaper the moment we crossed the border. Not exaggerating.
Our 21 month old went silent for five minutes on top of Rigi mountain. None of us knew what to say either.
Happy to answer questions on any part of this: Swiss Travel Pass, Airbnbs, GetYourGuide bookings, toddler logistics, costs.