My husband and I are traveling via scenic rail, hopefully, from Venice to Innsbruck this June 2024. (We are using Rick's Italy Guidebooks to get us from Milan to Florence to Rome to Ravenna, and ultimately through the Brennar Pass to Innsbruk.) As this is our first trip to the region, we are unsure of rail passes versus a rental car to get us to our final destination, a hotel and the airport in Zurich. (We have about 2 weeks on the land legs of our trip to see it all, with a Greek cruise in the middle.) My question concerns how best to invest and divide our time between Innsbruk and Zurich, given that we only have 4 nights between arrival by rail in Innsbruk on a Monday afternoon and departure Friday morning from the airport in Zurich. We are also considering a mid-week side trip from Innsbruk to see the Zugspitze and wonder if we should just rent a car upon leaving Innsbruk, making the drive from Innsbruk to Zugspitze and then on to Zurich in one day. Are we tackling too much for our final three full days? Will two nights in Innsbruk be sufficient to see enough? Or, if we stay for three nights in Innsbruk, will we likely be disappointed if that leaves us with only a half day to tour Zurich upon arrival and our one final night before flying out the next morning? Thank you for any and all comments and suggestions!
Posted by
Bend, Oregon
2580 posts
I think you will find a hefty one way fee for renting a car in Austria and returning in Switzerland. Probably not worth it when you can travel by train in just over 3 hours.
Can you fly out of Munich instead of Zurich? If so, you might consider spending more time in Innsbruck, then taking the train to Munich on Thursday night. Or even fly out of Innsbruck.
If you want an incredible mountain experience after Venice, check out the Dolomites on the way to either Innsbruck or Munich. Spectacular.
Posted by
Wengen
2564 posts
If you were to rent a car to Zurich you would miss on the scenic Arlberg route. A pity, as it looks like scenic train rides are one of the things you want to do during this holiday. So if you must fly out of Zurich, just take the train.
Zugspitze you could do as a day trip from Innsbruck.
Posted by
Narberth, PA
1276 posts
Agree with WengenK. Arlberg route runs between Innsbruck and Zurich. See Seat61.com.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
All wonderful suggestions and insights. I will investigate the scenic train options between Innsbruk and Zurich. Are there more than one option? Thank you very much!
Posted by
Narberth, PA
1276 posts
Hi. I think this provides lots of info - map, videos, etc. From Seat61.
Posted by
Firenze, Italy
1742 posts
Arlberg highway tunnel will be closed for renovation from April 15th to November 22nd, 2024; this means driving the old pass route, very scenic but quite long, so in that period even if you rent a car the drive to Zurich will be too long to allow visiting Zugspitze on the route. This should settle the car/train question; train is so much more practical. Reserve in time as Austrian international trains may be busy; you do not need rail passes but take care of reserving both the Brenner and Arlberg trains.
As for visiting Zugspitze, it takes time even as a day trip from Innsbruck - at least one hour driving to get to Garmisch or to the cable car base station plus the time to go up and down. Add that the visit makes sense only on a clear day, forget it in bad weather so you cannot really plan it now. My best suggestion is getting to Innsbruck, considering if the weather is fine, and if the sky is clear then ride the local cable cars to Nordkette, leaving from the very centre of Innsbruck near the Congress and opera houses, so no need to travel around. Maybe not as imposing as Zugspitze, but still a very high vantage point and the whole trip up and down can be done in a couple hours.
If you have four days in total I would do two and two (it will be more something like a day and half in Innsbruck and a day and half in Zurich). Personally, I like more Innsbruck than Zurich (I have spent the rough equivalent of one year of my life in Innsbruck and a week in Zurich), more things to see, more art, better food and way cheaper, but the choice is up to you and your interests.
Posted by
NYC area
3003 posts
I’d skip the Zugspitze and do the Nordkettenbahn right in Innsbruck. You could spend half a day on this trip.
Posted by
3 posts
I am sorry for high jacking the thread - but I am having issues making a new topic!
OBB Construction Work Question
Hey all,
Thank you for your time. It's my first time travelling to Europe (from Australia), and I am trying to book a train via OBB.
I am trying to book a train from Luzern to Salzburg, which is going via Schwarzach St. Veit Bahnhof. The train leaves Luzern - > Zurich - > Schwarzach St. Veit Bahnhof - > Salzburg.
I am doing this since someone reccomended that this is the most scenic route - instead of going via Kufstein Bahnhof. I understand that the route above is longer.
My concern is that the site says there is:
Construction work - changes to timetable
Bischofshofen Bahnhof <=> Villach Hbf/ Schwarzach-St.Veit Bahnhof <=> Salzburg Hbf
Due to construction work, some trains will be running at different times between Bischofshofen Bahnhof and Villach Hbf and between Schwarzach-St.Veit Bahnhof and Salzburg Hbf from 21/05/2024 (08:00am) through 05/06/2024 (04:30am). Connections cannot be guaranteed.
I don't mind waiting for a connection, as long as there is one. What is the likelyhood that we will be stuck in Schwarzach-St.Veit without a way to get to Salzburg if I book this train?
Thank you for your help. The date I am proposing to travel on is the the 27/05/2024.
My trip looks like this:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/10IUsYsCOMx_5swwxoUs4UfG4M2VXpLJ3/view?usp=drivesdk
Posted by
Wengen
2564 posts
First of all I would not book a detour for this trip. The trains you plan on taking are nice trains, with nice scenery, but after a while it starts to be all the same. So just book the logical, short route.
Secondly: If you buy a train ticket form A to B the railways must get you to B, provided you presented yourself on time at A. It is that simple. They cannot just abandon you halfway. So do not worry about getting stuck. I just suggest everyone to not plan to arrive on the latest train of the day however....
OBB has a nice feature in their trip planner where they indicate for each segment how often there are alternatives on that route. Very useful as so you can estimate what the delay would be if you were to miss a connection.
Posted by
3 posts
Amazing, thank you for the response.
Apologies again to everyone for deviating from the thread.