Hello,

We will be ending our stay in Annecy, France on June 19. We have 3 adults. Can you help us find the most economical and easiest way to get from Geneva, Switzerland (or Annecy) to Milan, Italy on June 19?

• We were hoping to take a fast (hopefully sort of scenic) train from Geneva, Switzerland to Milan, Italy on early morning June 19, 2025
• Once in Milan, we were going to rent a car since we will need it to complete the rest of our trip in Italy. It appears to be less expensive to rent a car in a large city.

Pricing: We were hoping for a low-stress, reasonably-priced one-way train or bus ticket around the $100 range or cheaper from Geneva (Annecy) to Milan. My husband is looking into renting a car when we initially land in Geneva on 6/17 (driving to Annecy and then 2 days later to MIlan) and then turning car into Milan. However, this option is $766 just for those 2 days. I hope we don't have to use this option. Then, we would rent a separate car in Milan to finish our trip in Italy. Any suggestions?

We'd like the fastest way. And we'd prefer not to have to change trains or busses if possible. We will have carry on luggage, but our adult daughter will have 2 suitcases (one very large).

According to Rome2Rio there is a Flixbus from Annecy to Milan, leaving at 11.00 arriving Milan at 17.05, no changes €26 pp.
I suggest you look at Rome2Rio for other options or go to the Flixbus website for details of that journey.

Just an FYI regarding renting a car in Milan and driving to Bellagio (assuming this is your plan) - it's often mentioned on Trip Advisor that the roads on the peninsula to Bellagio are very narrow, winding and undulating. Sometimes you cannot see the oncoming traffic and this creates issues with oncoming cars/trucks/buses. Evidently, stress-free it isn't.

I've taken the train from Milan alongside the eastern side of Lake Como a few times and it's quite easy and inexpensive. However, there will be railway interruptions from June 15-Sept 15 this year, although my understanding is that there will be bus replacements.

You can catch a ferry from Varenna to Bellagio.

Per SBB (Swiss rail site), Geneva to Milan starts at 73.60 chf each Half Fare (need to purchase Half Fare Card for each traveler).

Suggest you look into SBB Saver Day Pass options if interested in traveling by train (although Heti's option above looks like the least expensive option).

You would of course not need a car for a Annecy - Bellagio journey.
But if you want to rent a car nevertheless, I cannot understand why you want to do that in Milan instead of the first big Italian city after the bording crossing: Turin.

Timetables and fares:
Direct bus itinerary:
Annecy dp by bus 11.00 - Turin ar 15.05 - Milan ar 17.05. Fare up to Turin 22 EUR/pax, up to Milan 25 EUR/pax
Bus via Geneva:
Annecy dp 12.15 - Geneva ar 13.05, dp 14.55 - Milan ar 20.20, 33 EUR/pax:
Train with train change at Chambery:
Annecy dp 10.43 - Turin ar 15.24 - Milan ar 16.50, 93 EUR/pax
Annecy dp 16.43 - Turin ar 20.24 - Milan ar 21.50, 93 EUR/pax
All by train through Switzerland:
Annecy dp 7.44 - Como ar 15.35, change at Geneva, Zurich and Lugano, about 120 EUR/pax with Swiss daypass

It is never a good idea to rent a car in one country and leave it in another, I imagine that's why it costs so much. I'd just take the train. You can easily get a train from annecy to Chambery, a TER or Inoui, and then a TGV or Trenitalia from Chambery to Milan. Total cost should be less than 100 euro each person.

"Once in Milan, we were going to rent a car since we will need it to complete the rest of our trip in Italy."

Where is the "rest of our trip in Italy"? If you pick up the car in/near Milan and return it elsewhere, you'll incur a one-way surcharge. As you seem to be budget conscious, you might want to think again about where (and when) to pick up and return the rental car. Depending on the destinations, you might not need a car at all or might only need it for a few days for a specific area.

So you planned a trip without figuring out how best to connect your destinations? Easy, fast and cheap rarely works.

Thank you all so much. Do you know how I find out about the train interruptions from June 15-Sept 15? Does this affect all of Italy?

Yes thank you, we have travelled to Europe a few times before and this is our 2nd time to Italy. This is what we typically do. We don't mind paying the extra to pick up in one location and drop off in another as long as both are in the same country, and its not over the top expensive.

Um, that's what I'm doing now. Planning our trip. Not sure what the purpose of your comment is.

Regarding train interruptions:

Train services will be suspended from Lecco to Sondrio (including Varenna and Colico) from June 15th to September 14th, 2025, due to infrastructure works.

At the moment, there are no official details available yet regarding replacement buses or updated timetables.

For the most accurate and updated information, check the official Trenord website: www.trenord.it

RAILWAY LINE WESTERN SWITZERLAND - MILAN; CLOSURE FROM JUNE 8th - 27th AND AUGUST 30th - SEPTEMBER 13th

"how I find out about the train interruptions from June 15-Sept 15? Does this affect all of Italy?"
In my post 24, I mentioned only the trains that will run resp alternative routings..

If you want to know exactly what is planned:
Domodossola - Milan: no trains between Domodossola and Arona from June 8th until July 27th
They will be replaced by non stop buses Domodossola - Milan about every 2 hrs. Reservation compulsory. Journey time: 2 1/2 hrs
and local buses Domodossola - Arona; journey time up to Arona 1 1/2 hrs.
There will furthermmore be 2 buses Geneva - Milan, with only 1 intermediate stop at Martigny. Reservation compulsory. Journey time: 6 1/2 hrs

If you are interested in all details up to the temporary closure of the line Battipaglia - Potenza, you may load down https://www.trenitalia.com/it/inform...ogrammati.html

thank you!

To Melnq8

BUSES LECCO - TIRANO FROM JUNE 15th
All bus timetables are published in the Trenitalia timetable:

Bus Lecco - Tirano along the motorway, stops at Colico, Sondrio and Tresenda only:
Lecco dp 7.05 and then every jr until 21.05, 2 1/4 hrs journey

Bus Lecco - Colico with stop at every railway station:
every 30 min. The bus Lecco dp ....50 - Varenna dp ....15 connects at Colico with the fast bus to Tirano, the other one with the slow bus up to Sondrio.
Slow buses from Lecco up to Colico run every 15 min most of the day

Thanks neckervd. We'll be in the area in October, and I'm hoping the work will indeed be finished by Sept 15.

Thank you so much for your help. We will pick up our rental car in Milan Corso Como (Turin’s prices for rental cars are more expensive).

Please help us decide between these 2 options:

Option 1: train from Geneva to Milan Porta Garibaldi. 6:51 hour train ride with transfer in Chambers-Challes-les-Eaux. We would have 1 hour 26 min to transfer trains.

Option 2: train from Annecy to Milan Porta Garibaldi. 5:07 hour train ride with transfer in Chambers-Challes-les-Eaux. We would only have 7 minutes to transfer between trains. (What if we didn’t get on the 2nd train on time? Could we automatically get on the next train at 12:44pm?) Our college daughter will have 2 suitcases (one suitcase is quite large). The rest of us will have carry on only.

Question: Does this route (via Chambers-Challes-les-Eaux) avoid potential train disruption or closures?

I don't know who sells such tickets.
Correct solution:
Annecy dp 10.43 - Chambéry-Challes-les-Eaux ar 11.37, dp 12.44 - Milano Porta Garibaldi ar 16.50
Fare: 72 EUR/pax in 2nd class, 86 EUR/pax in 1st class IF YOU BOOK NOW IN THE WEB.

If you want to travel earlier (and pay more):
Annecy dp 8.43 - Chambéry-Challes-les-Eaux ar 9.37, dp 10.12 - MIlano C ar 13.50

Thank you neckervd! My routes I listed above were from https://www.raileurope.com. Can you please tell me what website you used?

If we book the train that departs from Annecy, we would only have 7 minutes to switch trains to Chamberley. Wondering if this is doable.

Wondering if the Chamberley train would be close by. We wouldn’t have much time to search for the train.

I use thetrainlilne.com
Buit even railleurope.com adds "Short interchange: Only choose if you're confident you'll have time to change at Chambéry - Challes-les-Eaux."
If you want to catch the 9.44 TGV at Chambery, you must leave Annecy at 8.18 (TER 883854).
Fofr this solution, you may have to book both legs separately, the total fare will remain the same..
But hurry up, the TGV inoui 9243 will be fully booked soon.