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Travelling from Switzerland to Lake Como help please.

Posted by on

Hi everyone, so nice to be able to get help on this forum. My dilemma is this: I want to travel from Murren to the Lake Como area. I have 6 full days to spend in the area. I am wondering which is the best route to take from Switzerland to be close enough to the Bernese Express route when I leave to go back to Luzern. The route through the tunnels ending in Dommosola seem to be quicker by a half hour or so and leaves me further away from the Bernese Express and the Como area. (2 hours I believe) It also seems to have many changes and I am travelling with luggage. I’m thinking the best route would be to leave Interlaken on the Lauzern express and pick up the train in Luzern. The Gottard Panoramic train and arrive through Lugano. Total trip is maybe 4 hours. Once there I guess I would pick up a Train to Como. I’m thinking I would like to stay in the Varenna area so I guess that would require another train or ferry from Como. How easy is that to do and how long does it take? I have a Swiss travel pass so I think I’m covered to Chaisso. Then I guess I have to buy a ticket for the rest of the journey. If I come the other way, (the first option I mentioned) I believe I would have to add 2 hours to this plan and another train. I also think I might like to take a day trip to Milan. Would it be easier to stay in Stresa? I had thought about Venice too but I think it’s too much. I find the Italian web sites for trains and buses are not too user friendly if you’re a tourist. Any advise here will be greatly appreciated. I am travelling in September and need to reserve a place in the area very soon.

Posted by
11175 posts

We walked from the Como train station with luggage to the ferry slip.

Posted by
869 posts

You seem to want to spend 5-6 days in the Italian lake area around Lake Como. You have identified the quickest route there already through Lucerne to Lugano; but, you can book the Swiss train all the way to Como St. Giovanni so your pass should cover that - but best ask when you are in Switzerland. And you have identified that the Bernina express heads back from Lugano to Lucerne. So you have 5-6 days to adventure around Lake Maggiore - Lake Como - Lake Lugano - Etc. There will be train changes/bus changes, but that is part of the adventure.

http://www.visitcomo.eu/en/discover/organize/moving-around/public-transportation.html

https://www.sbb.ch/en
https://www.rhb.ch/en/panoramic-trains/bernina-express

The major problem I have had with Italian train sites is the spelling of the cities, and identifying the appropriate train stations you want, but you can use google maps.it to get those right. Guidebooks also are very useful for identifying prime routes/stations.

https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html

Have a great trip.

Posted by
8889 posts

It all depends where you want to go on Lake Como, it is a big lake, and it forks into two. It is shaped like an upside-down Y. You need a map to understand it.

  • Como town, on the SW (end of the bottom left branch) is on the main rail line Milan - Como - Lugano - Gotthard and points north
  • There is a different line from Milan going up the east side of the lake, stopping at all towns, including Varenna, and ending up at Tirano on the Swiss border.
  • Anywhere else, west side of the lake or between the two branches (Bellagio) needs a ferry or a bus to reach.

There are 3 rail routes from Switzerland to Italy
1) Lötschberg Simplon route: Bern - Lötschberg tunnel - Brig - Simplon tunnel - Domodossola - Milan. This is the shortest route from Mürren, but requires you to go south to Milan and north again to Lake Como.
2) Gotthard route: Zürich or Luzern - Gotthard tunnel - Lugano - Como - Milan. Good route if you actually want to go to Como town. But you need to cut across from Mürren to Luzern first
3) Bernina route: OVER the Bernina Pass, most scenic route: Chur - St Moritz - Bernina Pass - Tirano - Varenna - Milan.
Good for the east side of Lake Como, but requires a long detour from Mürren to Chur.

I suggest you:
A) Get a map with rail lines on it, not a road map
B) Look up trains on the SBB website ( https://www.sbb.ch/en/ ). The Trenitalia site does not show Swiss trains, but the Swiss site shows Swiss and Italian trains.
Start with a query from Muerren (note spelling) to either "Como S. Giovanni" or "Varenna-Esino".

When you are looking things up, please please spell place names correctly, or you will not get the info you require.
"Bernese Express" - no such thing. Do you mean the "Bernina Express"?
"Dommosola" - no such place, do you mean "Domodossola"?

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