5-day itinerary with Swiss panoramic trains, June
A traveler named Cons is planning a family trip to Switzerland in June, starting in Geneva. They want to visit attractions like the Matterhorn and ride the Glacier Express and Bernina Express during their 5-day visit, and need advice on itineraries and seat reservations.
- You need a separate seat reservation for each journey on the Glacier Express and Bernina Express, as the reservations are date and time specific.
- Consider the recommended 5-day itinerary: Geneva to Zermatt, Zermatt to Chur on the Glacier Express, Chur to Tirano on the Bernina Express, and then Lugano to Lucerne.
- Using regular trains instead of panoramic trains can allow for more flexibility to hop on and hop off as you explore the scenic routes.
- If you want to experience the Bernina Express, consider staying in Chur or Pontresina/St. Moritz for easy day trips.
AI-generated summary-
Hello,
Thank for the info about Spring Sale for the pass.
I am visiting with my family (4 total) in June and unfortunately our kids turn 16 on May 4 . We start our visit in Geneva coming from Paris.
We would like to take the Glacier Express and the Bernina Express, visit the Matterhorn and Luzern area.
Would you recommend an itinerary for 5 days??
If we take the Glacier Express and Bernina Express and we pay the mandatory reservation fee, can we hop on and hop off? Or are we supposed to pay other additional reservation fee to hop back on? Does the mandatory reservation fee allow you to ride the Glacier or Bernina any day and time or does your ticket has a specific date/time?
Thanks,
Cons
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Hi Cons,
Welcome to MySwissAlps.
Seat reservations on the Glacier Express and Bernina Express are specific to the connection i.e. your reservation is only valid on the date, time and route you purchased the reservation for. If you wish to hop on and hop off you need to make separate seat reservation for each journey. You find more information about seat reservation on the Glacier Express and Bernina Express in the following links:
- Glacier Express: http://www.myswissalps.com/glacierexpress/tickets
- Bernina Express: http://www.myswissalps.com/berninaexpress/tickets
Here’s a sample itinerary combining both the Glacier Express and Bernina Express, starting from Geneva.
Day 1 – Geneva to Zermatt. Excursion to Gornergrat to view the Matterhorn up close (one night in Zermatt)
Day 2 – Zermatt to Chur on the Glacier Express (1 or 2 nights in Chur)
Day 3/4 – Chur to Tirano on the Bernina Express. Tirano to Lugano on the Bernina Express bus. (1 night in Lugano)
Day 4/5 – Lugano to Lucerne.
Would this work for you?
Regards,
Anna
The seat reservations for the Glacier Express and Bernina Express are fixed, so you must specify exact date and time.
This is why travelling on those trains is best suited to groups and people wishing to see the alps but not those wishing to actually ‘feel’ the mountains. I often feel I am alone on this site to be ‘not recommending’ the ‘panoramic trains’ , but it is worth remembering that the Glacier and Bernina Expresses are a sometimes overhyped brand, and are just one type of train (as recently as the 1980s the Glacier Express ran just once a day each way with ordinary carriages). If you wish to have a more ‘genuine’ experience the regular trains are better. The views are just the same.
The regular trains also allow you to get on and off wherever you like and continue on the next train, remembering that the transport network in Switzerland is based around very frequent, always connecting, trains, buses, boast etc (this is completely different from some larger countries notably USA, Canada, Brazil where long distance passenger train services collapsed many years ago.)
Given all of the above, it would be useful if you could tell us what you had in mind when you said ‘hop on and hop off’. This is because a really nice thing to do on the Brig – Chur line is to get off the train at – for example – Oberalp Pass, but if you do that on a day when you have your main luggage with you it is not as easy to achieve.
On the Bernina, I recommend not going to Lugano from Tirano (3 hours by bus), so an option for you would be to stay at Chur or Pontresina/St Moritz and do the Bernina as a day trip. This would allow you to go one to Tirano first then come back on a regular train and get off at an intermediate point such as Brusio (to see the open spiral), Lake Poschiavo, Bernina Diavolezza etc
Thank you, very helpful. I am still trying to figure out my trip. So many options.
Thank you very helpful.
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