will be traveling from zurich to luzern to interlaken to murren(3days) then to stressa for two days c. terra for three days then on to venice and meeting family in munich between may 13 and may 31. would greatly appreciate advice on train travel and any thing else that would be helpful.
thanks
Posted by
Seattle, WA
16283 posts
There is no advantage to buying tickets for travel within Switzerland in advance. The available special offers (at this time) are for travel from a Swiss city to another city outside the country. These are for RT travel and will show up on the website for your route when available.
With an itinerary like yours, Robert, you might benefit from one of the Swiss passes or cards, such as a Half-Fare card (99 CHF, gives you 50% off all tickets, including the pricy Jungfraujoch), or a 3-day Flex Pass (which covers 3 travel days fully, and give you 50% off other travel, but only between the first and last day of use). the flex Pass only covers 25% of the Jungfraujoch.
Which pass, if any, might work for you depends on what you plan to do in the Mürren area, such as ride up the Schilthorn or Jungfraujoch.
There is a good overview of the different Swiss passes on the "Railpass" section of Rick's webpage.
Also---if you are landing in Zürich and don't wish to spend a night there--there are direct trains to Luzern from the station inside the airport (Zürich Flughafen). These go hourly at 47 minutes past the hour. In between, there are lots of other trains with one change at the main station in Zürich.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
If you book the Venice-Munich night train ASAP on the German Rail site, you may be able to get a Savings fare.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32212 posts
robert,
Your rail trips are all relatively easy. As Tim suggested, the German rail website is a good place to research the times and other details of the trains you'll be using. You could also use the Trenitalia website for trains within Italy.
Note that for the trip to Murren, you'll need to travel to Interlaken Ost (there are two stations in Interlaken). The details on getting from Interlaken to Murren are in the Guidebook, but if you need further information, post another note.
For the trip to Stresa, you'll likely by travelling via Milano Centrale. It's a very easy trip, as Stresa is only about an hour from Milan. What are your plans for touring in Stresa? I can provide information on restaurants, etc. if you're interested.
The trip from Venice to Munich will be the longest leg. I haven't checked the trains on that route lately, but I normally travel during the day (usually a change at Verona Porta Nuova).
Happy travels!
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
If you follow Ken's Venice-Verona-Munich daytime route, buy your Venice-Verona ticket in Italy. Book your Verona-Munich ticket on the German Rail site in order to get a Savings fare.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
16283 posts
From Muerren to Stresa, you will go toward Milan, but not all the way TO Milan. Stresa is one stop before Milan, about an hour shorter in travel time. You will have to make sure that the train you take from Spiez or Brig does make a stop in Stresa. Most do.
The Swiss rail site www.rail.ch is very easy to use to check the routes and schedules.