We are planning to take the Bernina Express (Northbound) from Tirano to Chur and then heading on to Zurich for the second leg of our vacation. Question: is it possible to hop off the BE in St. Moritz for a couple of hours to look around/have lunch and then hop on another train (BE or standard train) and continue our journey?
If this is possible, please provide guidance on the highlights of what to do or where to eat.... and then the best way to book that reservation.
Thank you,
Starla
Starla,
The quick answer is "No". The Bernina Express only runs the panoramic cars once or twice in each direction every day, so if you get off that you'd have to take a regular train from St. Moritz to Chur. You'd probably have to buy separate tickets for each segment, but I've never tried that approach so not sure.
You would need to buy 2 tickets, one to St Moritz, and then buy another one in St Moritz from there to Chur.
But, if you are travelling using a pass you are covered.
There is one train per hour on that line, of which only some are the "Bernina Express" with the extra panoramic-window carriages.
You don't need to book reservations on Swiss trains. You only need to book on the Bernina express if you want one of the seats in the panoramic carriages. Just spend as little or much time as you want in Chur and when you are ready catch the next train.
The full timetable from Tirano to St Moritz, showing all the stops is here: http://www.fahrplanfelder.ch/fileadmin/fap_pdf_fields/2015/950.pdf
The St Moritz - Chur timetable, with connections to Zürich, is here: http://www.fahrplanfelder.ch/fileadmin/fap_pdf_fields/2015/940.pdf
Or you could just look it up on www.sbb.ch
Thank you for the information on the trains. Is there anything in St. Moritz that make it worthwhile for breaking the train tickets in two and spending a couple of hours? My quick research suggests that we head straight to Zurich. Thoughts?
I didn't see when your trip is.
In the summer I had a nice walk around part of the lake in Sankt Moritz but nothing special to make a fuss over.
Now if I were there in the winter I would want to see some horse races on the frozen lake, and check out some of the winter sports. In fact, instead of a couple of hours I would want a day or two.
But with you coming from Utah, maybe that would all be old hat for you.
