bug

Hello

We are going to Varenna on Lake Como for a week. We must fly in and out of Zurich. We are taking the Bernina Express on the way to Varenna, but are looking for just the fastest and easiest route back to Zurich for our flight home.

It looks like taking the train from Varenna to Milan and then from Milan to Zurich might be the best route, but thought I'd ask if there's some other route that I'm missing.

Thanks for any guidance!

Dukey1

No, you are not missing any fast routes...go to Milano and then north.

bobthenavigator

I agree that all of the trains will come via Milano, but you can also catch some of them in either Como and Lugano.

Dukey1

OK, here are the options:

get a BUS from Menaggio over to Lugano and go from there

Get a FERRY down to Como and go from there

Get the TRAIN from Varenna to Milano and go from there..

I'm really sorry I didn;t make it clear about the "obvious choice" here

bug

Thank you!! We'll take the train to Milan and then Zurich.

PalenQ

Faster would be to boat to Como or Lugano and then not have to change trains in Milano Centrale, one of the most humungous train stations in Europe with about a zillion tracks - Como and Lugano stations are just a few platforms and i think all told quicker these ways - but if you have a Eurailpass then the Milan route will be 100% covered - the boat can be pricey but the bus to Lugano can't cost too much.

bug

Oh, do you not have to change trains if you go from como to zurich? Thnx

PalenQ

Oh, do you not have to change trains if you go from como to zurich? Thnx>

more and more you do due to the Italian Railways reluctance to continue running cross border trains - but i believe there are indeed some direct Como to Zurich trains still running - but from Lugano you surely have hourly direct trains and trains that you do not need to have seat reservations on like you would any Italian train IC and above that continued into Switzerland (but i would think the conductor would let you slide the few miles from Como to Chiasso, the Swiss border station for tarifaction purposes.

Q - how long does it take to go from Varenna to Lugano by bus - if just as quick or quicker than to Como by bus or boat then it's a no-brainer to go via Lugano - for one thing if you take a boat to Como then you still gotta go to the main Como train station about a mile from the dock. Buses perhaps go to the Como S Giovanni (think that's it) station for trains to Switzerland

kybourbon

>>>do you not have to change trains if you go from como to zurich? <<<

There are trains from Como S. Giovanni to Zurich that don't involve a change at least every two hours (travel time 3 hours). The non-stop train you would catch in Lugano is the exact same non-stop train you would catch in Como (the EC trains). I seem to recall the bus from Menaggio to Lugano didn't run as often as buses from Menaggio to Como, but perhaps someone has a link to the schedules.

bug

Thanks for all the info. So what we did was take the train from Varenna to Milan and then Milan to Zurich.

It was actually very easy changing trains in Milan. The only problem we had was somewhere in Switzerland our Italian train had to stop for 20 minutes (not sure why), and once we started moving again they announced that we were too far behind schedule go into Zurich. Instead the Italian train ended its journey in Arth Goldau, where we all got off and got on a Swiss train to continue on to Zurich. I will refrain from any railway stereotyping comments. ;-)

All in all it was a great trip and we were satisfied with our train travel.

suzanna67

Hi, we are travelling from Bellagio to Zurich.. Can you tell me whether we should get the ferry to varenna, then train to Zurich? Also - was your train trip to Zurich scenic? thanks

PalenQ

Bellagio is so tiny you will have no problem finding the boat dock - smack in middle of everything. the train station in Varenna (Varenna-Esino I believe it is officially called) is a short uphill walk from the boat dock - taxis should be there as well. Frequent trains to Milan - but if I were you I would take the boat from Bellagio to Como and head for Como's mainline train station with direct trains to Zurich - no need to backtrack to Milan and switch trains in that oft IME hectic train station.