Murren to Milan

what do you mean by "best way"? Fastest or more scenic? Or slowest and most scenic? Is number of days for the trip important?

Routes available are Spiez - Brig - Domodossola - Milan (fast or slow)

or

Meiringen - Brünig Pass - Luzern - Lugano - Milan

or

Meiringen - Brünig Pass - Luzern - Boat - Flüelen - Lugano - Milan

or via the Glacier Express (optional) - Chur - Bernina Express (optional) - Lake Como - Milan (very scenic and very slow)

what's your pleasure?

Also what would be the best rail passes to purchase?

That depends on what trips you plan to take from Muerren. Schilthorn? Jungfraujoch?

Sorry, meant the fastest - same day. While in Murren we would do Schillthorn and possibly Jungfraujoch.

I suggest you swap Mürren and Luzern, heading from Zurich to Mürren first,, then to Luzern afterwards. That way you can take what in my view is the “best” train route between the Berner Oberland towns and Milan. That would be the Treno Gottardo, which goes over the Alps rather than under them in a tunnel.

https://www.mystsnet.com/en/experiences/scenic-routes/treno-gottardo/

Use the links to open a video and a map of the route.

This train connects Luzern with Locarno on Lago Maggiore, but if you are heading to Milan you might want to save a bit of time by disembarking at Bellinzona and changing to a train straight to Milan rather than staying on til Locarno. That is what we did last September.

As for passes, it depends on how many boats, mountain lifts, and Mountain Railways you want to ride. A regular Swiss Pass covers trains and boats, but most lifts are discounted 50% (25% for the Jungfrau railway above Wengen). It does include free travel on the Rigi loop by boat, rack railway, cablecar, and boat from Luzern. This comes in a 6-day version which would cover most of your time, or an 8-day which would include all.

Another option is the Berner Oberland Pass, which fully covers trains from Luzern or Bern into the Berner Oberland, along with boats on the lakes and most of the mountain lifts (not just a discount). The Schilthorn cablecar and the Jungfrau railway above Eigergletscher are covered at 50%. This also comes in 6- and 8- day versions, but since it doesn’t cover beyond Luzern the 6-day would be all you need.

Map of validity of the Berner Oberland Pass:

https://www.berneseoberlandpass.ch/assets/Uploads/BLS-BO-Pass-M-23-WEB.pdf

Map of validity of a regular Swiss Pass:

https://cdn-doc.myswissalps.com/docs/default-source/rail-network-maps/swisstravelpass.pdf?sfvrsn=7788603a_56

Fastest way is Muerren to Lauterbrunnen to Interlaken Ost to Spiez to Milan. 4 1/4 hours.
2 pass options.

1. Get an 8-day Swiss Travel Pass for 389 CHF 2nd class. Simplest, but not neccessarily cheapest if you go to the Jungfraujoch. You only get a 25% discount above Muerren. https://www.sbb.ch/en/leisure-holidays/inspiration/international-guests/swiss-travel-pass.html

2. Get a 30-day Half Fare Card for 120 CHF, then a 6-day Berner Oberland Pass for 220 CHF (when you have a Half Fare Card). This ill be free to Eigergletcher, then a 50% discount above that. Zurich to Luzern is 12.50 CHF with the card, as well as discounts from Zurich Airport to Zurich and public transport in Zurich, and any boat or mountain journeys in Luzern. To take full advantage, you will have to take the slower, more scenic route from Spiez to Brig, vis Kandersteg, so that makes the journey from Muerren to Milan 5 1/4 hours.
   https://www.berneseoberlandpass.ch/

Hi pkharrison- this is very close to what we are doing in Sept minus the overnight in Zurich. I am just starting to research the same thing in regards to the train travel from Zurich-Luzern-Murren-Milan Central. I would be curious what you decided to do when you get it all figured out. I am also looking for the most economical with the least amount of changes. I have been looking at Trainline, STC and Omio already but it is a bit confusing not being able to see actual schedules and fares until 60 days prior. I would love to hear which site you ended up using and if you decided to use purchase any type of pass or just do point to point. We are really looking forward to doing a lot of hiking once we get to Murren :-)

You should use www.sbb.ch for schedules. There they are available till the end of the year. Schedules don't change much. What you see now is also going to be available next month. Or next year. Or next decade...

We've switched it around a bit. We're spending 1 night in Zurich then heading to Murren for 4 nights and then to Lucerne for the 2 nights before heading to Milan. I haven't had a chance to look back at the train schedules. But any help on the fastest connections would be appreciated. Thx.