8889 posts
“I can only get a reservation on the bus if I have a reservation on the terminal portion of the southbound BEX.“
That is just wrong. Not sure where you got that from. You can arrive at Tirano on any old train and still catch the bus.
“there are no good alternative ways to make this trip along Lake Como“
Oh, I don’t know. You could take a train from Tirano to Varenna then hop a ferry to Menaggio and a local C12 Italain bus to Lugano. Or you can train to Monza and up to Lugano.
Have you been to shop.rhb.ch/en/catalog /product/view/id/18? Just enter Tirano to Lugano for the bus. 😎
RHB still don’t seem to have fixed the problem I reported in 2017 that I couldn’t make a single reservation to travel 1st Class on the train and then connect to the bus.
Just make two reservations. One for the train leg and one for the bus.
72625 posts
Hello PnBA,
What a pitty to hear you’re encountering such issues in booking your reservation.
Do let us know should the problem continue and Rockoysters link not help either.
To check the validity of your Eurail Global Pass use the following link and the included map to see that the bus is also covered by your pass.
– http://www.myswissalps.com/eu railglobalpass/validit y
Best and keep us posted.
Steph
51 posts
OK – some progress …
Rockoyster has proven to be correct on all counts … and an old post about not being able to book the bus apart from the train “is just wrong”. What remains correct – as affirmed by R – is that you can’t make a single reservation to travel 1st on the train and then connect to the bus. Has to be 2 reservations and 2 fees – not impossible, but not obvious.
Yes – Steph – that map does indicate that a Eurail pass is valid for the bus. However, look at the page that link lands you on first, and the long list of things entitled “Top attractions covered by the Eurail Global Pass”. Many buses are mentioned, but not the bus from Tirano to Lugano, not even on the Bernina Express page. I don’t want to land in Italy arguing with a train conductor about a yellow line on a map. That page on MySwissAlps.com needs a bit of editing (and it should provide explicit guidance to get around the frustrating problem that Rockoyster mentioned).
Also, MySwissAlps.com really sent me down a long dark rabbit hole. The “Bernina Express” has a “tickets” tab and link, but that doesn’t lead to tickets, it leads to the “Packages” tab, and I didn’t want a package. The various “Details and Prices” links were very limited in the kinds of begin/end options, some were trying to charge me even though [I suspected but wasn’t sure that] my rail pass should cover the fare, and some didn’t even have the express bus as an option (I assume you don’t want me to name company names). The only way I have found to get to a place where I can make the bus reservation is small inconspicuous link at the bottom of the previous page:
Speaking of the rhb.ch website, that’s not the best example of Swiss efficiency. As I mentioned above, I tried to register on the website to make purchases, got to a page stating that it would email me a 5-digit code which had to be input within 60 min or my information would be lost. Sure enough, 60 min later, I receive an email stating that my information was lost (in Deutsch, of course). Surprise, surprise … this morning I received no less than SIX!!! emails containing 5-digit codes, more than 5 hours after my 60 min had expired.
8889 posts
Hello PnBA,
I’m glad you have your reservations. The 3 links you provided for the RHB website all point to the same page which I am guessing was not your intent.
For anyone following along at home here are the direct links:
Speaking of RHB, I trust you have relayed your critique of their IT capabilities direct to them.
I never had occasion to sign up for an RHB account so remain intrigued to learn if all the 5-digit codes you received were the same. 🤓
51 posts
Nope – 6 different 5-digit codes.
8889 posts
In partial defence of MSA …
The Tickets tab says ”You can buy a point to point ticket for the Bernina Express, travel for free or discounted with a rail pass, or book a tour.
Note that you need to book your seats in advance. The reservation includes a supplement for the extra services of the Bernina Express.
You’re not required to travel the full stretch from Chur to Tirano. The reservation fee is fixed though, and needs to be paid for each trip and traveler. Separate reservations apply to the train and bus.”
If you follow the link to the admittedly ambiguously-named Packages tab the first link offers reservations on the bus if you select Tirano as your start point. See attached. That “partner” is a bit limited in the start-end point options they offer.
That’s not to say your criticisms are not valid. The reason I always recommend the direct link to RHB is that I too was originally baffled by all the different “partner” options that MSA have on offer AND the RHB site is the ONLY place you can actually select seats.
51 posts
> You’re not required to travel the full stretch from Chur to Tirano.
That could easily be interpreted to imply that traveling at least a portion of the way to Tirano is required.
> Separate reservations apply to the train and bus.
That sentence structure is ambiguous to a native English (and some German & French) speaker. It implies that something to do with a reservation applies to both the “train and bus”. What should be written is more like: “The train and bus require separate reservations” .
> If you follow the link to the admittedly ambiguously-named Packages tab the first link offers reservations on the bus if you select Tirano as your start point. See attached. That “partner” is a bit limited in the start-end point options they offer.
That is true, but note that the prices for a reservation from this “partner” are 30% higher than going through rhb.ch. Also, it’s misleading for them to offer both 1st and 2nd class reservations when there is only single class seating.
Oh well – thanks for posting consistently reliable information in this forum!
15471 posts
Hi PnBA,
Thank you for your feedback. Of course you’re right that things can be improved. We’re not native English speakers and we’re not not a travel agency (http://www.myswissalps.com/ab outus), so we can only try to explain about what others offer, and link to those websites. I will change the text about the separate reservations as you suggested. The Packages tab shows tickets first, then packages, and we’ve already planned to move the tickets to the Tickets tab. That should be done in the foreseeable future.
Enjoy your trip!