foodiern

Airline prices seem less for R\T Newark to Zurich vs. into Milan..but by train, how long & "involved" to reach Locarno?

swandav2000

Hello foodiem,

I've been enjoying your posts regarding Maggiore, so I'm happy to see your plans taking good shape here!

Zurich airport has a train station in the basement. The connections to Locarno take either 3.16 hours (with two or three changes) or 3.47 hours (with two changes). You can check it out at www.rail.ch (click on "travel/timetable" then use "Zurich Airport" as your departure). Round-trip 2nd class fare is 108 chf.

Obviously, it'll be much quicker to fly into Milan, but I don't know if that will involve any fewer changes, any fewer hassles.

Even with the distance, it may be "easier" to fly into Zurich, stop at the grocery store at the airport, get on your train, and enjoy the scenery and your Swiss picnic. If you have heavy bags, you can check them through to your final destination for about 15 chf (even from the US departure airport!). The bags usually arrive one or two hours after you do.

Have fun researching!

s

Cicerone

You can also use the Swiss Rail website mentioned above to figure out the Milan Locarno trip. From my quick look, the shortest train trip from Milan to Locarno is 2 hours, with 1 change. The Zurich trip in 3 hours does not add substantially to your travel time. I did not calcuate the fare, but you should do so to be able to compare. I imagine it would be a little cheaper than the Swiss Rail fare. However, if the flight to Zurich is much cheaper, than a slightly higher train fare is probably worth it. Also, as mentioned the scenery down into Italy from Switzerland is really beautiful. I also think I would prefer to arrive and depart in the calm and organzied Swiss way....

jmw

Hi foodiern. Let me underscore swandav's recommendation. You'll love the Zurich airport, and the train trip to Locarno from there is nothing short of spectacular. If you're not too sleepy to enjoy it, it is eye-popping. J.

Andre

foodiern,

I already answered your other posting regarding transfers from Malpensa to Locarno (you can see all your postings by clicking on your name BTW).

Anyway, while the journey time from Milan to Locarno is somewhat shorter (depending on how long you have to wait for the bus at/to Malpensa), I would definitely recommend Zurich, especially if flights there are cheaper.

Train service is very frequent and best of all, you can check your luggage right through from Newark to Locarno! This is also possible on your return trip if you are flying on Swiss. All you need to do is purchase special luggage tags (but NOT train tickets) at
http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/passes/fly_rail_baggage.htm

Swiss train schedules are at:
www.rail.ch

Hope this helps,
Andre