Venice to Munich, and a stop along the way?

Are you flying in to Venice? That is, with two nights, are you really only having one full day there? If so, I would add that one more night to Venice.

When is this trip? It might make a difference to know the time of year.

Can I presume that this part of a larger trip? Are you arriving from elsewhere in Italy, and are you continuing on elsewhere in Germany? Why don't you give us the whole plan, rather than a little chunk of it?

Yes! This is a little chunk of a 3 week trip. We are flying in to Rome, with stops in Assisi, Florence, Padua and Venice. We are then heading to Munich, and the Romantic Rhine area, then on to Luxembourg and Cologne because I'd like to see where my great-great grandparents came from. Haven't decided yet if we will fly home from Brussels, Amsterdam or Paris. We will travel mid- June to early July.

So that settles that question. Padua is just 27 minutes to Venice, so jet lag won't be a factor :-)

Have you thought about taking the night train from Venice to Munich? I've done it. Not the best rest in the world, but you go to bed in Venice and wake up the next morning in Munich.

With all those places crammed into only 3 weeks, forget a stopover between Venice and Munich. Use that long train ride to rest up for the second half of your trip. You're bound to need it. Give that night to Venice or one of the other places that are being shortchanged , instead. 2 nights really isn't enough for Venice IMO, and Innsbruck isn't really all that.

Current plan is Venice - 2 nights, Munich 3 nights, and somewhere between the two - 1 night)

I suggest fly VCE-MUC and add a night to Venice, rather than a long train ride and a stop over. You already have plenty of other stops to work in to your schedule

There is a direct train from Venice to Munich at 13:50 every day (per current schedule), taking 6 hours and 35 minutes. Given the logistics of getting to the airport from Venice (1 hour), check-in prior to flight ( 1 1/2 hours), flight time (1 hour), collect luggage (1/2 hour), take S-Bahn into Munich (1 hour with wait time), the train at 6 1/2 hours compares favorably with 5 hours flying. And the scenery is a lot better and the seats more comfortable.

Then again, there's that night train.

Innsbruck is not on the route by train between Munich and Vienna unless you make a detour. Salzburg is, but it's worth more than a simple stopover.

I was thinking that some of the trains go over to Verona where you'd change to another train going north through the Brenner Pass into Innsbruck. What I like most about Innsbruck and the Western Tyrol region is the incredibly beautiful mountains surrounding it.
I've spent a couple of months there over the years, and find it a very comfortable place. It's about a 2 hour train ride to Munich, if my memory serves me.

Thank you all for your suggestions and input!
Sam- I hadn't considered the night train- but will talk to the husband about it. We've never ridden a train before, and my only concern is if we will actually be able to sleep. If not- it will put a damper on the next day. Good points comparing the train/plane - thank you!
CJean- thanks for your input!
joe32F- I never thought about flying within Europe. Definitely something worth looking into.
David- thank you! I do love nature and beautiful scenery. Would you stay in Innsbruck, or is there a hidden gem nearby that I should know about?

Wow! I just compared the cost of a flight, and the cost of the train. Day train- 138 Euros, Night train- 80 Euros, Flight-112 Euros (Air Dolomiti - are they good?)
I'm surprised that flying is actually a bit cheaper than a day train.

Air Dolomiti is a Lufthansa subsidiary. I've flown with them several times and was satisfied. As for train fares, you may save over 50% if you pre book the direct EC (dep. venice 13:50). For a random date in october www.bahn.com shows a price of €59.90. Personally, I'd take the train. Timewise there is not much difference, as said above, and, depending on your starting point, going to the airport from the center of Venice can be either awkward (vaporetto + bus) or expensive (water taxi).

Thank you, Sla019 - I guess I need to dig deeper into transportation by train and find those deals! :)

Hi. I am really a fan of the train trip of Venice > Verona > Munich.

I have stayed in both Bolzano and Innsbruck. Given my druthers, I would pick Bolzano.

There is enough there to keep one's attention if only overnight. There is the Ötzi museum and if there were time, a trip to Oberbozen.

Read what the man in seat 61 has to say about train travel - Venice to Munich. https://www.seat61.com/international-trains/trains-from-Venice.htm#Venice-Germany. This is a delightful little city currently straddling the Italian and German cultures.

I like Innsbruck too. Either way, why would you give up the Alps or Dolomites a plane flight?

Venice - Munich is a neat train trip!

I do not recommend a night train. Sounds cool in practice, in reality you won't get good sleep.

I am tempted to depart from the herd and say go ahead with the night in Innsbruck. It's a beautiful and unique city, and it has the fastest city center to mountain route I've ever experienced. If you're not visiting the alps from Munich, but you want to have an alpine experience, Innsbruck is THE place to do it. And frankly, the Austrian Alps are far more impressive than the tiny chunk we have in Germany.

That said, 1 night stays aren't ideal, so I can also see the logic of just having a long train day (which to me is quite relaxing in it's own right). If you have several one night stays on either side of this part of your trip, I'd be hesitant to add another. I just came back from a trip which was 3 - 1 - 1- 2 -1 -3 and that was at least one to many one night stays.

If you haven't purchased train tickets yet, and are traveling by train in Germany after, look into a German Rail Pass. It's an amazing deal if you use it right AND IT INCLUDES VENICE. A lot of people don't realize this - it also includes Prague, and other cities not in Germany. More information can be found on Bahn.com.

Edit: Reread and see you are traveling in Germany. German Railpass Twin. I live here so I'm technically exluded from buying them, but when I whip out my American passport at the train station, they don't seem to care. We bought one last Christmas for travel to Innsbruck and Berlin.

What's great is depending on how many days you get you essentially are paying between 38-50 euros per travel day, which is around the cost of a "sparpreis" ticket bought in advance, but those tickets lock you into a specific train, whereas with the Rail Pass you hop on whatever you want. It's very freeing.

I also like to use it to do a day trip somewhere en route. For instance we did Berlin - Munich but we stopped over in Nuremberg for a few hours.

Seriously: German Rail Pass: https://www.bahn.com/en/view/offers/passes/german-rail-pass.shtml

Debbie and Sarah- thank you so much. This is all great information!

Stacy,

I've posted some suggestions in your other thread.