My review of Swiss panoramic trains – GoldenPass, Glacier Express etc
A traveler shares insights from their three-week journey through Switzerland, highlighting their experiences on scenic trains like the Glacier Express and Bernina Express. They faced challenges booking panoramic train seats, found regular trains less crowded and more enjoyable, and appreciated the flexibility and comfort of using a Swiss Travel Pass for regular train travel.
- Book panoramic train seats early, as they're often fully booked.
- Consider using a Swiss Travel Pass for more flexible travel on regular trains without the need for reservations.
- Regular trains often provide a quieter, more comfortable experience compared to crowded panoramic trains.
- Bringing your own food for train journeys can save you money on pricey meals offered onboard.
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As my wonderful three weeks is coming to a close and having had a good number of train trips I thought I might pass my opinion that may help future travel planners.
I travelled on the Goldenpass, the Glacier Express and the Bernina Express and numerous regular trains all first class And mostly travelling with luggage. Of course there was much excitement to travel on the much marketed and talked about panorama trains.
Booking tickets and reservations of seats for the panorama trains caused me much drama and distress. It seemed to be a never ending ongoing battle to wait in anticipation to acquire a seat only to find everything is booked out from the second the seat reservations open online.
However, for the regular trains I simply had a saver day pass for the days I was travelling and never had to book any seats just Choose a time at leisure when to travel. The panorama express trains were all jam packed with people and backpacks on floors and hanging coats. With the carriages being fully occupied, there was a constant chatter and constant waiters up and down the aisle serving food and drinks food .
The first class carriages on the regular trains were generally empty and sometimes I was the only one on the carriage and other times shared the full carriage with two or three people. This meant no distracting noises and general clutter and the peacefulness was more conducive to enjoying the spectacular scenery.
The seats on the regular trains were much more comfortable then the hard fairly narrow seats and seem to have a bigger space surrounding. The ceiling windows on the panoramic trains did not enhance the view for me at all, but made the travel glarey and a bit annoying with sun on and off streaming through. Generally, the weather on my day of travel was cloudy so in Summertime, this could be a real issue. I was prepared for the sun and took a hat which I put on and off throughout the eight hours of travel. Most people also wore sunglasses.
Another point is that with the regular trains there are a lot more times to choose to travel and the routes they travel are the same. They also give you the ability to hop on and off which can break a long journey. I did this on the Bernina Express day as I had only a one-way ticket, because I could not get any seats at the time of booking for a return seat. The on off on arrangement made the trip so much more enjoyable.
The one thing that the regular train service does not offer is the meal offerings. The meals offered on the P/trains are very expensive for what Is offered. I took my own supply which I enjoyed at a fraction of the cost.
So in conclusion, it is the spectacular scenery that makes these train journeys an incredible experience and not the panoramic express trains .
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Queenie
i would totally agree with you as we also did the Bernina ,Glacier and Goldenpass Expresses and as all involved luggage being carried as well it was not an entirely pleasant experience.
Every seat was taken up and with people dashing here and there to take pictures leaning across where we were sitting it was a real pain.
Also the constant chattering of the crowded compartments meant you you could hardly enjoy the fantastic scenery.
The food and drink charges were ridiculously expensive also .
However apart from these 3 very “touristy” trips we had a first class Swiss Travel pass (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-travel-pass/) for 15 days and thoroughly enjoyed the quiet ambience of travelling in the lovely 1st class carriages…often on our own and it was wonderful.
We thoroughly enjoyed our Swiss rail holiday but the panorama express trips were very much over rated.
We have travelled a fair bit through the world and Switzerland would be very difficult to beat for scenery and the Quality, cleanliness and punctuality of the trains would also take some beating.
Regards
Ian
Hi Queenie,
Thanks for sharing your personal travelling experiences on the scenic trains vs regular trains.
Indeed I agree with you that travelling with regular trains offer more flexibility – no stress about booking seats in advance and you can break your long journey enroute.
The special scenic trains do get booked up quickly!
https://www.myswissalps.com/activities/trips/scenic-trains/Hope you will enjoy the rest of your Swiss adventure!
Regards,
Anna
Hi Queenie, I definitely agree that travelling on 1st class Saver Day (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/saver-day-pass/) or even Pt to Pt (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/regular-ticket/) is much better than getting stressed with bookings on the Panoramic trains.
Glad you were able to experience the beautiful scenery of Switzerland 👍🏼
Hi Queenie and others,
Glad to hear you liked your regular Swiss train trips. I personally like the Swiss Panaroma trains a lot, because of the comfortable seats, large windows, catering and info about the routes. We are heading for Switzerland next week and we already ordered the first class Swiss Travel Pass. And I’m sure we are not going to regret that. Only positive experiences! Never had a bad experience booking a special train, and since this will be our 35th time (about)… 🙂
Many thanks Olga for your contribution.
Wishing you a great trip ahead when you arrive next week!
Kind regards,
Yolanda
It’s interesting to read of the differing opinions of the panoramic trains v the regular trains. We are considering a Switzerland train holiday in 2025 (never been before) and frankly the more I read the more I am confused about how to go about planning it.
The last thing we would want is a stressful time trying to book and enjoy the travel because of having deadlines (to book) and jostling to get on trains with large suitcases and crowded carriages. We would definitely want to be able to book seats in advance.
I was thinking of going in a shoulder season (August/September) but reading this thread the panoramic trains are still very crowded in October. It sounds as if the regular trains go to all the same places the panoramic trains do. Is that correct? I would happily forgo the panoramic trains for the above reasons if that is the case.
I am currently on holiday in Switzerland. I have been about 40 times. Nowadays I base myself in Zurich, going out on day trips with my priceLESS first class Swiss Travel Pass (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-travel-pass/).
Regular trains do indeed go to all the places the panoramic trains go to. Nowadays I avoid the special Panoramic trains and use the ordinary hourly train services. Heavenly! In the seven days I have been in Switzerland I have seen several Glacier Expresses, and they have all been packed in both classes.
On an earlier visit in late April, I saw several Golden Pass Expresses. Packed in both classes.
Read also what Tim says in his reply 1
Best wishes
Roger
Roger
I agree with you also re the glacier Express.
A friend of mine – who is quite wealthy – used to spend much time in Switzerland on holiday.
Anyway he did the Glacier Express then several days later he did the exact same journey but by normal rail using his 1st class Swiss travel pass.
This involved doing it in 4 separate trains with little waiting time between them as follows.
- St moritz to Tamins
- Tamins to Muster
- 3. Muster to Andermatt
- Andermatt to Visp to Zermatt
He said he missed absolutely nothing scenic -wise and for most of the journeys all in first class he was almost on his own.
It was so peaceful that he could full enjoy the magnificent scenery in a total relaxed fashion and much better than travelling on the Glacier Express.
However that is only his (and my opinion) and I am sure most of the tourists on the Glacier Express would disagree and enjoy the one train experience.
As they say the view from your hilltop is usually much different from mine !!
Long live the scenery and trains in Switzerland !!
Ian
Thank you Roger and Tim for your replies. You have given me some certainty on booking the trains. I would much prefer the quiet and stress free travel on the regular trains.
If we do decide to go ahead with the trip I will have many more questions as the trip gets closer.
Thank you also to MySwissAlps for this site and all the information on here.
Hi Robert,
Feel free to ask away if you have further questions.
It’s good to ‘hear’ all the different opinions in regard to the panoramic train rides. As you can appreciate, it all boils down to personal preference. The panoramic trains here, are indeed popular. For sure, if you are leaning towards not wanting any train changes then the panoramic train rides would make sense, but yes, the route with the regular trains is totally doable with the train changes that are involved.
Kind regards,
Yolanda
Hi Olga,
Have a wonderful trip. Switzerland is a truly a magnificent and unique place to visit. It was my first time and I was travelling alone as a senior. I alway felt safe. I wanted to simplify all my train travel as I had never travelled by train in Europe. Panoramic trains seemed to be my best option.
However, after gaining my confidence with navigating train stations etc I became confident to travel on the regular services. This is when I became aware of the considerable differences. The seats on the regular services are most definitely far more comfortable than the panoramic seats. They are larger more cushioned and greater surrounding space.
The scenic windows on these trains seem to be the same size as the panoramic minus the ceiling windows which was of no benefit to the view…only a negative for me as it was very glarey and sunny.The one thing that maybe I negative on the regular services is the changing trains. I found the process a very simple one and when I opted to break my Bernina express Journey so that I could visit Poschiavo I was very satisfied with that decision. I only needed an hour to visit this village and a regular train to return to St Moritz was only minutes away.
In the end you do what you feel comfortable with doing. In my instance, gaining confidence in Travel helped me make my best decisions.
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