Travemunde-Munchen-La Spezia

Peter
Traveller
9333 comments

Hello Traveler-AJ and welcome to rail.cc :)
How much time do you have in total for this trip ? As you talked about "best routes, trains, stops", are you interested to stop and stay overnight at nice/scenic places. Or do you want to travel "as fast as possible".
There are different routes possible - by normal train tickets/Special fares or a rail pass like Interrail: [u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail[/u]
Questions for now: how much time you have? Scenic route and several stops or as fast as possible?
Peter :)

Traveler-AJ
Traveller
1 comments

Hi Peter,

thank you for the welcoming words!

Yes, how much time do we have is a relevant question :) We have 3 weeks (or a bit more) for this journey. The plan was to stay 1 week in Italy (La Spezia, Cinque Terre) and to have 1 week for getting there and 1 week for journey back. So, across Germany we are happy to take it easy and stop overnight maybe 3 times (2 nights in one place, we don\'t want to travel every day). However one option would be to get to Munich as soon as possible - if there are overnight trains with sleeping compartment - and stay there for a few more days, and make home journey a slower one. So, basically both: fastest (sleeping) and semi slow ones are of interest. Also I have been wondering whehter interrail or other pass would be good, or just to buy normal tickets.

Thanks again if you can give some tips.
AJ

Quenzon
Traveller
97 comments

Hi Traveler-AJ,

Cool trip idea!

I would definitely recommend to compare the cost of an Interrail pass to individual tickets. Online print-at-home tickets for the entire trip (Travemünde-Munich, Munich-La Spezia, as well as early any other domestic or iternational point-to-point connection in Germany, Switzerland, Austra, Italy and many other European countries) can be bought here: [ux]https://rail.shop/omio[/ux] Of course, if you wanto full flexibility and the freedom to change your plans at any time, Interrail is the way to go.

If you want to go from Travemünde to Munich by night train, you have the option of taking Nightjet 40491, departing 20:29 from Hamburg main station (you can get from Travemünde to Hamburg by regional train quite easily). The tickets for the Hamburg-Munich night train (also print-at-home) can be bought here: [ux]https://rail.shop/bahn[/ux] The day train connections from Hamburg to Munich by high speed train are also frequent and convenient.

Please note: I would not recommend seeping in a seat on the night train, as it stops along the way and other passengers might disturb you in your sleep. Book a couchette (simple bed in a communal, locked compartment) or a proper sleeper bed, if you can afford it. You can also use the Euronight/Nightjet night trains with an interrail pass and a reservation (including couchettes and sleepers). Interrail reservations can be booked here: [ux]https://rail.shop/interrail[/ux]

In case you are wondering, the sleeper compartments have 1 to 3 passengers (3 being the cheapest) and are segregated by gender (men\'s only and women\'s only). The couchette compartments have 4 or 6 passengers (6 being the cheapest) and are available either as ladies compartments (women\'s only) or mixed compartments. If you are a couple, a family or just a group travelling together, you can also book a sleeper cabin irrespective of gender, as long as you book (and pay for) the entire compartment.

Feel free to ask about anything else :)

Best,

Quenzon

Quenzon
Traveller
97 comments

P.S.: In terms of scenic routes, you could do the return journey via Zürich instread of Munich. That way, you\'d get to see the Gotthard or Berninia pass (both are absolutely stunning railway lines) and the Swiss Alps, which are geographically quite distinct from the Austrian Alps and the Brenner pass (also extremely beautiful, with a great diversity of alpine landscapes), which you would see going from Munich to La Spezia (via Verona). There is also a direct daily night train from Zürich to Hamburg (Nightjet 40470, departing Zürich main station at 20:00), which you could use on the return journey. In addition, you could split the southbound journey from Hamburg to Munich in two, with a stopover in Prague or even Vienna (or both :). There are direct Eurocity trains from Hamburg to Prague, traversing the beautiful upper Elbe river valley (not a must, be definitely worth seeing).

Quenzon
Traveller
97 comments

P.P.S. The Gotthard and Bernina pass are slower routes than the new Gotthard base tunnel and aren\'t served by direct Milan-Zürich trains: Look for conections via Göschenen for the Gotthard line, via Tirano and Chur for the Bernina line. I can help you out with connections if you are interested - it can get a bit complex. If I were you, I\'d opt for the Bernina line; it takes the better part of a day but I promise you: you won\'t get bored :) It\'s well worth spending a bit of extra time en route to see this part of Switzerland!

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Hi and welcome to railcc!

Starting from Helsinki the most comfortable option would be the Finnlines ferry to Travemünde: [ux]https://rail.shop/finnlines[/ux]
The Star-class ferries are very comfortable so you will definitely enjoy the long trip. The only downside is the late arrival in Travemünde (21:30), so you will have to stay overnight in the vicinity of the ferry port (or in Lübeck at best).

The following day you could continue your trip to Hamburg and then make your way through Germany as you like.

As mentioned the Bernina Route would be a perfect addition to your route: [ux]https://rail.cc/blog/zurich-milano-albula-bernina/[/ux]
You could go from Munich through the Allgäu to Lindau - Chur and stay somewhere overnight along the route (in Chur, Pontresina, St Moritz, Ospizio Bernina,...). The following day continue to Milan and then to La Spezia.

Information about Cinque Terre by train: [ux]https://rail.cc/blog/cinque-terre/[/ux]

Flo