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Which Scenic Railway trip to use in Switzerland...and itinerary help

Posted by (Franklin, TN, USA) on

Am planning a fall trip for my husband and me to celebrate retirement.....a trip to Switzerland for a little hiking and on to see northern Italy.....Lugano, Como, Milan, Venice. We have done Switzerland before and just want to go back and enjoy a peaceful relaxed 3-4 days in Wengen before we tour the northern Italy towns we have not seen.

We love to rent a car and see the countryside.....have done this many times.....but feel like we need to at least once do one of the 4 scenic railway trips in Switzerland. Looks like we will fly into Zurich, train to Wengen for 3 days and possibly back to Luzerne to do the William Tell to Lugano.

We could rent our car there in Lugano and do Como, Milan and Venice in our rental car. Does this sound feasible? Anyone done this before? We usually travel in the summer as I was a school teacher for 23 years but now can go in September. Are the places we want to see in late September/October ok?

We figured it might be easier to let the train get us through the alps to Lugano and then get our rental car from there. Would so appreciate any help....we have been to Zurich and Wengen but no where south of there before. I read the RS Switzerland book and it looks like the only one of the 4 scenic train trips going our way is the William Tell......love this forum and am thankful for any help!

Posted by
33819 posts

Lugano is only a hop skip and a jump from Lake Como but - the drive from Milan to Venice is less than completely pleasant.

Where will you be returning the car? If so you will have $$$$$ fees for returning in a different country.

In your circumstances I'd go Luzern > Chur > Tirano on the exquisitely beautiful Bernina Express route, probably on a normal train, not the hermetically sealed for tourists only named one.

If driving in Italy and you read the Forum you will be familiar with IDP, ZTL and TUTOR.

Posted by
162 posts

Jane,
I'm retired too and just returned from Switzerland. The thing I enjoyed most was getting on a train and just riding. I split my time between St. Gallen and Bern, had the Swiss flex pass (which for me was perfect). I don't know how much the Bernina or Glacier Express tickets cost, but I ended on on the same route, and sometimes even on the same train. My daily transportation cost averaged out to be about $35, and was some of the best money I've ever spent. I didn't have a car, didn't need one and didn't want one.

The ride from St. Gallen to St. Moritz and Tirano was so gorgeous, I did it twice. There are also other towns in that region that you shouldn't miss. From Bern I went to Zermatt and viewed the Matterhorn, Gruyeres and saw cheese being made, visited Interlaken, Lake Geneva... I could go on and on.

If you're interested, I could send you my itinerary. I literally just got back Saturday, so my memory is still fresh. I'm a big RS fan and never bought a rail pass before because I always bought point to point, but this was a different kind of trip, and it was perfect. There were a couple of chilly days where I was glad for long pants and a jacket, but most days were unexpectedly hot, especially high in the mountains. Take a hat and plenty of sunscreen.

Brenda

Posted by
16895 posts

Big cities like Milan and Venice are not ideal for a rental car. You'll just pay to leave it parked during your stay. If you've identified smaller towns that you want the car for, then maybe you skip Milan and turn in the car upon arrival in Venice. While some towns of interest require a detour from the main train line, and mountain driving would be the best scenery, towns that are right along the fastest train route include Brescia, Verona, Vicenza, and Padova.

Posted by
4853 posts

Do some reading at the man in seat 61 and don't drive in Switzerland. Trains rule.

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