We are a family of 4 looking to travel from Munich to Varenna in June.
Looks like the best bet is a train from Munich to Chur (5 hours) then Bernina Express into the Lake Como area? How long is the Bernina Express leg of the trip?
Can we do the entire train trip, Munich to Varenna in one day or do we need to plan a night in Chur?
Once on the Bernina Express what is the stop in Italy that is closest to Varenna?
Thanks for your suggestions!!
If you want to ride the actual Bernina Express with the panorama cars, it will take 12 hours. If you can ride just regular trains, 11 or 11 1/2 hours. You get off at the terminus of the Bernina Express line in Tirano, walk across the piazza to the Trenord station, and get a train to Varenna. The Bernina Express portion from St Moritz to Tirano is 2 1/2 hours.
Check the schedule at www.bahn.com. Put in 2 intermediate stops in Chur and Tirano to get the proper routing. Schedules for the end of June might not be on the official schedules yet because there is a general European schedule change in mid June. Just look at a date in the end of May as schedules do not change that much.
Thanks for the info - are you saying the total time, Munich to Varenna would be 12 hours or just the Bernina (Chur to Varenna) is 12 hours?
I would say stay the night in Chur and then take the Bernina Express panorama train which leaves once a day in the direction of Chur to Tirano (~4 hours, 8:32 am - 12:49 pm).
Then a local train from Tirano to Varenna (the train stop is Varenna-Esino, ~1.5 hours).
I did this last year and am glad I took the once a day panorama train (vs a regular train). It was definitely a worthwhile and fun experience. I highly recommend!
Munich to Varenna is 12 hours.
