Train from Zermatt Switzerland to connect with Bernina Express

Both the Glacier Express and the Bernina Express go exactly the same route between Chur and St Moritz in exactly the same panoramic coaches, so it makes no difference. There is at least one long tunnel, the Furka Tunnel, on the Glacier Express route, There is just no getting around tunnels in the Alps.

Thank you for your response. I have noticed that several people posted on other sites that they did not get the panoramic train they thought they had booked. Do reservations on the Bernina Express ensure a car with the panoramic views?

Charlotte

You must purchase a seat reservation directly from the operator, Rhaetische Bahn.
https://tickets.rhb.ch/en/pages/bernina-express

Zermatt is really lovely. But, just be aware, the last hour with the train up to Zermatt from Visp still have some problems since the really heavy rain earlier this summer. So the part from Visp to Täsch is replaced by bus. That part is about one hour with the train and a little bit faster with bus. But make sure you take the direct bus and not the bus which stop in all small places. I do not know for how long the problems will last but you can check on the sbb website. Just enter Visp to Zermatt. I went with the bus some days ago and everything was very well organized and worked just fine.

Thank you for your help!

I am finding it very confusing to know which rail passes to purchase. We will be traveling by train from Zermatt to Chur, Switzerland, where we will get the Bernina Express (panoramic 2nd class) to Torino, Italy. We then want to book a train to Florence, Italy from Torino and then book a train from Florence to Rome. We will essentially have 6 travel days (Oct. 23- Oct. 28).

Is it best to use the Eurail Pass since we will be in 2 countries. What is the difference to buy a ticket directly from the Bernina Express (you gave me the link) versus a Eurail pass since we are continuing travel in Italy? We really do want a panoramic view on the Bernina Express and have read comments from disappointed people who thought they had booked a panoramic car. Would the Eurail Pass guarantee a panoramic car on the Bernina Express or not?

Sincerely,
Charlotte

First, the Bernina Express train goes to TIRANO, Italy. If you try to book tickets to Torino, (the actual Italian name for the city called Turin by English speakers), you will have great difficulty.

Second, a Eurail pass will get you on the Bernina Express train, but only a seat reservation purchased directly from the operator, Rhaetische Bahn, will get you a seat in a panoramic carriage. A ticket and a seat reservation are totally separate items. The Eurail pass is your ticket for transportation, but the seat reservation is to sit in one of the panoramic carriages.

The seat reservation cost is 36 CHF per person over and above the transportation ticket cost. If you have a Eurail pass, your ticket cost is 0, but you still have the seat reservation cost which is not covered by any pass.

PS, at the RhB website. Choose your travel date, start and stop points, class, which of the 2 departures you want, then select your seats. When you put in your names, you select your reduction from the drop down menu. One of the choices is "Eurail Pass". If you are getting passes, select that and you will only be charged for the seat reservations.

Charlotte, a Eurail pass is not your best choice, especially for Italy. Read the caution on the Rick Steves webpage about using rail passes in Italy:

https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/italy-rail-passes

Basically, a Eurail pass will cost you much more than simply using point-to-point tickets in Italy. For a pass covering 2 countries, you need a “Global” pass, and that will cost you $973 each (US dollars) for the 15-day consecutive day pass (the shortest term available). For only 6 travel days, a Flex pass would be $780—and that is a 7-day pass as there is no 6-day version. And then for the Frecce or “fast” trains serving routes like Florence to Rome, you need to pay extra for a seat reservation, and those are limited.

You are much better off simply buying point-to-point tickets for Italy. You can buy them either on Trenitalia or, for the journeys from Milan to Florence and Florence to Rome, you can also use the private company Italo. Their website is a bit more user-friendly to English-speakers. Tirano to Milano will be a regional train, so buy on Trenitalia. That ticket is only 12,50€. Tickets on the fast trains have a tiered pricing system; the earlier you buy the cheaper they are.

https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html

https://www.italotreno.com/en

For Switzerland, on the other hand, since you are doing longer journeys, you may want a pass of some sort. For your dates in October, you can get a good price on Saver Day Passes—-52 CHF for each of the 3 travel days you have in Switzerland. That makes a total of 156 CHF (plus reservation fees for the panoramic cars) for travel in 2d class. A regular 3-day Swiss Travel Pass would cost you 244 CHF each.

You can mix and match with First Class if you want to sit there on any of the trains—-88 CHF.

https://www.sbb.ch/en/tickets-offers/tickets/day-passes/saver-day-pass.html

Thank you for you advice and help! I am truly grateful as we are seniors and this is our first trip to Switzerland and Italy.

We would like to reserve and book tickets for a tour of the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's in Rome. What is the most reliable trustworthy site to book this tour at? Is there any reduced price for seniors? From what I have researched, we can only do on-line reservations and tickets for these sites.

Sincerely,
Charlotte

For questions about the Vatican and reservations you should start a new discussion in the Italy forum, where people who can help you will see it.