Bernina Express covered by Swiss Travel Pass?
Amod is traveling with his wife in March to experience the Bernina Express and Glacier Express trains, having already made first-class reservations. He wants to know if they should buy the Swiss Travel Pass in advance and if it covers the Bernina Express starting from Italy.
- You can buy the Swiss Travel Pass anytime before your trip, even minutes before you depart.
- The Swiss Travel Pass covers the entire Bernina Express route, even if you start from Italy.
- Consider purchasing the Swiss Travel Pass online; it can be delivered to you via email quickly.
- For outdoor enthusiasts, exploring Graubünden, especially the Engadine region, offers beautiful hiking opportunities.
AI-generated summary-
Dear Team at My Swiss Alps,
I am travelling with my wife in March 2023 to experience these two highly talked about trains.
We already have the first class reservations for both the trains and we intend to buy Swiss Travel Pass first class which should ensure that we don’t need to buy separate tickets. Below are my questions.
1. Do we need to buy Swiss Travel pass in advance now, or it can be bought later?
2. We intend to start our trip from Italy, so will be taking Bernina Express from Tirano to Chur and then the Glacier express next day from Chur to Zermatt. In this case, does the Swiss Travel pass indeed cover Bernina express as we are not starting our journey in Switzerland?
Thanks for the help.
Best regards,
Amod
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You are so very correct about the Bernina and Glacier Express trains being ‘highly talked about’ – sometimes this means that visitors to Switzerland miss many of the more ‘typical’ views of Switzerland than can be seen from all the ‘ordinary’ trains around the country! However it is generally agreed even by those in the railway fraternity that the Bernina is probably the most spectacular railway in Europe. The Glacier Express less so (especially since you see hardly any glaciers any more)!
You can buy the Swiss Travel Pass any time up to the date you start your trip.
The Swiss Travel Pass is valid on all trains within Swiss territory, and in one or two special cases the STP is also valid a short distance across some borders into station in other countries (this happens for either historic, technical, geographical or geopolitical factors) . Tirano is situated just inside Italy, but the Bernina Railway is owned by Switzerland so the STP is valid.
Hi Amod!
Great that you’ll get to experience both panoramic train rides. They’re famous for a reason, and I personnaly enjoy both of them a lot.
The Swiss Travel Pass will be delived to you by e-mail, mostly within minutes. So you can buy it at any point before your departure. Please find recommended options at https://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass/price.
As 1960man explained, the Swiss Travel Pass does cover the entire Bernina Express route from Italy. You can download the Swiss Travel Pass validity map here: https://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass/validity. Good that you’ve already taken care of your reservations. Your 1st class seats will ensure a comfortable journey!
Awesome. Thanks a lot for the quick response. Makes things clear.
And yes, you are right. There is so much more in Switzerland. We did a trip to Zermatt and Jungfrau region in Summer 2021, all by ordinary trains and it was just spectacular.
Having said that, any suggestion for next time? We have already been to Zermatt (going again in March), Interlaken and all the Jungfrau region. Probably some remote and not so touristic places? We like hiking too.
Thanks again.
Cheers.
Hi Amod!
My first thought is Graubünden. This huge canton is all about nature and there are plenty of hikig options. Apart from some famous ski resorts it’s overall less touristy than some of the other regions you mentioned. My personal favorite is the Engadine: https://www.myswissalps.com/upperengadine.
Great!
Thanks a lot for the feedback to both of you.
Best regards,
Amod
Can I ask how far in advance did you buy the seat reservation for the Glacier Express? I have my seat reservation for the Bernina Express but hoping I can get the other one soon.
Thank you!
Like Arno, I am a big fan of Canton Graubunden (like a country all in its own right) and the Engadine, in fact I was in Graubunden in Feb 2020 just 3 weeks or so before Covid shut everything down! (see my pictures from that trip)
For ‘unknown’ places, just study a map of Switzerland carefully and look for ‘hidden’ valleys that branch off ‘famous valleys’. One of my favourites if the Val Ferrera (Andeer – Juf)
Thank you 1960man for the pictures. Truly looks good.
@Sburbank35 we did the reservations for both the trains on same day, which was 2 months and a week before the travel date.
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