Train from Venice to Interlaken

Start with the information in your previous post:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/transportation/traveling-from-venice-to-interlaken-grindelwald

When I wrote that, I did not know your travel date, so I did not recommend a specific route. Now that Insee you are traveling during the construction closure on the “usual” route from Milan to Interlaken (via Domodossola), I will suggest you take the other route, via Luzern or Zürich. Either of those Swiss cities can be reached by direct EC trains from Milano Centrale, which simplifies the journey. At either Luzern or Zürich, you change to a direct train to Interlaken Ost, and change there to the train to Grindelwald.

So your route would be Venice Santa Lucia——Milano Centrale—-Luzern (or Zürich—-Interlaken Ost——Grindelwald. The question is how and where to buy that. Note that this will be a long journey of 9-10 hours, with numerous transfers on the way. On your date in August, the schedules are showing that the travel time between Venice and Milan is longer than normal—-4 hours or more, whether you book with Trenitalia or Italo. And Trenitalia does not show any direct trains on that route departing before 11:48; earlier than that, there are only routes with one or more changes between Venice and Milan. Italo does show one earlier departure, at 8:35 am, arriving in Milano Centrale at 12:30.

I personally would be inclined to take the Italo train to Milan, and then book from Milan into Switzerland with the Swiss rail site SBB. But my real choice would be to break this journey into 2 segments, with an overnight stop somewhere nice on the way. That is our travel style—-no long train journeys in a single day. Would you consider that?

Thanks Lola for your response, and sorry I am new to this site and had a issue getting back to my old post. Do you think if I leave the day before on a Friday that the availability would be better. I am still planning out my trip so I have some flexibility. My overall trip was to fly to Rome (from US), then train to Venice, train to Interlaken area, then train to Paris. I find the Venice to Interlaken being the hardest to get information.

Hi again. The problem with Venice to Milan is not availability; there is some kind of problem with the train route between the two cities that is causing it to take longer than usual. Normally the direct train between the 2 cities takes 2.5 to 2.75 hours. But the schedules around your date in August show the journey taking 4 hours or more. Trenitalia has the morning trains taking a different route, with a change in Bologna, or using regional trains that wander around and change at Verona. This is true on each day, not just on the 17th, so traveling a day earlier will not help.

I hope someone more knowledgeable that I comes along to help, as what I am seeing on Trenitalia if you book the whole trip as one ticket (Venice to Interlaken) is very limited, and very expensive.

On 16 Aug they only show departures at 7:26 and 7:51 am, taking 11 hours to reach Interlaken, and one at 13:18 that takes 13 hours, arriving at 2 am in Interlaken, which is terrible. These range in price from 179-188 €per person ( ut that might be different if kids are involved).

On 17 August they only show the 7:26 and 7:51 departures, and the latter one takes 13 hours (the 7:26 is 11.5 hours.

All of these routes have 3 changes, at Verona, Milano Centrale, and Zürich. Trenitalia will not even show the faster route via Domodossola (the one with a bus transfer) if you try to book it on one ticket. The faster route is the one that takes 9.5 to 10 hours, even with the bus transfer, but it has more train changes on the way.

Note that these times are just to Interlaken; you still need to change trains and travel to Grindelwald.

As I mentioned earlier, with the one-day journey taking 11 hours or more, my choice would be to break it into two segments with an overnight. Lugano breaks it up pretty evenly, into 2 segments, each around 5.5 -6.5 hours. If doing that, I look into booking the first part on Trenitalia (where the fare from Venice to Lugano is around €45-50) and get Saver Day Passes for the journey from Lugano to Grindelwald. Right now the price for your dates in August is 61 CHF each. That will start going up at some point.

Maybe others can suggest different solutions that would work better for you.

August is still far away, and yes, it looks like there are some engineering works at different places along your intended route, and as the alternative schedule has not been finalised yet there is nothing to book.

So just wait till early July or so. If fast trains are scheduled, but with a different schedule, they will then be bookable.

I hate to say it, but if you must get from Venice to Interlaken on August 17, flying to Zurich may be your best bet, albeit more expensive. Swiss has a flight at 10:40, arriving at 11:55. You should be able to make the 12:45 direct train to Interlaken from Zurich airport, arriving at 14:58. Considering it will probably take 1 hour to get from Venice proper to Venice airport, you'd have to leave at 8 am, so the 7 hours travel time matches the current rail travel time with no rail disruptions. Unless something changes, it looks to be an 11 hour rail journey now, with slow service on the Venice-Milan route and a replacement bus on the Milan-Domodossola route.

Thanks everyone, let me look at my itinerary and see what i can change. I may get back and ask more questions.

Sam to the rescue! I was hoping you would see this post and respond.

Just curious if the other direction, going from Interlaken to Venice makes any difference in availability of options.

Usually when a line is closed for maintenance that affects trains in both directions...

For searching cheap flights within Europe, try www.skyscanner.com

They have some dirt cheap rates available. Even more so the closer to your actual travel date.

Wonder if someone can tell me where the construction is between Interlaken and Venice, is it between Domodossola and Milan?

It is actually between Stresa and Arona. They have set up train replacement buses going directly between Milano Centrale and Domodossola to cover the EC trains. There are also replacement buses between Arona and Stresa to cover regional service.

I don't know what is going on between Milano Centrale and Venice, but starting July 31, the Frecce trains that normally take 2 1/2 hours take 4 hours.

There are two problem areas. One is the closure for construction between Milan and Domodossola, which yoy can read about here:

https://www.sbb.ch/en/travel-information/rail-traffic-information/timetable-change/europe.html

You may have to open the “italy” section. There is a bus link from Milan to Domodossola and if you book that route I believe it comes with a reservation for the bus, but not sure about that. But the route will take longer than the normal schedule.

I suggested the alternate route via Luzern, which involves a scenic train over the Gotthard pass route; or you could get to Domodossola via Locarno and the Centovalli railway. Either of these options will also add time to the journey but at leas the routes are scenic. Wfe enjoy that Gotthard Pass route and use it each time we travel between Switzerland and italy. You could say I am biased in that direction.

It appears there is also a problem somewhere between Verona and Milan, which is part of the route from Venice. Trenitalia is showing the fast trains in the morning (the Frecce trains) detouring down to Bologna and then to Milan. Of course that takes longer than the direct route via Lago di Garda. There is an afternoon Frecce train that uses the usual route, without the detour to Bologna, as least there was when I looked at it yesterday.. I mentioned it then. This train may or may not take longer, but the problem I saw is that is leave Venice so late that you would not get to Grindelwald until nearly midnight.

I do not know where the problem is, or have time or the skills to try to figure it out. Maybe someone else knows. All I know is that the schedules for the dates in August surrounding your travel days sho a much longer time than normal for the journey from Venice to Interlaken/Grindelwald.

This is the main reason I suggested breaking the journey into two segments on successive days, with a nice overnight in a lakeside town or city along the route. That way you could enjoy the morning in Venice, take that afternoon train to Milan (which I mentioned before) and continue to Como, Lugano, Locarno (all three are conveniently on the Gotthard route) or other town on one of the lakes.

You could also overnight in Stresa on Lago Maggiore (taking a bus from Milan) and complete the Domodossola route the following day (with a bus from Stresa to Domodossola and train from there). I personally do not favor that Domodossola route, as we do not know how well it will work out, or how long it will take. But others have confidence it will work. It is your decision.

But of course the fastest way is to fly to Zurich, as Sam suggests.

It is actually between Stresa and Arona. They have set up train replacement buses going directly between Milano Centrale and Domodossola to cover the EC trains. There are also replacement buses between Arona and Stresa to cover regional service.

I don't know what is going on between Milano Centrale and Venice, but starting July 31, the Frecce trains that normally take 2 1/2 hours take 4 hours. I see that the holdup appears to be between Padua and Verona. Normally that takes 43 minutes with a stop at Vicenza. Now it shows taking almost 2 hours and the stop at Vicenza is eliminated. So it would appear the trains are being rerouted.

I see that there is a direct train from Venice to Zurich, Eurotrain train number: 310? does this also get impacted with the delays for Aug 16 or 17th travel?

Actually it is EC 340. SBB shows it running on August 17 but not on the 16th. It would be fine if you are OK with arriving in Zurich at 22:27. If you wanted to continue to Interlaken you would not arrive there til 1 am.

Yeah, thanks for confirming. Its crazy that all these trains are impacted in August due to construction and maintenance, just my luck.

Its been really difficult trying to get from Venice to Interlaken in Aug, however I am looking at another scenario for Sun Aug 18th and was wondering if someone can help me. I see a train from Venice to Milano on a Italio Treno 8:35am - 12:30pm, then I wanted to see best and lowest cost option from Milano to Interlaken, maybe take bus to Domodossola and then take train to Speiz and then to Interlaken. I am unable to see this for Aug 18th after 1pm. Can someone assist

Just to add, I found a connection from Milano to Lugano, then Art-Goldu, then Luzern, and to Interlaken. Its from 13:43 and arriving 18:55 to Interlaken. I found this on SBB site, so does all the above combinations work meaning starting from Venice to Interlaken

Milano Centrale to Spiez on the bus plus EC train, departing around 13:10, is 66 euro on Trenitalia. Add about 10 CHF for the ticket from Spiez to Interlaken.

Milano Centrale to Interlaken via Luzern is 110 on that day; so more expensive. But how long will you be staying in Switzerland altogether? Have you considered getting Half Fare Cards? That would reduce the cost of that journey to around 69 CHF, and would halve all your other trains, boats, and mountain lifts while you are in Switzerland.

How old are the kids in your family?

my kids are 16 and 19, and also I was planning to get the berner oberland pass and will be in Switzerland for about 3 days before heading to Paris. Did you see the route I posed on SBB, is that any good? Also with the above pass, I know there are trains from Domodossola to Interlaken included but not sure which trains and the times, I like to know this before the day of travel

The route you mention through Lugano. Arth-Goldau and Luzern is one of several I saw for that day. There is also one with just 2 changes, at Arth-Goldau and Luzern.

If your Berner Oberland Passes are valid that day, they will cover from Luzern to Interlaken, so that helps.

The BO Pass also cover the Spiez route from Domodossolala, but ONLY if you take the slower regional train between Brig and Spiez via Kandersteg. Not the fast route through the tunnel from Visp to Spiez that the EC trains use. The slower regional train could add an hour to your journey time, so I do think you want to do that.

I am not sure if I can reply to an individual post.

Red comment about delays Milan to Venice

Just adding that I have tickets Milan to Venice on Sept 12th and shows 9:45 to 12:00

Where do you see a comment about delays between Milan and Venice?

Hi @Lola, I couldn't find the route with just 2 changes, there is always a stop at Lugano

@Sasha, trips between Venice and Milan in Aug are 4+ hours when it should be 2.5 hrs, looks like there is some rerouting maybe because of rail work. It doesnt show in July or Sept and some other Aug days,

The EC 318 departs Milano Centrale at 13:10 and goes straight to Zurich with no change at Lugano. It uses the Gotthard Basistunnel which they apparently anticipate opening at some point before August 18.

You can ride it to Zurich and change there to a direct train to Interlaken Ost, arriving at 18:58.

Or you can get off at Arth-Goldau and change to a train to Luzern (30minutes to make the transfer), and take the scenic regional train to Interlaken Ost, arriving at 18:55.

Edit: looks like they are opening the Gotthard Basis tunnel to EC 318 on Sundays all summer. This cuts an hour off the weekday travel time from Milan to Zurich.

Thanks Lola, thats great explanation. I see the one transfer train is little more pricy but maybe more convenient. As the travel time is almost identical, do you recommend one over the other, that would also provide a scenic train ride of Switzerland?

The “one-transfer” train, with the single change at Zurich, is more expensive because it is a longer route, using faster EC and IC trains. The 2-transfer route, with changes at Arth-Goldau and Luzern, uses cheaper regional trains for the second 2 trains.

My personal choice would definitely be the Luzern route, not necessarily because it it cheaper, but because the route from Luzern to Interlaken is very scenic. It is part of the named Golden Pass scenic route, but you do not need special tickets or reservations for that train. The extra transfer would not bother us at all; there is plenty of time for both of them, and the transfer is easy. At Luzern you do not need to go down from the platform where you arrive (platform 7) to the underground corridor to cross under the tracks; if you prefer, you can just walk alongside to the front of the train and use the lobby area to make your way to platform 13 for the departing train.

Thanks Lola, this is very helpful.

So when I try to book my trip from Milano Centrale to Luzern on Aug 18 @ 13:10 and arriving 15:42, it shows the connection from Arth-Goldau at 16:15 on train IR 26, however when I sign in and try to book it, the connection time changes to 15:49 at Arth-Goldau on train 2024 and also the cost increases as well (doubles from what it says). Is this typical? I feel like the short time for switching trains makes me a little nervous. I am wondering if they are just giving me a earlier train, is there a way to put my own connections in SBB?

Hello,

Did you book your tickets from Venice to Interlaken? If yes, can you share the details as I am looking to travel on Aug 7 from Venice to Interlaken and could use the options you tried.

Thanks

Hi liveup2k. Yes I did book this trip, it was little cumbersome due to other routes being unavailable but finally found the optimal route. I first booked a from Venice St Lucia to Milan Centrale on Italio website. Then I booked the remaining on SBB website, this is from Milano Centrale to Arth-Goldau, then to Luzern, and last train to Interlaken. This entire connection was found on SBB based on my time. Let me know if you want my timings, but use the above two websites to book your timing. Good luck.

The problem with booking Italo to Milano, and SBB from there is that you now have an unprotected connection in Milano. If you book that leg on Trenitalia your connection is protected.

Regarding the short connections in Switzerland: There is zero need whatsoever to feel nervous about them. They work perfectly. This is the railway being efficient, not wanting to waste your time. This trip is going to be far to long already as it is...

Thanks WengenK for the feedback, I figured that to be the case.

Thanks Sajant26. If you can share the time, that would be helpful for me as well.

Hi Wegen,

Is it possible to book the complete trip from Venice to Interlaken in Trenitalia?

I was unable to get this booking on Trenitalia. my booking is leaving Venice St Lucia @ 8:35am to Milan Centrale arriving 12:30pm. Leaving Milano Centrale @ 1:10pm to Arth-Goldau arriving @ 3:42pm, then leaving @4:15pm to Luzern and arriving 4:41pm, then leaving @5:06pm to Interlaken and arriving 6:55pm. Hope this helps

For some reason, I am not seeing the route from Milan centrale to Arth-Goldau but rather I see Milano-Centrale, Lugano, Zurich, Interlaken but the same time

I am on www.sbb.ch/en, There is a 1:10 pm EC train from Milano Centrale to Zurich. You get off that train at Arth-Goldau and change to a train to Luzern.
I think the OP is in error here because the 1:10 pm EC train arrives at Arth-Goldau at 4:42 pm, not 3:42 pm. That means they will get to Interlaken Ost 7:55 pm, not 6:55 pm.
In order to see this on SBB, you must specify via "Kuessnacht am Rigi" and in the advanced search function, adjust the transfer time to 10 minute minimum. Otherwise, SBB will want to route you through Lugano and Zurich because it is slightly faster.

In the OP's case, its not a big deal, just arrive an hour later than planned. But there are faster ways to Interlaken Ost (although not by much). www.sbb.ch/en will show the way.

When you arrive at Arth Goldau at
15:42(note we use 24 hour clock here) just hop on the:15:49 to Luzern. There is no need to hang around the station till 16:15 and the 15:49 takes a nicer route as well.

Tickets in Switzerland are for a route, not a train. You do not, in fact, have a "train ticket". Once you are in Switzerland you are free in your choice of trains.

Now, this is a day that I would just have flown to Zurich. You picked the absolute worst day ever to travel by train from Venezia to Interlaken. There is all kinds of weirdness going on. I cannot see the OPs schedule for example. If you look this up on www.sbb.ch you leave earlier or later, and almost always change in Bologna as well.

How did you book all this? I assume Venezia - Milano on Italo, and Milano to Interlaken on SBB?
Did you book the second part in one go, or did you split that up as well?

For Milano - Interlaken via Luzern the SBB would have yo take the 13:43 RE80, and changing in Lugano and Luzern. Since this is all on non reserved trains you would then also not have had to worry much about your Italo train being delayed...

Yeah it is crazy travel day. I booked the Milano to Luzern on SBB, I can still see the train times on the site. 13:10 Milano to Arth Goldau arriving 15:42, then leaving 16:15 arriving Luzern at 16:41, then I am using my BO pass for remainder of the trip 17:06 train to Interlaken arriving 18:55. To your point, I can try to get on the earlier train.

But the 13:10 train from Milan arrives at Arth-Goldau at 16:42, not 15:42.

This is from my ticket purchase on SBB.

Milano Centrale to Arth-Goldau
Valid: ValidSu, 18.08.2024
Dep: Dep13:10, Arr: Arr15:42

Arth-Goldau to Luzern
Valid: ValidSu, 18.08.2024
Dep: Dep15:49, Arr: Arr16:21

I just emailed customer service to verify as well

EC318, the train in question, does arrive in Arth-Goldau at 16:42 this week.

BUT it arrives an hour earlier, at 15:42 on the 18th of August, the date in question. How it makes up an hour must be due to the tunnel repairs, but according to the SBB planner, it does.

I got it now. Since you are traveling on a Sunday, the train is using the Gotthard Base Tunnel. Your original post said you were traveling on a Saturday. The Gotthard Base Tunnel has been out of service for passenger trains for at least a year due to an accident. It is scheduled to begin regular passenger service on September 8, but it looks like they are running a few passenger trains now on Sundays.

got me worried there for a min lol, yeah this only comes up on Sundays. I changed my travel plans with feedback on this site, its been very helpful. I only booked the final itinerary few weeks back.

I believe they re running some EC trains through the tunnel on weekends. August 18 is a Sunday, so that could account for the faster time.

Yes, that is the reason Lola. Sundays only for now, but Saturday Sept 1 regular passenger service resumes in the Gotthard Base Tunnel.

I get it now. You are travelling on the 18th, not the 17th as you mentioned in your other message. Indeed some trains already go through the base tunnel again, southbound on Saturdays, and northbound on Sundays, and you are on one of those.
You can trust the SBB timetable. And anyway, you do not need to worry to much, as there are plenty of trains on the route, and your ticket is for the route, not a particular train. That the trains you selected during booking are shown on your ticket is just to remind you of what you intend to do.