Train--Venice to Varenna, Varenna to Tirano

I do not know why Trenitalia does not show that train. It is not a spelling problem; you can enter Milano Centrale to Tirano and it recognizes the stations but says no trains exist. You can see the schedules on the Swiss site, rail.ch. Trains depart Milano Centrale at 10:20, 12:20, 14:20 etc., and arrive in Tirano 2.5 hours later. To see the stop in Varenna, use the Milan to Tirano schedule, pick a train, and click non " show intermediate stops". You willmsee that the train takes 1 hour 4 minutes to get to Varenna, so the 12:20 train, say, arrives at Varenna at 13:24. Lecco is the previous stop ( they go Milan, Monza, Lecco. Gather your things and move to the exit after the train leaves Lecco. Other people will doing this too. The train WILL stop long enough for you to get off. Are spending the night in Varenna? Since the station is unmanned and does not even have a machine, you have to buy your onward ticket to Tirano at the travel agent nearby. You will pass there if you walk to the station from the waterfront, but best buy it ahead when you find them open for business. For Venice to Milan on Trenitalia, spell it in Italian: Venezia. Once you put in Vene... The choices should pop up. You can pick either " Tutti le Stazione" ( allnstations) or Venezia S.L. Which is the station actually in Venice.

Mari, That's a fairly easy trip. My preference would be a direct train departing from Venezia Santa Lucia at 08:50, arriving Milano Centrale at 11:25 (time 2H:35M, reservations compulsory, current Mini fares shown at €29 PP). From Milan there should be departures to Varenna-Esino about every two hours. The Trenitalia website currently shows a departure at 12:20, arriving Varenna at 13:23 (time 1H:03M, Regionale, current fare €6.25 PP - DON'T forget to validate!). On the trip to Varenna, make a note of the time. At about the 55-minute mark, start to get your luggage organized and make a note of the door release method. The train will pass through a tunnel just prior to arrival in Varenna. When the train stops, disembark straight away as it only stops for about a minute. Depending on which Hotel you choose, you should be able to walk from the station (unless you're hauling enough luggage to equip an Everest expedition). There should be Taxi's at the station or at least not too far away. As Lola mentioned, it would probably be a good idea to also buy tickets for the Varenna-Tirano trip. There should be a ticket Kiosk in Varenna, but I can't recall for sure. The Validation machines are often "out of commission" so that may be the case with ticket machines also. One point to keep in mind is that there's a VERY helpful Travel Agency just below the station, and as I recall they're able to provide tickets or arrange reservations. There appears to be departures from Varenna to Tirano about every two hours on the "odd" hour. The trip is 1H:26M. I can't remember the exact layout of the Tirano station, but if you're meeting the Bernina Express I recall there's a short walk. Happy travels!

Well that is downright weird. Yesterday I could not get Trenitalia to show trains to either Varenna-Esino or Tirano, no matter what date and time I chose. Today, using the same dates ( within the coming week) no problem. Thanks for posting that, Ken.

Lola, Actually, I had to use the sbb website as you did to get the times from Varenna to Tirano. I assumed these would coincide with the departure schedule of trains from Milan to Varenna (about every two hours), since they're all on the same route. Cheers!

Thanks, Lola and Ken. You have been very helpful. We are less concerned now about stopping at an unmanned station, and I was able to get the train schedules to work with your help. We are spending 2 nights in Varenna and another 2 later in Pontresina. Any advice on hotels, etc. if you have been there?

We have been to Varenna for 3 nights and we loved Albergo Milano. We had the top floor room in Casa Rossa, large and modern, wig great lake view terrace. The rooms in the main building must be nice too, although we did not see them. Breakfast and dinner on the hotel terrace were wonderful. I have not yet been to Pontresina but have a place picked out for when we go. I will look it up and post back.