Riding the Glacier Express in Switzerland

Yes, the 180-mile journey from St. Moritz to Zermatt is a very fine trip, though hardly the express run implied by the name. The Glacier Express journey takes a shade under eight hours, and the route’s summer season is now in full swing. Departures from St Moritz are twice daily through September 25, with the schedule dropping back to one departure daily until late October, when the glitzy trains with their panorama coaches are shunted off into the sidings for a fall break.

A panoramic view aboard the Glacier Express. Photo: Mark & Gideon

The route: Tunnels, bridges and gorges galore

Travelers have a tendency to flock to well-known sights, and the Glacier Express, which has been particularly heavily promoted in the North American and Japanese markets, now features on the “must do” list of many non-Europeans visiting Switzerland.

Don’t misunderstand us. It is a super journey, but we are far from sure that it is the best on offer in Switzerland. The views while the train is in 191 tunnels are not great. And it would be difficult to contrive a route of similar length elsewhere in Switzerland that is so utterly devoid of lakes. The Glacier Express is very much a route in the mountains, much of it through deep gorges or barren high terrain.

Some who know the route well comment that the two stretches of industrial valley scenery (around Reichenau and later at Visp) come as a rather welcome relief from dark, forbidding crags and brooding snowfields.

Go local

Our issue with the Glacier Express is that it is promoted outside Europe as an up-market “exclusive” tourist experience with a price tag to match. That drives away the locals. And there are plentiful local trains that serve exactly the same route which have sensible prices (no hefty tourist supplements, no need to reserve seats in advance) and are often very much less busy than the Glacier Express.

Seven daily departures from St. Moritz on those regular local trains provide connections through to Zermatt in just over eight hours — so just 20 minutes slower than on the so-called “express.” The only downside with the local services is that you do need to change trains along the way, but the connections work perfectly in a way that only the Swiss can manage.

And the big advantage of the local trains is that on some of them you can open the windows (great for photography, and also a chance to enjoy the fresh mountain air).

The fares

It is not that locals despise the idea of traveling with tourists. But the prices drive them away. The one-hour stretch of the Glacier Express from Disentis to Andermatt is in our view one of the finest parts of the entire route. The trains chugs up over the wild Oberalp Pass. On the local trains that ply this route, generally once each hour, the one-way fare is 19 Swiss Francs (about $23). But use the Glacier Express — which isn’t any faster on this stretch—for the same journey, and the fare hikes up to 52 Swiss Francs ($62).

The regular second-class fare to ride the full Glacier Express route from St. Moritz to Zermatt this summer is 169 Swiss Francs ($202). This includes the compulsory seat reservation fee.

Travellers with a Swiss Pass may ride the Glacier Express by just paying a 33 Swiss Franc reservation fee. Holders of InterRail and Eurail Passes receive a discount, with fares for travel this summer as follows (always including the seat reservations): Eurail passes 94.50 Swiss Francs ($113), Adult InterRail passes 115 Swiss Francs ($137.50), Youth InterRail passes 74 Swiss Francs ($88.50).

Is it worth the ride?

In our view, it’s a fun day out and certainly a journey through magnificent scenery. If you are tempted, ride the local trains on the same route which have far more character. But eight hours is a long time, and the unremitting diet of gorges and glaciers can pall. There are, we think, other rail journeys in Switzerland which are cheaper, shorter, and—by virtue of being more varied—much more appealing.

Next week we shall review one of our personal favourites.

Have you boarded the Glacier Express?

Share your Glacier Express experience with us in the comments section. How much did you pay for your ticket? Was it worth it?

The post Switzerland by Train: Is the Glacier Express worth the ticket price? appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Onwards to Italy

Even before the coming of the railway, Brig (or “Brigue” in French) held a commanding position in transport across the Alps. Napoléon had decreed that a carriage road should be built over the Alps, and over 5,000 workers struggled to build the Simplon Pass highway over the mountains to Italy.

When it was opened, travelers were surprised to find that in good weather a ten-horse carriage could make the journey from Brig to Domodossola in just 12 hours. Nowadays, sleek modern trains purr through the Simplon rail tunnel and reach Domodossola in just 25 minutes.

Visiting Brig

Brig is more than just a railway junction and the town certainly warrants a visit in its own right. Brig’s star building is the superb Stockalper castle with its handsome triple-tier arcade courtyard and stately cupolas. It is a mark of the town’s erstwhile wealth. That castle, a brace of fine churches and several good restaurants around a fine piazza all combine to make Brig the perfect place to linger.

A great base for exploring Switzerland

The town makes a fine base for rail-based holidays exploring central and western Switzerland. Few other European cities can claim to be as perfectly connected to key tourist destinations as Brig.

Top destinations by direct train from Brig include:

1. Kandersteg: one train per hour (travel time: 40 mins)
2. Stresa (for Lake Maggiore): every two hours (travel time: 55 mins)
3. Berne: two trains per hour (travel time: 1 hr)
4. Montreux: two trains per hour (travel time: 1 hr 20 mins)
5. Zermatt: one train per hour (travel time: 1 hr 20 mins)
6. Lausanne: two trains per hour (travel time: 1 hr 45 mins)
7. Milan: every two hours (travel time: 1 hr 50 mins)
8. Andermatt: one train per hour (travel time: 2 hrs)
9. Zürich: one train per hour (travel time: 2 hrs 10 mins)
10. Geneva: two trains per hour (travel time: 2 hrs 25 mins)

Holders of Eurail passes might just note that services to Andermatt and Zermatt are operated by the Matterhorn-Gotthard Bahn (MGB), a private mountain railway company that does not accept Eurail passes. But the Swiss Pass (sold by Swiss Travel System) is recognized by MGB.

The post Brig, Switzerland: A major rail connection worth exploring appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.