What to bring from Milan to St. Moritz and back
A Bernina day from Milan starts in an Italian city and climbs to a mountain pass in another country before dinner. You need a travel document at the border and clothes for two climates; long hours on a coach also call for food and water. None of it is complicated, but forgetting the passport can end the day before it starts.
The passport goes in first
Every tour we compare crosses from Italy into Switzerland and back again, and every listing asks you to carry a travel document. Non-EU visitors need their passport. Citizens of the EU and the Schengen area can bring a valid national ID card instead.
TaoTravel, which runs our pick at ~$155, asks for a paper passport. A scan or a photo on your phone is not the same thing, so pack the document itself even if your hotel keeps a copy.
Put it somewhere you will not unpack by accident, such as a zipped inner pocket. People change bags between the coach and the train, and a passport left on a seat in St. Moritz is a slow problem to solve.
Layers for a pass above 2,200 m
Milan and the top of the line sit at very different heights. The train climbs to about 2,253 m (7,392 ft) near the Ospizio Bernina beside Lago Bianco, while St. Moritz lies at about 1,856 m (6,089 ft) on its lake.
A warm morning in the city tells you little about the pass. Reviewers mention snow beside the track in autumn, and cloud can roll in at any time of year. Dress in layers you can add or take off without fuss.
Start with a thin base layer and add a fleece or light down jacket. A shell against wind and rain covers most days, and winter adds a hat and gloves. In summer you may wear a T-shirt in Tirano and want the fleece an hour later.
The red regional train has windows that open, and photographers lean out of them. The air rushing in at the top of the pass is cold even on a sunny day, so keep the warm layer within reach rather than in the luggage rack.
Shoes and rain gear
Most of the walking is on pavement in St. Moritz and Tirano, plus station platforms. Comfortable shoes you have already broken in are enough. In winter pick a sole with grip, since paths by the lake and stations can be icy.
Milano Art Discovery's tour (from ~$166) stops at Alp Grüm for a short walk on marked trails toward the view of the Palü glacier. City sandals are the wrong choice for that stop.
A light rain jacket or a small umbrella covers the free time if the weather turns. Our guide to your time in St. Moritz suggests how to spend those minutes when it rains.
Which money works where
Switzerland uses Swiss francs, not euros. Cafés and shops in St. Moritz usually take cards, which means most purchases can go on a debit or credit card. A few francs in coins help for small things, and some places may accept euros at their own rate.
Back in Tirano you are in Italy again, so euros work there. If your tour gives you lunch time in Tirano, as the small-group day does, carry some euros as well as the card.
No tour we list includes food or drinks, and tips are extra. The price guide adds these extras up tour by tour, so you can see the whole day's spending before you book.
Food and water for the long coach legs
The day runs 11 to 13 hours, and a good share of it is on the coach. TaoTravel's drive back from Tirano takes about 2.5 hours, and Frigerio Viaggi's morning drive to St. Moritz runs about 3 hours with a café break.
Bring a bottle of water and a snack you can eat cleanly. The lunch window is short on most tours, and some people skip a sit-down meal to walk the lakeside instead, so a sandwich from Milan can save the afternoon.
Check the rules for your coach. Frigerio Viaggi does not allow food on board, so eat during the stops on that tour and keep the snack for the train or the free time.
Booking the panoramic-car day
Frigerio Viaggi's tour is the one that sells a guaranteed seat in the panoramic Bernina Express car, if you choose that option at booking. Pack a jacket anyway, since the glass does not open and the stops are cold.
Bags and headsets on board
Travel light. TaoTravel says storage space on its coach is not guaranteed, so do not plan to bring a suitcase on a check-out day. A daypack you can hold on your lap on the train is the right size.
Autostradale's Lake Como day hands out radio headsets so you can hear the guide. Losing one costs a 50-euro fee, so give it back before you leave the coach in the evening. The Lake Como guide covers the rest of that day.
A phone charger or a power bank helps too. You will take more photos than you expect, and a dead phone at 5 pm on a coach also means no maps if the itinerary changes.
Cameras and the train windows
Photographers get the most from the red train, whose open windows let you shoot without reflections. A wrist strap is a good idea when you lean out. Our page on the panoramic car and the red train compares the two for photos.
On the panoramic car, a dark top cuts some of the glare from the glass. A lens hood or pressing the phone against the window helps as well. Our page on what you see from the train lists the stretches to have the camera ready for.
A checklist for the night before
Lay everything out before bed, since the day starts early and the squares around Milano Centrale are busy in the morning. This short list covers a normal day on any of the five tours:
- Passport (EU and Schengen citizens can use an ID card)
- The booking voucher on your phone, and the meeting point saved offline
- A bank card for Swiss francs, plus some euros
- A warm mid layer and a windproof, rainproof shell
- Hat and gloves outside the summer months
- Comfortable, broken-in shoes with grip
- Water and a snack, plus a charged power bank
- Sunglasses and sunscreen for snow glare and high sun
If the weather looks grim, read our page on the best season to go before you decide to keep the date. All five listings let you cancel free of charge up to 24 hours ahead.