Help Please! Milan to Wengen

Congratulations to your daughter on her graduation. No worries; you can have a very nice trip to Wengen and Lake Como but I will suggest a few adjustments.

I would not recommend flying to Zurich; that actually does not actually leave much time, if any, by the time you build in adequate time between you landing in Milan and the departure of your flight (lots of time in case your plane from the US arrives late. Then you fly to Zurich, and it is still another 3 hours or more before you get to Wengen.

There are alternate routes to Interlaken Ost, the gateway to Wengen, that would be faster than that. I or someone else can describe those, but I will start by suggesting you slow down and break up the journey with an overnight in lakeside city en route to start your trip off right. The first that comes to mind would be to go from landing at MXP to Milano Centrale by train (roughly 1 hour), transferring there to a train heading to Locarno, a Swiss town right on Lago Maggiore (2.5 hours away).

The train station there is close to the lakeshore and you can stay overnight in a hotel closeby, right on the lake if you wish. If your plane is reasonably punctual you should have most of the afternoon to stroll the lakeshore and even swim (chilly water this early). This lakefront hotel has rooms available for 12 June:

https://www.hotelgeranio.ch/en/

Next day, you take the regional train (oddly named with the acronym FART, which you will see on the schedules) to Domodossola; this is the famed Centovalli railway on a scenic route. At Domodossola you pick up the regular train service into Switzerland, heading to Interlaken via Spiez and Brig. There are trains that do this without a change at Brig if you want to minimize changes. Travel time Locarno to Interlaken Ost can be under 4 hours if you take an afternoon train (for some reason the morning trains take longer, at least on the June 13 schedule).

Becasue you are traveling the day after your flight, you can schedule this journey with certainty, and buy tickets online now to get the best price and the schedule of your choice.

There is also an option to go from Locarno to Interlaken via Luzern, but I am saving that for your return to Italy. Before you decide on Varenna, make sure you can find suitable lodging there. It is a small town and some places do get booked up, but maybe midweek in June you will be OK.

Assuming you do stay with Varenna, you can reach the town via Luzern by taking a train from there toward Milan, on the scenic Gotthard Pass route. You can either go as far as the town of Como and ride a lake ferry up the lake from there (slow), or stay on the train to Milano Centrale and change there to the train heading to Varenna, 1 hour away.

Then end your trip with a night in Milan before flying out from MXP. No need to put Milkan in the middle with 2 nights there. Your time is better spent in Wengen and lakeside.

Note that some will suggest you take the Bernina Express route to reach Varenna directly from Switzerland without going to Milan. However, this involves a long travel day from Wengen to Pontresina to catch that train. And when you reach Tirano there is another construction interruption in the tracks, with a bus replacement between Tirano and Colico on the way to Varenna.

Thank you so much dear Lola for your detailed explanation and advice provided!

Actually I started working on it but found that the option of leaving one night in Milan -at the end of trip- wont work, as I have already booked in Varenna (long time ago) from 17-20 June. Just re-checked it now, it seems it is almost impossible to find a room earlier. So I should stick to these dates:(
Accordingly, maybe it will be better to arrive on 12 June to Milan (rest after long travelling hours and spend 1/2 day), then move the second day 13 June directly from Milan Centrale to Domodossola then to interlaken-Wengen. and add the extra one day to Wengen.

Day 1: Arrival at Milan early morning (rest and 1/2 day )
Day 2: Milan to Wengen (hotel reservation is done)
Day 3: Wengen (hotel reservation is done)
Day 4: Wengen (hotel reservation for extra two nights NOT DONE yet. flexible to be in Wengen or Interlaken)
Day 5: Wengen (hotel reservation for extra two nights NOT DONE yet. flexible to be in Wengen or Interlaken)
Day 6: Depart Wengen to Lake Como (Varenna Esino) - (hotel reservation is done)
Day 7: Lake Como (hotel reservation is done)
Day 8: Lake Como (hotel reservation is done)
Day 9: Depart Varenna to Milan - flight mid night

Appreciate your opinion.

As for the options back to Varenna; which will be more convenient and a better option through Milan or Como city?

Hopefully, I can sort it out soon, as it makes me really worried of spending most of the time travelling in the trains!

Here is a rail map of Switzerland so you can see the route options between Wengen and Varenna:

https://www.travelswitzerland.com/en/download/swiss-travel-system-map-en-2023/?wpdmdl=14294&masterkey=63a023c8da36c

Milan is just off the map at the bottom, below Chiasso and Como and on the same train line. Lake Como is the upside-down Y-shaped lake; Como (the town) is at the bottom of the left “arm”. Varenna is not shown on the map but it is on the train line running up the east side of the lake, above Lecco and directly opposite Menaggio.

My suggestion for Varenna is to take the train from Interlaken Ost east to Luzern, 2 hours away, and then change to a southbound train over the scenic Gotthard Pass toward Milan. This would be a nice change from the Domodossola route you have chosen from Milan to Wengen, which involves the bus link and 2 long train tunnels. Between Luzern and Milan you will change trains at least once, at either Arth-Goldau, Bellinzona, or Lugano, depending on the type of train you pick.

The simplest way to Varenna is to stay on that Milan-bound train to its endpoint at Milano Centrale, and change there to a regional train going to Varenna, 1 hour away. But you also have the option of leaving the train at the town of Como and catching a ferry up the lake to Varenna. That is a 1 hour ride on the fast ferries or 3 hours by slow boat. Here is the current schedule:

https://www.navigazionelaghi.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/01P2024_Web_Como.pdf

We have not done this ourselves, and it may be a bit ambitious for a first-time visitor to this area. Or you might really enjoy a boat ride. I hope you can get some other opinions on this option.

Your revised plan looks good, but I will suggest you consider moving to Luzern on Day 5 and spending the night there (thus dropping the last night you have in Wengen). Luzern is a pretty city on a river and lake, and most everyone loves it. This would make your trip to Varenna much shorter and easier.

Your plan has you traveling from Varenna to the Milan airport for your flight, which is probably OK if your flight is in the evening. What time does it depart?

Thanks again for your putting the time and effort in providing such valuable input, really apperciate it!

Our flight back home from milan will be at 20:30
//UPDATE//
I like your suggestion to go to Luzern which could add a nice flavor to the plan, However after thorough searching for an accommodation in Luzern, I found very limited availability and Super expensive options which can not work with me, and even tried to search in Briernz & Interlaken (I know that I am running very late for booking in such areas/weekend provided that many hotels ask for minimum stay of 2-3 nights)

My options to spend the two days are:
1. I will try to contact My hotel in Wengen if they can extend the booking for a third night.
2. Find another destination in the middle between Interlaken and Milan in the way back to Lake Como for two nights (using your advise with Locarno)
3. Go back to the very first plan; move directly on day 1 from Milan airport-Locarno 1 night - Wengen 2 nights (i found a shuttle bus that moves directly from MXP to Locarno with 2:30 hours time which might be a good idea), with having 2 days in Milan in the middle (which we dont mind moving aroung there!).

I would love to hear your thoughts on the above & Thank you again for your patience and time!

Have a great day!

The decision on Half Fare Card versus Berner Oberland Pass depends in large part on how many mountain lifts you intend to ride. The BO Pass fully covers all the lifts and cablecars with the exception of the Jungfraujoch above Kleine Scheidegg, and the Schilthornbahn above Mürren, both of which get a discount. For the train and boat rides that are fully covered, you do not have to buy tickets; just board the train or boat and show your pass. So there is a convenience factor too.

The Half Fare Card gives you 50% off everything, but you must buy a ticket for each ride.

The BO P{ass will cover a large part of your travel to and from Wengen as well. Look at the validity map:

https://www.berneseoberlandpass.ch/assets/Uploads/Geltungsbereich-Berner-Oberland-Pass-2024.pdf

You will see that your trip to Wengen will be fully covered from Domodossola on, provided that you use the regional train that goes from Brig to Spiez via Kandersteg (RE 1) rather than the fast IC or EC trains that use the deep tunnel between Visp and Spiez.

Your travel from Wengen to Luzern would also be covered with the BO Pass. So a 4-day BO Pass would cover your travel from Domodossola to Wengen to Luzern, plus whatever trains, lifts and boats you want to ride while staying in Wengen (with the exceptions noted above).