Bernina Train from Milan: Guided Day Trips or the Train on Your Own

You can ride the Bernina line from Milan in one long day, on a guided coach-and-train trip or by regional train on your own. First decide which of the two trains you want, because the tours split along that line.

Two trains share the track

The Bernina Express is the Rhaetian Railway’s panoramic train. Its glass curves up into the roof, the windows do not open, and you pay a compulsory seat reservation on top of the ticket, about CHF 32 per person from St. Moritz to Tirano. It runs a few times a day. The red train, the trenino rosso, is the ordinary regional service on the same track: standard coaches, windows you can slide open for photos, roughly one train an hour, and an optional seat reservation for CHF 5.

Both pass the same scenery, from the Brusio spiral viaduct to Alp Grüm and the Palü glacier and the top of the line at Ospizio Bernina (2,253 m), a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2008.

Most “Bernina Express” day trips from Milan ride the red train in second class. On this site, only two tours sell a guaranteed place in a panoramic coach, both run by Frigerio Viaggi. The Milan to St. Moritz and Bernina Express tour (our review) does it on its Tour with Panoramic Carriage option, from $185 per person, and a sister tour leaves from Como. Seats are not assigned on either. The Bernina Express vs red train guide compares the two trains.

What a guided day looks like

Plan on 11 to 13 hours away from Milan, with roughly 2 to 2.5 hours on the train. The rest is coach time, about 2.5 to 3.5 hours each way, plus free time in Tirano or St. Moritz.

Our pick, the Milan to the Swiss Alps red train day trip (our review), costs from $131 per person for about 11 hours from Milano Centrale. A coach takes you up the Valtellina to Tirano, you ride the red train about 2.5 hours to St. Moritz, and the coach comes home over the Maloja Pass. It holds 4.8 out of 5 from 5,110+ reviews, the most-reviewed red-train day trip without a lake cruise on this site. If price comes first, the St. Moritz and Alps day trip with the Bernina red train (our review) starts from $121, the lowest from-price among the day trips reviewed here, and rides the Bernina or Albula red train depending on the option.

Some operators run the day in reverse, and a few swap the Bernina line for the Albula line on certain dates or options, so read the option name before you pay. Every Milan day trip crosses the Italian–Swiss border twice: carry your passport or ID card. Nobody can book a side of the train; many travelers prefer the right-hand side going south and the left going north.

To compare the tours by train, time on board and price, use our guide to choosing a Bernina train tour from Milan.

Doing it yourself by Trenord and the red train

Direct Trenord regional trains run from Milano Centrale to Tirano in about 2.5 hours with no change. They leave about hourly, around :20 past the hour; check trenord.it for your date, because the times may shift with the December timetable. A second-class ticket costs EUR 12.50 each way.

At Tirano the Swiss station is across the square from the Italian one. The faster red trains take about 2 h 15 min to St. Moritz and the stopping trains about 2.5 hours. A second-class single costs about CHF 33 to 35; confirm the fare on rhb.ch.

A winter weekday on the current pattern could look like this: an early Trenord train that reaches Tirano just before 09:00, the 09:41 red train to St. Moritz at 12:11, about 3.5 hours in town, the 15:48 back down to Tirano, and an evening Trenord home to Milano Centrale around 21:45. Return tickets come to EUR 25 on Trenord plus about CHF 66 to 70 on the red train, but you sit for about 9.5 hours and handle the connections yourself.

To skip the ticket queue at Tirano, the Tirano to St. Moritz red train return day ticket (our review) covers the Swiss part from $121 with hop-off along the way. The step-by-step plan is in the Bernina train from Milan on your own, and the Italian leg has its own page on the Milan to Tirano train.

Adding Lake Como

The Milan–Tirano road and railway both run along Lake Como. The Lake Como cruise, St. Moritz and Bernina red train tour (our review) adds a private boat cruise to the train for a day of about 13 hours, from $192 per person. With 6,300+ reviews it is the most-reviewed tour on this site. On Viator, the Lake Como, Swiss Alps and Bernina red train day trip (our review) adds free time on the lake, from $197.

If you stay on the lake, a direct train from Varenna-Esino reaches Tirano in about 1.5 hours. The Lake Como and Bernina train tour page compares the combinations.

Small groups and private days

The small-group Bernina red train day trip from Milan (our review) takes at most 18 people, minimum age 12, from $214 per person, and holds 4.9 out of 5 from 740+ reviews.

Two private tours pick you up at your hotel. The private Bernina train and Lake Como tour (our review) costs from $1,172 per person with a minimum of 2 adults and rides the red train in second class. The private Bernina and St. Moritz tour in first class (our review) costs from $1,071 per person, also with a minimum of 2 adults, and its listing promises a first-class window seat on the red train. More on both in the private Bernina train tour guide.

Going in winter

The Bernina line runs all year. On 21 December the sun is up in Tirano only from about 08:00 to about 16:35, so the afternoon train often runs into dusk.

From 13 December the panoramic Bernina Express runs once a day each way between Tirano and St. Moritz, leaving Tirano at 10:06 and St. Moritz at 15:30, with a second train on Fridays to Sundays and daily from 26 December to 5 January. The Maloja Pass road stays open all winter, but chains can be required or the pass can close at short notice. Check the winter guide before you book.

For a first visit, the red-train day trip from Milano Centrale is the simplest choice: one booking, a guide and about 2.5 hours on the train. Check dates, because operators sometimes change or reverse the route.