Hi and thank you in advance for your help.
I am planning our trip to Europe this summer and I cannot decide if traveling by bus or train would be better/prettier from Venice to Munich? Bus seems to be cheaper but you can’t really walk around during the 8h trip. Based on what I read people only talk about train, has anyone taken the bus? I looked at Flix.
Also I’ve been trying to figure out Eurail, but I find it ridiculously expensive and are debating to just purchasing individual train tickets. Any advice in regards to that would also be very much appreciated.
For more infor: 2 peeps, Zürich, Lugano, Rome, Florence (maybe Pisa), Venice, Munich, Berlin in June/July
Posted by
Portland, Oregon
5687 posts
I love trains, but with cheap direct flights available, I'd probably fly. Otherwise, unless the bus was half the travel time or saved me a lot of money, I'd take the train instead.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32392 posts
juli,
Forget Eurail. They're not the best source of information.
The easiest option (and the one I'd choose) is a direct train (no changes) from Venezia Santa Lucia to Munich, which departs at 13:50 and arrives at 20:25 (time 6H:35M). I find the trip through the Brenner Pass to be very scenic, and I always enjoy that trip. Flying will likely not be any faster when all is considered, and it will certainly be more stressful and perhaps more costly.
They currently show Savings fares on that route at 69,90€ per person. As you noted, you can stretch your legs if desired and take a walk to the dining car or whatever.
Use this website to research rail trips all over Europe - https://www.bahn.com/en/view/index.shtml . If you wish to buy advance tickets online, you might try https://www.thetrainline.com/?redirected=true .
Posted by
OP
6 posts
Andrew and Ken, thanks a lot. This is great. I decided to stay away from flights this year as the cheap euro airlines constantly cancel, Streik, go bancrupt for a couple weeks or are actually not as cheap after all as we are traveling with 50l backpacks and although in the us they pass as carry on they don’t for the cheapy airlines.
Those links are great thank you I’ll check them out when I am more awake!
The bus I found from V to M is US$64 for two which is kind of unbeatable, i was just wondering if the train is more Scenic and I would pay more for the view :)
Talking about transportation, does anyone have experience with Blablacar? The reviews seem to be all over (hate love relationship).
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17577 posts
The direct train from Venice to Munich takes 6 1/2 hours. You can buy the ticket now for July travel for 39 euros from Bahn.de
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
I'm not clear on what part of "Eurail" you consider to be "ridiculously expensive." Train tickets are expensive for the longer distances you might be traveling, unless you lock in advance discounts for specific departures. The direct train from Venice to Munich can cost from 40 to 100 euros per person in 2nd class, depending on how soon you book tickets, and the price range from Munich to Berlin is from 20 to 150 euros.
Or a Eurail Global Pass for 7 travel days within a month currently (until April 9) costs $343 per adult in 2nd class ($49/day), plus required seat reservations of $12/€10 for the longer rides within/to/from Italy (but reservations not required for most trains in Switzerland or Germany).
Zurich and Lugano are not the most popular visitor destinations in Switzerland. Are these important to the trip and/or will you also visit more of Switzerland?