Miserable Bernina Express experience
A traveler shared their experience taking the train from St. Moritz to Tirano, highlighting the smooth ride and beautiful sights. They faced challenges with other tourists blocking views, a regrettable bus ride with no AC from Tirano to Lugano, and wished they had made more stops during their journey.
- Consider making additional stops along the way to enjoy the scenery and explore more of the area.
- Avoid relying solely on bus transfers; if possible, use regular trains for a more comfortable experience.
- Book the left side of the train for better views on the Bernina Express route.
- If using transportation services, check their air conditioning status beforehand, especially on warmer days.
AI-generated summary-
Before writing anything else, it must be said that this train and its route are must-do experiences. The sights and the engineering involved to bring you to those sights are extraordinary. The train rides incredibly smooth, and there was an abundance of information – printed and announced – during the 2’20” trip from St. Moritz to Tirano. I suspect they even cleaned the windows!
However …
1. Other tourists can be nasty. See attached photo: the lady across from us and several others in her group didn’t want their skin exposed to the sun. No matter it was early morning on a southbound train so that the sun was on our (left) side, or that ordinary window glass sharply attenuates most UVB radiation, they had to pull the shade and view everything from the slit at the bottom. To not stand in the way of others, we ended up in the luggage compartment, standing the entire trip, but at least had the advantage of seeing through an open window.
2. We regret not being able to get off at some of the stops, hang around, and get on the next train. In retrospect, we should have (see #3)!
3. The bus from Tirano to Lugano was agonizing. They were sitting waiting for us in the sun, and incredibly hot when we were allowed in. They didn’t start the buses or the A/C until they were ready to leave. AND THEN, THE A/C WASN”T WORKING! A full bus full of hot sweaty people after 3 hours and 10 min was not a happy group. The driver only spoke Italian, but somehow got the message that it was a little “warm”, and responded that there was nothing he could do about it. The system was on “maximum”, and it would cool down as he drove. Indeed, the interior temp by the end of the trip had dropped to 82 degF (28 degC).
4. Most of the scenery was on the left side of the bus, and we were on the right side where you can’t see much out the left. But, we didn’t much care – there was no good side to being on that bus.
Another regretable aspect to this excursion is that this was the ONLY reservation we made for our entire 3-week trip, and we arranged other things around it, suboptimally. In retrospect, we should have done this part of the trip on regular trains, and made at least 3 stops.
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Hi PnBA,
Thanks for your review. Sorry it turned out the way it did. Other tourists can be a pain or a pleasure I guess. A malfunctioning A/C is really bad luck. Actually I think they should have a spare bus, as things can heat up pretty quickly even if it’s not mid summer yet. You may want to pass on this complaint to the RhB (Rhätische Bahn). A bus ride like that is not worth the surcharge I think.
Your review made me think of my first visit to Graubünden, the canton you crossed on the train. I stayed in Chur and did the train ride on the Bernina Express to Tirano and back in one day. The great views left me wondering how many beautiful hiking trails there were in this area. I later went back multiple times for many weeks. Indeed there is a lot more to explore than one train ride. The beautiful train ride is just a quick peek into the canton. I would warmly recommend to stay in Graubünden for at least a week if you have that chance in the future: http://www.myswissalps.com/gr aubunden.
I hope the rest of your 3 weeks were much better.
Graubünden was great! We stayed in the small hotel right next to the train station in Filisur and loved it. Hiked out to the Landwasser Aussicht and saw several trains traverse the famous viaduct. I mentioned the historic train to Davos in another post – the open-air carriage was incredible. Bergun is a lovely little village to explore. The hike from Preda to Bergun was recommended by Rockoyster, and was an excellent recommendation. There was very interesting UNESCO signage at many points along the trail. Had “capuns” for dinner one evening – never had anything like them before, but very interesting and good.
Good to hear that PnBA, glad you were able to see more of the region. The Albula valley is wonderful indeed.
Thanks for the plug but I’m not a hiker so doubt very much if you got the Preda – Bergun suggestion from me.
Meanwhile I wonder if you have any observation on predicting the best side to book seats on the BEX to make on this thread http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/two-questions-regarding-the-bernina-express.
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