Tirano to Vicenza

Kathryn, do you mean Tirano or Torino?

Tirano. We shall be arriving from St Moritz on the panoramic train in Tirano.

By train: nope, there is no other way. By car: yes, and, indeed, the route is very scenic.

Yes, it appears that in that part of Italy, all routes lead through Milan. Do you need to go all the way to Vicenza the same day? that is a long journey of 8 hours. If you have the time, you could break it up with an overnight at Varenna, on beautiful Lake Como a bit after you leave Tirano.

Have you ever stayed in Tirano?? We are staying in Varenna on the way up to St Moritz. Varenna doesn't have a place to stay on this night coming back. Where else could we go on our way to Vicenza besides Milan?? .

Kathryn, I'm assuming you're arriving in Tirano via the Bernina Express? I took that trip a few months ago and it IS beautiful! One option might be to take the Bus from Tirano to Lugano (it's a fairly short trip), and stay there for a night. Lugano is another beautiful city located on a lake, and would be a great place to spend a few days if you have time. Happy travels!

We have only one night to spare before we need to be in Vicenza. It is almost a 5 hour train trip from St Moritz to Milan. So we thought we might stay in Tirano if anyone could suggest where to stay when we get off the Panoramic train.

Kathryn, you might want to have a look at * www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g666389-Tirano_Valtellina_Lombardy-Hotels.html * for information on lodgings in Tirano (it appears there isn't a great selection). I've never stayed there, but the Casa Mia B&B is the one I'd probably choose, or Albergo Bernina for a more conventional Hotel. You might also consider going a longer ride to begin with and stop in Milan for the night. That would make your journey to Vicenza somewhat quicker the following day. There are good Hotels close to Milano Centrale listed in the Guidebook. Good luck!

You might consider an overnight in Poschiavlo, one of the stops right before Tirano, still in Switzerland. I haven't been there, but it was highly recommended by one of the destination experts on Tripadvisor as a good stop along the Bernina Express. She described it like this: "Poschiavo is a charming Italian-feel Swiss town, and Miralago is delightful!" Miralago would be the hotel, right on a lake. It might be a bit far from the train station, but there should be other nice places in the small town.

Kathryn, did you consider staying in Milan for one night before proceeding to Vicenza? You indicated that it would be a five hour rail trip from St. Moritz to Milan. That's actually quite a reasonable travel time, and you shouldn't have any trouble finding a room in Milan. It might save an expensive Taxi ride! Good luck!

We found a B & B in Tirano, which was recommended on this site. We've cut our trip down only by 1 hour. We shall take the train and still go through Milan for a 4:44 hr train ride. I was in Milan 2 years ago. THX, expecially to Ken who suggested the B & B. They sound like really nice people who have the B & B.

Kathryn, it's good to hear that the details on your trip are coming together, and that you found a B&B in Tirano. Be sure to let us know your thoughts on the B&B after you've stayed there. ¶ One comment on transiting through Milano Centrale. If your "layover" time there is longer than about 15 minutes, I'd suggest taking a good pair of noise cancelling Headphones or Earplugs. When I was there a few months ago, there were large LCD T.V.'s installed near the tracks with ANNOYING advert's playing repeatedly, AD NAUSEUM!!! After a while I had to resort to active noise cancelling Earphones and cranked the music up on my iPod to drown out the dreadful "background noise". Waiting in another part of the station is another option. Cheers!

There is not a room in Tirano on the 24th. SOOO ....is it possible to take a cab from Tirano to Vicenza??? How do we secure a cab ahead of time and find out a cost? Since it is supposed to be a beautiful drive...and we'd spend a lot for a room and train...what do any of you think??? (we have a free place to stay in Vicenza).

"Casa Mia" B&B...they may now have a room for the night we want to stay there!! THX for the suggestion!! Still want to know how much and how to secure a cab to Vicenza.

If you Google "tirano taxi service" you will get yellow page listings for taxis there. This one in particular offers taxi service to airports and tourist locations. You migh try calling them to ask about transport to Vicenza: http://www.paginegialle.it/taxiciresa I'm guessing it will be pretty expensive.

I read that getting train tkts in Tirano is sometimes a problem...we already have window tkts for the Panoramic Bernina Express coming back from St Moritz to Tirano. Glad we got these ahead of time because it looks like we got the last window seats. We'll know when we come back if the extra cost was worth the panoramic special train.

Kathryn, the panoramic Bernina Express trains have LARGE windows which allow a great view of the scenery. However the windows don't open so not the best way to get photos due to the glare of the glass. I ended up standing by one of the doorways for much of the trip, as that was the only window that would open. Cheers!

Ken, I read in Rick Steves' book that was true about taking pictures and also it could get a little heated. Was this a problem?? Did you notice if the "red train" (regional train) had any large windows?? Did you do a round trip? Is there a dining car on the regional train?

Kathryn, to answer your most recent questions, I didn't find it to be "heated" in mid-June, but the weather was somewhat overcast at the time. I suspect that if it had been a bright, sunny day it could have been susceptible to the "greenhouse effect". At this time of year, I doubt it would be too "heated". ¶ I saw two different "red trains" but I believe they were different versions of the Bernina Express. One looked a bit more modern and both had large, square windows (I just checked my photos to confirm that). My trip was one-way from Tirano to Chur and the train I was on had large floor-to-ceiling "wrap around" windows. I don't have any information on the "regional train" and don't know if there was a dining car on the train I travelled on? As I was travelling solo at the time, I didn't want to leave my Packs to check (although in Switzerland they would probably be safe). A small and rather humorous food cart did come through the Cars with beverages and light refreshments. ¶ It's unfortunate that there's no way to add photos to this site! If I can find a few spare minutes, I'll try to upload some additional Bernina Express shots to my photo website. If you're interested, that would provide a much better idea of what I the rail cars looked like. Cheers!

Ken, your pictures are wonderful. Where are the pictures of Chur? Did you go through St Moritz?

the Casa Mia B&B in Tirano (Tirano Hotel: Casa Mia, Via Arcari 6-23037, Tirano)Italy is highly recommended. It was 60 for two of us. The Italian couple were delightful. Their daughter was there to help with the breakfast. We were able to pull our suitcases (small suitcases) to their B & B which is several blocks away from the train station. The rooms were clean. The rooms we saw (upstairs) had bathrooms. You would need to ask for a room with a bath, however. The advice on taking the panoramic train down from St Moritz was beautiful. One night in St Moritz was enough for us.

Cripes, whatever you do, don't take a taxi from Tirano to Vicenza. A taxi from Milano to Verona - which is a lot shorter drive - costs about 250 euro.

Back from Italy. Took the train to Milan from Tirano to Vicenza.