How to take the rail journey from northern Switzerland to Italy's Mediterranean Coast

This train is typically scheduled to depart daily at around 10:30, so target this time when looking up this journey.

Final Destination: Genova P. Principe

Note that this train does not serve, the other main station in the city, Genova Brignole

The train also calls at: Lugano (departs at 12:30) and Pavia and Tortona

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: Up to 180 days / 6 months ahead of the travel date - though booking periods will be shorter when travelling after the second Sunday in December.

Three types of ticket will typically be made available, Standard, Saver Flex and Saver - all types of ticket are only valid on the specific departure selected when booking.

The very cheapest type of ticket, Saver tickets, are taken off sale 7 days prior to departure.

The mid-price type of ticket, Saver Flex, are taken off sale 3 days prior to departure.

Exchanges

• Up until departure, the most expensive type of ticket, Standard tickets, can be for exchanged for another day of travel or travel time on the exact same route without paying any additional fees.
• Up until departure, the mid priced type of ticket, Saver Flex tickets, can be for exchanged for another day of travel or travel time on the exact same route, but the price difference with Standard tickets, at the time of exchange, will need to be paid.
• The cheapest type of tickets, Saver tickets, cannot be exchanged.

Additional information is available on the SBB website.

Refunds

• Up until departure, the most expensive type of ticket, Standard tickets, tickets can be returned and purchasers will receive 80% of the price paid.
• The mid priced type of ticket, Saver Flex tickets, cannot be refunded.
• The cheapest type of tickets, Saver tickets, cannot be refunded.

Seat reservations

Reservations are mandatory on the Italian section of the journey, so seats are assigned when booking all types of tickets.

Rail pass users

If you will be travelling with valid Eurail or InterRail passes, you will need to pay a rail pass reservation fee when boarding this direct train,
Though avoid paying for these reservation fees at a station in Switzerland, because if you do so you, will also have to pay a 11CHF booking fee.

Child tickets

Children aged 6 -15 receive a 20% discount, those aged 5 and under aren't charged for a ticket.
Note that these terms are different to the national child ticket policies in Italy and Switzerland.
And the terms are also different for Swiss children travelling with a Junior Travelcard.

Bike tickets

When travelling with a non-folding bike, spaces must be reserved, but you need to make a simultaneous purchase of your travel ticket + the bike reservation on the Trenitalia website.

Dog tickets

Dog tickets seemingly aren't available for this end-to-end international journey, a dog pass will need to be purchased for the Swiss part of the trip and a dog ticket is required for the Italian section of the journey, see the dogs on trains guide.

Most of the trains which are direct from Zurich to Italy travel no further than Milano.

In most hours during the day there are onward connections by train from Milano to Genova / Genoa and despite its size, Milano Centrale is a railway station in which it is exceptionally easy to change trains - the transfer simply involves walking from one train to another.

Though the end-to-end journey times of under 6hr 15mins are reliant on an interval between arrival and departure in Milano Centrale of 20 mins or less, so making the connection is very much not guaranteed - it is not unknown for the trains from Zurich to get delayed on the congested tracks to the north of Milano.
If the ticket includes a reservation on an InterCity or Frecce train on Genova, if need be, they can be transferred to a later departure by the Trenitalia customer assistance desks on the concourse in Milano Centrale.

Hence it can be a good idea to target the combination of trains which have an end-to-end journey time of around 7hr 10mins, as this will allow for more than an hour between trains in Milano Centrale.
There are numerous food and drink outlets in which to await departure in Milano Centrale on the same level as the train departure concourse.

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: 4 months* ahead of the travel date

*If you look more than 3 months ahead it's likely that not all departures will be listed

(On the Trenitalia website, you will need to enter Zuerich Hb as the departure station).

Trains departing at different times can be cheaper than others leaving on the same day, so you may need to look through the day's departures to find the cheapest fares.

Rail pass users

If you will be travelling with valid Eurail or InterRail passes, you will need to pay a rail pass reservation fee when boarding this train for a journey to Switzerland (seats will automatically be assigned when booking tickets).
Though avoid paying for these reservation fees at a station in Switzerland, because if you do so you will also have to pay a 11CHF booking fee.