We are a group of four wanted to take a tour on the glacier express mid July from Zermatt to St. Moritz and then come back to Zermatt all in the same day. Is this possible? We heard this is a 7 hour round trip tour? First class? If so can we get our tickets now? We really have heard this is a beautiful scenic tour. We missed it two years ago and really want to go on it this time.
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
There are so many great things to see and do in Switzerland you just can't do them all. Disclaimer - I've never done the Glacier Express just because it takes SOOO much time "sitting" on a train while I would much rather be out and about strolling, walking, talking to friends, smelling the wildflowers up close, enjoying a plate of rosti or fondue at an outside table high up in Murren looking at that stunning scenery all around me...as opposed to viewing it through a train window. But to each his own, of course.
You can't physically do this roundtrip on the slow-moving Glacier Express in one day. Keep in mind other regular trains run on this same track in as little as 6.5 hours....which is still not do-able in a single day roundtrip in my opinion.
You can book your seat reservations now, but actual tickets can only be bought 2 months in advance:
Posted by
Green Bay
20977 posts
Yes, it is possible. Advisable? Only if you think sitting on a trains for 15 hours in one day is fun.
The GEX leaves Zermatt just before 8 am and gets to St Moritz just before 4 pm. Now, your one shot to get back to Zermatt is to take the train to Chur at just after 5 pm connecting to Zurich connecting to Bern connecting to Visp connecting to Zermatt and arriving at 11:41 pm.
I was told by train personnel that summer was a good time to go 1st class as it books up quick. Right now, you can only book 30 days in advance at www.sbb.ch.
Posted by
Bern, Switzerland
1028 posts
I do the GE a couple of times a year and while it is possible to get there and back in a day I would not recommend it. The biggest memory you'll take away is the long journey back!
Why do you have to do it all in a day or why do you have to do the whole thing for that matter?
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
If you only have a day, you can turn back at an earlier location, instead of completing the trip to St. Moritz. Here's an example that I looked up earlier in the year. If you also have the option to change hotels and sleep a night in St. Moritz or Pontresina, that might make more sense.
Posted by
OP
7 posts
Any recommendations of hotels to stay at in St. Moritz??? We decided to take our time and stay the night and take the train back the next day?????? Maybe walking distance to train station????
Posted by
NYC area
2956 posts
Hi,
We took the Glacier Express from St. Moritz (stayed at the Hotel Hauser) to Zermatt (Hotel Butterfly). I'll be honest, while the scenery was great, most felt like a regular train trip (as there's no shortage of spectacular scenery in Switzerland) and by maybe halfway through, couldn't wait for the trip to finally end. 7 hours... our trip was over 8.5 hours. We felt it was a "wasted" day in Switzerland. We could have been out walking among the peaks, close up, instead of sitting in a train looking at them from a distance through windows as we passed by.
St. Moritz, the town, was our least favorite during our trip which we stayed in St. Moritz 2 nights , Wengen 4 nights, Zermatt 3 nights and Luzern 2 nights.
Sorry, but that was our take away from our trip.
Paul