Should we take the Bernina Express or not? Other Suggestions??
Mar 3rd, 2015, 02:10 PM
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Should we take the Bernina Express or not? Other Suggestions??
Hi all....I had a great topic going and its been some time so I thought I would start a new one with a specific question.
My fiance and I are planning a Switzerland and Italy honeymoon. We know we want to go to Lucerne and Grindelwald.
We originally wanted to take the express train, but we would have to go to St Mortiz or Chur. We really want to see Grindelwald and enjoy the activities there in the month of June. Should we skip the train trip? Are there any others anyone can recommend we take into Italy? We would like to head to Lake Como after Grindelwald and then on to Venice.
How many days would you recommend staying in Lucerne and Grindelwald?
My fiance and I are planning a Switzerland and Italy honeymoon. We know we want to go to Lucerne and Grindelwald.
We originally wanted to take the express train, but we would have to go to St Mortiz or Chur. We really want to see Grindelwald and enjoy the activities there in the month of June. Should we skip the train trip? Are there any others anyone can recommend we take into Italy? We would like to head to Lake Como after Grindelwald and then on to Venice.
How many days would you recommend staying in Lucerne and Grindelwald?
Mar 3rd, 2015, 05:20 PM
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"We originally wanted to take the express train, but we would have to go to St Mortiz or Chur."
You can also take any of the regional trains -- they all travel the same tracks.
You can use the sbb website to explore your options. Just put your start and end locations in and make sure you specify one of the stops along the Bernina line as an intermediate stop (in the "via" line), perhaps St. Moritz or Samedan or Pontresina....
http://fahrplan.sbb.ch/bin/query.exe/en
"How many days would you recommend staying in Lucerne and Grindelwald?"
That depends on what you want to see and experience! I recommend that you get some good guidebooks (or spend some time with a few in your local library), identify the things you most want to see in each location, note their opening/closing times, and mark them on a calendar. Then pencil in your transportation, add some time on either side (for getting to/from the train/bus station or whatever, checking in/out, packing/unpacking, getting oriented, etc.). Then see how things fit together. FWIW, I found the Michelin Green Guide the best of the half-dozen or so I used when planning my time in Switzerland.
You can also take any of the regional trains -- they all travel the same tracks.
You can use the sbb website to explore your options. Just put your start and end locations in and make sure you specify one of the stops along the Bernina line as an intermediate stop (in the "via" line), perhaps St. Moritz or Samedan or Pontresina....http://fahrplan.sbb.ch/bin/query.exe/en
"How many days would you recommend staying in Lucerne and Grindelwald?"
That depends on what you want to see and experience! I recommend that you get some good guidebooks (or spend some time with a few in your local library), identify the things you most want to see in each location, note their opening/closing times, and mark them on a calendar. Then pencil in your transportation, add some time on either side (for getting to/from the train/bus station or whatever, checking in/out, packing/unpacking, getting oriented, etc.). Then see how things fit together. FWIW, I found the Michelin Green Guide the best of the half-dozen or so I used when planning my time in Switzerland.
Mar 3rd, 2015, 09:15 PM
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Hi GoldenGirl1028,
On your other thread, I suggested that you stay in one of the wonderful towns or villages around St. Moritz (Sils, Silvaplana, Pontresina, Samedan, Celerina) rather than in Grindelwald. I related to you the Swiss saying that the Jungfrau doesn't have the best mountains, just the best PR.
Your trip would be nice and straightforward and easy if you did that: Zurich airport to Luzern, Luzern to Sils (for instance), then the BE to Tirano and Italy.
Have you definitely decided against that?
s
On your other thread, I suggested that you stay in one of the wonderful towns or villages around St. Moritz (Sils, Silvaplana, Pontresina, Samedan, Celerina) rather than in Grindelwald. I related to you the Swiss saying that the Jungfrau doesn't have the best mountains, just the best PR.
Your trip would be nice and straightforward and easy if you did that: Zurich airport to Luzern, Luzern to Sils (for instance), then the BE to Tirano and Italy.
Have you definitely decided against that?
s
Mar 3rd, 2015, 09:51 PM
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"the Swiss saying that the Jungfrau doesn't have the best mountains, just the best PR"
From my perspective, the Bernese Oberland offers enough options for tourists that it seems to me to be well worth considering. JMO. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in that area! I'm not saying that the area around St. Moritz wouldn't also be a great choice -- I loved my time there, too. But they are different, and offer different experiences.
@ GoldenGirl1028 -- for future reference, when you start a new thread on a topic you've already discussed in an earlier thread, it's always helpful to add the links to each thread to cross-reference them.
From my perspective, the Bernese Oberland offers enough options for tourists that it seems to me to be well worth considering. JMO. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in that area! I'm not saying that the area around St. Moritz wouldn't also be a great choice -- I loved my time there, too. But they are different, and offer different experiences.
@ GoldenGirl1028 -- for future reference, when you start a new thread on a topic you've already discussed in an earlier thread, it's always helpful to add the links to each thread to cross-reference them.
Mar 3rd, 2015, 10:04 PM
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kja, I agree with you. I think the Jungfrau region has the best tourist infrastructure -- hotels at every price point, lots of restaurants, great transportation in & around the region, and lots and lots of folks who speak English. For those reasons, it's a great introduction to the Swiss Alps.
But. It's not the only place to see the Swiss Alps and not necessarily the best place to see them. If the Jungfrau region doesn't fit easily with the traveller's overall plan (in this case, to take the BE), then I don't think the traveller needs to force a visit there. Especially when there is a gorgeous mountainous region that will fit easily. It seems to me to make good logical and logistical sense to see the Engadin rather than the Jungfrau area.
s
But. It's not the only place to see the Swiss Alps and not necessarily the best place to see them. If the Jungfrau region doesn't fit easily with the traveller's overall plan (in this case, to take the BE), then I don't think the traveller needs to force a visit there. Especially when there is a gorgeous mountainous region that will fit easily. It seems to me to make good logical and logistical sense to see the Engadin rather than the Jungfrau area.
s
Mar 3rd, 2015, 10:21 PM
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@ swandav -- we seem to agree that the OP and her fiancé really need to think through their priorities so that they can pick the areas that best meet their interests and needs -- including whether taking a train along the Bernina Express route is the train that would be best. As you know, the "problem" is that Switzerland offers all too many wonderful opportunities!
