Travel from Cinque Terre to Murren

No, there aren't any night trains that will work for you.

You will first need to get to Milan from whichever CT town you'll be staying in. From Milan the best route is Spiez-Interlaken Ost-Lauterbrunnen-Muerren. To see this for yourself, go to the German Rail site for detailed timetables. Click on the drop-down flag menu for English. After you get summary timetables for the CT town of your choice to Muerren, click on the arrow to the left of each departure time to see the connecting points.

You can buy a Eurail Global Pass or Select Pass that includes Switzerland or you can buy a variety of passes, cards and transfer tickets for Switzerland alone. For a list of all of them and a comparison of what each provides, go here.

However, while having some kind of pass for Switzerland is often a good deal, point-to-point tickets can be cheaper than a pass in other countries, particularly Italy. Where else will you be traveling in Europe?

Read that chart that Tim gave you carefully to see what the Eurail pass does NOT cover in Switzerland. Beyond Interlaken, your travel to Mürren and around that area will only be covered 25%. Going up the Schilthorn is not covered at all, nor are the Postbusses if you plan to use those from Stechelberg.

We are traveling to Netherlands, Germany, Austria,
Italy, Switzerland and France. We are planning on a 21 day Global Eurail pass. Having a hard time figuring out our route from Cinque Terre to Murren. I should also tell you that it is me, my wife, our 16 year old son and 12 year old daughter that are traveling together. Thanks for any information!!

"Having a hard time figuring out our route from Cinque Terre to Murren." Did you check the timetables on the German Rail site as I suggested?

Have you established a definite itinerary so you know exactly when you will travel from point A to point B, etc.? If so, what is it? There often are discount fares for tickets booked well in advance on a country's national rail site, but you need to be able to commit to specific departure dates and times. If you truly need flexibility, for as many countries as you will be visiting a pass may indeed be your best choice.

Joe,

You didn't specify which of the Cinque Terre villages you'd be departing from, bu this is the method I'd use for that particular route.....

Train departing Monterosso at 07:36, arriving Interlaken Ost at 14:28 (time 6H:52M; 4 changes at Sestri Levante, Genova Piazza Principe, Milan Centrale and Spiez; reservations compulsory on some legs).

When you arrive at Interlaken Ost, purchase a ticket from there to Murren. If your Railpass includes Switzerland, you may qualify for a discounted ticket.

From Interlaken Ost, you'll transfer to the local Berner Oberland train to Lauterbrunnen (train may be a blue & gold colour). For the trip from Lauterbrunen to Murren there are two options:

1.) Transfer to the Funicular to Grutschalp and then take the small train to Murren (the trains arrive in the "basement" and you'll have to walk up one flight to the town). That trip will take about 28 minutes.

2.) When you arrive in Lauterbrunnen, walk across the street and board the Post Bus (it's bright yellow, you can't miss it). It will be "timed" to match the arrival of the train. The ticket you purchased at Interlaken will cover this too. Take the short ride (about 15 min.) to Stechelberg, where you'll walk up the stairs to the Schilthornbahn cable car. Board the next Cable car and enjoy the steep ride and spectacular view. The first stop will be Gimmelwald, where you'll walk a few steps and change to the next car. When you disembark from the second Cable car, you'll be in the beautiful village of Murren!

Of the two options, I'd choose No. 2, as I find it more interesting.

It sounds complicated but it's not really that bad.

Happy travels!

Joe,

One final point to mention.....

At one time, the Berner Oberland train used to "split" part way, with the front part going to one destination and the back part to another. Passengers going to Lauterbrunnen had to ensure they were on the correct "half" of the train.

I'm not sure if that's still the case, but you might ask the station agent when you purchase your tickets at Interlaken Ost.

Cheers!

Yes, the train-splitting is still working just fine.

We are staying in Vernazza in Cinque Terre.
Thanks for all the wonderful info. so far everybody!!