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Salzburg to Varenna in May

Posted by (Olympia, WA, USA) on

Late 50s couple with at least 8 Europe trips under our belts (some with kids) planning a month long trip Lviv-Tarnow-Cracow-Eger-Budapest-Vienna-Hallstadt-Salzburg-Varenna-Milan in May 2019.

Recommendations on the best way to get from Salzburg to Varenna in late May? This seems like the most problematic transfer of our trip.

Options seem to be renting a car, which at about 7-8 hours seems to be the fastest (but can one drop a rental car in or around Varenna?); rail travel into Italy and then over to Varenna involving several train switches, and taking the entire day; or taking a train to Munich, flying to Milan, and then a train to Varenna. Other options? Convenience and scenery probably take precedence over small to moderate differences in the cost of travel.

Posted by
1637 posts

The drop off charge for renting a car in Austria and returning it in Italy would be very high.

Posted by
11996 posts

Renting a car in Salzburg and dropping it in Milan, runs around $600 ( ~$500 one way drop fee). From Milan to Varenna is easy by train.

There does not appear to be a 'good' choice, just a "pick your poison" proposition.

Good Luck----- glad I do not have to figure this out

Posted by
21270 posts

Quickest and easiest with just 3 connections is 9 1/2 hours with all the connections 30 minutes or greater. At Innsbruck, Verona, and Milan.

Posted by
2281 posts

Flying to Milan from either Munich or Vienna seems to be a good option. From both airports there are very cheap tickets available if booked well in advance.

The train travel from Salzburg to Munich airport requires one train change, whereas there are several trains directly to Vienna International Airport per day. The train ride to Vienna is about 20 minutes longer than going to Munich.

Posted by
905 posts

I would suggest routing via Zurich, then Swiss Rail to Tirano, then Tirano to Varenna. It may take an extra hour or so but the train from Zurich to Tirano is worth the extra time via the Bernina Express. Regardless, your travel from Salzburg to Varenna will take most of the day no matter any option.

Posted by
225 posts

Hi. This trip just moved from the reasonably possible, to the almost for sure happening category (Yay!). So, if anyone has further suggestions, I would be interested to hear them. This does seem like the single most problematic leg of the trip.

Posted by
225 posts

Well, I wound up buying tickets for the route suggested by Sam. Our one long travel day on the trip.

I note some of the options on this route allowed for very little time when switching between trains. What happens when your first leg comes in late, and you have missed your second leg? Would they allow you to take the next available train?

Posted by
2281 posts

train station arr. dep. train #

Salzburg Hbf 08:56 RJX 660
Innsbruck Hbf 10:58 11:24 EC 85
Verona Porta Nuova 14:58 15:32 FR 9738
Milano Centrale 16:45 17:20 R 2568
Varenna-Esino 18:23

(Sorry, the table was properly formatted when I entered it, but the multiple spaces were removed automatically.)

As you can see the layover is about 30 minutes for every train change. That should be sufficient.

Whether you can take another train with the same ticket in case you missed a connection depends on the type of ticket, e.g. the super cheap "Sparschiene" bargain ticket is bound to the train chosen when booking. If you miss the train the ticket is void (and not refundable).

Posted by
225 posts

That's exactly what I wound up going for.

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