We are traveling to Switzerland in early June. The Bernina Express panorama cars are already booked, which I found out from you guys is probably for the best (thank you!). We will book a regional train from Chur to Tirano. I have two questions:
1) How early should I book? We don't want to miss out.
2) Should we book seats on the Bernina Express train, or will any regional train offer pretty much the same experience?
Posted by
San Diego, California
6860 posts
The regional trains don't sell out, and are usually pretty empty. Will you have any type of Swiss rail pass? If you had the STP, for example, you would just board and show your pass when asked- no tickets to purchase. The recommended rail pass will depend on what other travel you'll be doing on Swiss trains. Many folks do well with the half fare card, but you do need to purchase tickets with this latter card.
You will have an incredibly beautiful adventure! Enjoy.
Posted by
Wengen
3693 posts
Normal tickets in Switzerland are for a route, and are always available. You just must make sure you have your ticket before you board the train. So no need to be afraid of missing out.
However, the regional trains are far from empty nowadays. The Bernina Railway is a victim of its success, and RhB is planning to increase service on the line substantially. However getting new trains takes time...
Because of this Regional trains now tend to suffer from crowding too. And RhB now even offers reservations there as well:
https://www.rhb.ch/en/tickets/bernina-line-reservations/
However, because these reservations are not targeted by tour operators you do not need to get them months in advance.