Bernina train

My wife and I just did the Bernina section of Switzerland last week. We did not do the official Bernina Express train ride, but it uses the same tracks. I wish we had not bothered to get bus reservations and tickets on the “official” red bus from Tirano to Lugano. That 3 hour bus ride was a real disappointment. There isn’t anything to see except urban sprawl as the road goes along a small river corridor for much of the way. And the area around lake Como was very congested. There were no photo stops along Lake Como. The weather was clear all day and the train ride from Pontresina, where we had spent the night, was very scenic, but I would seek another way to get from Tirano to Lugano.

Thank you
We do need to arrive at Lugano. I do not see another option for travel route from Tirano to Lugano.

That 3 hour bus ride was a real disappointment.

The bus isn't meant to be scenic. It is just a convenient way of getting people to Lugano after a BEX ride.
Maybe RhB should cooperated with Trenord to run a Tirano - Como train...

Do you intend to take the scenic "Bernina Express" trip on the carriages with the big windows? If so, you might try THIS WEBSITE.. I assume you're departing from Chur?

If you just want to travel the Bernina route on a regular train, you could try this website - https://www.sbb.ch/en .

Regarding the bus ride from Tirano to Lugano, it's not a long trip and it will get you to your desired destination. I've used that in the opposite direction. It's mot a long trip and I wouldn't be too concerned about it being "scenic" as it will get you where you want to go.

Today we purchased reserved seats on the Bering Express from St. Moritz to Tirano.
We are having difficulty purchasing our train tickets. What website do I need to use?

Buying tickets should not be a problem. Tickets can be bought in many places, including SBB.com/en, Rhb.ch/en, or any train station in Switzerland. If this is fairly far in advance, you could even buy a Saver Day Pass. If close, that probably would not be cost effective.

What is the best spot finder to buy to track luggage, passport, etc with an Apple phone? So many choices is very confusing.

"What is the best spot finder to buy to track luggage, passport, etc with an Apple phone? So many choices is very confusing."

There are a number of luggage trackers on the market that can be used with iPhones, and the obvious choice is the Apple AirTag. They use a replaceable battery that lasts for a year or more, and can be tracked using the Find My app on the phone. AFAIK the newest AirTag version is available now. I used them on a recent trip and found that they worked really well.

If the Passport is carried without a case, I'm not sure it can be used with a tracker as there's nowhere to attach it to the Passport. However if the Passport is in some kind of a wallet, a "card style" tracker can be used, such as Ondrela. There are a number of other models on the market such as Tagsley - https://tagsley.org/ . Many of the products made by other manufacturers can be used with Apple products.

These products are very easy to set up and use (in my experience).