Hi. I will be in Zurich and will take a train to Como San Giovanni. It takes around 2.50 hours one way. From there I want o take a fast ferry to do an hour lake como cruise. I then plan to return to Como San Giovanni and take the train to Lugano do a few hours here and then move on to Locarno to do a few hours before reaching Giubiasco at 5pm to visit the Stella Chocolate factory tour and then return back by night to Zurich. Is this itinerary doable? if I start my journey by 8.00 am from Zurich As distance between Lugano and Como San Giovanni is only 35 mins and then another 20 mins to Locarno and another 11 mins to Gianbiasco where the chocolate factory is located. I just have a day so wanted to know how practical will this route be?
Posted by
Green Bay
22043 posts
I just have a day so wanted to know how practical will this route be?
Not very practical. Como San Giovanni is located on the side of a hill above town, so now you have to go down to the lakeshore, either on a bus, or a taxi, or walking. Now you have to assume that your timing is just right to coincide with a ferry departure, buy tickets, take your 1 hour tour then make your way back to San Giovanni, again with perfect timing to get a train to Lugano.
Are you planning on stopping in Lugano for any length of time? Or just changing trains? There are direct trains from Como San Giovanni to Locarno every hour at 23 past the hour. But the chocolate factory is in Giubiasco, and there are also direct trains from Como San Giovanni directly there, skipping Locarno, at 10 past the hour. So if you left Como San Giovanni at 3:10 pm, you would be at Giubiasco station at 4:07 pm and walk 10 minutes to the Stella Chocolate factory.
So I would suggest taking the 6:33 am EC train to Como, arriving at 9:08 am. That would give you 6 hours to get your tour in and be back at San Giovanni to get the 3:10 pm to Giubiasco, skipping Lugano and Locarno. There are plenty of evening trains from Giubiasco to Zurich in 2 hours.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Thank you for your prompt reply. Yes, I thought so too. So now I only focus on Como and then the next day travel again to the region to do chocolate factory morning then to Lugano and Locarno so then it will be better spaced out. I have a Global Euro Rail pass for one month so should be ok, I guess to do the journey again in the same direction. I just plan to spend four hours in each city and max 2 hours for the Chocolate factory. So a 12 hour trip start at 8 am and finish by 8 pm to return back to Zurich by 10.30 pm.As combining it with Como may be cutting it too short and rushing to get back.
Posted by
Green Bay
22043 posts
The EC train from Zurich will get you to Como San Giovanni in 2 1/2 hours, but with a Eurail pass, you need to buy a seat reservation for the Italian portion each way. For going to Giubiasco, take a little extra time by taking the Treno Gottardo, which is direct from Zurich HB. It is direct, but takes an extra hour because it takes a more scenic route over the mountains. The EC train uses the Gotthard Base Tunnel, completely under the mountains, so it is faster.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Thank you very much for this information. It’s very helpful, was unaware of other routes in the same direction via a more scenic route. Thank you.🙏🙏