Hello. My family of four has 4 nights in Switzerland coming in June. My priorities are 1 day of taking of the bernina express or similar train for part of 1 day and hiking for 1 day. I have two well legged teenagers.
Any suggestions on itinerary with train?
Want to end at or near Lugano so that final train to Milan airport is not tiresome.
Many thanks!
Where will you be coming from? That will help shape the responses.
I’m making a “circle” from Milan. We will be coming from Turin and my idea is to enter Switzerland from west then travel to east, obtain the BO and half fare pass and perhaps make a home base. Although home base not needed as long as bags don’t get in the way of being active. From reading much of the forum, it seems as if RS crowd proposes BO valley. Our family though is a bit more adventurous. On a scale of economy and luxury, we are also probably more on the luxury side of hotel. Wanted to “end” or stay near lakes near Como at end because it’s such a short ride to Milan. Thank you very much for your consideration.
What about Zermatt? And for a scenic train ride try the Centovalli which would start/end in Locarno.
If you do choose the Berner-Oberland I think that your teens won't be bored on the Via Ferrata:
https://www.earthtrekkers.com/murren-via-ferrata-guide/
There are many high-end hotels in both the B-O and Zermatt, but not brand-affiliated.
My initial thoughts:
Day 1 Turin to Bern? Bern to murder?
Day 2 murren explore
Day 3 Murren to east Switzerland? Pontresina
Day 4 explore and train
Day 5 explore launching point to Milan
From many of the posts, it’s seems like Zermatt is obviously incredible but could be missed if interested in more immersive experience.
Probably prefer nice hotel in alpine towns rather than train every day to new city.
Murren not murder. My apologies to the Swiss for autocorrect.
Don't go as far as Bern, get off at Spiez, then train to Interlaken Ost, then Lauterbrunnen, then Muerren.
For day 4, two options.
1. Take Bernina Express "Glacier to Palms" which is the train to Tirano then bus to Lugano. You can get a direct train from Lugano to Malpensa.
2. Take Bernina Express or regular train to Tirano, then train to Varenna on Lake Como. From Varenna, train to Milano Central and change to train to Malpensa.
If going from Malpensa back to North America, it would be wise to get there the night before.
Right now you can get a 5 -day Swiss Travel Pass for the price of 4. Teens get the Youth discount.
I just wrote a very long response and lost it somehow. I do not have the patience to reconstruct the whole thing, but will provide an abbreviated version and can fill in more details if you are interested.
Starting with the end of your “Swiss time” and working backwards, my suggestion is that you consider one of the Gotthard Pass scenic routes between Luzern and Lugano or Locarno, instead of the Bernina Express.
The Gotthard Panorama Express is a once-a-day boat plus train combo from Luzern to Lugano:
The Treno Gottardo is an all-train route from Luzern to Locarno on Lago Maggiore:
https://www.mystsnet.com/en/experiences/scenic-routes/treno-gottardo/
These two trains ride the same rails enjoy and the same views of snow-capped peaks, hanging glaciers, and steep valleys. The tracks use switchbacks and spiral tunnels to ascend to and descend from the Gotthard Pass. You can see these on the rail map linked below.
Locarno will offer an opportunity to visit the famed Val Verzasca. You would need 2 nights in Locarno to do this, so may not have time unless you limit your time elsewhere.
https://www.ascona-locarno.com/en/explore/valle-verzasca
From Locarno, you also have the opportunity to go to Malpensa airport without passing through Milan: take the ferry down Lago Maggiore to Stresa, overnight there, and use the scheduled bus service directly to Malpensa airport terminals (about 1 hour away).
The Luzern area offers a number of hotels in the luxury category, such as this spa hotel on Rigi (a nearby mountain, accessed by boat to Weggis and cablecar up from there):
https://www.hotelrigikaltbad.ch/
https://en.hotelrigikaltbad.ch/wellness-spa
You can expore other activities, such as hiking, on Rigi on their website:
My suggestion is that from Turin, you enter Switzerland at Brig, 3 hours by train from Turin, with changes at Milan or Novara, and maybe Domodossola. From Brig, make your way toward Luzern with an overnight on the way. Use this Swiss rail map to see your options (as well as the scenic routes from Luzern to Lugano and Locarno suggested above):
The map includes all of Lago Maggiore and Malpensa airport as well. It also shows just how far east you would have to travel to take the Bernina Express, and then how far back west you need to go to get back to Milan (just off the map below the towns of Chiasso and Como) to reach the airport.
Lola:
Thank you for the fabulous advice. I will read all and get back.
John
Here is the schedule and reservation link for the Alibus from Stresa (and other town) to Malpensa, in case you are interested:
https://www.safduemila.com/linee/alibus-malpensa-lago-maggiore/
And a blog about using the service (from 2019, so some may be outdated):
We had planned to use this Alibus on our September 2022 trip to Italy; we had our Stresa hotel booked and everything. We to change plans when British Airways canceled our flight into Malpensa, and ended up flying Condor into Frankfurt instead, then making our way to Milan. Is Luzern. That is when I discovered the Treno Gottardo. The two Swiss women, the only other people in the first class carriage, were surprised that Americans knew about it, and graciously gave us a running commentary on the history and scenery in German and Italian. Probably my favorite train trip ever.
