MySwissAlps.com features ads, commercial and non-commercial 4 day trips from Basel, including Bernina Express
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Hi everyone, my name is Zal from Malaysia. This is my first time to visit Swiss and I have a rough itinerary. I am in dilemma whether to include Bernina Express train in my itinerary. I’m gonna be in Switzerland from 9th April – 15th April but I can only use Swiss Travel Pass for 4 days. I am going to activate my Swiss Pass on 10th April. Below is my plan but I really need an expert advise. I’m torn between Bernina Express or Gornegrat Bahn but I really want to see Matterhorn up close. I’m open to any suggestion and which suits best.
Day 1 (10th April):
Basel – Mt Titlis – Lauterbrunnen – Gimmelwald (Hoping you can advise if I can make it before dark)
Day 2:
Gimmelwald – Jungfraujoch – Lake Oeschinen – Lauterbrunnen
Day 3:
Zermatt – Gornegrat Bahn / Bernina Express – Morges – Bern
Day 4:
Bern – Zurich
Day 5:
Depart to Malaysia
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“Day 3:
Zermatt – Gornegrat Bahn / Bernina Express – Morges – Bern”
This doesn’t make sense. Bernina Express and Gornergrat are at different ends of Switzerland. Morges is on Lake Geneva near Lausanne (almost as far away from the Bernina as it is possible to get in Switzerland). To incorporate the Bernina Express you would need to radically alter your route (please re-study maps carefully)
In general your itinerary is trying to see ‘all the famous high mountains at once’ . This isn’t necessarily a great idea as you risk not getting enough time to appreciate any of them fully. Personally I would drop one of the three (Titlis, Jungfraujoch, Matterhorn)
Hi 1960man, thank you for your reply. I am hoping if you can advise which one is better whether to choose Gornegrat Bahn to see Matterhorn or Bernina Express.
Hello Zal,
A quick question at the beginning, is there a specific reason you plan to stay in Basel?! Although Switzerland is quite small you seem to be tending more towards the Bernese Oberland Region plus Zermatt, if I see this correctly.
Find input on Basel and other possible bases for your trip in the “Hotel” and “Rentals” tabs of below links as well as alternative bases in the last link:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/basel
– http://www.myswissalps.com/interlaken
– http://www.myswissalps.com/lucerne
– http://www.myswissalps.com/zermatt
– http://www.myswissalps.com/wheretogoAlso make sure you study below link about setting up your itinerary for Switzerland and make sure you get familiar with the timetable, a fantastic tool for any traveller.
– http://www.myswissalps.com/plantrip/doityourself
– http://www.myswissalps.com/timetableFor detailed information on the Swiss Travel Pass and destinations you mention for your trip see below. Also find out about available scenic trains in the last link:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass
– http://www.myswissalps.com/titlis
– http://www.myswissalps.com/jungfraujoch
– http://www.myswissalps.com/gornergrat
– http://www.myswissalps.com/bern
– http://www.myswissalps.com/zurich
– http://www.myswissalps.com/activities/scenictrips/trainI’m sure this will keep you busy for a moment. Get back to us anytime for further input.
Happy planning and best,
StephMy flight is actually arrive to basel from budapest. I will be arriving in basel on 9th and only activate my swiss pass the next day. Hoping you can advise on which day suits best for me to take bernina express or just visit gornegrat bahn to see matterhorn.
Hello again Zal,
As stated by 1960man the Bernina Express is not the best choice, due to the location, but at the end of the day it’s do-able, if really wanted. Find details on the Route of the Bernina Express in below link and then please use the timetable provided to work out how to best fit it in, you will see, it’s a long day.
– http://www.myswissalps.com/berninaexpress/gettingthereAre you returning to Basel every night?! Got accommodation there?!
Steph
Hi thank you for the quick response. No, we will be departing from basel and planning to stay in lauterbrunnen/interlaken. We want to visit zermatt to see the matterhorn but torn in between gornegrat bahn and bernina express for a day trip to return either lucern/zermatt fastest way
You’re very welcome and thank you for providing more details, it makes answering your questions quite a bit easier. 🙂
Well I’m afraid to say that the decision is yours. I would say the Bernina Express is a tricky one to reach from Interlaken/Lauterbrunnen, when you have so many scenic train rides in the area.
Have you considered the Golden Pass scenic train from Interlaken to Montreux?! This would for sure be combinable with a day trip to Zermatt and get you direction Lake Geneva, as you say you want to go to Morge, too.
– http://www.myswissalps.com/goldenpass
– http://www.myswissalps.com/montreux
– http://www.myswissalps.com/lakegenevaBest,
StephHi steph, do you think the view from interlaken to montreux is the same with bernina express route?
and can you advise me which one is better to choose either gornegrat bahn or taking bernina express for a day trip?
Have you checked the timetables to see how long it would take for a day trip on the Bernina Express from Basel, Gimmelwald or Zermatt? You will soon find it is not practical so you can stop worrying about which route has better scenery.
Hi victoria, thank you for the reply. As i check on the bernina express page, it says its possible to take a day trip either from lucern or zurich. Is this really possible? And should i reach tirano If i want to save some time? Is the view better from st moritz to tirano?
and if i have to reach tirano, can i take a train or bus back to interlaken or zermatt. I dont mind if its taking me until night to reach the base
Hi Zalzali,
All train schedules and route information are here:
Please let us know if any questions remain after going through that information and checking the timetable.
I’m really repeating my earlier post, but you should understand that Bernina and Matterhorn/Montreux are at different ends of Switzerland. You need to decide on one and leave the other for another time. On a short duration trip, it is best to stay in a smaller area, so I recommend keeping to the west on this occasion. It is always best to have at least some of two days in Zermatt as the Matterhorn weather can change from one day to the next.
Stop worrying about ‘which is best’ – as nearly all railway lines in Switzerland are scenic, even just a few km out from Basel you are travelling through the lush green Jura mountains.
hi, thanks for alll your reply. I decided to take bernina express from zurich as i read in the bernina express page that day trip from zurich is possible hence i’m going to do that. i am planning to depart the next day from basel to zurich to chur and take bernina express from there. but my main concern here, instead of taking bernina express which i have to pay for the seat reservation, can i take local train instead? if yes, is the local train starts from chur and end in tirano? and to check the route and timetable i need to check in sbb page right? once arrive tirano, how i’m going to go back to zurich? is it the same way going or i have other options here? Thank you.
Hi Zal. I noticed you’ve been opening several threads on similar questions. Your questions on the Bernina Express route have been addressed both here as well as in http://www.myswissalps.com/forum/topic/bernina-express-day-trip-from-basel. Please continue any further Bernina Express questions in that thread only. Questions about other elements of your planned journey can be addressed in this thread.
In order to keep the forum clear and understandable to all visitors, we’ll have to close or delete duplicate threads (please refer to the forum rules: http://www.myswissalps.com/forum/rules). Thanks for your understanding :-)!
Hi annika, i understand however i posted the prev questions hoping for an answer. Can you advise on the previous post?
Hello Zal,
To answer your previous post – you will have to use the timetable provided twice in this thread to find the connections.
You would have to take the Bernina Express all the way to Lugano in order to make a reasonable day trip from Zurich, as it’s from Lugano where you can take a “fast” connection back to Zurich. Also use the timetable to find out details.
Make sure you read the instructions of how to use, read and understand the timetable to fully profit from it’s features. Also recommended:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/forum/topic/checking-train-timetablesBest,
Steph
But see 10 March update on Bernina Express at http://www.myswissalps.com/forum/topic/does-the-corona-virus-affect-trips-to-switzerland.
If you travel to Tirano you have no choice but to turn round and go back the way you came.
Basel – Tirano – Zürich is roughly a 13 hour train ride. Go to Gimmelwald instead.
To answer your question about ‘local trains’ we need to take a step back and you need to understand the nature of the railway network in Graubünden Canton.
Graubünden is Switzerland’s largest Canton by area and takes up most of what could be described as south east Switzerland.
The Rhätische Bahn is a de facto ‘National railway’ of what is in many senses a ‘state’ (as Switzerland is of course federal).
http://www.rhb.ch/en/service-souvenirs/rail-network
http://www.okthepk.ca/publicArchive/201109rhatischeBahn/images/mapRhBx.gif
Being largely mountainous, the RhB was built to narrow (1000mm) track gauge which is better suited to twisting and turning high mountain routes. All lines on the network have a frequent timetable of trains throughout the day.
So yes, you can travel anywhere on the RhB network on ‘normal’ local / regional trains
To do the route to the Bernina on ‘normal’ trains you take a train from Chur to Samedan on the Unesco Albula railway (a star route in its own right) or you take a train from Landquart to Samedan, then go Samedan – Pontresina, then Pontresina – Bernina – Tirano.
The Bernina Express is a modern concept – a ‘special’ service – the creation of it was triggered mainly to cater for tourists arriving from outside Europe
Hi Zalzali,
also read about the differences between the Bernina Express and local trains at http://www.myswissalps.com/berninaexpress under “Regular trains versus Bernina Express”. You can choose which one you prefer.
Ildiko
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