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Tirano to Chur and return June 2026

Posted by on

My plan is to drive to Tirano from my daughter's wedding in Castellino in Chianti, spend the night in Tirano and then take the train to and from Chur the following day. Thinking we would take regional train north (okay with transfers) and Bernia Express back south so as to be able to stop for a couple hours along the way and to not have any transfers on the return. We plan to spend a second night in Tirano and leave in the morning for Lake Como. Does this make any sense? I know this is a small touristy train ride - but am a novice to European trains and am honestly overwhelmed. Am I correct in understanding that:
BE one-way tickets are E 180 each (!!) and require a specific train and seat reservation?
BE is approximately 2.25 hours each way?
There is no option to take the BE to Chur - hang out for a couple of hours and take the BE as a return trip (we ride there and turn around to immediately ride the same train back)?

The regional tickets are purchased as both a day pass from Swiss rail and a ticket from the regional Bernia rail?
We can hop on hop off as we please?
Regional travel takes approximately 4 hours one way?
If I am on the right track - what one or two stops would you recommend on the way north?

Posted by
3770 posts

Best thing to do is buy a Saver Day Pass, as that will give you a whole day of unlimited travel:

The earlier you buy that the cheaper it is.

For most trains you do not need any reservavations. You only need a reservation if you want to sit in the Panoramic Coaches of the Bernina Express. For normal trains, and the regular coaches on the Bernina Express all you need is a ticket or a pass (the day pass I suggested).

Reservations, if you want them, you get on www.rhb.ch

If you end up[ buying the Day pass make sure when your reserve that you select that you already have a ticket, so as not to buy a second ticket...

Posted by
882 posts

The Man in Seat 61 site has a page devoted to the Bernina Express and may be helpful link here It explains tickets and price options.
The Bernina Express from Tirano to Chur is 4 hours and 20 minutes EACH way, not 2.25 hours. You can hang out in Chur for a while if you find a later return train. However, depending on the schedule and the time of year, some of your return trip might be after dark. As an alternative, in an October, I took the regular train from Tirano just to Pontresina (about 2 hours), spent a couple hours in Pontresina, and then returned. My understanding was that the section I covered includes most of the most dramatic scenery, although I'm sure continuing to Chur is scenic too.

Posted by
2 posts

Well, as I continue to research on my own and using Man in Seat 61 - thank you very much to WengenK and CD in DC - I am understanding that I was not digging deep enough.

So, it looks like I will purchase Swiss Saver Day Passes and ride the regular RhB trains without supplementing with reservations for special BE cars at all. Got that settled and saved quite a bit of what appears to be unnecessary cost!

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