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Hello,
My wife and I are coming to Zurich on January 17th 2025 and our return will be from Bergamo on January 20th. The main purpose of the trip is this; to take the Bernina Express. İf possible, I want to see the glacier express route. My plan is to go to as many places as I can by train with short breaks. We want to spend the rest of our time on an Alpine trip as much as possible, it doesn't matter on the Swiss or Italian side.  I would like to get your suggestions about train travel, tickets and places to visit and stay. There are so many people in this community who want to help and that's gratifying.

A short Interrail Pass could be good value. Otherwise I'd get full-fare tickets in Switzerland (Saver Day Pass on 18th January) and cheap regional tickets in Italy. It might be cheaper, do the calculations.

My plan would be:

- 17th January: arrival in Zurich, night around Lucerne

- 18th: Lucerne - Göschenen - Andermatt - Chur - St. Moritz (Glacier Express + Bernina Express route but on hourly regional trains to save money and have more flexibility). Night anywhere in Engadin.

- 19th: St. Moritz/Engadin - Tirano - Milan. Night in Milan or Bergamo depending on schedule.

- 20th: flight from Bergamo

Not too many train hours every day since sunset is very early.


Thank you very much, you helped me a lot

With your permission, I would like to ask a few more questions.

It seems logical to buy a direct train ticket to Lucerne on the first day, but which ticket should I buy that I can be sure is valid for the trips you specified on days 2 and 3 and that does not require additional fees? What is the difference between a Saver day pass and a 1 day pass, which one should I choose for this trip?


Zurich Airport to Lucerne is 31 CHF. You can check times and prices on sbb.ch (Note that, annoyingly, SBB defaults to showing you a discounted price with a Half-fare travelcard (which you don’t have!) so you have to remove that to see the full price.) But you may as well just buy the ticket from a machine at Zurich Airport - it won’t change price.

The Saver Day Pass is a one-day pass that costs from CHF 52, and is valid the whole of your route within Switzerland, and as far as Tirano. There’s a good explanation here:

https://www.seat61.com/train-travel-in-switzerland.htm#Saver_Day_Pass

You can also buy it from SBB website. It looks like they are available at 52 CHF for your dates.


17 Jan: Single ticket Zurich Airport - Lucerne. 31 CHF

18 Jan: Saver Day Pass. 52 CHF

19 Jan: Single ticket St Moritz - Tirano. 33 CHF

19 Jan: Single ticket Tirano - Milan €12.50 and Milan - Bergamo €7

There are no extra charges. And only the Saver Day Pass must be bought in advance to get this price. The other tickets you can buy on the day.


19 Jan: Single ticket Tirano to Milan €12.50 and Milan-Bergamo €7

A single ticket Tirano to Bergamo via Milan is €16.50.

A day ticket for all regional public transport in Lombardy is €17.50.


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