Please sign in to post.

Innsbruck-Verona-Rome. Best way to use our short time?

Posted by (Birmingham, AL, USA) on

We land on Wednesday morning 8/17 in Munich. Travelers: myself (50s) my mom and aunt (70s, fit but not athletic). We're flying business class so I think we will arrive relatively rested and ready to go.

I'm picking up a BMW at the end of our trip so we will see Munich and Bavaria then, and actually have a couple of days to drive around.

So rather than staying in Munich, my plan is to take the slow scenic train via Garmsich to Innsbruck. We can rest on the train and enjoy the views. They've been reading about Innsbruck and are super excited about seeing. So we're staying in Innsbruck on Wednesday night.

Then on Friday, we have to be at the Verona rail station at noon for a high-speed train to Rome.

I'm find myself really yearning for one small town/rural experience. Our trip is shaping up to be all cities, and sadly we're going to miss all of Tuscany this trip. (We did enjoy spend time in Tuscany, Florence and Cinque Terre on our last trip about eight years ago.)

Thursday is our free day. We could:
1. spend two nights in Innsbruck, but we'd have to take a 5 am train on Friday and that would just be a pretty rough travel day.
2. spend all day Thursday in Innsbruck and take an evening train to Verona.
3. leave Innsbruck late morning and plan to hop off the train once or twice in places like Trento or Bolzen.
4. take the train to Verona midday but rather than staying in the city, perhaps stay in an outlying small town on the lake, or nearby?

I've promised them Innsbruck and Rome, so those are definite. And while I did look into it, our travel dates are firm.

PS - any strong feelings about 1st or 2nd class from Innsbruck to Verona through the Brenner Pass? It seems to be the most expensive train: far more than even the high-speed from Verona to Rome. Do those tickets offer hop-on, hop-off privileges?

Thanks for your advice.

Posted by
21370 posts

any strong feelings about 1st or 2nd class from Innsbruck to Verona through the Brenner Pass?

2nd class is perfectly fine.

Do those tickets offer hop-on, hop-off privileges?

No. But you could travel on Regionale trains which are inexpensive and can be bought spur of the moment and there is fairly frequent service between Brennero and Verona.

Posted by
2504 posts

How many nights total do you have, and how many for Rome? Would the time allow for, say, a night or two in Orvieto on the way to Rome?

Posted by
31 posts

This began as a Rome trip, but then I found a business-class airfare sale to Munich. And then crazy me decided to add European Delivery on a BMW.

We arrive Wed AM in Munich, and I have to be back in Munich Monday late morning to pick up the car.

I had promised Rome, and there was great enthusiasm about Innsbruck, and I have great memories of the Brenner Pass.

So, Wednesday night Innsbruck.
Thursday: _________
Friday 12:30 Italo Verona to Rome arrive 3:45 PM
Friday-Sunday nights, Rome.
Monday-Tuesday, Munich and driving around Bavaria.
We fly back Wed AM.

I think I'm going to fly us back from Rome early Monday AM so we get three full nights in Rome. I had looked at night trains, but my relatives are not enthusiastic about the bunk beds. I see Rome as our one chance to stop, see, relax in a nice hotel/B&B since the rest of the trip is so on the go.

PS - there was no way to pick up this particular 2017 car at the beginning of the trip, or I would have done so.

Posted by
31 posts

Would the time allow for, say, a night or two in Orvieto on the way to Rome?

I love the idea but don't see a way to combine speed and rural.

Verona to Orvieto appears to be a 6-hour train ride instead of a 3-hour trip to Rome, simply because it's on slower lines.

Posted by
8079 posts

This is a whirlwind trip, with plenty of jet lag. I hope you can skip some of the Business Class meal and hit the sack. Certainly the sun sets late in August, but you want to be sure of a view during the trip to Verona.

While Innsbruck makes sense with Munich, Rome doesn't. (I did read that "you promised" Rome.) But it seems like a drag to me, especially at 70. (I'm 65.) Even Vienna makes more sense than Rome, but Salzburg (which is no substitute for Rome) is the closest important site. (We spent THREE nights in Salzburg, on an Innsbruck-Salzburg-Munich-Vienna itinerary.)

I can understand breaking up a long trip, but checking into a hotel in Verona in the afternoon and checking out in time for the (unchangeable, non-refundable?) fast train to Rome doesn't add a lot to the trip. As far as I can tell, the only reason to go to Verona is the Brenner Pass. Do you really "want" to spend the night in Verona?

It makes sense to travel and/or pick up the car on Monday when a lot of attractions can be closed. (Note that August is vacation month in Europe. I'm not talking about museum closures here, but maybe restaurants and more crowding in places like Innsbruck.)

Posted by
31 posts

You're right. The pass was the big motivation for Verona.

That and the fact that Rome is at least 7 hours by Train. I thought breaking up the trip would be good.

I suppose we could fly Innsbruck Rome, but we would miss a whole lot of scenery.

This topic has been automatically closed due to a period of inactivity.