Private Bernina Train Tours from Milan, and What Private Covers

A private Bernina day from Milan costs from $1,071 to $1,172 per person, with a minimum of two adults, so plan on at least $2,142 to $2,344 for a couple. For that you get pickup at your hotel, your own vehicle and a guide who works only for your party. You do not get a private train: both private tours on this site put you on the regular red train, in a coach you share with everyone else on board. The TaoTravel private tour to the Bernina train and Lake Como (our review) suits parties who want a guide in their own language and the option of Lake Como. The Abroads Tours private day with 1st class (our review) is the one to book if a reserved window seat matters most.

What “private” covers on each listing

The word means different things from listing to listing. Here is what each one states.

TaoTravel lists a professional private guide and a private round-trip transfer, and reviewers name a guide and a separate driver. The train is a 2nd-class standard ticket with opening windows, St. Moritz to Tirano or the other way round, about 2 hours 20 minutes on board. Lake Como is part of the day only “if optioned”. Guiding is offered in English, Spanish, French, Italian and Dutch.

Abroads Tours keeps it to one person: “Your guide drives too — so you’re not paying two people.” The listing includes a “Guaranteed window seat in 1st class (Bernina red train)” and says the group is private, up to 7. Departure time is flexible and depends on train ticket availability; the operator contacts you after booking to set it. The guide speaks English, and the listing also names Spanish, Italian and Russian.

The Lake Como Tourism private Bernina red train tour on GetYourGuide, from $860 per person, is a driver service: “There will be no guide with you.” It includes a one-way 1st-class red-train ticket from Tirano to St. Moritz, then drives you back over the Maloja Pass with stops at Lake Silvaplana and the Acquafraggia Falls (not in August or at weekends). It starts from Lake Como and has 5 reviews so far.

Is either private tour the panoramic Bernina Express?

No. TaoTravel’s ticket is “2nd class standard Train ticket with opening windows for the St Moritz-Tirano route or vice-versa”. Abroads Tours names the “Bernina red train” next to its 1st-class seat. Neither listing mentions a panoramic coach. Opening windows have one advantage: your photos have no glass reflections. Our Bernina Express vs red train guide covers the rest of the difference.

If the panoramic train is the point, a coach tour does it for far less: the Frigerio St. Moritz and Bernina Express tour (our review) sells a guaranteed place in a panoramic coach on its “Tour with Panoramic Carriage” option, from $185 per person. Seats are not assigned. One private listing on Viator, the Bernina Express Private Tour from Milan (from $1,118 per person), lists 2nd-class Bernina Express tickets, with red-train tickets or a full refund if those are not available. It has a single review.

Even on a private day the train is a public service. One Como listing spells it out: “The train is a shared public service and not reserved exclusively for your group.” You can sit with your party, but you cannot book a side of the train: RhB does not sell seats by side or direction.

What it costs for two or four

All prices below are the from-prices per person on the listings, multiplied out. Private prices can change with group size, so enter your real party in the booking card.

For two people, going private costs about $1,700 to $1,900 more than the small group. At four, the gap passes $3,400. The day length barely changes: the private tours list 10 to 13 hours, the small group at least 13, the coach tours about 11 to 13.

Who should pay for private

A private day makes sense if you:

• are traveling with people who find a 13-hour coach day hard: TaoTravel’s listing says it suits all fitness levels and takes infants on a lap or in a stroller, while the small group’s minimum age is 12;
• want pickup and drop-off at your hotel, which none of the shared tours we review includes;
• want guiding in Dutch or Russian, which none of the shared tours we review lists;
• are four to seven people who want a reserved 1st-class window seat each (Abroads Tours);
• want Lake Como and St. Moritz on your own schedule.

Skip it if your budget is under $500 for two. The Small-Group Bernina Red Train and Swiss Alps Day Trip (our review) keeps the group to 18, rates 4.9 from 740+ reviews and costs from $214 per person; it meets at Milano Centrale at 08:00 and stops on Lake Como and in Tirano. Its listing does not say which class the train ticket is. A standard coach day such as the Milan to the Swiss Alps red train day trip (our review), from $131 per person, rides the same track for less than an eighth of the private price.

You can also skip the guide altogether: the train from Milano Centrale to Tirano runs direct in about 2.5 hours, and the red train continues from the station across the square. See the Bernina train on your own guide, our Bernina train tickets from Milan page, or the full Milan to St. Moritz day trip comparison. If you want to sleep near the meeting points, read where to stay in Milan for the Bernina train.

To see TaoTravel’s price for your party and date, with or without Lake Como, check dates.