Advice and experience requested for travel from Brussels to, Germany, Italy and Switzerland.

  • 16 January 2022
  • 10 replies
  • 229 views
S
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I would like to hear your advice on my travel plans.
Hope to be able to make this trip in the months of May, June or at the latest in September 2022.

 

Have a global pass, 4 days within 1 month.

 

My journey will start in Belgium, my home country.
There I will take the train in Essene, Liedekerke or Denderleeuw.

 

I want to use the Nightjet connections to Italy, and would like to travel to Rome because this is the southernmost connection that can be reached by Nightjet.
From Brussels I would then travel to Munich with ICE.

 

From Munich I then take the Nightjet to Rome, arriving in Rome at 9.10 am.

 

Hopefully if the Nightjet isn't delayed, I'd like to take a trip to Naples too. This would only be 1 hour away by train.
I would also like to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa (if there is enough time)


The 3rd day that we use the interrail pass, we have to arrive in the village, La Cure, in Switzerland. My brother comes to pick us up there by car, he lives in Les Moussieres, France.
It is a 30 minute car ride from the station, La Cure, to my brother's house.
I still have to check with my brother what the best hours are for him to pick us up at the station in La Cure, but I suspect, either before 5:00 PM ... or between 8:00 PM and 9:00 PM.


***
Please advise whether it is best to take the ICE to Munich from Brussels? This is with a layover in Frankfurt, if I'm not mistaken.

 

***

Do you recommend making a reservation in the ICE when traveling in 1st class?

This then specifically on the connections:

Brussels - Frankfurt Airport
Frankfurt Airport - Munich HBF

 


***
And what's the best way to travel / travel comfortably / possibly that we can eat on the train, to La Cure, from Italy ?
This from the vicinity of Naples, Rome, Pisa, ... , since we don't have any concrete plans yet and can therefore change them, in order to easily get to La Cure.


Thank you very much!

10 replies

runner.on.rails
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Hello Sven

 

So do I get it right: first travel day you use to go to Rome. Second travel day to stop somewhere between Rome and La Cure, and third one to go to La Cure?

 

Actually I almost never needed reservations on ICE, but with a first class ticket there is the problem that people with normal tickets get their reservation for free, so lots of seats are reserved! And lot’s of other seats are reserved for bahncomfort guests. I also complained at DB, but they don’t want to change anything. The good thing at least, is that you pay the reservation price only once and not per train.

 

Actually more interesting than Pisa is cinque terre. I’ve seen pisa in a little bit more than one hour. You can just exit Pisa Centrale and have a walk through the city and to the tower and then to Pisa San Rossore where you can board a train again. It is easy possible to start in Rome, see Pisa, then one or two other cinque terre sites, and be in Manarola at sunset time!

After that you can stay in La Spezia. There is a cool backpackers hostel. You can easily stay there some nights, it is nice and lots to do and see. (e.g. Porto Venere, Lerici, some hiking trails, boat rides and the other cinque terre villages).

On the way to La cure you can easily also stop for some hours in Genova, or some other place. There are intercities that don’t need reservaton, but I still recommend it (it is 3€ I think). Between Milan and Switzerland you can take regional trains to Domodossola or Chiasso to avoid high reservation fees.

 

I would also recommend to stay a little bit more time in Naples and also visit Vesuvio and Pompei and Amalfi coast.

 

Happy Travels!

 

M
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Additional: the IT-TrenItalia IC now MUST be reserved, and it still cost 3 eur/seat/ride.

ON that NightJet you only hget around 15 eur reduction in price with a pass, check the list, it was recently posted on this forum too.

runner.on.rails
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Additional: the IT-TrenItalia IC now MUST be reserved, and it still cost 3 eur/seat/ride.

 

Oh, good to know, wasn’t aware of that! But actually wouldn’t change anything for me, I will reserve anyway next time. It was not so fun to change seats at every station when new one boarded that meant he reserved my seat. (It was never marked which seats are reserved since normal tickets are only sold with seat reservation (same as in Finland)).

seewulf
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Reservations for the Nightjet Munich - Rome starts from

14€ for a seat 44€ for a bed in a 4pers. Couchette or 74€ for a bed in the 3pers. Sleeper compartment.

another option could be from Brussels via Frankfurt  - Basel/Zürich to Milan and catch in Milan the Italian domestic Nighttrain from Turin via Milan to Naples and Serrano https://rail.cc/interrail-night-train/turin-salerno-icn-797/194

I´ am not working for Eurail or Interrail i just share my knowledge here. Please ask in the Community and not via private message as this is the fastest way to get an answer. I prefer English/German/ Czech for my answers. In case of Reservationquestions please share some details like Route, Date, Trainnumber as otherwise we can just provide general advices or answers
S
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Userlevel 4
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Hello Sven

 

So do I get it right: first travel day you use to go to Rome. Second travel day to stop somewhere between Rome and La Cure, and third one to go to La Cure?

 

Actually I almost never needed reservations on ICE, but with a first class ticket there is the problem that people with normal tickets get their reservation for free, so lots of seats are reserved! And lot’s of other seats are reserved for bahncomfort guests. I also complained at DB, but they don’t want to change anything. The good thing at least, is that you pay the reservation price only once and not per train.

 

Actually more interesting than Pisa is cinque terre. I’ve seen pisa in a little bit more than one hour. You can just exit Pisa Centrale and have a walk through the city and to the tower and then to Pisa San Rossore where you can board a train again. It is easy possible to start in Rome, see Pisa, then one or two other cinque terre sites, and be in Manarola at sunset time!

After that you can stay in La Spezia. There is a cool backpackers hostel. You can easily stay there some nights, it is nice and lots to do and see. (e.g. Porto Venere, Lerici, some hiking trails, boat rides and the other cinque terre villages).

On the way to La cure you can easily also stop for some hours in Genova, or some other place. There are intercities that don’t need reservaton, but I still recommend it (it is 3€ I think). Between Milan and Switzerland you can take regional trains to Domodossola or Chiasso to avoid high reservation fees.

 

I would also recommend to stay a little bit more time in Naples and also visit Vesuvio and Pompei and Amalfi coast.

 

Happy Travels!

 

 

 

Yes, I use my 1st travel day to travel to Rome.

I want to use my 2nd travel day to travel in Italy, such as to Naples or a little further south. But I think I have to take into account that I will have to travel back to the north of Italy on this 2nd travel day, in order to arrive in "La Cure" on my 3rd travel day.

 

In January I see a connection from Rome - La Cure, departure 9.20am, arrival 6.15pm. But the eurocity is not (yet) in the planner in the months after January. That is why I think that on day 2 we should already travel to the north of Italy, in order to arrive nicely in La Cure.

 

Would like your advice on this. Thanks!

S
Rank
Userlevel 4
Badge +8

Reservations for the Nightjet Munich - Rome starts from

14€ for a seat 44€ for a bed in a 4pers. Couchette or 74€ for a bed in the 3pers. Sleeper compartment.

another option could be from Brussels via Frankfurt  - Basel/Zürich to Milan and catch in Milan the Italian domestic Nighttrain from Turin via Milan to Naples and Serrano https://rail.cc/interrail-night-train/turin-salerno-icn-797/194

 

 

Thank you so much for this recommendation!

Do you have to make reservations on the Eurocity from Switzerland (Zurich) to Milan?
Or is it highly recommended?

M
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +6

Reservations for the Nightjet Munich - Rome starts from

14€ for a seat 44€ for a bed in a 4pers. Couchette or 74€ for a bed in the 3pers. Sleeper compartment.

another option could be from Brussels via Frankfurt  - Basel/Zürich to Milan and catch in Milan the Italian domestic Nighttrain from Turin via Milan to Naples and Serrano https://rail.cc/interrail-night-train/turin-salerno-icn-797/194

 

 

Thank you so much for this recommendation!

Do you have to make reservations on the Eurocity from Switzerland (Zurich) to Milan?
Or is it highly recommended?

You have to.
But you can take the RE80 from Lugano or Chiasso to Milano without a reservation.

runner.on.rails
Rank
Userlevel 5
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Yes, I use my 1st travel day to travel to Rome.

I want to use my 2nd travel day to travel in Italy, such as to Naples or a little further south. But I think I have to take into account that I will have to travel back to the north of Italy on this 2nd travel day, in order to arrive in "La Cure" on my 3rd travel day.

 

In January I see a connection from Rome - La Cure, departure 9.20am, arrival 6.15pm. But the eurocity is not (yet) in the planner in the months after January. That is why I think that on day 2 we should already travel to the north of Italy, in order to arrive nicely in La Cure.

 

Would like your advice on this. Thanks!

Actually, I wouldn’t do a monster daytrip in italy like that. I would recommend to go from Rome to Naples with normal tickets instead. if you take IC’s (2h instead of 1) it is quite affordable. And then you can stay a few days in Naples and have enough time to see everything.

S
Rank
Userlevel 4
Badge +8

 

 

Yes, I use my 1st travel day to travel to Rome.

I want to use my 2nd travel day to travel in Italy, such as to Naples or a little further south. But I think I have to take into account that I will have to travel back to the north of Italy on this 2nd travel day, in order to arrive in "La Cure" on my 3rd travel day.

 

In January I see a connection from Rome - La Cure, departure 9.20am, arrival 6.15pm. But the eurocity is not (yet) in the planner in the months after January. That is why I think that on day 2 we should already travel to the north of Italy, in order to arrive nicely in La Cure.

 

Would like your advice on this. Thanks!

Actually, I wouldn’t do a monster daytrip in italy like that. I would recommend to go from Rome to Naples with normal tickets instead. if you take IC’s (2h instead of 1) it is quite affordable. And then you can stay a few days in Naples and have enough time to see everything.

 

 

May I ask why you don't recommend doing this connection from Rome to La Cure?

 

Unfortunately I only have a limited time to travel, maximum 7 or 8 days. So I can't stay in Italy for several days.
I plan to stay for 3 days in Les Moussieres.


So 1 day to travel to Rome, or the idea of @seewulf  ,  Brussels to Milan and with the night train directly to Naples from Milan / Turin.
Day 2 to travel from Rome in Italy. But as I said before.
If I were to travel from Rome to Naples, I would probably have to travel back to northern Italy the same day.
To easily reach La Cure on day 3.

 

I think I will really have to make a choice which city and area I want to visit. So choose between Rome, Naples, …. , as due to the limited time I have it will not be possible to visit both cities.

S
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Userlevel 4
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What is your advice to travel from Naples to La Cure, in 2 days?

 

I find day connections from Naples to Geneva, Lausanne and Nyon. I would spend the night in 1 of these cities, and travel to La Cure the next day in the morning.
At the moment it is preferable to go to Lausanne, then you can leave Naples around 1 pm and arrive in Lausanne around 10 pm.

 

There is then the option to eat in the Eurocity en route.

But depends on where it is best to stay overnight, close to station ... not too expensive ...

 

All advice is more than welcome!

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