Lugarno to Tirano to Zermatt Bernina & Glacier ex

I will be travelling (Eurail Global Pass) from La Spezia on 11/10 & want to find the best way to take in Como, Lugarno, Tirano & Brig (or Zermatt) to Interlaken then to Geneva. It is important that I utilise both the Bernina Express & the Glacier Express. I leave La Spezia on 11th October & would like to take in the above over about 6-7 days. What tickets/reservations do I need, what are the costs & is the bus from Lugarno to Tirano the best transport for that leg. Any advice/tips would be much appreciated.

This is part of a 3 month travel through Europe which will commence in Paris on 31/8 & will conclude there on 27/11.

Hello Anthony, and thank you for joining MySwissAlps!

The Swiss part of your trip could look like this, for example:

• October 11: travel from La Spezia to Lugano
• October 12: travel to Tirano by bus, and then from Tirano to St. Moritz by Bernina Express
• October 13: spend a day in or near St. Moritz
• October 14: travel by Glacier Express from St. Moritz to Brig or Zermatt
• October 15: spend a day in or near Zermatt
• October 16: travel to Interlaken. You may want to use the scenic regional train via Goppenstein, rather than the quick tunnel connection.
• October 17: spend a day in the Jungfrau region
• October 18: travel to Geneva. You may want to use the scenic Golden Pass line for this route.

Details of all connections can be found in the timetable. I've added some in-between days in the towns you've mentioned in my proposed itinerary, as they allow you to actually explore a bit of the regions you're passing. To me, that would be more attractive than simply traveling from one town to another, but of course you can add such days or simply leave them out of your itinerary. Please follow the links I've inserted to learn more about the towns, regions and scenic trains.

Your Eurail Global Pass will cover most of your traveling. Please review our Eurail Global Pass validity page to find out what's covered in Switzerland. This is what you'd need additionally:

• seat reservations for the Bernina Express;
• seat reservations for the Glacier Express;
• an additional ticket for the leg St. Moritz-Disentis, which is not free but discounted by 25%
• additional (discounted) tickets you may want to make for local trips by mountain train or cable car.

The Italian Eurail Global Pass discounts can be found by following the link on our Eurail Global Pass page, under 'More on other websites'. Additional costs can be found by entering your trip in the timetable, picking a connection and clicking 'Fare/buy'.

I hope this gets you started!

Hi Annika, Thank you so much for your prompt & thorough reply to my post. The information & links that you have given will be a tremendous help to me - wow, that's Swiss service for you, long live MySwissAlps!!! Your suggestion that I give myself some more time to explore the regions along the way is good advice which I will certainly follow. Thanks again

Anthony

Hi Annika, Following on from your reply to my query of17/7, I will stop at Como for a few days then on the 14/10 the train to Lugarno to join the bus for Tirano & to join the train to St Moritz (Bernina Express) - all on the 14/10. On the 15/10 to travel on the Glacier Express to Zermatt then to Interlaken on the 17/10. I would like to travel on Golden Pass from Interlaken to Montreaux on say 19/10 or 20/10.

My questions are:

• How do I connect to the scenic regional train via Goppenstein to Interlaken and how do I book on the Golden Pass coming from Lucerne which I assume I would join at Interlaken.
• Am I missing any great sections on the trip as detailed & have I got the plan right for connections.

Thanks so much,

Anthony

Hi Anthony,

I think you're covering some true highlights with this itinerary! If you manage to allow yourself some time in between the train transfers, I'm sure this will be a great journey.

When traveling from Zermatt to Interlaken via the regional Loetschberg line, you'll have to get to Brig first. Then, get on the regional train towards Spiez. If you want to look up this connection in the timetable, you should enter Goppenstein as your via-station.

Similarly, you can find Golden Pass train connections from Interlaken to Geneva by entering Gstaad as via-station. A link to the Golden Pass website, which offers a separate timetable, can be found on our Golden Pass page. It's not required to book Golden Pass seats, and you're traveling in October; that means tourist high season will be over.