Combined iterinary of Glacier and Bernina Express
A traveler named Jennicelpere is planning a trip in June from Venice to Zurich, considering whether to take the Bernina Express, the Glacier Express, or both. They are looking for advice on how to combine these scenic train journeys during their stay in Switzerland.
- To maximize your time, consider taking the Bernina Express from Lugano to Chur and then travel to Zurich afterwards.
- If you choose the Glacier Express, be prepared for a long journey; it takes about 5.5 hours from Chur to Zermatt, making it difficult to combine with the Bernina Express in one day.
- Make sure to reserve your seats for the Bernina Express in advance to secure your spot.
- If you have larger luggage, you can bring it on the trains, but double-check any specific luggage policies for each service.
AI-generated summary-
Hi! I would like to ask for iterinary if we are joining Bernina train and glacier express. Is it a good idea to combine the two or just take one?
we’ll be coming from Venice to Milano to Lugano then stay in Zurich. On June 7 we’ll leave Venice. So we’re planning to take Bernina or Glacier Express or do both before we go to Zurich. what train should we take? It’s my 2nd time to be in Italy and Switzerland.
Thank you in advance!
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Hi Jennicelpere,
Welcome to MySwissAlps. Nice you’ve joined the forum.
Find general information of the two scenic train journeys, incl. the detailed routes, using these links:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/be rninaexpress
– http://www.myswissalps.com/gl acierexpressYou could travel from Lugano with the Bernina Express Bus to Tirano and take the Bernina Express from there towards Chur. You can take the Glacier Express from there, but this takes you AWAY from Zurich. I don’t know if you have to get to Zurich for some reason and I can’t see how long you will be in Switzerland for, if you include this information, answers will be more detailed and helpful.
If you need to get to Zurich you can also consider the Gotthard Panorama Express, another scenic train available from Lugano via Lucerne towards Zurich:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/go tthardpanoramaexpressUse our timetable link to find out about detailed travelling times and the last link for information about trains to and from Italy:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable
– http://www.myswissalps.com/tr aintickets/italyAnd get back to us for more input anytime.
Best,
Steph
Hi Steph!
We’ll be staying from June 7 up to 11th. We need to go to Zurich bec. That’s our outbound airport going to Philippines on July 11.
can our schedule fit Bernina and Glacier tour?
If we take Bernina from Lugano can we transfer to glacier express? If so, where do we get off after our Glacier tour before heading to Zurich?
So our stay in Switzerland is on June7 up to June 10.
Can you please suggest an iterinary including Bernina and Glacier tours with our 4 days stay.
thank you!
Hello Jennicelpere,
Thanks for providing the details.
As you seem to have to head to Zurich for the first night (or all nights?) you would have to plan day trips resp. a second base town to fit in the Glacier Express. The Glacier Express itself takes around 5.5 hours for the whole journey from Chur to Zermatt, so it is hard to combine with the Bernina Express in one day.
You could add a stay in Zermatt at the end of the Glacier Express, of course:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/ze rmatt
but I don’t exactly know what your plans are.Use this map to get an idea of the places the scenic trains connect:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/ma pswitzerland
– map.search.ch/Happy planning and get back to us for more detailed input anytime.
Best,
Steph
Suggestion:
Day 1 Stay in Lugano
Day 2 Stay in Chur following Bernina Express from Lugano
Day 3 Stay Luzern following trip from Chur to Andermatt on Glacier Express or regular train on same route. From Andermatt travel to Flüelen to join paddle steamer which forms part of Gotthard Panorama Express.
Day 4 Luzern
Day 5 Flight home from Zurich
– http://www.myswissalps.com/zu rich
– http://www.myswissalps.com/ai rports/zurich
I don’t think the Glacier Express (see explanatory note below) suits your itinerary. Many people make the mistake (having heard of or seen publicity for the Glacier Express) that it is the only scenic train in Switzerland. This is to underestimate the scenery of the rest of Switzerland. If it doesn’t fit your itinerary it is not really necessary to do it. Ordinary trains runs on all the same lines. Just about every railway line in Switzerland is scenic to some degree. And in fact some sections of the Glacier Express route are less scenic than many other lines in Switzerland.
Points to note about the Glacier Express:
Take care with the hyped-up marketing of the Glacier Express. It is not always the best way to ‘see Switzerland’
The Glacier Express runs roughly on an East – West axis in the southern part of Switzerland, and is very well marketed. In practice the Glacier Express is just an ‘exclusive’ train on a normal railway route with plenty of other normal – non supplement , reservation-free trains on it.
To understand the above, it is worth taking a moment to understand the Glacier Express and its history:
It was created (as one train each way daily) with the notion that well-healed travellers taking long holidays in Switzerland in the ‘Belle Epoque’ era (1930s) would stay in Zermatt and then also go and stay in the other fashionable resort of the time, St Moritz. The train was named (mainly) after the Rhone Glacier which has now melted so much that you don’t see it from the train and in any case the train runs under the Rhone Glacier in a base tunnel which replaced the Furka mountain section in 1982.
“It’s my 2nd time to be in Italy and Switzerland.“
I wonder what you saw last time?
Another option:
Day 1 Stay Zermatt following train Venice – Milan – Domodossola – Zermatt
Day 2 Stay Zermatt Visit Gornergrat and/or Klein Matterhorn
Day 3 Stay St Moritz following Glacier Express Zermatt to St Moritz
Day 4 Stay Zurich following train St Moritz to Zurich via Zernez and Landquart (avoids doubling back on route covered by Glacier Express).
Day 5 Fly home.
Thank you @1960man and @rockoyster.
What if we join Bernina express only.
June 7 we join BE in Lugano then overnight at Lugano.
June 8,9,10 what if we go to Jungfraujoch. Can we join from Lugano? Or will ot be practical to travel to Zurich then go to Jungfraujoch?
From Venice we don’t need to be in Zurich the whole time. We just need to be in Zurich on the night of June 10 then June 11 head home.
Last 2017 m, i was with a Swiss friend who showed us around.
We went hiking to Amsteg, went to Bern, Chiasso and Sta.Maria Calaca.
This year i’ll be with my husband who’s 1st time to be in Switzerland.
“June 7 we join BE in Lugano then overnight at Lugano“
Sorry but this does not make a lot of sense. You certainly wouldn’t want to go to Jungraujoch from Lugano.
I think you need to look at a map to get your bearings. The map you can download from http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass/validity is a good start.
Then use the SBB Timetable (bit.ly/2HH1U7B) to plan your travel and work out how long it takes to get between a and b (eg Zurich to Jungfraujoch). 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).
You could get a train Venice to Milan to Tirano and join the Bernina Express (departs 14:25) to Chur there. This won’t take you anywhere near Lugano. From Chur you can continue on to Zurich if you still have the energy.
The Bernina Express Bus departs Lugano at 10:00am. You can’t get there from Venice by that time so if you wanted to catch the bus and train you would need to overnight in Lugano on June 7.
If you want to take the Bernina Express you need reservations. You can also follow the exact same route on regular trains without reservations.
BEX timetable is at http://www.rhb.ch/fileadmin/u ser_upload/redaktion/H ome_Marketing/Panorama zuege/Bernina_Express/ Fahrplaene/BEX_Europa-Zentral_DE-EN-IT-FR.pdf
Thank you very much!
These are very helpful tools to plan out our tours.
What do you think about this Iterinary? Is this feasible?
June 8- From Venice to Lugano. Overnight at Lugano
June 9- We join BE up to Chur. Overnight at Chur
June 10-From Chur we take the regular train to join Gotthard Panorama Express. From Luzern we go directly to Zurich
June 11- fly out
Can we bring our big , checkin luggage in BE,regular train & Gotthard express?
By Gotthard Panorama Express I assume you just mean the paddle steamer from Flüelen to Luzern and you will just take regular trains from Andermatt to Göschenen to Flüelen.
Yes that will work for you. And yes you can carry your luggage.
Don’t forget your reservations for the Bernina Express at shop.rhb.ch/en/catalog /product/view/id/18
Happy travels. 😎
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