najb

I'll be arriving in Zurich in November and would like to travel by train to Bellagio. I see that I can get a train to Chiasso, but I'm not seeing anything from Chiasso to Como. I also realize the boat/ferry/hydrofoil schedules are reduced at this time of year; however, I've been unable to find a listing for the fall/winter months -- they go through 9/30. Any suggestions???

PalenqueBob

www.cisalpino for Zurich-Como direct trains

4 daily direct Cisalpino trains
and 3 daily EC direct trains take 3 hrs to Como

(from Zurich Hauptbahnhof in town - train there from airport - though some of these trains could begin at airport. check at airport train station when you buy ticket.

reservations are obligatory but you should have no problem getting on after landing.

From Como San Giovanni station either walk about a mile to boat docks for baot to Bellagio or take direct bus i believe from station to Bellagio.

111op

Are you looking to do a scenic route or a non scenic one? A scenic one would be Bernina Express to Tirano then to Varenna then ferry to Bellagio, which I just did last week.

A nonscenic one is probably Zurich-Milan-Varenna/Como, followed by ferry. I'd imagine that Lugano must be an option too. Zurich-Lugano-(Milan?) must be an option too.

By the way I'm throwing out these routes. I don't know which one is the shortest. You'd have to consult a web. It's easy to check schedules on Deutsche Bahn (which has all the European train schedules).

Maybe someone can tell you something about ferry frequencies in Nov. I don't really have a clue. But there's no train station in Bellagio, so the closest you can get is Varenna. Alternatively Como must be an option too, but the ferry ride is much longer.

111op

After seeing PB's post, I went to Deutsche Bahn. It's a 3h 45 min ride from Zurich to Como. The train goes through Lugano (about 3h).

Milan would be too long, so don't go that way.

Bus from Como is probably a good option. I think that the hunch is correct. Como-Varenna by train is 2h. It'd take too long.

Cimbrone

I would highly recommend the very scenic train/post bus/train combination that goes from Zurich to St. Moritz to Chiavenna to Varenna. From Varenna you would take a bus or a ferry to Bellagio. It is probably longer than the direct Zurich to Milan or Zurich to Como route, but shorter than the Bernina express. But the Alpine scenery is stunning.

PalenqueBob

But the Majola Pass aka Palm Express bus, which is a gorgeous gorgeous bus ride only goes once a day i think and you need reservations so if can reserve and the time fits in yes this is a great great route.

But if i were arriving after all-night flight i'd take most direct and much quicker way Zurich-Como-bus to Bellagio and the Zurich-Como train ride is scenic as well.

Dukey

You could also take the bus from Lugano to Menaggio and the ferry from Menaggio to Bellagio and skip the city of Como completely.

111op

How do you take the bus from Varenna to Bellagio? Does the bus go into the lake? I think that they are on opposite sides of the lake.

111op

Is that Palm Express bus seasonal? If so it probably doesn't run in November.

PalenqueBob

varenna bus to Como bus station by boat dock and change to bus to Bellagio - buses may run later schedules than boats or more in off season so it can be done

Cimbrone

If you take my route, you could also exit the train in Colico (which you come to first) rather than Varenna and take the bus or ferry from there to Bellagio.

111op

But isn't that a very long bus ride? The ferry ride takes 20 minutes.

I'm guessing that the Varenna/Bellagio ferry must still run frequently because one option is a car ferry. The car ferry probably runs more frequently than the passenger ferry. It's purely a guess though.

PalenqueBob

is the car ferry just as fast as the passenger boat?

Cimbrone

What Palenque refers to as the Maloja Pass route/Palm Express is the same one I'm talking about. And you will be able to take much of that route throughout the year--whether it's referred to as the Palm Express or not--on a post bus from Chiavenna. It's only called the Palm Express if you take it from Lugano and it's summer season. That's my understanding. The post buses should show up on both the swiss and italian train sites.

Cimbrone

Sorry, meant to write "TO" Chiavenna. I was actually traveling in the opposite direction.

111op

That I don't know -- if the passenger ferry is quicker.

But the car ferry takes 20 minutes.

I know this since I was just in Bellagio. When I was there, which I imagine is high season, the Varenna-Bellagio car ferry runs about every 40 minutes (it takes 20 minutes one way and then turns around).

The passenger ferry doesn't really service the Varenna-Bellagio route so regularly, as I recall. It probably runs a few times a day.

For ferry schedules, consult navigazione.it.

Anyway, if you have to take the bus to Como from Varenna (I'll take your word for it and assume the bus does run) and switch I doubt that this will be quicker. These people don't necessarily line up all their schedules to minimize connection time. So it could be a while if you switch buses in Como.

enroute

Re: bus from Varenna to Como to Bellagio. I am really sorry but I cannot imagine a more preposterous idea. The ferry takes 15 min, passenger or car, and runs at the most once every hour in season, every 1/2 during the "rush hour". The bus would take at least 2 hours.

Peteralan

We are doing this same trip but from Frankfurt, changing at Zurich. The thing which has me worried is that there is only a difference of 11 minutes from the time the train arrives at Zurich to when one leaves for Como. Has anyone been in this situation in Europe? Are we worrying unnecessarily? The only straight through train from Frankfurt to Como seems to be at night which we don't want to do. Hope someone can help.

Dukey

That's plenty of time to change, even in a station as large as Zurich and yes this is quite common, especially in Switzerland but here's what I would do.

FIND OUT if there are any later trains or alternate routes out of Zurich in case your train arrives late

BE READY to get off the train as soon as it pulls into the station

KNOW the final destination of your departing train and look for its location on the electronic board at the head of the platforms so you can go there immediately.

111op

Well typically the trains all leave from the same tracks every day.

So you can find out the tracks where the trains will leave in advance by checking a site like Deutsche Bahn or sbb.ch, for example.

I think 11 minutes is plenty. The Frankfurt-Zurich train is probably an IC or some sort of express train. These trains don't usually get delayed by much.

When I checked this morning I think that I saw hourly trains from Zurich to Como via Lugano. So even if your train is delayed by a lot, you can get on the next one.

Of course, you should doublecheck all this information I've offered independently.