How to travel from Rome to Venice and then to Switzerland?

[Awe-Inspiring]

Hi,
I intend to travel from Rome to Venice and then to Switzerland (whichever city is the most suitable to get into Swiss). Can somebody advice how do I go about this trip? The prices from rome to venice by train italia seems to be pretty expensive.

I am looking for the cheapest way of transport - please advice.

Secondly, we have a party fo 6 adults and 1 child. Is there any apartment sort of accomodation which works cheaper than hotels in these countries - Italy and Switzerland?

Any other travel advice on Italy travel will be appreciated. Thanks.

[ThomasSBradshaw]

It's been a long time since I made this trip and obviously prices are not the same. If you buy a Eurail pass prior to leaving through a travel agent you will save a lot of money. You will be able to travel first class on the trains between Rome and Switzerland and will have cars that have fold down seats that turn into beds. Your plane will land in Rome but from there you will go to Venice and then have to double back through Rome. I recommend you go to Lucerne Switzerland. Here are two sidetrips to take: From Rome take the train to Pompeii to see the ruins. It's a day trip. From Lucern take a day trip by train to Grendowald. Grendowald is a ski resort where their Olympic skiers train. It's a quaint ski resort.I recommend youth hostels for accomodations. You will probably need to get three rooms. Thre rooms will be basic but clean. Most of these places offer a "continental breakfast" which is no more than hard rolls, stong coffee, and butter. Google backpacking through Europe. I used a book writen by a guy named Arthur Frohmer but he has since passed away. Feel free to contact me if I can help you further.

[Derek]

Well, the price from Rome to Venice seems high because it's a long train journey, a good 4 hours if not more. Coming from Ireland, I thought the rates charged for second class travel to be incredibly good value. You might want to check you're not looking at the First Class rate, that's appreciably higher. You can

Train travel in Italy is also clean, comfortable and you'll have terrific views of the countryside. And it shouldn't be any problem getting a train into Switzerland.

I mean you could look into taking a bus, but you'll be all day on it, and you might have to change.

[CharlotteBMartinez]

Going to Venice from Rome (Roma Termini) will not be a problem. However, if the schedule does not change, you can take the train from Rome to Zurich but you have to change in Milan. The scenery is very beautiful when the train travels through the Alps, you must take a few pics of it.

[Andrew.A.Roy]

Actually, train travel here in Italy is stillì relatively cheap compared to many other places. However, it does add up for a large group. There are a couple of things you might want to consider. One is to rent a car to drive - that won't have a per person charge and you could rent the car just for the specific trip. Driving times and directions: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.viamichelin.com/">http://www.viamichelin.com/</a><!-- m -->

The night train from Rome to Venice is a good option for you: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.ferroviedellostato.it/homepage_en.html">http://www.ferroviedellostato.it/homepage_en.html</a><!-- m --> . The train leaves from the Tiburtina station in Rome at 10:36 pm and arrives in Venice at 5:26 the next morning. Seats are cheaper than the high speed train and right now there's a special promotion for 19 euro (limited number of seats). Rather than sitting, I would recommend getting berths which make it easier to sleep. The standard fare is 60.90 euro per person which is still a little less than the day train. However, if you buy tickets in advance, you can get the same berth for as low as 42.60 euro at the discounted rate for early purchase and the Autumn special promotion has some tickets for 29 euro. Note that with this train, you also do not have to pay for a hotel for the night.

From Venice to Switzerland, you can change trains in Milan to get to various points or there is one train that you can take to Geneva without changes.