Castelrotto to Bolzano to Venice

Vishal,

1. I haven't checked the schedules, but the details you posted sound about right for the Bus. Keep in mind that you'll also be taking the Bus from Bolzano to Castelrotto, so you'll be able to determine how long it takes based on that. The Bus station in Bolzano is a few long blocks from the rail station. As I recall, you'll turn left when you exit the station and walk through the park. You can check the details on Google Maps.
2. I always prefer to take direct trains when possible, but have also used trains with up to five changes when the circumstances required that.
3. In that situation, I'd use the 09:30 Bus from Castelrotto as I always like to have a bit of a "cushion" to allow for unexpected delays.

The trains in Italy are usually fairly punctual, but that's not always the case. In Italy especially, one has to be prepared for anything (hence the need for a "cushion"). Switzerland is a different matter.

All of that makes sense, Ken -- very helpful! Thanks. With the 11:13 EC there is the convenience of non-stop journey, getting to Venice a couple of hours sooner. The 12:31 journey is almost half the cost at 57 euros. Seems like we should go with convenience/time saving over money saving...

I have a couple of questions regarding the EC.

1. So far I have been making all my reservations using CaptainTrain -- so much easier to use. Unfortunately neither captaintrain nor italyrail are showing the 11:13 EC option. Only trenitalia shows that option. Why is that? I have been avoiding making reservations at trenitalia because registering there seems like a pain, and it was talking about some limitations with buying without registering.

2. What is the quality of 2nd class in EC versus that in the regional + Frecciabianca combo? I have been able to make 1st class reservations for all non-regional train travel so far, but the price differential between the two classes is substantial for both EC and non-EC option.

Thanks!

I am seeing the EC 1289 train to Venice on Sunday, June 5 departing Bolzano at 11:17 am.

My reading of the bus schedules for the 170 bus from Castelrotto to Bolzano shows that the buses departing on the half hour are marked with an "X" in a square. This notation indicates "work days only", not on Sunday.

I've found EC trains to be quite nice in Italy, very comparable to Frecciabianca trains and running at the same speed on the tracks between Milan and Venice.

Last year, I found the EC trains on this route not running do to a strike. So keep your eyes and ears open to any rumors to that effect. Strikes are usually well known in advance, but you have to know where to look for that information.

I am sorry, you are right, Sam. I meant 11:17 not 11:13.

I am glad I sought verification of the bus schedule...yes, I see the departures at the half hour are only on weekdays. In the process I also see the following: So, there's alternating X at the top corresponding to half hour departure columns. In addition, if you look, there's instances of an X (not on top, rather,) next to departure times (8:29, 10:29, 11:29, 12:29, and some others) for "350 da Selva". Is that simply saying, those departures originate at "Ortisei, Piazza S. Antonio" rather than "350 da Selva" on weekends? If yes, then in summary we could still say, between 8:30 and 11:30am, departures from Castelrotto for Bolzano occur at 9am, 10am, and 11am on Sunday, June 5th. Correct?

Also, do you have a theory as to why the EC option does not show up on captaintrain/italyrail?
Thanks for your help -- this helps greatly.

Those are other notations show there is a connecting bus coming from Selva at Ortisei Piazza San Antonio. That is the 350 bus that runs between Selva and Ponte Gardena train station. If it has the "X" box, that connecting bus doesn't run on Sunday. But the 170 bus, for instance, runs everyday originating in Ortisei at 8:35 and stopping at Castelrotto at 9:00 on the way to Bolzano.
If you wait another 30 days, you should be able to buy the ticket at Capitainetrain if you want. There appears to be no Supereconomy or Economy tickets sold on that train. I do recall that last year, the train was actually operated by Trenord, a private Italian railway company that also runs many regional trains in the Milan area including the Malpensa Express airport train and the trains to Varenna and Tirano. I don't think you will have any trouble getting seats on the train if you wait a while.

Thanks, Sam, I believe I understand the bus schedule well enough now. So for the 11:17 EuroCity train, since there isn't the 9:30am option, I ought to take the 9:00am bus out of Castelrotto. As Ken pointed out the 10:00am bus might be cutting it too close...