Train vs plane from Siena to Basel?

When you compare flying to rail, you need to take into account the time and expense of getting to the airport (2 hours early?), waiting there, and then getting from your destination airport to your next hotel. So a two hour flight is more like a 5 hour flight. The train goes from center to center.

I would fly; there are too many train changes in your itinerary that if one train is late you may miss your connections; you have to watch your bags. I was on a train my last trip and someone had a bag stolen right before the train pulled out of the station

How scenic is this trip?

I can only speak about Siena to Milan part is nothing special scenery. It all looked the same to me.

The problem is that they now have base tunnels that bore completely underneath high mountain ranges. So Florence to Bologna is in a virtual tunnel under the Apennines, Milan to Brig goes through the Simplon Tunnel, then to Basel through the new Loetschberg Base Tunnel under the Berner Oberland range. You could get off at Brig and take the "Loetschberger" regional express to Bern that uses the old route that goes up the mountain and through the old Loetschberg Tunnel. Takes a little longer with more mountain scenery.

Another route from Milan goes to Zurich through the newest and longest land tunnel in the world, the Gotthard Base Tunnel. Again, you have the option of getting off at Bellinzona and taking the old route with a lot of loop tunnels up the mountain and the old Gotthard tunnel.

Base tunnels make the trips a lot faster at the expense of scenery. Pisa airport is still 2+ hours from Siena with a train change and a ride on the new people mover from Pisa Centrale. I'm sure there are buses that do it faster. Basel airport has frequent buses from the airport to Basel SBB station in central Basel. That's about a 20 minute ride.

Thank you all for your input. There are compelling arguments for both and your input is appreciated!
Happy trails to you

richard,

On that particular route, I'd probably use a method like this....

• Take the Bus from Siena to Florence (about 1H:15M via Corse Rapide Bus - I haven't checked the SITA schedules, but they should have early departures available).
• Travel by train from Firenze SMN to Basel SBB (there's a departure at 09:00, arriving 15:29 (time 6H:29M, 1 change at Milano Centrale). There are numerous other departures, so you can take your pick.

I very much doubt that using a flight from Pisa will be any faster and it will most certainly be much more of a hassle, with restrictive luggage limits, having to arrive at the airport at least 90 minutes prior to flight time, security, boarding, deplaning, etc. Travel by train will likely be faster, probably cheaper if you by advance tickets and most certainly more pleasant and relaxing.

I traveled within the United States most of my career by plane out of ATL, LGA, EWR and many many others.
When my career downshifted I said that if I never have to get on another airplane I'd be ok
You just confirmed my suspicion.
The next step in our adventure is to learn how to decypher and schedule the trains
What to reserve, what to buy at the window. Oh, boy.
That is another thread.

Thank you all for so much thoughtful replies - Happy CONtrails to you!

Easy. Go to Trenitalia: http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en
Input "Siena" and "Basel SBB", date of travel and number of adults. Buy now on-line to get the best price. Like airline tickets, they will be pretty much nonrefundable. I see two departure choices, at least for weekdays, one at 7:15 am and one at 1:18 pm.
The 7:15 departure starts with a bus operated by Trenitalia called a FrecciaLink to Florence, then a Freccia high speed train to Milan, connecting to an EC train to Basel. The afternoon departure starts with a Regionale train to Florence and same train route to Basel as the other. Both take 8 to 9 hours.

If you are looking up train times from Siena to Basel, do not use the Trenitalia site (sorry Sam).
I recommend either the SBB (Swiss Railways) site ( https://www.sbb.ch/en/ ), or the DB (German Railways) site ( https://www.bahn.com/en/view/index.shtml ).
The reason is that Trenitalia only lists trains within, to, or from Italy. There are some trains which run from Milan to Basel, like the one Sam lists, and these are shown on the Trenitalia site. But there are other options involving changing in Switzerland to a Swiss train, and these are not listed on Trenitalia, but are listed on SBB and DB. You equally cannot book Swiss trains on Trenitalia (nor on DB). If you choose one of these options you may have to make a split-purchase, Siena to Milan on Trenitalia, Milan to Basel on SBB.

richard,

Regardless of which website you use, the route I mentioned earlier is still one of the fastest and easiest travel solutions (assuming you use the bus from Siena to Florence, and then rail from there to Basel). That trip involves a Freccia and then an EC train, both of which require compulsory seat reservations. If you use the bus, be sure to validate your ticket prior to boarding on the day of travel.

If you wish to buy advance tickets for the rail portion of that trip (and possibly save some money), you can use either the rail network websites or www.trainline.eu at the same price as the rail networks. You'll first have to register on the Trainline site, but after that it's very user friendly. They also have an App which is very convenient. If you haven't travelled in Italy before, one point to note is that tickets for the express trains mentioned above are specific to train, date and departure time, so can only be used on the ONE train listed on the ticket. Board a different train by mistake and you'll be subject to hefty fines, as you'll be deemed to be travelling without a valid reservation.

All - I have some serious studying to do. Thank goodness this trip isnt until October

My point is that trains booked through Trenitalia have the fewest changes, and are the fastest itineraries, and it is one-stop shopping. Yes there are lots of other possible itineraries, but will require split tickets. ie one part of the itinerary purchased at Trenitalia and another part purchased from SBB. Also, the EC trains from Milan to Basel have "Smart" fares with discounts. Swiss trains are pretty much anytime (meaning highest) pricing. But the OP is free to investigate all this on his own.

Thank you all for your pointers and PASSION.

I looked at the Trenitala website, the Trainline web site and Rick Steve's site. (Steves site quotes prices in UDS)
I didn't see too much difference, so I must be missing something.

There is a 6:30ish train from Sienna to Florence. Why should I take the bus?

Nothing wrong with that if you want to get up that early, although I admit 7:15 is not that much better.