We are traveling from Interlaken Ost to Varenna on Lake Como. I'm looking for suggestions on what this forum might think is the best route. I've researched a number of sites including The Man in Seat 61, Trenitalia, SBB. All suggestions are welcome.
Posted by
San Diego, California
5649 posts
Hopefully this above Search will have some helpful info. It's a frequent question here.
When is this trip? How big is the group? What is your pace of travel? What are your interests?
Are you interested in efficiency or scenery ?
You're planning a trip is a most spectacular country. Safe travels!
Posted by
Irving
3277 posts
There is a train departing from Interlaken Ost at 1:30p arriving at the Varenna-Esino station at 7:24p on weekdays that involves three connections. All other trains take longer and can have as many as four transfers: https://www.sbb.ch/en.
Posted by
Southwest Florida
903 posts
Much will depend on when you are departing. Is it in June, July or August? Day and dates matter. I have made this journey several times (from Lauterbrunnen) and there will be anywhere from 2 to 4 transfers. Surprisingly, I have found that booking via SBB is often less expensive than via Trenitalia (shock - cheap Swiss rail!).
Posted by
Bainbridge Island
3299 posts
“There is a train departing Interlaken OST at 1:30 pm arriving at the Varenna-Esinoststion at 7:24 pm on weekdays that involves three connections.”
Where is the first train going? Spiez or Lucerne? The SBB link posted does not show any trains.
If that train sequence is the one via Spiez and Domodossola (which is usually the fastest) it may not be so fast if travel is after June 9. There is track work on that route and a bus link which makes it slower.
Posted by
Nacogdoches TX
19 posts
We just did this a couple days ago, currently in varenna. I booked it on SBB app. Definitely reserve a seat on the legs that you can. We did the 1:30 through Spiez to Milan and then to varenna. It was supposed to arrive at 6:30 but had an hours worth of delays - the train arriving to Milan was late. Not sure if it’s related to the previous poster about delays in domosola. It was an adventure but we made it!