Lake Como to St. Moritz: Train via Tirano, Bernina Express, Bus or Car

From Lake Como, St. Moritz is about 4 hours by train: a Trenord regional train from Varenna up the Valtellina to Tirano (about 1 hour 27 minutes), then the Rhaetian Railway's Bernina line over the Bernina Pass to St. Moritz (about 2 hours 10 minutes to 2 hours 30 minutes), on the Bernina Express or a regional train. By car or with a driver, the road over the Maloja Pass takes about 2 hours 30 minutes. This guide covers the St. Moritz and Engadin crossing in detail, with 2026 and 2027 times, prices and reservations; for Lugano and Zermatt, see our broader Lake Como to Switzerland guide.

Lake Como to St. Moritz at a glance

Train times are from the 2026 and 2027 timetables. The Swiss part of every rail and PostBus option is covered by the Swiss Travel Pass; the Italian part is not.

Lake Como to St. Moritz by train, step by step

1. Get to Varenna-Esino station. Varenna is the station for the middle of the lake: a short ferry from Bellagio or Menaggio, then a short walk uphill from the Varenna ferry pier. Colico, at the north end, is on the same line. From Como town, there is no direct train up the lake, so we send a driver to Varenna or route the train via Lecco.
2. Ride the Trenord train to Tirano. The regional trains of the Milan to Tirano line take about 1 hour 27 minutes from Varenna, through Colico, Morbegno and Sondrio; in the 2026 timetable, for example, the 2:25 p.m. from Varenna reached Tirano at 3:52 p.m. The fare is €8.40 in 2026, and trains run about hourly. Buy it in the Trenord app or at the station machine, and validate a paper ticket before boarding.
3. Change in Tirano. The Rhaetian Railway (RhB) station is next to the Italian one, across the square. This line has a poor punctuality record and occasional replacement buses between Colico and Tirano, so we leave at least 45 minutes for the change, and often plan lunch in Tirano.
4. Ride the Bernina line to St. Moritz. The red trains climb past the Brusio circular viaduct, Lake Poschiavo, Alp Grüm and the Palü Glacier to Ospizio Bernina at 2,253 m (7,392 ft), then drop past the Morteratsch Glacier to Pontresina and St. Moritz. St. Moritz station is by the lake, below the town center.

Tirano to St. Moritz timetable for 2026 and 2027

Bernina Express, northbound, summer 2026 (May 2 to October 25):

Winter 2026/27 (2027 timetable, from December 13, 2026): one Bernina Express a day from Tirano to St. Moritz, at 10:06 a.m., arriving 12:35 p.m., plus an extra 9:18 a.m. departure (arriving 11:45 a.m.) on busy days such as the Christmas holidays. The afternoon Bernina Express from Tirano runs to Chur, not St. Moritz. The summer 2027 timetable starts in spring 2027; RhB opens sales several months ahead.

Regional trains, all year: a RegioExpress leaves Tirano every two hours, around 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., and takes 2 hours 11 minutes, as fast as the Bernina Express; slower regional trains at :41 past the hour take about 2 hours 30 minutes. That makes about one train an hour in each direction.

Bernina Express tickets and prices from Lake Como

• Italian leg: €8.40 one way in 2026 from Varenna to Tirano on Trenord. Not covered by the Swiss Travel Pass.
• Tirano to St. Moritz: about CHF 33 in 2nd class and about CHF 57 (about $71) in 1st class in 2026; check the current fare on rhb.ch. Swiss fares rise by an average of 3.6 percent on December 13, 2026. Children under 6 travel free and children 6 to 16 pay half.
• Bernina Express reservation: mandatory, from CHF 32 per person between Tirano and St. Moritz, and children pay it in full. No pass covers it, and no change to the Bernina Express reservation fees is planned for 2027.
• Regional trains: no reservation needed; an optional seat reservation costs CHF 5. RhB says individual reservations on regional trains cannot be made in April 2027 because of technical changes.
• Where to book: rhb.ch or the SBB app for the Swiss part, the Trenord app for the Italian part.

For July, August and Saturdays in summer, we reserve the Bernina Express as soon as dates are fixed. With a Swiss Travel Pass, the only cost on the Swiss side is the reservation; our Swiss Travel Pass calculator shows whether the pass pays off over the rest of your trip.

Which side to sit on

On the Bernina Express it matters less than people think: the panorama windows curve into the roof, and the line twists so much that both sides get glaciers and lakes. If you can choose heading north from Tirano, the right side has Lake Poschiavo along the water's edge. On the regional trains, some windows open, which is the better choice for photographs at Alp Grüm and the Brusio viaduct. Our Bernina Express guide covers classes, the Pullman car and the southbound ride.

The Bernina Express bus from Lugano

If you are staying near the Swiss border or in Lugano, RhB's Bernina Express bus links Lugano and Tirano in about 3 hours, along the shore of Lake Como and up the Valtellina. In 2026 it left Lugano around 10 a.m. and reached Tirano around 1 p.m., in time for the early-afternoon Bernina Express to St. Moritz in summer. It runs seasonally, from about February to November, daily in the main season and on fewer days at each end; RhB publishes the 2027 dates and prices on rhb.ch. A seat reservation is mandatory, and the Swiss Travel Pass covers the fare, not the reservation. Bring your passport.

By train and PostBus via Chiavenna

A route few travelers know: the regional train from Varenna to Colico, then the Trenord branch line to Chiavenna (about 30 minutes, roughly hourly), then the PostBus over the Maloja Pass to St. Moritz, about 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 40 minutes, with departures about every hour in the 2027 timetable. You see the stone villages of Val Bregaglia and the lakes of the Upper Engadine from the bus, and no reservation is needed.

By car or private driver over the Maloja Pass

The road is the shortest way: from the north end of the lake to Chiavenna, across the border at Castasegna, up Val Bregaglia and over the Maloja Pass (1,815 m) with its tight hairpins, then along Lake Sils and Lake Silvaplana to St. Moritz. Count on about 2 hours 30 minutes from the middle of the lake. The Maloja road is kept open in winter, but you need winter tires and sometimes chains. This route uses no Swiss motorway, so the vignette is only needed if you continue on motorways. Rental companies charge heavily to drop an Italian car in Switzerland, which is one reason we use drivers.

Stops worth making: Chiavenna and its crotti, natural cellars turned into taverns; Soglio, a granite village above Val Bregaglia; and Maloja itself, for the view down the hairpins.

Winter on this route

The Bernina line runs all year and is kept open through the snow, and winter is a good time to ride it: white passes, fewer passengers and the same reservation fee. Expect one Bernina Express a day to St. Moritz, regional trains every hour, and colder, shorter days, so we favor the morning trains. The Bernina Express bus runs fewer days. RhB sometimes closes parts of the line for works in late autumn, with replacement buses, so we check its works notices for November and early December trips.

Luggage

Bernina Express racks are small, and RhB asks travelers to bring hand luggage where possible. You can forward suitcases with RhB for CHF 12 per item, arriving two days later, or, as we do on most trips, send them by road with a driver so you ride with a day bag. Our guide to luggage on Swiss trains explains the timing.

Accessibility

On the Italian side, ask RFI's free Sala Blu service whether assistance is available at Varenna-Esino and Tirano, and book early: at smaller stations a phone booking needs at least 12 working hours' notice. On the Bernina Express, wheelchair-accessible seats can only be booked through RhB Railservice (+41 81 288 65 65), and boarding help through the SBB Contact Center Handicap (+41 800 007 102). The lakeside villages are steep, with stepped lanes and ferry gangways, so for travelers with reduced mobility we usually plan the Maloja road in an adapted vehicle, or a driver to Tirano and the train from there.

How we plan this crossing

Our usual day: a driver collects you at your lake hotel, lunch in Tirano or Chiavenna, the early-afternoon Bernina Express, and luggage already waiting in St. Moritz. The Bernina line is part of our Legendary Swiss Trains week, our Italy and Switzerland in 7 days pairs the lakes with Lugano and Zurich, and our Italy and Switzerland lakes and mountains itinerary shows the whole route day by day. For your nights on the lake, read our Lake Como travel guide.

If you would like this day planned around your hotel and your dates, with the right train and the bags sent ahead, ask one of our designers.