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Zurich or Munich or Milan to Tirol and South Tirol then to Salzburg and Vienna

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Hi all. Planning a 2-week trip starting around the weekend of September 20 of this year. I am thinking of flying into Zurich/Munich/Milan (from Logan/US, want direct flights) and then taking a train to Innsbruck though I also want to go to Bolzano/Ortisei. Afterwards I think I want to end in Vienna possibly stopping in Salzburg. Unsure if we will spend a night in the start city or somewhere along the train route, depends on the flight we get.

Option overview:

Zurich to Innsbruck, Innsbruck to Bolzano and back to Innsbruck, Innsbruck to Salzburg, Salzburg to Vienna. It seems like Zurich HB is very close to the airport, 15min. The RJX train to Innsbruck is 3h30m, and is supposed to be very pretty.

Munich to Innsbruck, Innsbruck to Bolzano and back to Innsbruck, Innsbruck to Salzburg, Salzburg to Vienna. Munich Airport to HBF is 40m, then HBF to Innsbruck is 1h45m. A little concerned about it being Oktoberfest (crowds/prices) but can probably just make it to Innsbruck without staying in Munich too since its relatively short.

Milan to Bolzano, Bolzano to Innsbruck, Innsbruck to Salzburg, Salzburg to Vienna. Milan Airport MXP to Bolzano is around 6hr (used rome2rio). This avoids backtracking but the train is longe. With the other two options the Bolzano Innsbruck back track doesn't seem too much a loss of time.

I hope this was relatively clear. All thoughts and suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

Posted by
2878 posts

Ibn ZRH there is actually a train station at the airport (as is quite common in Europe). So you would just book a ticket Zurich Airport - Innsbruck (or Bolzano) for your first leg.

For planning do not use rome2rio. Use a good on line train planner. According to Trenitalia from MXP to Bolzxnao is a bit under 5 hours. From ZRH is much longer...

Posted by
21969 posts

Munich airport to Innsbruck is 2 1/4 to 3 hours from Innsbruck, depending on what time you arrive. You do not have to go to Hbf, since you can take the S-8 to Munich Ostbahnhof to get a direct train to Innsbruck, shortcutting the Hbf. I would not be worried about Oktoberfest crowding since you are not staying in Munich.

Zurich airport is at least 4 hours to Innsbruck and you still have to change trains at Zurich HB, or some intermediate station.

Posted by
2383 posts

Bolzano is visited best as a side trip from Innsbruck before you continue to Salzburg and Vienna.

Innsbruck is better reachable from Munich than from Zurich. In either case you have one train change when coming from the respective airport. The regular route to Innsbruck from Zurich is more scenic than arriving from Munich. Should you be keen to have a very scenic ride, go from Munich airport via Garmisch-Partenkirchen to Innsbruck. The ride is less than half an hour longer then the regular route, and if you chosse the right combination of trains you will also have only one change.

Posted by
300 posts

I would personally go for the last option. MXP to Bolzano is actually more like four hours, and from Milano Centrale it's less than three. It's a scenic trip and you can even stop off at Lago di Garda or Verona if you wanted to break it up. But this is a beautiful region generally so I'm sure whatever you choose you will enjoy it.

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