In Venice then Wengen - Urgent help to choose Apt + Train ticket Sold Out
 

Good day.

This is our first visit to Italy.(We are no expert nor seasoned travelers). Our latest plan is
Rome - 7days(22nd to 29th July)
Tuscany- 3 days (29th to 2nd August)
Venice - 3 days(2nd to 5th August)

I already have a running thread on the Venice
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...elp-please.cfm

However I need some urgent help on to choose an apartment
This one is cheaper
http://veniceapartments.org/rialto_1...gritti_38.html

I like this one, which is close to San Marco
http://www.trulyveniceapartments.com...ngelo-raffaele

This one looks good too
http://www.sleepinitaly.com/venice/s...0805&numPers=6

http://www.viewsonvenice.com/our_pro...a_dello_squero
.html

Residence Corte Nova
via castello 2869/a - 30122 Venezia. www.residencecortenova.com


Next Help is required on the travel -Any ideas/suggestions to get to Milan in the morning so that We could carry on to Wengen,Switzerland.

As per this web site http://www.fsitaliane.it/cms/v/index...0080a3e90aRCRD
The morning train at 5:20AM (timing is insane or is this normal in Italy) to Milan is sold out

next one is at 9:25Am through Bologna connection

Frecciargento 9415 Venezia S. Lucia09:25 Bologna Centrale 10:50
Frecciarossa 9518 Bologna Centrale 11:38 Milano Centrale 12:40

And it seems that the seats are getting over quickly. Is this my best option. Or Renting a car make any sense.

Finally, I need to buy Swiss Pass, Where do I get one, Should I break the travel from Milan at Lugano, get the Pass and take the next train?


Thanks in Advance

I don't think Trenitalia has all their summer schedule loaded yet. If you look at current schedules (they run through June 8), there are fast trains without change leaving at 5:20, 6:20, 6:50. I would keep checking over the next week and see if these trains get added for your departure date if you really want to depart so early. Trenitalia also doesn't seem to have all the trains loaded for later in the day. There should be trains that don't require connection at 8:50,9:50,10:50.

I wouldn't even bother buying a ticket for Venice to Milan until I was in Venice.

By the way, how are you getting from Rome to Tuscany and from Tuscany to Venice?

Thin

Gritti apartment - seems like a nice size, fun to look out on Grand Canal, but might be loud - are you sensitive to that?
- does it have a washer or w/d ? didn't see that in the description and that is very important for us.
- how many people are you? If you are more than 4, the one sleeping in the living room, might want their own space -
- air conditioning? (I may have just missed it)

Angelo Raffaele - will it bother you to share a washer?
- tub looks tight - will that be a problem?
- more 'generic' decor, but renovation looks nicely done
- like the location

Ponte delle Ostriche
- can't see the actual location (map?)
- like the open dining/living
- seems like a good option. (combination of the 2 above )

I didn't do real research - are there any reviews of each of the apartments online - slowtrav.com? trip advisor? How do they rate the agency vs. the specific apartment? Is there a difference with regard to payment methods (ie. credit card vs. cash)? Are they all the same with regard to agency vs. privately rented out?
(my preference is for an agency - easier to deal with if a problem than a private owner, I also prefer paying via credit card because I have that protection if there is a problem).

I also like being near San Marco - if nothing else, if you get lost, you can follow signs to there and then get "home". I also like walking down at night and seeing it lit up at night.

Kybourbon. Thanks, that is comforting.
Pepper_von_snoot, Thanks, seen your comments on the other thread.

I was really worried since the search shown very few trains and the morning one is already sold out. I would prefer a train between 7 and 9 in the morning. (Really don't want to rent a car for a day.)

Don't we need reservations in Italian Trains. And I thought, I would get great discounts for early booking too.

In general, I am bit worried on the transportation side of the plans since we have 3 kids with us and a few baggage as well.

Surfmom, Thanks so much for your effort.

No reviews on any of these apartments.

Ponte delle Ostriche
-Below is the Trip advisor, No Review but location map is there.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/VacationR...ce_Veneto.html

Got a mail reply from Alessia Galatioto, Agent, SleepinItaly "it's absolutely central, safe and in an area full of restaurants, shops etc. It has washing machine (you can see all the facilities at the page of the apartment)."

nothing on SleepinItaly in Slowtrav.com

Surfmom, Thanks so much for your effort.

No reviews on any of these apartments.

Ponte delle Ostriche
-Below is the Trip advisor, No Review but location map is there.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/VacationR...ce_Veneto.html

Got a mail reply from Alessia Galatioto, Agent, SleepinItaly "it's absolutely central, safe and in an area full of restaurants, shops etc. It has washing machine (you can see all the facilities at the page of the apartment)."

nothing on SleepinItaly in Slowtrav.com

Finally, I need to buy Swiss Pass, Where do I get one, Should I break the travel from Milan at Lugano, get the Pass and take the next train?>

Well you can buy the exact same pass at about the same price or maybe even cheaper in the U S than in Switzerland, usually in the several years I have compared prices here and there - currently thye seem to be about the same but you would have the pass in hand and not have to get off the train to buy one but stay in any train that goes thru border - in the U S RailEurope.com is the official wholesaler with many agents working thru them such as http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/id3.html or www.ricksteves.com - I have bought various passes from Byron at Budget Europe Travel for years and he will answer any questions expertly IME - prices are universal, being set by RailEurope and the Swiss Federal Railways (RE is about 25% owned by the Swiss Federal Railways) - check on mailing fees, most agents have none - RE I think does for orders under a certain amount. You can actually have your pass activated at time of issue so you need not activate it in Europe but just start using it when the train hits Switzerland.

>>>Don't we need reservations in Italian Trains. And I thought, I would get great discounts for early booking too.<<<

All the fast train tickets come with seat reservations. Just keep checking Trenitalia every day for the next week or so (they have to have them loaded by June 9th!) and you should be able to snag some discounts (maybe as cheap as 9€).

As for getting the Swiss Pass while in transit from Milan, it might be cheaper to buy a discounted ticket from Trenitalia for either Milan/Spiez or Milan/Lucerne and not use a day off a pass. It depends on how much a pass day costs and how much the ticket from Spiez to Wengen would be (price it on sbb.ch). You can find a Smart Fare on Trenitalia for 22€ for these routes (advance purchase and can sell out). If you can get to Milan in the morning you could catch the EC train to Spiez at 11:25. If not, the next EC train to Spiez is not until 18:25). Is your travel day August 5th or 6th? Don't book this EC train until you have locked down your Venice/Milan train. Allow a little time in Milan for buying food, etc. and any train delays. Once again, keep checking Trenitalia as the 11:25 train is not showing yet on their summer schedules (you can see on Bahn.de that they have it listed so it's just that Trenitalia hasn't loaded it yet).

Train connections Venice - Wengen (about 8 hrs journey),
Venice dp 08.04, 08.50, 10.50, 14.20, 15.20, 16.20
Wengen ar 15.51, 16.51 19.21, 21.44, 22.44, 23.44

Trenitalia is for years now notoriously late loading summer schedules - same ole same ole problemo every year it seems!

All Venice - Milan trains (Frecciebianche, EC, RV, R) for the period after the June timetable change are loaded
check http://orario.trenitalia.com/ and enter any date in late June

>>>All Venice - Milan trains (Frecciebianche, EC, RV, R) for the period after the June timetable change are load<<<

I don't see any have been added since last week. The early AV trains without connections still aren't there.

If past years are any harbinger it would be highly unlikely Italian summer trains would yet be fully loaded on IME.

The apartment in Venice is confirmed,

It is Ponte delle Ostriche situated near to Campo Santa Maria del Giglio, between the St. Mark's Square and the Accademia area.

Guess, one less problem now.

Thanks

"The early AV trains without connections still aren't there."

I meant the following trains:
9702, Venezia SL dp 06.20
9704, Venezia SL dp 06.50
9708, Venezia SL dp 07.50
9710, Venezia Mestre dp 08.32
9712, Venezia SL dp 08.50
9714, Venezia SL dp 10.50
2098, Venezia SL dp 11.03
9716, Venezia Mestre dp 11.32
9718, Venezia SL dp 11.50
9722, Venezia SL dp 12.50

I don't know which other morning trains kybourbon and Palen are referring to

Neckervd, We are hoping to get one of the below ones, However on the sire for the date 5th August2013 is still not available

9704, Venezia SL dp 06.50
9708, Venezia SL dp 07.50

oops.. sorry for spelling on the above(among many other things).

Booking is available till 22nd of July 2013.

One another question, Website allows only 5 person at a time for booking. So I guess I would split it as two sets. However not sure how to book for 3 and 4 year old.

thanks

>>>I don't know which other morning trains kybourbon and Palen are referring to<<<

Most of those trains you listed are not showing for August 5. I still think it is Trenitalia just not getting everything entered as it should be. Many stations weren't autofilling when you typed the name the last few weeks. I would just keep checking every day until they appear, but it's correct they are only loaded through July 22 currently.

>>>One another question, Website allows only 5 person at a time for booking. So I guess I would split it as two sets. However not sure how to book for 3 and 4 year old.<<<

How many tickets total do you need? Technically, your 3 year old doesn't need a ticket and can travel free (under age 4 travel free), but won't have a seat if you do that. It's also probably a lot cheaper to buy super economy fares than the family fare which is a discount off regular base price. Be sure to notify your credit card company that you are making an Italian online purchase and give them time to flag your account so they don't block the purchase.

>>> How many tickets total do you need? Technically, your 3 year old doesn't need a ticket and can travel free (under age 4 travel free<<<

We would need 7 in total - 3 aged 30+, 1 aged 60+ and 3 Kids aged 3,4, & 9.

Many thanks for the tip on credit card. sure will do.