Milan: Swiss Alps Bernina Express Rail Tour

There is absolutely no need to book a tour, especially on viator, which is a reseller. When is "spring"? Give us an exact date.

You can take a morning train from Milano Centrale station to Tirano and get the Bernina Express there on your own.

We will be in Milan in mid April.

OK, here is a plan. Compare it to the "Viator" price. If you can pick a particular date, it will save you a lot of money.

Take a 6:20 am train from Milano Centrale to Tirano. Cost is 12 EUR each way. You will arrive in Tirano at 8:52 am. Walk across the piazza to the Rhaetischebahn station and take the 9:00 am train going to St Moritz. At Pontresina, get off and take the short connector train to Samedan. At Samedan, catch the train to Chur, arriving at 1:04 pm. Get a quick lunch by the station and take the 1:58 pm train back to St Moritz. At St Moritz, change to the train to Tirano, arriving there at 6:39 pm. Then walk across the piazza to the Trenord station and get the 7:08 pm train back to Milano Centrale at 9:40 pm.

Here is how you save money on the expensive Swiss railway tickets. There is something called a Saver Day Pass that gives you unlimited travel in Switzerland for a day. Buy it for a specific day beginning 60 days in advance. Exactly 60 days in advance you should be able to buy it for 52 CHF. So the whole day will be 24 EUR plus 52 CHF. Since the EUR and CHF are virtually equal now, the cost per person would be about $80 US at current exchange rates.

Note, you are not traveling on the actual Bernina Express trains, but regular trains that will be uncrowded with windows you can open to get better photos and you do not have to pay the Bernina Express seat reservation fee. Same route, same scenery.

The Saver Day Pass locks you into a specific day, but saves you about 71 CHF per person on the Swiss railway tickets. You could also shortcut this by only going as far as St Moritz and return from there, but you will be missing the interesting section between St Moritz and Chur. This is the famous Albula Railway that makes several dramatic loops to make descents (or ascents) on steep mountain terrain. It also passes over the famous Landwasser Viaduct that is featured on so many Swiss travel posters.

https://www.sbb.ch/en/travelcards-and-tickets/tickets-for-switzerland/day-pass/saver-day-pass.html

Sam, THANK YOU so much for taking time to spell this all out for us....we greatly appreciate your expertise. Our online map search and photos shows us why you would suggest this...BEAUTIFUL! We're fast walkers, I just hope we can catch all the connections to make this a successful day trip! So incredible. Thank you so much!! :-) Happy Travels to you! I want you to know how thankful we are that you took the time to share your expertise with u!s here on this forum. Sincere thanks!

From your mention of Verona or Orvieto as possible overnight trips, it appears you are heading to Rome after your time in Milan. Is that correct? These would both be on your way.

In case you decide the daytrip from Milan to the Bernina Pass and back is too much time on trains (it certainly would be for me), or too expensive, I will suggest an alternate: Desenzano on Lago di Garda, instead of Verona. This is an easy trip from Milano Centrale, taking less than an hour by fast Frecce train (26€) or 1 hour 23 minutes by regional train (about €10). There are nice lakefront hotels there. After checking in and dropping your luggage, walk down to the ferry dock and take the little ferry the short distance over to Sirmione, a peninsula that offers a small touristy village and this excellent Roman site:

https://lakegardatravel.net/grottoes-of-catullus-sirmione/

It occupies the whole tip of the peninsula, and you can hike there by (mostly) lakeside trail. We really enjoyed our day exploring there. My husband even went for a swim, but the lake will be too cold in April.

Or, if seeing the Swiss Alps is a “must”, there is a much closer option than the Engadine/Bernina Pass trip—but only if you are there by April 15 at the latest. The small Swiss villages of Riederalp, Bettmeralp and Fiescheralp, all perched on a ledge highs above the Rhône Valley, are accessed by train from Milan, plus cablecar for the last part of the journey, in 2.5 hours or so ( direct train Milan to Brig; change there to the eastbound regional train for a 10-15 minute ride to the cablecar base station. From each village, you can ride a gondola or cablecar to the top of a peak (Eggishorn or Bettmerhorn) or ridge (behind Riederalp) for views over the mighty Aletschgletscher. From the Eggishorn you can actually see all the way up the glacier to its origin and the Jungfrau.

Photos of the area here: https://www.aletscharena.ch/en/aletsch-arena/places/bettmeralp

Those lcablecars up the peaks from the village only run until April 15, however.

We're fast walkers, I just hope we can catch all the connections to make this a successful day trip!

You just need to be back in Tirano in time to catch the last train to Milan at 8:08 pm. Another way to save a bit of time is to stop short of Chur and get off the train in Thusis. You've now done the interesting parts of the ride. The train stops at Thusis at 12:31 pm and the next train going back toward St Moritz is at 1:29 pm. There are a few restaurants nearby for a quick bite. That will get you back to Tirano at 5;00 pm after you shortcut St Moritz by getting off at Samedan, taking the connector train to Pontresina, then getting the train to Tirano. Remember, in Switzerland there is a train at least every hour, so if you miss one, there will be another along by and by.

Sam & Lola, Thank you for your suggestions! Since we have a teen that really wants to see the Swiss Alps, we plan on doing the day trip from Milan, understanding it's mostly riding & sightseeing out the window, but the way it goes for our time allotment.

Our original plan after the Swiss Alps train ride was the next day leave Milan and go back to Lake Como / Varenna area for a day & overnight before continuing on to Venice. Would you suggest skipping a trip to Lake Como (since we would see it from the train window on our route to Switzerland)? Instead of going to Lake Como, go to Lago di Garda for a day and night before proceeding to Venice? Again, many thanks! SO much thanks!

Bernina Express is a very popular train ride and Youtube is full of vlogs about it. The Man in Seat 61 also discusses it in some detail. It's a pretty simple DIY trip.

Thank you so much! One more question... to save time .... if we were planning on leaving Milan at 6 am to dayvtrip to the Swiss Alps, is in FEASIBLE to bring / haul around our travel luggage backpacks and then end our day in Varenna (on Lake Como)? Rather than traveling all the way back to Milan just to turn around the next day to go to Varenna?

If, right after you get back from the train trip you are going to Varenna, if you can arrange it appropriately and start and end the train trip from Varenna instead of Milan you will cut off a whole big bunch of time. The train from Milan to Tirano always STOPS in Varenna!!! When you are done with the train trip (so clearly marked out above) just hop off at Varenna (be on the ball, it doesn't stop long) and walk the short distance to your room/hotel. I know it will be a short walk because I know Varenna and I know that everywhere there is a short distance. Station to church is 5 minutes, 10 if you stroll along the water area. Maybe have an ice cream if that little place survived covid....

I was thinking the same thing. I travel like that. I see the Thusis station has a left luggage office open from 7 am to 6:30 pm M-F, problem is if you go on weekends, they close for lunch just when you need them.

Nigel's plan is worth considering. Take the 6:20 to Varenna, drop your stuff at your hotel, then get the 8:25 to Tirano, arriving 9:52, then on to Thusis. Everything is set back one hour, but you should make it back to Tirano by 6 pm. You can get the 6:08 to Varenna, or have some dinner at one of the nearby pizzerias before catching the 7:08 back to Varenna

I was writing just as you must have asked the question Hiking Family. thinking similar thoughts.

Can you move to Varenna a day early?

Also a good plan. 2 nights in Varenna instead of one.

So much Information nd so happy that I found this. I would be in Milan in August and would love to do the Bernia to St Mortiz for the
for the day for the views, i am understanding that it is better to purchase the swiss day pass prior and I did follow the link but ended up being quite confused. There is something like a Half saver and a full, which one should I get?
Thanks