I am trying to book 2 seat reservations from Milan to Zermatt for May 25 2025. When I checked the Eurail website a week ago, there were plenty of seats available and the website stated no reservations needed. When checking today, the only seat reservations are for a bus from Milan to Domodossola. Earlier, there were trains available. Also, there are still seats available for a train from Milan to Zermatt, but those trains depart at 0745, which is a bit early, and also seem to possibly book before our trip. How can I book seat reservations from Milan to Zermatt without needing to ride a bus on the first leg to Domodossola? If I do need to book a bus seat on that leg, is there a link where I can do this? Thanks for any assistance with this.
Best Regards,
Mike Bechtold
Best answer by rvdborgt
There are engineering works on that day. I don't see any journey starting at 7:45, so where did you find that?
Some possibilities:
Bus to Domodossola (EC replacement) with mandatory reservation (€3 or €5 I believe, only possible at a ticket office). Then continue via Brig-Visp, no further reservations needed.
Train via Gallarate to Domodossola. No reservations needed.
Train via Chiasso - Locarno - Domodossola. No reservations needed. There's a small supplement on the Italian part between Locarno and Domodossola. Locarno - Domodossola is quite scenic.
Train via Cadenazzo - Göschenen - Andermatt - Visp (quite scenic on Switzerland). No reservations needed.
EC to Bellinzona, then further via Göschenen - Andermatt - Visp as in 4. Reservation needed between Milan and Chiasso (€10).
There are engineering works on that day. I don't see any journey starting at 7:45, so where did you find that?
Some possibilities:
Bus to Domodossola (EC replacement) with mandatory reservation (€3 or €5 I believe, only possible at a ticket office). Then continue via Brig-Visp, no further reservations needed.
Train via Gallarate to Domodossola. No reservations needed.
Train via Chiasso - Locarno - Domodossola. No reservations needed. There's a small supplement on the Italian part between Locarno and Domodossola. Locarno - Domodossola is quite scenic.
Train via Cadenazzo - Göschenen - Andermatt - Visp (quite scenic on Switzerland). No reservations needed.
EC to Bellinzona, then further via Göschenen - Andermatt - Visp as in 4. Reservation needed between Milan and Chiasso (€10).
Thank you for this information, it’s very helpful. It looks like the leg from Milan to Gallarate and then to Domodossola and on to Zermatt might be the best option. Also the most scenic in the Italian portion of the leg. Is there a chance the engineering might be rescheduled?
No, they won't be rescheduled. This line has improvement works every other weekend basically.
As said, you've either got the bus: 2 comfortable coaches leaving from the western side of Centrale station. Plenty of slack in the timetable (usual to arrive 20 min early, esp. on Sunday mornings without much traffic).
Or consider the very slow but stunning Centovalli line between Locarno and Domodossola (option 3 above).
Milan - Gallarate is far from scenic. It's mostly grey suburbs of Milan. It gets scenic around Stresa but there are plenty of tunnels anyway. Then you've got the big Simplon tunnel into Switzerland. Most scenic/cute bit is the dead-end line to Zermatt, which you can't avoid anyway haha
This is excellent information. I’ll start looking into the schedule for Milan → Chiasso → Locarno → Domodossola → Brig → Zermatt if that works. Thanks for all of the help!!!
I tried to Book the leg from Locarno to Domodossola and seems to only be available through the Eurail app. But the only seats available are for 1st class at 38 Euros each. It seems there is another way to book 2nd class tickets with a supplement (mentioned earlier) using a “subscription number? How can I use this option?
Thanks for the link. I am a US citizen, and maybe cannot purchase a ticket as I do not see “Eurail” as an option, only Europerail/Interrail?
Do the legs from Milan to Chiasso and Chiasso to Locarno fill up pretty easily on a Sunday? I do not want to miss the leg from Locarno to Domodosolla as it looks like a great scenic route. I’m afraid that I’ll book a leg for Locarno to Domodosolla in the Eurail app for a specific time and then miss it due to one of the earlier legs being fully booked. Thanks again for all the assistance!
Select Interrail/Europerail, Vigezzina Centovalli uses another wrong declination of the Eurail brand lol. Eurail, Eurorail, Europerail, what next…
(Anyway what you select doesn't matter, it's only to reserve a seat. The pass will be checked onboard. Don't overthink it.)
Milan - Locarno is direct: hourly departure at xx:43. Regional train: seat reservations not possible, seats are taken in a first come first served basis like on a subway. The first carriages at the rear in Milano Centrale are quite busy (termini station, people get on at the first door) while if you walk to the front you'll have a whole carriage to yourself!
In Locarno either follow the Centovalli signs and head to the underground platform (really easy) or allow 1h for a break in this charming city, perhaps a iced coffee or ice cream will be needed if it's hot outside. ;)
I booked my ticket on the Centovalli Express. I never would have known about the route if I had not posted here. Many thanks for all the assistance and advice!!! I have another leg from St. Moritz to Innsbruck and will post a separate thread for any advice on which legs of that trip might be troublesome to book and scenic. Thanks again!
