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Glacier Express Questions (travel to St. Moritz, stops on the way?)

Posted by on

Hi- I could use some help. We're planning a trip with our parents to take the Glacier Express (a long-held dream for the parents) in mid or late Dec (if we have time to plan still). We're planning on the St. Moritz -> Zermatt route. We want to make the most of the experience. 2 questions:

1) We'll be coming from Heidelberg, Germany. I know we could take trains down to St. Moritz- but it's a good bit of travel (9+hrs, a few transfers). Any recommendations for a car service we could hire to help shorten the journey (to 6ish hours?) and perhaps make it a bit easier for non-seasoned travelers?

2) We'd like to spend an extra day along the route to take in some views. Any suggestions of where to stop- Andermatt? Or would going all the way to Zermatt and spending the extra day there be the better bet?

Thank you for any help!

Posted by
20942 posts

1) I see train timing as under 7 hours. There will be 3 train changes along the way. A car service would be extremely expensive.

2) If you stop off along the route, your expensive seat reservation fee is ended, and you will need to buy another seat reservation for the continuation.

Posted by
7259 posts

If you have 2 nights to play with, to avoid excessively long train rides in a single day, you could do:

  • day 1: Heidelberg to Chur, stay in Chur (very pleasant town)
  • day 2: day trip to the Engadine from Chur over the Albula railway (the first stretch of the Glacier Express). Muottas Muragl funicular would be a great destination, or Diavolezza, or Pontresina if the weather is so-so.
  • day 3: Glacier Express from Chur to Zermatt, no stop needed.

Heidelberg to Chur takes ~5.5 hours, Chur to Pontresina takes 2 scenic hours one way, Chur to Zermatt takes 5.5 hours again: you avoid spending 7-8 hours on a train in a single day.

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