Bernina Express Tours

Fourteen Bernina train tours and tickets are compared on this site, and the first thing to know about each one is which train it puts you on. Only two, both run by Frigerio Viaggi, sell a seat in a panoramic Bernina Express coach: the Milan: St. Moritz and panoramic Bernina Express tour (our breakdown), on its panoramic option, and the Como: panoramic Bernina Express and St. Moritz (our breakdown). Every other day trip rides the red regional train on the same track, with windows that open and prices from $110. If the glass roof matters to you, start with the Milan panoramic tour, from $186 per person. If it does not, the red-train days cost less and several of them are rated higher.

Every tour at a glance

Prices are per person for the date checked on 11 November 2026. Lengths are the listing’s own figure, door to door.

Three numbers stand out. The Lake Como cruise day has the most reviews on the site, 6,308. Two red-train days from Milan sit at 4.8, one from 5,110+ reviews and one from 1,659. The small-group day has the highest rating, 4.9, but from only 120+ reviews, so treat it as promising more than proven.

Panoramic coach or red train: the split behind the price

Both trains run the same St. Moritz–Tirano line over the Bernina Pass. The Bernina Express is the Rhaetian Railway’s panoramic train: glass that curves up into the roof, windows that do not open, a few departures a day and a paid seat reservation on top of the ticket. The red train is the ordinary regional service, roughly hourly, with classic windows you can slide down for photos. You pass the same places either way: Ospizio Bernina at 2,253 m, Lago Bianco, Alp Grüm with its view of the Palü glacier, and the spiral viaduct at Brusio.

RhB itself warns that some sellers call the regional train “Bernina Express”. That is why a tour titled “Bernina Express” can still put you in a 2nd-class regional coach. Several listings on this site say so plainly in their small print, and the table above uses what each one includes, not its title. The full side-by-side is in Bernina Express vs regional train.

The shortlist by traveler type

• You want the panoramic coach and you are in Milan: the Milan panoramic Bernina Express tour. Pick the panoramic option at booking; seats inside the coach are not assigned in advance. A Diavolezza lunch option costs from $221 and replaces the free time in St. Moritz.
• You are staying on Lake Como: the Como panoramic tour saves you the trip into Milan. For a boat on the lake and the red train in one day, see the Lake Como cruise and red train day (our breakdown). The Lake Como page compares both.
• You want a well-reviewed day at a mid price: the Bernina red train and St. Moritz day (our breakdown), 4.8 from 5,110+ reviews and the shortest day at 11 hours. It does not take children under 6.
• You want the lowest price with a guide: the Bernina train, Swiss Alps and St. Moritz day (our breakdown) from $110.
• You want everyone in your party seated together on the red train: the red train tour with a reserved carriage (our breakdown), which also picks up in Bergamo and Lecco.
• You prefer a small group: the small-group Alps day trip (our breakdown), capped at 18 people and not for children under 12. More options are on the private and small-group page.
• You want lunch on a glacier: the Diavolezza glacier lunch day (our breakdown) rides the cable car to 2,978 m before the train down to Tirano.
• You want the Landwasser Viaduct: it is on the Albula line, not the Bernina line. The St Moritz and Alps day with red train (our breakdown) has an Albula option with a viaduct viewpoint.
• You would rather go on your own: the red-train tickets from Tirano or St. Moritz start at $75. The tickets page explains what they buy and what they do not.

What a day on these tours looks like

Plan on 11 to 13 hours away from Milan, of which roughly 2 to 2.5 hours are on the train. The rest is coach time, about 2.5 to 3 hours each way, and free time in St. Moritz or Tirano. Coaches either head up the Valtellina to Tirano or cross the Maloja Pass from Chiavenna to St. Moritz, and most tours use one road out and the other back, so you see both valleys.

Operators reserve the right to run the day in reverse, and several of the red-train tours swap the Bernina line for the Albula line between St. Moritz and Thusis on some dates. If one specific stretch matters to you, read the listing’s small print for your date before you pay. Every Milan day trip crosses the Swiss–Italian border twice, so bring a passport or ID card.

What the price buys

The day-trip price covers the coach, a guide or tour leader and your train ticket. Meals are extra on every tour except the two Diavolezza lunch products. The jump from $110 to $186 is mostly the panoramic coach, which carries a seat-reservation supplement that every passenger pays, and the Frigerio tour also gives you about 2.5 hours in St. Moritz and a stop at the Madonna di Tirano sanctuary. The ticket price guide breaks down what the train itself costs if you book it yourself.

All guided day trips here cancel free up to 24 hours before. The return day ticket needs 5 days’ notice and the one-way tickets 7 days.

Still undecided?

The which tour is right for you guide walks through the choice one question at a time. If the panoramic coach is what brought you here, check availability for the Milan panoramic tour on your date and pick the panoramic option in the calendar.