Glacier Express, Bernina Express

Hi Jan,

According to Rick Steves' list of train reservations, you will need to pay extra for a reservation on the Bernina Express, and the Glacier Express is only covered from Davos to Disentis - you will need to purchase a ticket for any other portion of the journey.

If you do not want to pay, there are other regular trains that cover the same routes, but there are no reservation fees or extra tickets required. The difference is that they are not custom-made sightseeing passenger cars like the Glacier/Bernina Express.

You will pay a reservation fee on both train systems. On the GE, you can even pay more for a lunch but its a bit pricey. As Steven says, you can ride the local R trains on the same tracks without paying the reservation fee or the extra fee for audio. Also, the "express" trains are not really express trains. They just make fewer stops than do the R trains.

I would personally not choose the Glacier Express because it's so absurdly slow. Yes, it passes through beautiful areas...just like other trains that use the same track and same route as the GE. I would rather be out IN that beautiful Swiss countryside or Alpine village rather than seeing it from the inside of a train compartment.

I really agree with Tim. It has been my long time wish to ride the GE. I have an old PBS tape that I have saved about the ride and I used to play it now and then. After many years of desire, we rode the GE on my birthday 2 years ago and noticed the difference between my VHS tape and the real thing. The PBS program was shot from a helicopter. It showed beautiful bridges. However, you don't see most of the bridge as you are going over it. Likewise, you would see beautiful tunnels from the helicopter. All you see from the train is a dark tunnel. Too funny. Still it was just fine. The countryside is really beautiful. Again, I'm with Tim to just stay in Andermatt or other smaller village.