Glacier Express- Worth It?

I've never been on the Glacier Express, but I know it has been referred to as the slowest passenger train in the world. Switzerland is a beautiful country, and I would personally rather be out and about in that beautiful country than cooped up and confined inside a train.

Now I see why you are trying to get to Brig. The Glacier Express is truly a slow train. It is an express in that it doesn't stop at all the stops along the run. If you take the entire run to Chur, it places you on the other side of Switzerland. It's a 4.0hr journey. We did a round trip to Disentis and then back to Brig.

I have always wanted to do the Glacier Express ever since I saw it on PBS about 20 years ago. In the video, you saw the wonderful bridges and tunnels. Unfortunately, you don't see the bridges as you are on top of them and you see the beautiful tunnels from the inside. The wonderful video was taken from a helicopter that you are not on. Still, the scenery was just beautiful. It all depends on your available time.

I did the Glacier Express 10 years ago on my first trip to Europe. I love beautiful scenery, and therefore I enjoyed this ride. I remember noting in my journal how interesting it was that when we began in the east the Italian influence in the chalets and as we moved west, the onset of the French influence. We enjoyed St Moritz in the east and Zermatt in the West. If you are taking lots of long train journeys perhaps it would be too much sitting. Whereas, if you had spent lots of days walking and touring, this would be a pleasant, relaxing and beautiful break from routine. If my memory serves me correctly, I believe you can book your own train route, not specifically called the Glacier Express, on the same route for less money, and perhaps faster.

We did the glacier express from Davos to Zermatt basically spending 7 hours on the train. As a train trip it was quite incredible. Especially the part moving into Zermatt.

Looking back though I can easily see 3-4 hours being plenty. Especially if paying full fare.

We did Brig to Andermatt, which was beautiful, but was also enough. You can only go "look! a mountain!" so many times before you want to get off and explore on your own.

Hi Bethany,
I did the Glacier Express a few years ago but my
ultimate destination was St Moritz where we spent a few days. I thought it was a very scenic trip but felt that it was too many hours on the train especially when you don't really stop anywhere. But if you like trains rides this is a good one.Some of our best memories are from our GE trip (traveling with my teenage daughter then)

Hi Bethany,

... We've taken the Glacier Express twice, but never for its entire length. We found our short jaunts well worthwhile [the last trip, we went from Brig to Göschenen and changed trains there for the final leg of the day to Lucerne]. We even bought a videotape of Glacier Express while aboard [Furka Oberalp RR] and continue to enjoy it. The Berner Oberland is not your everyday hill country location, obviously

... P.

Hi Bethany,

We did the entire Glacier Express trip, St. Moritz to Zermatt. Wouldn't do it again. We spent about 9 hours on the train. Long before we got to Zermatt, we were pretty much dying to get out! I would much rather be in the mountains walking about than seeing them from the window of the train.

We loved our 4 nights in Wengen, liked Zermatt and didn't really care for St. Moritz... especially when compared to the other places.

Paul

We have taken all 5(?) of the excursion trains offered in Switzerland and enjoyed every one of them. We have taken the Glacier Express twice. A trip like that is certainly not for someone who wants to hike in the mountains but for those of us who are less physical due to age or whatever, it is a perfect was to enjoy the mountain scenery.

Hi, We rode the Glacier Express in 2006 from St. Moritz to Zermatt. We liked the ride a lot. There was different scenery all the way along. I like to ride trains, but for me the day went fast. We also had a good meal on the train. One idea you may consider is to think what towns you want to visit and then plan your transportation. There are other scenic train routs in Switzerland that are very nice. Hope you have a good trip.

OK, I would like ot try a shorter segment of it... I had been planning Brig-Chur, but that does seem so long. Then again, if I got off in Andermatt, I'd miss the highest pass. Can you get off in Disentis? The timetable doesn't show it, but all of their route maps point it out.

Any ideas for things to do in Brig or Andermatt (or Disentis, if possible) before and after the journey? I'll plan some hiking and I would love to go the the thermal pool/ alpine slide near Brig. Anything else I should know about?

Thanks!

It would be a shame to get to Brig and not go to Zermatt. I think it is a must do if you are going to this area. Brig as I recall is more of a city, and Zermatt is a quaint village at the base of the Matterhorn. We stayed one night in Andermatt on a driving trip, only because it was late and we were tired. I don't know that there is anything to do there, unless you were doing some serious hiking.

Zermatt is beautiful, if the weather cooperates. I was there a few days ago on a cloudless blue sky day. If this is the case, you cannot beat the spectalce of the Matterhorn. On a cloudy, wet, or rainy day, you will only see a village full of tourists. In fact, the only part of the village I see is walking through to get to one of the lifts up to the higher elevations for starting a hike. The trip from Brig to Zermatt is just that, a train ride. If you want to see the terraced hillsides and vineyards go to the are area around Lausanne.

From Brig to Andermatt you climb a mountain and spend a lot of time in the Furka tunnel. Andermatt to Disentis goes over the Oberalp Pass and you see things from avalance and snow galleries. It is from Disentis to St. Moritz that you get the most spectacular scenery, but even then the best sights from Disentis to Chur are seen off of the train.

My recommendation would be to take the train from Chur to St. Moritz via the Albula pass (Thusis, Filisur, Preda). This has the most spectacular loops and helix ascents as you climb the pass. You can do this without being on the Glacier Express, saving the costs of special services.

While you are in the Graubunden region, you should try the Nusstorte, a sort of nut filled dessert tort. But, if you are only going to go to this area for the train ride, use your time better in more accessable and equally scenic areas of Switzerland.

Thanks for all the input- after a lot of consideration, I think I'll put off Zermatt and the Glacier Express for another trip. We will probably only have about 2.5 days in Switzerland on the tail end of the trip, on the way to fly out of Zurich. We were hoping to try to see things "in passing" on the way through. I think we've decided now that we will just stop in Murren or Gimmelwald for 2 nights and then make the remainder of Switzerland the focus of another trip, when we can really take the time to do it justice!