Bernina Express from St. Moritz for dinner?
A traveler is planning a 3-day trip to St. Moritz in early October and is confused about riding the Bernina Express. They want suggestions for scenic short trips using the train, ideally for lunch or dinner, but are unsure how to navigate the schedules and options.
- Consider taking local trains for more flexible trips instead of the Bernina Express, as they offer the same scenic views without the need for reservations.
- Lunch at Alp Grüm is a popular recommendation since it's only accessible by train, perfect for travelers looking for a meal during their trip.
- Leaving your car in Tirano and using the Bernina line for travel can save time and make your trip easier, as you don’t need a vehicle in St. Moritz.
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I am so confused by the Bernina Express! We will be in St. Moritz for 3 days in early October. We will arrive and depart by car as we are driving up from Como and returning back to Como.
I would like to spend an afternoon or evening riding the Bernina Express – maybe taking it to another town for lunch or dinner. Is there a way to hop on the Bernina Express in St. Moritz and ride just a stop or two that would be scenic?
I will take any and all suggestions on day or half day trips from St. Moritz via Bernina Express. I cannot figure out the website! Thank you in advance!
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Hello Nschap and Welcome to MySwissAlps,
The Bernina Express offers a limited number of journeys daily. There are no evening trips.
I would strongly suggest you just take local trains which run much more frequently, don’t require reservations as the BEX does and cover exactly the same routes and scenery.
A good place to start might be to look at the circular tour shown on the map at http://www.rhb.ch/en/panorami c-trains/bernina-express-offers/bernina-express-circular-tour#overview. Just replicate whichever parts of that you like the look of on regular trains. eg Go to Chur then to Landquart and back to St Moritz via Davos or cut across from Klosters to Zernez (see attached map for options – red lines are train routes). Take a trip down to Poschiavo or Alp Grum.
Use the timetable on the SBB website (bit.ly/2HH1U7B) or the highly-recommended SBB Mobile app (bit.ly/2ICIUHi) to plan your travel, find fares* and buy tickets if required. If you are not familiar with using the timetable it will pay to first read the instructions on this page – http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable. *SBB website shows half-fare prices by default, mobile app allows you to nominate full or half-fare and is also smart enough to offer you the Saver Day Pass (http://www.myswissalps.com/sa verdaypass) if that offers the best fare.
Have a look at http://www.myswissalps.com/gr aubundenpass.
You could of course leave the car at Tirano and do all your Swiss travel on public transport. See http://www.myswissalps.com/ca rversustrain.
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As regular readers of the forum will know, I dislike the hyperbolic marketing of the Bernina Express and Glacier Express ‘brands’ – it can confuse irregular visitors to Switzerland as it has done for you.
So here’s my standard advice on the Bernina railway:
It is important to understand the difference between the ‘Bernina Express’ and the ‘Bernina Railway’. The Bernina Railway is the (originally independent) railway line from Tirano – St Moritz – Tirano. It became part of the Rhätische Bahn* (RhB) in 1943.
It has regular ‘normal’ train services :
http://www.fahrplanfelder.ch/ fileadmin/fap_pdf_fiel ds/2019/950.pdf
The Bernina Express title designates one or two* trains a day operated by ‘panoramic’ coaches (with supplement payable) which include a journey on the Bernina Railway. However it is not necessary to travel on these trains as most modern Swiss trains have large windows, even if not officially panoramic, so the view through the normal side part of windows is normally fine.
You will get roughly the same scenic experience form any train on the Bernina line and reservation is not necessary
* The ‘branded’ Bernina Express trains runs through twice a day Chur / Landquart – Tirano – Chur/Landquart , but the line from Chur as far as Samedan/Pontresina/St Moritz is the Albula railway not the Bernina railway.
* – The Rhätische Bahn is the ‘national’ train operator in Canton Graubünden, with a network of metre gauge lines, separate from Swiss Federal Railways
1960 Man : Swiss railway expert and author, travelling Swiss rails for 58 years.
Lunch at Alp Grum is a favoured option:
In general terms in mountain regions you cannot usually take a train ‘to another place for dinner’ as trains don’t run much after about 20.30 because generally speaking people in mountainous areas do not travel around much late in the evening. However lunch anywhere on the Bernina line is ideal.
Hi Nschap,
I like the suggestion to leave the car in Tirano. It will save you a lot of time as you can then travel on the Bernina line to reach St. Moritz, rather than dedicating another (half) day to it. You don’t need a car in St. Moritz anyway. Lunch at Alp Grüm would then also be an option as it can’t be reached by car.
Recommend a meal at Hotel Albrici at Poschiavo, and a walk around the village. Views from the train in this area are stunning.
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