Hello, we will be staying in Varenna May 22, 23, 24 and our next stop is Murren May 25, 26, 27. According to the train schedules I looked up, here is the route (4-1/2 hours): Varenna-Milan-Spiez-Interlaken-Lauterbrunnen. The Varenna-Milan route is Trenord, every 2 hours. The Milan-Spiez route is Trenitalia, once daily. The Spiez-Interlaken route and Interlaken-Lauterbrunnen route are Swiss Railways, hourly. I was hoping to take one of the scenic railways but it doesn’t look like it’s possible; that’s okay as long as we don’t have to get off and on several trains with our luggage. Does this seem like a logical route? And what about the Milan-Spiez leg only running once daily? Any feedback would be welcome.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
It's also possible to head straight north from Varenna to Tirano, which starts the route of the Bernina Express (and plenty of regular departures along the same line). It doesn't come up automatically because it takes longer. But you can add Tirano as a "via" midpoint to a schedule search, for instance using the Deutsche Bahn link at Looking Up Train Schedules and Routes Online.
If you use the Search feature on this site to look for "Varenna Murren" or "Varenna Lauterbrunnen," you'll find several similar threads discussing the options in either direction.
Posted by
Green Bay
21150 posts
The fastest way is 6 hours and 21 minutes with 6 changes, but 3 of those are between Spiez and Muerren and unavoidable. That has a 45 minute change time at Milano Centrale. The way with only 5 changes takes 30 minutes longer because of a 1 hour and 38 minute change time at Milano Centrale.
You take a more scenic leg for the Brig to Spiez by using the Loetschberger train. That takes the same amount of time as the 5 change itinerary, but now has one extra train change.
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
Don’t know where you’re looking for schedules, but there are lots more connections Milano Centrale to Spiez than the 1 or 2 per day that you mentioned.
www.sbb.ch/en will show you all the connections.
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
Janet, Yes, that is the logical and quickest route.
Milan to Spiez is not once daily, you must be looking on the wrong website.
- Go to the SBB (Swiss Railways) website: https://www.sbb.ch/en
- Enter from Varenna-Esino to Mürren (alternative spelling: Muerren, NOT Murren) and your desired date and time.
- This will show one train every 1-2 hours, trip takes 6-7 hours.
You will have to get on and off several trains, that is the way trains work. You will not get one train from small-town-in-Italy to smaller-village-in-Switzerland, it is an interconnecting network so you can get from anywhere to anywhere.
Posted by
OP
12 posts
Thanks very much for the input! I’m going to drop by the travel agency in Varenna that Rick Steves recommends and have them issue our tickets and plot the route.