I want to get from Rome to Geneva somewhere between Sept 26th night and 27th evening. (Overnight train OK). Airfare is 116$ per person for 3 of us. RailEurope is 218$ per person. Are there other trains or perhaps other options in general that I can look at ?
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
Your fastest daytime train route is Rome-Milan-Geneva, departing Rome at 09:00, connecting in Milan, and arriving in Geneva at 16:18. If you book NOW on the Swiss Rail site, you can get a Savings fare of 168 CHF (161 USD) for travel on 27 September.
You can travel Rome-Milan-Dijon-Lyon-Geneva, with the Milan-Dijon leg on a night train, but it's a 14-hour ride and it would be pretty expensive.
Posted by
OP
Seattle, Wa
15 posts
Thanks. Actually where I want ot get to is Gimmelwald. Is there a better way to get there than thro Geneva? Through Geneva by flight comes to about 130$ per person + the train/Gondola to Gimmelwald thro interlaken. Is there a convenient cheaeper nigth train route option?
Posted by
Kansas City
454 posts
You want to go to Interlaken via Brig. There's a direct night train from Rome to Geneva that stops in Brig at about 6:00 am. There you change trains for a train towards Bern and then change again in Spiez. The stretch from Brig to Interlaken is incredibly scenic and you won't have to go through Geneva. You can schedule/book the entire trip through sbb.ch
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Preeti, for Gimmelwald, you don't need to get anywhere near Geneva. Geneva is far to the northwest. For a daytime train, you can buy tickets from Rome to Gimmelwald on the Swiss train website (www.rail/ch). The journey will take 8.0hrs. The standard fare on the Swiss website is 235.20CHF. They have a non-refundable special fare of 199.20CHF. For the 8.0hr runs, you need to leave 08:00 or 09:00 from Rome Termini. If you take the later runs, the journey will take over 10hrs. There are night trains that go from Rome to Zurich. You depart Rome at 23:04 and change trains in Milan at 07:00 the next morning. From Milan, you have to get a run north into Switzerland that stops at Spiez. You must transfer at Spiez to get to Interlaken Ost which is the gateway into Gimmelwald.
Posted by
Tilburg, Netherlands
2829 posts
Run away and avoid national Italian night trains. They are the second worst travel choice there after night buses. Old (rolling stock is from the 70's or 80's), astonishingly slow and utterly expensive if you choose comfort). Just fly to Zurich, Basel-Mulhouse or Genève and take a train from there to Interlaken. Any of those airports will have train stations integrated with them with easy connections to Interlaken.