[Removed user]

13 February 2018 at 3:31:47 #814348

We have 7-8 days to see the mountains of Switzerland. Ideally we would like Bernina Express with 2 nights St Moritz, 2 nights Lugano, 2 nights Zermatt. Just wondering how best to link up the Bernina Express with Zermatt. I am also wondering if all that time on a train will be too much and whether we will be seeing too much of the same thing and should cull somewhere. We are starting in Zurich and have the choice of ending in Geneva or Milan. Your thoughts appreciated.

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[rockoyster]

13 February 2018 at 3:59:45 #876230

Hello howham and Welcome to MySwissAlps,

From Zurich you could go direct to Zermatt. Then take Glacier Express to St Moritz. Then Bernina Express train and bus through to Lugano which is only a short trip to Milan.

Or Zurich to St Moritz, then to Lugano then to Zermatt via Locarno and Domodossola on Cantovalli Express. The Zermatt to Geneva for departure.

Arrival times and departures times will dictate what’s feasible to a certain extent.

Use the Swiss Train Timetable (http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable) to plan your travel. If you haven’t used it before it will pay to read the instructions on that page before delving into the timetable.

If you don’t want to spend too much time in trains then Lucerne and the Jungfrau Region would be my pick for best two bases with 1 night in Zermatt and then on the Milan for departure or skip Zermatt and head fro Geneva via Golden Pass Line.

But . . . what time of the year are you travelling? Lugano is more of a summer venue.

You should also read “How to choose the best travel pass” (http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses/prac tical/chooserailpass).

[Removed user]

13 February 2018 at 19:47:16 #876231

Thanks very much for your reply. I will study those links. We are travelling in July. It was the train trips that caught our attention in the first place so we definitely want to do at least one of the major ones but I have a feeling we should choose either Bernina Express or Glacier Express, not both. Consequently I think we need to choose between St Moritz or Zermatt. In our cycling tour which we will have completed before this mountain sector, we are spending just one night in Murren. We are going to leave our bikes back at a hotel in Interlaken. In hindsight I should have allowed more there but we are past the point where we can change that. Your thoughts?

[rockoyster]

13 February 2018 at 20:07:41 #876232

We definitely enjoyed the Bernina over the Glacier. See http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/the-reluctant-travellers-swiss-adventure-part4

. . . and Lugano was terrific. See http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/the-reluctant-travellers-swiss-adventure-part-5

[Removed user]

14 February 2018 at 3:03:49 #876233

Thank you for those 2 very informative links, the picture is now much clearer. We are going to leave Zermatt for another year.

When we buy our train ticket to cover Zurich to St Moritz (2 night stopover), St Moritz to Tirano and bus Tirano to Lugano, do we have to buy 3 tickets, i.e. one to St Moritz, one to Tirano and one for the bus to Lugano or can you buy one ticket that covers the trip over several days? I have been scouring the websites but still not clear.

[rockoyster]

14 February 2018 at 3:44:14 #876234

You can find the Bernina Express timetable here http://www.rhb.ch/en/panorami c-trains/bernina-express#info.

On this same site you can make reservations and buy tickets.

You can’t get directly from Chur to St Moritz on the BEX. You have to change at Pontresina and take a regular train or bus to St Moritz. Also the BEX departs Chur at 8:32am so you need an early start from Zurich unless you are happy to take a regular train from Chur to St Moritz. You can use the Swiss Train Timetable (http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable) to work out what connections suit you. One ticket will suffice for Zurich to St Moritz.

You can book the BEX to Tirano and Bus to Lugano as a single trip. But the BEX which connects with the bus leaves Chur at 8:32am and you would need to board it at 10:22 at Pontresina. You would need to get from St Moritz to Pontresina by regular train or bus. Again you could take a regular train direct from St Moritz to Tirano in time to catch the bus.

Many permutations.

Of course if you had a Swiss Travel Pass, which may be what you meant by “can you buy one ticket that covers the trip over several days”, you wouldn’t need to buy ANY tickets. Just reservations on the BEX. Have a look at “How to choose the best travel pass” (http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses/prac tical/chooserailpass) to determine if a pass could work for you.