Bernina Express and where to stop for the night

I see trains from Stresa to Tirano that take between 4:15 and 5:15 with a single change in Milan. That looks like the fastest option by a considerable margin.

If you're willing to hop on and off a bunch of trains in order to have a very scenic ride, you could take the 7:42 or 10:38 train to Domodossola and grab the very picturesque Centovalli Railway to Locarno, then change for Lugano. All of that takes nearly 4 hours, and you'd still have to get the Postbus (?) to Tirano. If you're up for a full day of scenery, go for it. But you're on the way to the Bernina Express, so you probably don't need 8 hours of sitting on trains and buses the day before.

A few years ago we took the Bermina Express route and stayed at the Romantik Hotel Muottas Muragl near Samedan. Actually, it is accessed from a request only stop at the Muottas Muragl stop. It was an amazing stay and so quiet at night. Here is the webiste: http://www.muottasmuragl.ch/en/

Acraven - Thanks for your reply. I was afraid that we would be spending way too much time on a train even before we got to the Bernina Express. I was hoping to avoid Milan as I didn't particularly want to go through the busy railway station there, but looks like this is perhaps is the most optimal way to go considering the time involved in getting to the Bernina Express from Stresa. I will see how I can break this trip up a little.

AB - Thanks for the suggestion. I was thinking about staying somewhere near Samedan on our journey.

If you have two nights on the way and wish to break the journey into smaller increments, then Varenna on Lake Como and a Seiss village such as Samedan (or the suggested hotel at Muottas Muragl) would work well. Varenna is right on the train line tomTirano, an hour and a half away.

We did this exact journey, with these stops, in reverse sixteen months ago on our way to Venice. The one difference is we had two nights in Samedan, which entitled us to a free travel pass for lifts, trains, and bus during our time in the area. Many of the area hotels participate in this program.

If you wanted to benefit from the free pass, you would have to skip the Varenna overnight and contine all the way to the Engadine, maybe at Pontresina. This would have you riding the Bernina Express route at the end of a rather long travel day, when you might ot be as appreciative. So I would say that breaking up the journey with a stop in Varenna makes for a better experience overall. I just wanted to mention the free travel pass in case that was of interest to you.

Thank you for all your help. Booked hotels in Varenna and Samaden, Taking the train from Stresa via Milan to Varenna.