How to organise rail trip Tirano-Chur

  • Effortlessly learn from the questions and answers in the forum. Receive a daily e-mail with new discussions.

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    22 January 2017 at 12:32:51 #858334

    HI Monika, happy early birthday and welcome to MySwissAlps!

    You can look at the SBB timetable here – it will give you the same results however.

    You can also take regional trains along almost the exact same route as the Bernina Express and you can stop along the route where you would like to break up the journey.

    There are several options for departure in the morning of the 5th These trains typically stop in the villages of Pontresina and Samedan on the way to Chur. I haven’t been to either of those villages so I can’t speculate if they are worth the stop – perhaps other members can.

    Is this the only trip/area you are looking to visit in Switzerland over your 4 days?

    I wonder if you would be interested in starting the trip in Zermatt and visiting that area before heading off to Chur on the similar Glacier Express Panoramic train?

    Regards,
    Lucas

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    22 January 2017 at 13:45:15 #858335

    Dear Lucas,

    Thank you very much for such fast response. Zermatt is also on my list and I did not think I can do both of my bucket list dreams in one tour :-). You mentioned that apart from Bernina Express there are other regular and local connections, shoud I book the tickes in advance (is there on-line service?) or I can do it without any booking? Also timetables I would need timetables to plan stopover. As I understand the tour is the same: tunnels, bridges, Albula line?

    Also I did not figure out how this package trips sold by Bernina Express suit the rhb timetables. May be there are special trains only available for pre-bookings with hotel package since I found only one direct connection on rhb page.

    So what would be the best idea to start the trip from and how to organise it?

    Thank you so much!

    Monika

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    22 January 2017 at 16:10:11 #858336

    HI Monika,

    I think if you like you do have time to do the Glacier Express from Brig or Zermatt to Chur and then on to St. Moritz, stay there for a few days, then the Bernina Express line to Tirano? Just a thought.

    If you click on my link above “SBB timetable” it will allow you to search for the train routes you want (Chur to Tirano or Zermatt to Chur) for example. As you move along the process it will show you prices and the option to buy the ticket on the website.

    Depending on how many other train trips you do in Switzerland you may want to buy a Swiss rail pass that will completely or partially cover the Bernina Express and most other trains in Switzerland.

    For example, the Swiss Travel Pass or Swiss half-fare card. The Swiss Travel Pass covers the Bernina Express completely except for the required seat reservations. The half-fare card, gives you 50% off the ticket cost excluding the seat reservations. Read our information page on how to choose the best rail pass.

    If you are just planning on taking the Bernina Express (either the actual panoramic train or a regional train on the same route) you will probably find the cheapest option is buying just that ticket itself on the SBB website (through our timetable link) and not any of the Swiss rail passes. Click here for easy links to buy the tickets for the Bernina Express. 🙂

    Are you wanting to buy the package trips with the Bernina Express or are they simply getting in the way of you finding just the train tickets and timetable? I’m a little confused on that point. The packages would automatically have you on the panoramic train and not on the regional trains.

    Regards,
    Lucas

  • The thread ‘How to organise rail trip Tirano-Chur’ is closed to new replies.

About MySwissAlps

We’re passionate tourists and locals. We share tips about how to plan a trip to Switzerland. MySwissAlps was founded in 2002.

Get a free account for a worry-free trip

  • Join our 10730 members and ask us questions in the forum
  • Access to member-only promotions
  • Detailed maps and weather forecasts

Planning your first Switzerland adventure?

Get a jump-start with Annika’s 20-minute e-mail course, “Switzerland for beginners”. Subscribe to our newsletter to unlock the course.