15471 posts
Hi Anand,
Are you planning on doing the trip from Grindelwald to Venice in one day? In that case, traveling via the Mont Blanc is really not an option. I guess that would take 12-14 hours or so, without any breaks. But you can best check the timetable for traveling times.
As for the scenery I can recommend to travel via Spiez – Brig – Domodossola – Locarno – Bellinzona, which includes the Centovalli railway. The leg Spiez – Brig can alternatively be done with the Regio Express that stops in Kandersteg and Goppenstein, so that you skip the new tunnel to have more views. But it will take longer.
Your alternative via Meiringen – Luzern (part of the Golden Pass) is beautiful as well. And then, depending on the season, there’s a 3th option of traveling to Meiringen, take the postcar to Göschenen (Susten Pass) and continue by train from there. If you have not included any post car trips during your stay, I would look recommend to look into that.
In the end, it’s all beautiful so it depends on what you like: Centovalli is a tiny train crossing a narrow valley in a Southern European landscape. The postcar is a very different experience, where you’ll cross a pass in a Northern Alpine landscape. The Golden Pass crosses a low altitude pass and you’ll see some typical Swiss towns along lakes. It’s all different, but I hope this gives you some options to explore.
72625 posts
Hi Arno,
sorry should have been more specific. We have a car. When i checked timings via mont blanc is said about 8hrs. I was planning to go via the Meiringen, Oberland way which is shorter than Meiringen-Luzern way. But thanks for the tip.
anand
15471 posts
Hi Anand,
That’s too bad, Centovalli is really an interesting trip 🙂 Anyway, the rest of the options is still available by car as well. Mont Blanc is still a trip that would take too long for one day, but that’s my personal opinion. There are plenty of alternatives that are beautiful as well. I would pick the Susten Pass if you travel by car. You can do more passes in that region (Grimsel, Furka, Gotthard), but I’m not sure if it’s reasonable to include more of them on such a long trip. Passes require more attention from the driver than regular highways. The route via Luzern is more beautiful by train than by car I think, as it is mainly highway.
One more tip: please be aware that travel times by car that online travel planners come up with tend to be a bit positive when passes or other mountain roads are included. Routes like that take quite some time.
Enjoy the ride!