Bernina Express Holidays From the UK

What Do Bernina Express Holidays Include?

The train is the headline, but it's only one day of the week. Around it you get flights, hotels, transfers, a few meals and a programme of excursions, so the rest of the holiday is about lakes, villages and other mountain trains. What changes most between the two is where you sleep and which way you travel.

In both cases your seat is part of the booking. That matters more than it sounds, because every passenger on this train needs a reserved seat and the Rhaetian Railway warns they're often fully booked well in advance.

Touring Switzerland on More Than One Panoramic Train

Travelsphere's The Best of Switzerland is the one to pick if you want the Bernina and the Glacier Express in a single week. You fly into Zurich and start in Davos, high in the Graubünden mountains, and from there the group makes the return trip over the Bernina Pass to Tirano. Going there and back means you see the whole southern section twice, so you'll catch the views you missed from the other side of the carriage on the way home.

Then the tour heads west.

Next comes the Glacier Express to Brig, with lunch on board, and after a few nights in Interlaken (the Schilthorn, car-free Mürren, Trümmelbach Falls and a Lake Thun cruise to Spiez Castle) the GoldenPass panoramic train takes you down to Lausanne for the flight home from Geneva. A Holiday Director looks after every connection along the way, and the Jungfraujoch is among the extra trips you can add.

The trade-off is the calendar. With that train taking its annual break from mid-October to early December (see the official FAQs), this touring rail journey runs from May to September only. Our Glacier Express holidays page has more on combining the two.

A Lake Como Week With the Train as a Day Out

Newmarket's Lake Como, St Moritz and the Bernina Express turns things round: it's an Italian lakes holiday that crosses into Switzerland for one big day. You fly to Milan, unpack once, and spend the week on the lakeshore. There's a visit to lakeside Varenna, a ferry crossing to Bellagio with a walking tour, and a lake cruise that calls at the gardens of Villa del Balbianello. Como, Milan and Bergamo are extra excursions on the free days.

On the Bernina day a coach takes you up the Valtellina to Tirano. There you board the Bernina Express and ride north. That way the whole climb is still ahead of you, with the glaciers saved for the end!

The train leaves town past the vineyards, loops round the Brusio Circular Viaduct and climbs through Poschiavo, Italian-speaking Switzerland, before cresting the Bernina Pass and running down past the Engadine lakes to St Moritz. Near the top the views open out over bare rock, snowfields and milky lakes, the wildest scenery of the day.

You get free time in the resort for window shopping or a walk in the hills, then you're driven back to your hotel through the Swiss and Italian valleys. Because your luggage stays in the room all week, there's nothing to carry.

Take your passport on the Bernina day, because MySwitzerland says a passport or identity card is needed to enter Italy by train or bus.

If St Moritz itself appeals, our St Moritz holidays page covers longer stays in the resort.

What You'll See on the Bernina Express Route

The full Bernina Express train runs from Chur to Tirano on two lines, the Albula and the Bernina, which together form a UNESCO World Heritage site. Without rack and pinion, the engineers used spiral tunnels, viaducts and tight curves to haul ordinary trains over the Alps. Here's what to look out for heading south:

• Landwasser Viaduct, the tall curving stone bridge over a deep gorge that runs straight into a tunnel in the cliff, on the Albula stretch.
• The Montebello curve, where the Morteratsch Glacier fills the window on the climb from Pontresina.
• Ospizio Bernina, the highest point of the line, beside the milky glacial water of Lago Bianco and the darker Lej Nair.
• Alp Grüm, a mountain station with views over the Palü Glacier and down into the Poschiavo valley.
• The Brusio Circular Viaduct, a stone spiral where you can see the back of your own train as it turns.

Neither tour starts in Chur, so the Albula section and Landwasser aren't part of every Bernina day. Check the itinerary if that viaduct is high on your list, and see our Bernina Express route guide for the alpine scenery station by station.

On Board: Panoramic Carriages, Classes and Snacks

The carriages have big panoramic windows that curve up into the roof, in first class and second class. First has more space around each seat. There's no restaurant car, but snacks and drinks come round on a trolley to your seat, there's free Wi-Fi, and the Rhaetian Railway runs a free commentary service you follow on your own phone. Luggage racks are small, which is another reason the day-trip format works so well: you travel with a day bag and nothing else.

The tour decides the class, so ask before you book if first class matters to you. Our Bernina Express first class guide explains the difference, including the small Pullman Class carriages.

Is a Bernina Express Package Better Than Going It Alone?

You can certainly ride it independently. Trains run all the way from Chur down to Tirano, and from March to October the Bernina Express Bus carries on from Tirano to Lugano in Ticino. Regional trains also use the same line with ordinary opening windows, more departures and no compulsory seat, which suits a hop-on, hop-off day. Our Chur to Tirano by train guide sets out the timetable side.

Going alone gives you freedom, and a Swiss Travel Pass covers the fare, though not the seat supplement. A package means someone else makes it all fit together. For a wider look at escorted trips, see Swiss rail holidays, and for a self-guided loop that takes in this line, our Grand Train Tour of Switzerland page.

When Is the Best Time for a Bernina Express Trip?

The train runs in summer and in winter, when the Alps turn white, but these holidays sit in the warmer months. Newmarket's lakes week runs from April to October, when the lake ferries and gardens are open and the high passes are green, and Travelsphere's runs from May to September around its other trains. Late spring still has snow on the summit, and early autumn brings golden larches and quieter carriages.

Which Bernina Express Tour Suits You?

• The big Swiss trains in one go: The Best of Switzerland, with three panoramic lines.
• One hotel and no packing: the Lake Como tour, with the train as a single day out.
• Italian lakes as much as mountains: the Newmarket week again, with Bellagio, Varenna and the villa gardens.

Before You Book: A Quick Checklist

Both tours and their latest dates are in the cards at the top of this page, and our Bernina Express guide has everything else about the train itself.

Questions people ask