yestravel

We will be taking the train from Pontresina to Tirano on 7 October. Do we need to make reservations in advance for 2 people? Thanks

kawh

i mentioned in another post that in june, there were some empty seats on the train. i was convinced, from what we had read, that it would be completely full-- even though some posters here told me it would not. they were right.

btw... we went to the most amazing place a bus ride from tirano... a thermal water spot high in the mountains. magical. bagne vecchi in bormio... in case you're looking for something to do up in that area!

Ingo

You cannot make reservations on regional trains in Switzerland. If you travel on the Bernina Express, though, you HAVE to make reservations.

neckervd

Local trains between Pontresina and Tirano run every hr from 7.04 until 20.04. Swiss people never book ahead.

Man_in_seat_61

NO for the regular hourly trains.

YES for the Bernina Express itself with its special panoramic carriages www.rhb.ch

Onward connection by regional train to Milan (€11) for Florence, Rome, Venice etc: www.trenord.it

PalenQ

Official Bernina Express trains can sell out way in advance so book a seat if you want to ride on those spiffy trains with commentary en route and special nice doilies on the seats and the ballyhooed panoramic observations cars.

I prefer the hourly or so regular trains - the official BE trains IME are usually chock full - you are stuck in your seat - on the local trains you can bop back and forth as the scenery dictates as they are often sparsely full IME.

for lots of nice info on the Bernina Pass rail route, which I rank the top scenic train ride in Europe check these informative sites: www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com and of course Man in Seat 61 who posts above his commercial site www.seat61.com.

If possible make a whole day of it and get off at the summit stations Bernina Ospiz or Alp Grum and walk around the glacier-fed lake to the glacier. Much nicer than just rolling past such scintillating scenery IMO.

neckervd

I suppose yestravel will explore the area (Roseg Glacier, Morteratsch Glacier, Diavolezza, Bernina Pass, etc.) when staying at Pontresina and that the Bernina train ride will just be a transfer to the Italian railway network.
For that, BEX trains wouldn't bring much added value.

PalenQ

Bernina 'Express' Trains are like the GE 'the world's slowest express trains' - express in not that they can go faster than local over this sinuous terrain but they do not stop at every little hut like the local trains do. I agree if having spent time in the area already then just take the locals and save the supplement/reservation fee on the official BE and just take a few minutes longer really.

yestravel

Yes, we will be spending 4 days in Pontresina and hope to have good weather to explore the area.

Thanks for all the info -- very helpful.

PalenQ

don't miss a postal bus ride up and down the Maloja Pass - not far from Pontresina!

yestravel

Thanks again for all the info. I did a post on the BEX
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...press-info.cfm

PalenQ

thanks for reporting back - so often so few do!