Which side to sit on the Bernina Express?
A traveler named ytoprakseren is planning a trip with their family on June 30th, taking the Bernina Express from Chur to Tirano. They want advice on which side of the train to reserve for the best views and which wagon to choose, along with tips for a bus ride from Tirano to Lugano.
- For the Bernina Express, it's generally recommended to sit on the right side if you're going south for better views.
- It's best to check specific seat numbers when booking, like 12 or 18 on the bus, for optimal sights.
- Don’t stress too much about the seating; views are still good from all sides.
- Consider the Swiss Travel Pass for discounted travel along the route.
AI-generated summary-
Hello everyone,
I’m planning to take the Bernina Express from Chur to Tirano on 30th of June with my family of three. My first question is that, based from your recent experiences, which side of the panaromic wagon should we reserve to enjoy the best view, the right or the left? Also, which panaromic wagon would you recommend to us to reserve out of the the 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th? First five attachments are the screenshots of the reservation page I get for the Bernina Express for each wagon. We are also planning to take the bus from Tirano to Lugano and your recommendations regarding which side of the bus to reserve to enjoy the best view would be great too. The other attachment is the reservation pages I get for the Bus 2 of Tirano-Lugano busses as Bus 1 is nearly full. Your suggestions&recommendations are very appreciated.
Thank you in advance.
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Hello ytoprakseren and Welcome to MySwissAlps,
The best side to sit is described at http://www.myswissalps.com/berninaexpress/gettingthere. The problem is the seating plan does not indicate direction of travel.
My experience with bookings for the Bernina Express at RhB is that the seats at the top of the seating plan are on the right heading south. The location of the drivers seat used to be shown on the BEX bus. This was a bit of a giveaway as to direction of travel but is no longer shown. The gap in the middle of the new bus plan suggests that is the right side of the bus.
I’m not guaranteeing any of the foregoing – just my best guess.
Hey, thanks for your reply.
I did not know that direction of travel is not known before taking the train or the bus. But I noticed that there is an arrow pointing rightwards in every screenshot (“Chur -> Tirano” and “Tirano -> Lugano”), could that be an indication of the travel direction? Sorry if that seems a silly idea though as I am not familiar with Swiss rail/bus system. Also, would it be wise to pick the 5th wagon or should we opt for other wagons?
The arrow (which always points right) just means going from A to B.
What I mean by direction of travel is which way the carriage is pointing. Which is the front and which is the end of the carriage cannot be guaranteed.
You may find this trip report of interest.
This recent thread, whilst not exactly a promotional brochure for the BEX, is consistent with my experience of the seating plan ie to the seats at the top of the plan are on the right heading south. The picture on that thread show a 1st class carriage.
Also on the bus I am pretty sure that seats 12/18 (the numbering system is weird) are directly behind the driver and therefore on the preferred left side of the bus. Seats 14/16 are the exciting seats with a driver’s eye view of the rapidly-appproaching, impossibly narrow gaps the bus squeezes through in in the latter stages of the trip.
If you are miss out on getting a seat on the preferred side of the train, don’t worry too much. The views are pretty good in all directions and there is always StreetView.
It’s been suggested that I reply to your post, ytoprakseren.
I don’t know anything about your needs or preferences, but our experience described in another post may influence your choices: http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/miserable-bernina-express-experience. I posted a different set of criticisms about the Glacier express: http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/travel-pass-upgrade. Oh and yes, the bus. The bus! Would you knowingly subject your family to that?
We have some unscheduled days coming up, and we very well may go back to Bergun, Ospizio Bernina, Alp Grum, or Poschiavo by regular trains (we have Eurail passes). I would rather get to these places on a sunny day in the windowless boxcar of a freight train and get out periodically than pay for reservations on a cloudy day and be trapped on one of these panoramic express trains. But, perhaps you have to do the panoramic train to know whether this is true for you.
As Rockoyster has mentioned, your reservation locks you into a specific seat, but you can’t predict whether that will be on the east or west side of the train. The only thing it determines is whether you are in a set of 2 facing seats, or a set of 4. If you have low clouds or rain on the day of your reservation, you won’t see much out of either side, and you won’t be able to change your reservation. If you have disagreeable fellow travelers in your wagen like we did, you may spend the entire trip out of your seat looking out another window. Either way, there is no WiFi on these trains, and you will have to pay 6 CHF for a small bottle of water!
…..if only for an empty carriage.
Hi PnBa, I sympathize with your experience on the Bernina Express; how rude those ladies were, apparently of the persuasion that any sun exposure equals wrinkles, and too bad about anyone else, or in some cultures, a light coloured skin equals upper social/economic standing and this illusion must be maintained at all costs. I have booked the Bernina Express, including the bus – “the dreaded bus”!! – for the 30th June. If we have an experience like yours, no air-con, 3+ hours! I will definitely be in the “dog-house” as far as my husband is concerned – still he leaves all the planning to me, so be it. Like you, it is the only train/bus booking I have made. And, I realise I have booked what I thought was the right-hand side of the train, but I have probably mistakenly booked the left-hand side, assuming Rockoyster is correct, and I expect he will be. Never mind. The bus may be more disappointing, as I thought I had been rather smart and saw the space in the middle of the bus and on the left-hand side and thought, – that’s the rear door, left-hand side, and so booked 2 seats on that side. I now realise thanks to Rockoyster, that I had forgotten about Europeans driving on the right-hand side of the road, unlike us Australians who drive on the left hand side, so the front of the bus I was looking at was probably pointed to the left of diagram going towards Tirano, not right.towards Lugano, so we will be seated on right-hand side, not left, with the views of lake, etc as I had planned. Again, never mind – a small slip-up in the scheme of things. The right-hand side of bus will probably.be full of confused/forgetful Australians, New Zealanders, some British perhaps. A lesson to other Australians, perhaps, reading this – Don’t forget Europeans drive on the opposite side of the road to us!. Sounds like you are having a wonderful trip, despite your BE exoeriences. Best wishes, Isobel
Hi Isobel,
Let’s hope your Bernina Express experience will be better than PnBa’s! I haven’t done the bus ride yet, but I thoroughly enjoyed the Bernina Express trains several times and I hope you and your husband will too. In some cases one’s experience just a matter of (bad) luck, consisting of factors such as other travelers and their behavior, weather circumstances and technical issues.
PnBa, I hope you like your further trips in Graubünden.
Hi Annika, thanks for your thoughts. Yes, luck always comes in to everything as you say. Am sure we will enjoy the Bernina Express, and hopefully the bus too. It is wonderful researching all the things to do/see in Switzerland. I am already planning my next trip! so many possibilities in a small country. I am counting the days now. Best wishes, Isobel
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