Two weeks interrailing: Sweden, Switzerland, Germany

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Hi!

Congrats on getting married! :)

What kind of InterRail pass to you want to get? Your first two routes would fit for the 5in10 but for the alternative you would need another one, probably the 10in22.
This would be an important choice as the latter would allow you do include much more scenic routes and of course to visit more places.

Is Oslo fixed as a starting point in Norway? Would Bergen work out as well? Since the Oslo - Bergen line is one of the most scenic lines including the branch line from Myrdal to Flam: [u]https://rail.cc/blog/the-flam-railway/[/u]

Switzerland of course has many scenic routes to offer, if you would have just one day I would recommend this one: [u]https://rail.cc/blog/zurich-milano-albula-bernina/[/u]

As soon as you settle on a certain pass and where to start/finish we can work out the best route for you. :)


Flo 8)

Dhaniu
Traveller
9 comments

Hi,

After doing some research on your website I have devised the below route. I think my prior route was covering far too much land in a 2 weeks period and I don't think I would have been able to enjoy my travels as much. Disappointed that I am having to give Scandinavia a miss though.

I am thinking of taking the below route but I am not sure how viable this is, can you please advise?

Day 1: Fly to Munich early morning and spend whole day in Munich

Day 2: Spend another full day in Munich and get train from Munich (1734) to Vienna (2130)

Day 3: Spend a full day in Vienna and get a late train to Innsbruck. Can you please help by suggesting a train link for this journey, from here I plan to spend the night in Innsbruck and explore Innsbruck the following day and I would also love to try and see Hallstatt. Or I could get a morning train from Vienna to Innsbruck and spend the day exploring and move to Zurich that same night and save myself a day. Can you help with this part of my Journey please?

Day 5: Get the train from Innsbruck (1144) to Zurich (1520)

Day 6: I would like to go to Interlaken or Bern however my next stop is Milan so I am inclined to think that it may be better to spend the day in Zurich and then move on to Milan so that I have more time to explore in Switzerland. What are your thoughts? Any suggestions of what I can do whilst in Switzerland.

Day 7: Take the scenic route from Zurich (0837) to Milan (1740)
[u]https://rail.cc/blog/zurich-milano-albula-bernina/[/u]

Day 8: Spend the day in Milan

Day 9: Get early train from Milan (0725) to Venice (1056) spend the full day in Venice and get the train from Venice (2057) to Ljubljana (05:59)

Day 10: Spend the day in Ljublijana and get the train to Bled, I am not about this part of my journey. How long should be I spend in each place how would I get to Bled?

Day 11: Travel from Bled (0518) to Zagreb (0853) and spend the day in Zagreb getting the night train from Zagreb (2305) to Split (0654)

Day 12 & 13 – Spend the day in Split relaxing

Day 14 – Fly home

I may have another 2 days for my trip and could possibly spend longer in certain places. Where do you think these 2 days would be best spent?

Thanks


[Edit: links removed as short incomplete links posted.]

Dhaniu
Traveller
9 comments

I am thinking of getting the young persons 22 day continuous pass

Dhaniu
Traveller
9 comments

Can you please suggest a route starting Bregan that would allow me to travel through Sweden, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Italy and Switzerland?

I have 14 - 16 days of travel.

Thanks

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Original route:

Day 3 and 4: If you want to do Vienna, Hallstatt and Innsbruck within two days I would do this: Spend day 3 in Vienna, take an early train to Hallstatt on day 4 and then continue to Innsbruck. On day 5 one train later from Innsbruck to Zürich. For instance if you leave Wien at 0656 you could spend about 4 hours in Hallstatt and then arrive at 1940 in Innsbruck.

Day 6: It would be no problem to make a day trip from Zürich to Bern. Interlaken is not that interesting in my opinion; if you want you could make a day trip like this: Zürich - Bern - then via Interlaken and Meiringen to Luzern - back to Zürich

Day 7: I recommend a stopover somewhere along the route if the weather is fine.

Day 9-11: Travel Venezia - Bled - Ljubljana - Zagreb; going Venezia - Ljubljana overnight, then travel back to Bled makes no sense and is not very comfortable.
There are frequent connections from Ljubljana to Bled, for Venezia - Bled - Ljubljana look here: [u]https://rail.cc/blog/travel-lake-bled-train/[/u]

For this trip it would be enough to get a 5in10 trip and cover all trips from Milan onwards with regular tickets.
You could stay longer in Vienna and Milan for instance...its up to you. :)

Alternative route using the 10in22 pass:

Bergen - Flam Railway - Oslo - Göteborg - Hamburg - München, then continue as above. This would leave you with less time in each place of course.

Dhaniu
Traveller
9 comments

Can you please provide some details of the trains to take on Day 4?

Thanks

Do you have any suggestions of places that are a must see along my route? I think will give the Norway a miss this time as I don't want to be too rushed.

Are there any places along my route you would recommend to add or leave.

Thanks

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Wien West 0656 - 0858 Attnang-Puchheim
Attnang-Puchheim 0911 - 1047 Hallstatt
From Hallstatt Station a boat service operates across the lake to Hallstatt town in connection with the train services.
Hallstatt 1507 - 1644 Attnang-Puchheim
Attnang-Puchheim 1700 - 1748 Salzburg Hbf
Salzburg Hbf 1756 - 1940 Innsbruck Hbf

Dhaniu
Traveller
9 comments

Where would you recommend to stopover between Zurich and Milan?

Dhaniu
Traveller
9 comments

This is my final route. What do you think? Is this a good choice for my first and probably my only interrail experience?


Day 1: Fly to Munich early morning/or night before and spend whole day in Munich.

Day 2: Spend another full day in Munich and get train from Munich (1734) to Vienna (2130).
[u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail/zurich-to-bern[/u]
[u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail/venice-to-ljubljana[/u]
[u]https://rail.cc/en/train/venice-to-ljubljana[/u]



Day 10: Spend the day in Ljublijana. Recover, relax and recharge.

Day 11: Travel from Ljublijana (0825) to Zagreb (1044) and spend the day in Zagreb before getting the night train from Zagreb (2305) to Split (0654)
[u]https://rail.cc/en/train/ljubljana-to-zagreb[/u]
[u]https://rail.cc/en/train/zagreb-to-split[/u]

Day 12 & 13 – Spend the last few days in Split chilling.

Day 14 – Fly home in the afternoon.

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

The route looks good. As mentioned above it could be cheaper to buy a 5in10 IR to cover the following routes:

1) Wien - Hallstatt - Innsbruck
2) Innsbruck - Zürich
3) Zürich - Bern - Zürich
4) Zürich - Bernina pass - Milan
5) Venice - Bled - Ljubljana

For the remaining trips, then buy separate tickets:
Munich - Vienna at [ux]https://rail.shop/bahn[/ux]
Milan - Venice locally if you use the regional train or online at [ux]https://rail.shop/omio[/ux] if you want to use a faster high speed train
Ljubljana - Zagreb and Zagreb - Split locally.
Overall, this combination could work out cheaper than buying a 10in22 InterRail pass. Otherwise, just buy the 10in22 (not the 22 continuous as this would be overkill).
The route is fine given that you can only travel 14 days which is just in between the validity period of the 5in10 and the 10in22.

I would recommend to get off the train on top of the line at Ospizio Bernina and/or one station later at Alp Grüm and have a short walk in the vicinity - there are well signposted walking paths all around.

Dhaniu
Traveller
9 comments

Thanks for you help. Are Ospizio Bernina and Alp Grüm the best places to stop along this line, would you recommend stopping anywhere else?

I have managed to get 17 days off work so there may well be a f*ck it moment and I end up somewhere way of track. I want to make the most of this opportunity so I am open to suggestions to any changes in my route with regards to any countries/cities I should miss out or add in.

Dhaniu
Traveller
9 comments

Also if I spent more time travelling do you think I could add in more stops along my route. Some other places in Germany or France. How would you say is the best way to prepare a detailed plan. Would you suggest to spend a day in Rome?

Dhaniu
Traveller
9 comments

I am considering giving the two days in split a miss and instead adding a day in Rome and a day in Budapest. I was thinking of travelling from Munich to Innsbruck and then as normal and then from Milan to Rome and then as normal and then from Ljubljana to Vienna and then to Budapest.

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Yeah, Alp Grüm and Ospizio Bernina are the best places to have a break en route. You could also walk between the two stations although if you have heavy luggage I would take the train instead. There is a nice cafe/restaurant directly at Alp Grüm with a great view over Palü Glacier and Valposchiavo; at Ospizio Bernina you are on top of the Bernina route, there is a station cafe as well as to others a bit uphill. Just have a look at the blog post I linked above.

Of course you can add a few other stops; Rome would be great and it is just about three hours away from Milan with high speed train Frecciarossa (10€ compulsory reservation). Cities in France which are close to Switzerland are Strasbourg and Mulhouse (in between there are some other great places such as Colmar or Mittelbergheim, just google); you could also go to Lyon. I would just recommend to avoid TGV trains as they require a reservation.

Budapest is really nice as well so if you have the chance to go there... :)