Aug 5, 2010 - 3:04 AM
Hello chrisnel and welcome to the forum! There are several options for a nice trip from lake Como. The Bernina Express is definitely a beautiful train ride. You could first get to Tirano by bus and get on board of the Bernina Express there to St. Moritz. You may get back through the same route or decide to go for a round trip. In that case you could take the bus to Maloja and through the beautiful Bergell valley from St. Moritz, ending up in Chiavenna and then heading on for lake Como again. An alternative would be to get to Thusis by train from St. Moritz and change for the bus to Bellinzona there. An advantage of this option is that you'll experience a spectacular part of the Albula train line as well, including the famous Landwasser viaduct between Filisur and Thusis.
Such round trips require quite some time though and they may be a bit long for 1 day. For example, the round trip via Tirano, St. Moritz, Thusis and Bellinzona takes about 11 hours. You could spend the night in one of the towns on the route. But if you leave early, say at about 7 pm, you could be back by 7 am again.
As for the Bernina Express: a few times a day a special Bernina Express train leaves from St. Moritz and Tirano, with large panoramic windows. These trains require seat reservations and it would be best to reserve seats as early as possible, as trains like these can be crowded in high season (which includes August). Weekends can best be avoided, as panoramic trains may be even more popular then. If enough seats are left, you'll be able to choose on what side of the train you want to be seated. If you leave from Tirano, my advice would be to sit on the left, as this offers the best views. Accordingly, take a seat on the right if you leave from St. Moritz/Pontresina. Instructions on seat reservations can be found on our seat reservation page. The Bernina Express timetable can help you out with planning your trip. Besides the special Bernina Express trains, regular trains run on this route as well. They have smaller windows, but the journey and the views will be beautiful nevertheless. So if a panoramic Bernina Express train doesn't fit well in your itinerary, or if there aren't enought seats left, just hop on a regular train from Tirano/St. Moritz. All trips, including the options I mentioned above, can be planned through the timetable. After having filled out jour departure and arrival station, the timetable will show connections. You can choose 'advanced search' to define via-stations and make up your own preferred round trip.
I hope this gets you started! Have a beautiful trip.
Last modified on Nov 1, 2018 - 4:17 PM by Arno
