International seasonal travel

[TravellingPhil]

So my wife and I are in our 40s now, we don't have kids and feel we should start having some real adventures. We have the ability to save quite well and our choice is work towards having a bigger house...or have some fun. Easy choice really!

My wife likes being involved in my travels but rightly feels I should be thinking larger. So we've spent the past few months saving and talking about some rail journeys abroad that we'd like to do over the coming years.

After a lot of research, we've got it down to a bucket list of 3.

London to Narvik to see the Northern Lights.(See Copenhagen and Stockholm on the way)
London to the Bernina Express in Switzerland via Milan there and the Rhine Valley home.
Amtrak from New York to San Francisco (we have a few friends in the USA to visit along the way too...plus we love Chicago)

I've got a good grip on tickets we may need such as Interrail, point to point advance tickets etc.

However, my question is, when is the best time of year to do each of these trips?

I'm guessing Narvik may be best around March.

Switzerland may be best around October/November to avoid the crowds and the really high prices (as opposed to just high prices!)

The USA I'm just not sure about, I know from experience that late September into October can deliver some stunning weather across the USA if there are no ex hurricanes meandering around.

So what are your thoughts?

Any opinions or experiences to help us?

 

[Iskra]

It does depend on what factors are important to you, could you elaborate?

I did Stockholm-Umea-Narvik-Stockholm at Easter and it was nice. Similar temperatures to winter in England in Stockholm, spectacular snow further North and around the Arctic Circle. It was a very enjoyable trip. Be aware though, that you are far from guaranteed to see the Northern Lights. There is a trip report in my trip report thread.

I've also done, Sheffield to Milan (and then onwards down to the bottom of Italy). That's quite a simple trip and I would suggest June as a good month to do this trip- the higher mountains will still have snow on them, but the weather is nice and the prices cheap as it isn't main holiday season (August in Italy). I took the TGV from Paris to Milan, but there is also a sleeper train if you are feeling adventurous. Again, there is a report in my thread for more info.

Can't offer any advice on Amtrak, but that does sound an amazing journey!

 

[TravellingPhil]

Thank you. I think the factor that is the most important is avoiding the crowds, trying to go off season but not at a time where the weather may cause problems. Having said that, I'm open to other people's experiences so thank you for sharing yours. I'll check out your trip reports.

With Narvik, we understand that seeing the Northern Lights is a bit of a lottery, but it just looks so stunning anyway we'd still have an amazing time. (My wife is keen to try Husky sledding). We're toying with the idea of taking a bus up to Tromso and just using Narvik as an overnight stop as it looks like there's not an awful lot there.

With Switzerland, we just want to ride the Bernina route and aren't fussed about the panoramic carriages (although if anyone feels we'd be missing out...please say!). So that might help us get away from the crowds a bit?

 

[Iskra]

Thank you. I think the factor that is the most important is avoiding the crowds, trying to go off season but not at a time where the weather may cause problems. Having said that, I'm open to other people's experiences so thank you for sharing yours. I'll check out your trip reports.

With Narvik, we understand that seeing the Northern Lights is a bit of a lottery, but it just looks so stunning anyway we'd still have an amazing time. (My wife is keen to try Husky sledding). We're toying with the idea of taking a bus up to Tromso and just using Narvik as an overnight stop as it looks like there's not an awful lot there.

With Switzerland, we just want to ride the Bernina route and aren't fussed about the panoramic carriages (although if anyone feels we'd be missing out...please say!). So that might help us get away from the crowds a bit?

In terms of crowds, the good thing about long-distance European rail travel is that there is usually only 1 person per seat on the train allowed, so the trains are unlikely to be full and standing like you may encounter in England. However, you will come across crowds in the major cities you pass through, that is just unavoidable.

Narvik is decidedly average. Because it is by the sea, that keeps the temperature up so it's a cold, damp place rather than particularly snowy and scenic. It's also quite a drab town as it was entirely rebuilt after the Luftwaffe destroyed it WWII, with mainly corrugated metal buildings. It's more about the journey than the destination. In terms of wintry scenery, you would be better looking at some of the smaller stations on the approach to Narvik where there are many Ski Resorts, or Kiruna in Sweden which is well inside the Arctic Circle and the main population centre up there.

 

[30907]

In terms of crowds, the good thing about long-distance European rail travel is that there is usually only 1 person per seat on the train allowed, so the trains are unlikely to be full and standing like you may encounter in England.

That only applies on routes where reservation in compulsory - France and Italy for example - but not in Switzerland or Germany among others. On the other hand, off-season in tourist areas of Switzerland trains carry a load of fresh air...

On topic: I am just on the way home from Eastern Switzerland (we stayed in Filisur on the Bernina Express route, and would heartily recommend the Hotel Grischuna). If you want snow, now is as late as it gets except for very high up (Alp Grüm was spectacular a few days ago, whereas the Oberalppass today was near-whiteout), otherwise bear in mind that the sun disappears quite early in mountain areas - Filisur station last week was 9 to 5.30!
We sampled one of the Bernina Express cars on an ordinary St Moritz to Poschiavo train for CHF5, paying on board (the full trip is only 10 IIRC) and it was nice but there were no opening windows

It is nearly 40 years since I went to Narvik, but I'd agree with staying on the Swedish side of the border - and I'd recommend doing one way by bus to/from Fauske.

 

[Techniquest]

I've just seen this thread and strongly recommend the Bernina Express. Oh my good grief that was fun! I did it in October 2017, and I didn't waste my money on the tourist coaches either. The normal EMU at the front of the train was perfectly fine. Great weather and stunning scenery, a trip that really needs doing.

The line from Dombas to Andalsnes in Norway is also nice and scenic, worth doing if you get the chance. Not a lot of anything at the town, but it's all about the journey.

Not a clue on Amtrak I'm afraid, my only experience there was LA Union Station to Glendale on a Surfliner train. Really nice trains, based on that short ride, though! New York to San Francisco, that's definitely one I'd fly!

Bernina Express and Andalsnes I have trip reports for in my trip reports thread, but they are also on my Wordpress blog. techsworldfrenzy.com and I have quite a few world exploration reports on there.