MySwissAlps.com includes 2-day Bernina railway itinerary from Tirano
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We will be staying in Varenna on Lake Como for several days and wanted to experience the famous Bernina route. We could try to do a long 1-day trip, but now we have enough time to make it a 2-day trip. We would be leaving from Tirano, heading into Switzerland, and back to Tirano.
I’m thinking of taking the local train in one direction and the Bernina Express the other direction. That way we can stop at different places on the local train. Any recommendations for which town to spend the night? Would love to do some easy hikes with the kids too. Any other stations worth stopping at?
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Hi mashed potato,
From Tirano you could take the morning Bernina Express train to Chur. It’s about 4 hours journey so you might want to spend one night in Chur itself or any town along the route (Bergun or Filisur maybe). You can read about the Bernina Express route in detail here: https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/bernina-express/
The next day take a local or regular to St Moritz (2 h) for a quick sightseeing, then from St Moritz it’s 2-hour train ride back to Tirano. For some easy hikes I recommend stopping in Pontresina (just 10 mins from St Moritz).
St Moritz: https://www.myswissalps.com/town/st-moritz/
Hope this gives you some options.
Regards,
Anna
Hello
I was going to suggest a plan very similar to Anna’s. But I then realised, ‘This trip is going to be VERY expensive.’If you use ordinary trains, the adult single fare Tirano to Chur is 66 CHF. If you use the Bernina Express there is in addition a hefty reservation fee of (I think) 35 CHF per person.
(How old are the children? In Switzerland, under sixes go free. But on luxury trains like the Bernina Express you do have to pay a reservation fee for an under-six.)
I would suggest you revert to your one day trip plan, and travel no further than Tirano to Pontresina, using ordinary trains, not the Bernina Express. The adult single fare is 30 CHF, and you are allowed to break your journey at intermediate stops such as Alp Grum. Alp Grum is a spectacular viewing point just south of the summit of the line at Bernina Hospizio.)
For a more radical solution, omit the Bernina line from this year’s itinerary. Instead, in a year in the not too distant future, adopt the plan I set out in my thread #2796223 dated 12 April this year and entitled ‘The Bernina Line Problem’.
Best wishes for your planning.
Roger
If you’re taking the regular trains one way, you could plan your overnight stop at the unique Morteratsch train stop. There is a hotel right there with nice rooms and very good food. The relatively easy hike out to the rapidly receding Morteratsch Glacier (https://www.myswissalps.com/blog/hike-morteratsch-glacier/) is directly across from the hotel on the opposite side of the train tracks. The special Bernina Express train does not stop at this spot, but you can get off at Pontresina and back track on a regular train, if necessary. It’s just a couple of stops from Pontresina. The hotel has a nice dining patio area where you can sit and enjoy the view and the passing trains. Also, during the summer when the weather is nice, some of the regular trains will have the yellow open air train cars attached at the rear of the train – it’s great fun to ride in one of those. Just board the last car of the regular train and enter the open air car through the back door of that last regular train car and take any open seat. The SBB app will indicate which trains will have these open air cars – just check the app on the day that you’re traveling to see which trains will have them. (It is weather dependent.)
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Here is a photo of the yellow open air train cars at Alp Grum. Please note that the Hotel Morteratsch at the Morteratsch train stop is open for the summer from June 4th through October 25th this year.
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Hello mashedpotato,
Just to chip in with my suggestions along with the valuable advice given by Anna & Roger.
If you are keen on a 2-day trip, you may look at the following 2 options for unlimited travel:
(a) Buy a 2-day Graubunden Pass for CHF 125 (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/graubundenpass/), or
(b) 2 Saver Day Passes (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/saver-day-pass/), the price for which would depend on your dates of travel. You may look up the SBB web site for this information.
I would also suggest visits to (a) Filisur from where a walk of around 1 to 1.5 km will take you to a point from where you can catch a beautiful view of the Landwasser viaduct (https://www.myswissalps.com/blog/landwasserwelt/), (b) Guarda village which is unique in character, (c) Arosa to enjoy a very enchanting one-hour train ride from Chur to this small town with a beautiful lake next to the station, and (d) take a 45-minute train ride from Chur to Ilanz to enjoy the stunning views of the Rhine Gorge along the way.All of the above is comfortably doable in 2 days in addition to St. Moritz as suggested by Roger.
I don’t see any additional value in paying so much extra on seat reservations for travelling by the Bernina Express. In fact, as per my experience, the Regional trains provide more leg room in the second class as compared to the Bernina Express, and hence are more comfortable to travel by.
You could spend one night in a hotel in Chur as this would be a convenient based for your travels.
Wish you happy travelling in the beautiful Graubunden canton.
Regards
Subrata
Hello again mashedpotato
If you are still keen on a two-day trip to beautiful Graubunden canton, you should carefully study Subrata’s advice, both as to ticketing and as to places to go and see.
In particular Subrata says I don’t see any additional value in paying so much extra on seat reservations for travelling by the Bernina Express. I totally agree.
Kind regards
Roger
Thank you, everyone , for all the great advice!!! Planning just this portion of my trip has proven to me that you cannot replace the context and expreience of real people with ChatGPT (trust me I tried and boy it was sooooo wrong).
Anyway, I’m going to use these tips to plan out the 2 days. My kids are 9 and 11 and thought they might enjoy the novelty of the dome cars on BE…that was the *only* reason I was considering taking it one way. But if I can find the yellow open cars, that would be so much more amazing! Thanks again all and keep the tips coming!
One more bit of information for anyone staying a minimum of 2 nights in the Engadin. There are many participating hotels that offer a free Engadin “mountain railways” inclusive card which includes access to cable cars like the Diavolezza and Corviglia, the funicular to Muottas Muragl, etc. There are some nice hikes from the Muottas Muragl. Another nice hike from Pontresina goes out to the Roseg Gletscher Hotel & Restaurant. Here is the view from Muottas Muragl.
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I found more detailed information on the yellow “open air” train cars for the 2026 summer season. They are added to some regional trains from June 22nd to August 30th. This link contain the timetable between St. Moritz and Tirano, and Tirano to St. Moritz. I hope this will help you with your plans and think your kids are a great age for this experience. (Apologies to the moderators if this information is already available within this wonderful web site.)
https://www.rhb.ch/en/excursions/open-scenic-carriages/Attachments:
Hello, Roger and all else who have provided amazing recommendations! We are finally in Italy. I had a couple of follow-up questions, if you don’t mind!
1. We were thinking of doing the overnight trip from Tirano to Chur, spending the night in Chur and taking the train back as has been recommended. But do you still think just doing a daytrip from Tirano to Potresina is good enough? I don’t know enough about how interesting the journey past Potresina is tbh. (PS none of us has been to Switzerland before…I know this is barely scratching the surface, but would be neat to visit on this trip…even if for a few hours.)
2. If I’m taking the local train (instead of BE) and want to make stops along the way, do I need to buy separate ticket for each leg/stop? Or is it like a continuous pass for a day?Thank you so much for the depth of knowledge and advice you provide!
Hello Mashedpotato,
The route from Pontresina by R 15 (with a change at Samedan to take IR 38) will be well worth it. Shortly after crossing Filisur, you will pass the Landwasser viaduct, an engineering marvel that will leave you spellbound. You have to sit on the left side of the coach to capture this view. Moreover, the route from Samedan to Thusis will provide lovely views.Regarding your second query, if you buy a point-to- point ticket from Tirano to Chur, you can hop on & off at as many stations and you may choose to. You may also consider buying a Saver Day Pass for this day as well as for the following day in case the current price turns out to be more economical for you than buying point-to-point tickets.
Hope you enjoy your stay at Varenna as well as your short sojourn in Switzerland.
Regards
Subrata
Hello Mashedpotato,
As a follow-up to my earlier post of this evening, I find that the Saver Day Pass (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/saver-day-pass/) will be more expensive as compared to buying the point-to-point tickets (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel/tickets/point-to-point/). However, it will be a little cheaper if you buy a 2-day Graubunden Pass (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/graubundenpass/), covering all Regions of the Graubunden canton which includes Chur for CHF 125. This pass will enable you to hop on & off wherever you like. If I were in your place, I would buy this pass from Tirano station.Regards
Subrata
Hi mashedpotato,
If your priority is spectacular mountain scenery and a more relaxed day with time to explore, I’d recommend travelling to Pontresina and back.
The route from Tirano to Pontresina is indeed scenic and considered the most spectacular section of the Bernina railway. Along the way you will pass the Brusio spiral duct, climb through the Bernina Pass and enjoy stunning views of glaciers, alpine lakes and mountain scenery. Pontresina itself is a charming alpine village well worth exploring before returning to Tirano. Just take note if you end your journey in Pontresina, you will miss the Albula Line between St Moritz and Chur, including the famous Landwasserviaduct.
Description of the various sections of the Bernina and Albula railway route: https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/bernina-express/#directions
Anna
Roger, correct me if I’m wrong, but I understood that you could travel in the front coach, which doesn’t have the panoramic windows, without having to pay an extra reservation fee
Hi PiperClassique,
Yes, there are regular wagons (with non-panoramic windows) attached to the Bernina Express trains. No seat reservation is required but you do need a valid ticket or rail pass, and you may sit anywhere you like.
Regards,
Anna
Hi Anna,
The travel policy on the Bernina Express has probably undergone a review. The Bot on the Ratischbahn web site (the Graubunden railway) tells me that there is no unreserved accommodation in the Bernina Express on any of the coaches. You may like to re-check just in case of a misinterpretation at my end.Regards
Subrata
Hi Subrata,
Thank you for sharing that detail.
I am not aware of the current policy but based on my experience, there are usually one or 2 regular non-panoramic wagons attached to the Bernina Express train, which require no seat reservation. It doesn’t happen with all Bernina Express departures, only specific ones I think.
Regular trains travel more frequently than the panoramic train on the same Bernina route, so you can pick any connection if you have a valid ticket or a rail pass.
Regards,
Anna
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