Hello, I am looking at flights, flying into Milan and out of Vienna next summer.
We would be traveling with our three kids ages 4-12. They are good travelers. Few years ago we went to Italy without kids and flew into Milan, then went to Lake Maggiore and took a wonderful day trip to Zermatt. We had a rental car. We wanted to revisit a hotel we stayed at in Stresa...I have also wanted to do the Bernina express, but it looks like that is a different direction to Tirano. I would love to avoid renting a car but I am not sure if that is even possible.
My goal for this trip would be to revisit Stresa and Zermatt, OR do Bernina express, I don't think there's a good way to do both?
After that I need to figure out where I want to go in Switzerland, for some reason I find this very overwhelming. And then from there onto Salzburg and finally Vienna. We have about two weeks and can go a bit longer than that. I am just beginning planning, but thought someone with more experience could give me some guidance!
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17221 posts
I know the feeling of wanting to return to a special place or hotel, but there are many wonderful hotels and places that make more sense for your travel to Austria. My top recommendation would be to go from Milan to Lago di Garda, then the Dolomites.
https://www.seiseralm.it/it/vacanze-alto-adige/alpe-di-siusi.html
The main train line between Italy and Austria passes through Bolzano, gateway to the Dolomites. From Bolzano you reach Salzburg in 4-5 hours, with 1 or 2 changes on the way.
For comparison, Zermatt to Salzburg is a 9-11 hours train journey, with multiple train changes and a long tunnel or two on most of the faster routes.
Posted by
Green Bay
20924 posts
Revisiting your Stresa hotel may be a different experience with 3 young kids. Do they have units that can accommodate them?
But that aside, you could go Stresa to Zermatt, then take the Glacier Express in lieu of the Bernina Express. Get off in Chur and go a bit north to the Heidiland area of Switzerland. From there you can get a train at Buchs to Salzburg, then to Vienna.
In Switzerland, if you get Half Fare Cards or Swiss Travel Passes, you can also get the free Family Card, and the kids travel with you free while you are in Switzerland. Unfortunately, that does not include seat reservation fees for the Glacier Express (or the Bernina Express). Swiss travel begins at Domodossola, Italy, just north of Stresa on the way to Zermatt.