In september, Two of us need to travel from Munich to the Cinque Terre, Italy. We only have about 4 days in Cinque Terre, so don't want to spend it in travel. Then we need to com back through Basel and into Kandern, Germany. Having dificlut time finding an affordable option whether trains or plane. Anyone have a solution? Thanks! Erin
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32355 posts
Erin, As you want to minimize your travel time, travel by rail is not ideal as it's at least an 11 hour trip. If you did want to go by rail, there's a departure from Munich at 07:31, arriving Monterosso at 19:02 (2 changes). The "best" option in terms of travel time would be to travel by air from Munich to Pisa. There are direct flights, but they're a bit "pricey". The least expensive option would likely be GermanWings as they have flights currently listed as low as €79 PP. Two points to note are that they have a layover in CGN and don't fly every day. Check This Website for details on the available flights. Good luck and happy travels!
Posted by
OP
Portland, OR, USA
12 posts
Thanks so much Ken! We might want to do the train or fly down and train back from Monterrosso to Basel /Kandern. However, we could not find what trains to take or the rights sites and connections to look at. Can you give me more information on that? What my daughter looked at was very costly -- hundreds of dollars. I figured the had to be something else she wasn't finding.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
The best place to begin is to get detailed timetables on the German Rail site. If your route will involve several legs and/or will include traveling in more than one country, you may be able to get discount fares by booking each leg well in advance on the appropriate national rail site. I'll use Monterosso-Kandern as an example. One possible route is Monterosso-Milan-Basel-Kandern, departing at 06:55 and arriving at 17:03. The last leg is on a bus. Do separate bookings on trenitalia.com for Monterosso-Milan and Milan-Basel. Buy your Basel-Kandern tickets when you get to Basel. Second example: If you think you can sleep on a night train, you could take the CNL night train from Munich to Venice, departing at 23:40 and arriving at Venezia Mestre at 08:21. Book your tickets on the German Rail site. Leave Venezia Mestre at 09:02, connect in Milan, and arrive in Monterosso at 15:02. Book Venice-Milan and Milan-Monterosso on trenitalia.com.