Bernina Express in April
A traveler is planning to ride the Bernina Express just after Easter, in mid-April. They're curious whether the views will be worth experiencing with little to no flowers and if it's too much to complete the entire journey in one day, or if stopping at places like St. Moritz or Alp Grum would be better. They seek advice on breaking up the trip or doing the whole route in one go.
- Expect snow on the Bernina Express in April; it's a beautiful season despite the cold.
- If you have a Swiss Travel Pass, you only need to reserve a seat, not buy a full ticket.
- Breaking the journey only makes sense if you want to visit a town; otherwise, doing it in a day is manageable.
- Reservations are required for the Bernina Express if you choose to stop and continue later.
AI-generated summary-
I am considering the Bernina Express just after Easter. (middle of April this year) It won’t be snowy, and there won’t be summer wildflowers. Will it be worth doing then? Also, is it overwhelming to do the whole route in one day? I am wondering about getting off somewhere (where? St. Moritz? Alp Grum?) and breaking the journey into two days. Appreciate your feedback.
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It will almost certainly be snowy on the Bernina Railway in April. I have been up to Bernina several times at Easter and always been pretty cold with lying snow. The Bernina railway is the highest railway across the Alps as it does not use a tunnel at the summit as other transalpine railways do.
It is not really ‘overwhelming’ to do it in one day, remember Switzerland is a small country so distances are not huge.
Hi Carolinebr and welcome to MySwissAlps!
I think that the mountains and the view are always beautiful, it does not matter what season is it. In April usually you can still see snow capped mountains.
Are you taking the bus too from Tirano to Lugano?
The Bernina Express takes about 4 hours without the bus, that is not too much, so I do not think you should break your journey. Only if you want to visit a town or village.
You can read about the route at http://www.myswissalps.com/berninaexpress/gettingthere and you can book your tickets and/or your seats at http://www.myswissalps.com/berninaexpress/tickets. If you have a Swiss rail pass, like Swiss Travel Pass, you do not need to buy the ticket just reserve your seats. If you do not have any passes you need a ticket and a seat too.
Check these too:
- Swiss Travel Pass: http://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass
- St. Moritz: http://www.myswissalps.com/stmoritz
- Lugano: http://www.myswissalps.com/lugano
- Best time to visit Switzerland: http://www.myswissalps.com/besttimetovisit
Hello Caroline,
You may find this trip report of interest; especially if you are continuing through to Lugano. This was late May so there is less snow than you would get in April when it should be reasonably plentiful (global warming notwithstanding).
I wouldn’t break the journey at Alp Grum. If would be a bit bleak in April I would think.
Bear in mind you need reservations for the BEX so if you plan to stop and continue another day you would need reservations for each leg of the journey. Regular trains offer a reservation free alternative and the same scenery.
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