I am planning a family trip that will begin in Switzerland and end in Italy. The train from Interlaken (our last stop in Switzerland will be Lauterbrunnen) to Italy can take up to 9 hours. I thought I'd be clever and rent a car -- 3.5 hours from Interlaken to St. Vincent, overnight in St. Vincent, then 3.75 the next day to Riomaggiore, and return the car there. So instead of spending an entire day traveling, we get to spend 2 half-days driving through the scenic alps and we get to spend some time in St. Vincent, where I want to visit the casino that is there. However, I've discovered that renting a car for that itinerary will cost close to $1000 due to a hefty "one-way drop fee"! Does anyone out there have a better solution? Any suggestions are welcome! Thanks!
Posted by
Oklahoma City, OK, USA
430 posts
We took a late evening train out of Interlaken -- after dark, at a time of day that we didn't "miss" the alps -- spent the night in a hotel near the station in Milan -- early train the next a.m. in time to have lunch in Monterosso.
Dinner on the train one evening, breakfast on it the next morning -- -- and I think connecting in Milan we were able to trim a little off the 9 hours you found -- but it is still a long haul. I'll get on Bahn.de to see if I can find comparable current routes to what we did.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
According to the timetables at www.bahn.de, if you leave Lauterbrunnen at 07:03, you will arrive in Riomaggiore at 14:38. Five connections are required, but the total travel time is 7hr35min and you'll be able to spend the late afternoon as well as the evening in Riomaggiore.
Posted by
OP
Tulsa
2 posts
Thanks, guys. I guess we'll just have to evaluate whether visiting St. Vincent is worth a thousand dollars.... I appreciate the input!