LeonMadrid

Okay so I'm currently in Madrid, Spain, and I want to plan a weekend trip to Italy-Switzerland to do the Tirano-St. Muritz trip in the Bernina Express. I was trying to make a budget for it and find the best way to move around but I found it hard to just to find the right tickets to get me there; instead, I'm getting offered tons of different packages or travelling passes that seem to be more appropiate for longer trips than just a weekend escapade.

I'm all ears for anyone who could offer their advice. Thanks a ton!

Dukey1

Yep, Easyjet flight from Madrid to Milan Malpensa; get from there to Centrale and take the train north to Tirano and change there for the Bernina, etc,

neckervd

My suggestion for the random dates Dec 12th - 14th:

Dec 12th:
Barajas dp 13.10 - Basel ar 15.25 (easyjet, fares start at 33 EUR)
BSL dp 16.07 - Chur ar 18.52 (train). Sleep at Chur

Dec 13th:
Bernina Express Chur dp 9.31 - Tirano ar 13.26
Fare Basel airport - Tirano incl. BEX reservation fee: 105 EUR
Tirano dp 15.06 - Milano Malpensa airport ar 19.17, fare 23 EUR sleep close to the airport

Dec 14th
MXP dp 7.30 - Barajas ar 9.55 (easyjet, fares start at 40 EUR)

It is highly recommended to stop over along the itinerary. Most scenic place (if the weather is fine): Pontresina.

Trains between Basel and Chur every 30 to 60 min
Trains between Tirano and Milan: every 2 hrs
Standard trains along the Bernina line (neither explanations nor aircondition, but of course heating): about every hr

PalenQ

For lots of nice info on the Bernina Pass railway - to me the most scenic not only in Switzerland but in allof Europe check also these sources: www.budgeteuropetravel; www,seat61.com and www.ricksteves.com. There is the official Bernina Express and there are about hourly regional trains you can just hop on (official ones demand an advanced reservation and could always IME be full) - same scenery on either type of train as they go over the exact same tracks!

yestravel

We took the BE this fall and loved it. Note that the regular trains are a lot less money and of course you see the same scenery. The regular cars don't have the winodws that go onto the ceiling, but didn't miss that at all. From Pontresina to Tirano portion we had BE cars attached to the train we were on. We heard the same narrative as the BE car. Not sure if that is the case when you take a regular train w/out BE attached.

PalenQ

We heard the same narrative as the BE car. Not sure if that is the case when you take a regular train w/out BE attached.> No ti is not IME - only if there are BE cars attached to regular trains IME and yes to me the local trains are nicer - usually sparsely full vs chock full for the spiffy Bernina Express which fills up wiht tour groups often.

yestravel

The BE cars were crowded. Our cars sparsely populated.

neckervd

There is no doubt that it would be much easier and less expensive to travel in standard trains.
In early December, only the BEX in north-south direction makes sense because the south-north weekend BEX leaves Tirano 2 hrs before it gets dark.
If it would be posssible to leave Tirano at 8.50 by standard train, one could catch at Chur the 13.35 low cost (18 EUR) bus back to Milan and do the whole round trip by day light.

PalenQ

The BE cars were crowded. Our cars sparsely populated.>

this to me is key - I can easily bop back and forth from one side of the train as the scenery dictates - on the usually IME chock-full BE you are stuck in your seat so even with the ballyhooed glass-domed panoramic observation cars to me I can see more of what I want on the often IME sparsely occupied local trains.

Several people however before have said that they did enjoy the official BE and its trappings of a guided tour - with recorded spiels in English and other tongues on what you are going by plus those fancy doilies on the seat backs! And for reason neckervd says the BE may be more practical at times but if so book early as the BE trains can always book up even in off-season with tour groups I understand.

neckervd

May be my post above was mistakable. It should be:
"IF YOU ABSOLUTELY WANT TO TRAVEL IN BERNINA EXPRESS COACHES, in early December, only the BEX in north-south direction makes sense because the south-north weekend BEX leaves Tirano 2 hrs before it gets dark.
With standard trains, there aren't such problems:
you can easily leave Tirano at 8.50 by standard train, catch at Chur the 13.35 low cost (18 EUR) bus back to Milan and do the whole round trip from Tirano via Bernina - Albula - Chur - Viamala - San Bernardino - Bellinzona - Lake Lugano dam - by day light.

PalenQ

forget about having to take the official BE - just take whatever local train is most convenient - otherwise you must make a reservation ASAP to be sure of getting on the BE - and pay the supplement, etc.

PalenQ

Seems like a very very expensive weekend trip - are you sure you can't squeeze in a few extra days and stay a while in the fabulous St Moritz-Engadine area - you could come from Milan to Luganao then take one of Switzerland's iconic postal buses from there up the Maloja Pass - a sinuous twisting hairpin-turning corkscrewing road to St Mporitz/Pnotresina then do the Bernina as a lovely whole day sans luggage - getting off at the summit stations to say walk around the glacier-fed Alpine lake to the glacier itself - an easy flat walk that many do - and then from St Moritz head to Zurich for a flight back or to Milan of course if need be.

Seems a long way to go for just one short few-hour train ride.