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Bern to Visp by train
How to take the rail journey from Basel to Visp where connections are available to Zermatt and the Saas ski resorts
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Routes
From Bern to Visp
Journey Summary
55min
Daily
Travel Information
Final Destination: Brig (the IC trains), Milano (the EC trains)
Connect at Visp for MGB trains to Zermatt.
All trains also call at: Thun and Spiez connect for Frutigen, Kandersteg and Zweissimen
To Saas-Fee and Saas-Grund:
Connect at Visp for the bus to Saas-Fee via Saas Grund, route 511 serves both resorts and departs from the forecourt outside the Sud (main) exit at Visp station.
Route 511 departs every 30 mins during the day and the connecting time between the arrival of the train and departure of the bus is usually around 15 mins, so it should be a stress-free transfer.
The bus journey to Saas-Grund takes 40 mins to Saas-Fee takes 52 mins; route 511 makes multiple stops in both resorts.
1 or 2 x trains per hour
Most hours have two departures
The final departure is typically before 21:45.
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes - If you book Supersaver tickets (more info is available on the SBB ticket guide below)
You may need to search through the departures to find them using the ‘earlier’ and ‘later’ buttons; the Supersaver tickets tend to sell out particularly quickly on this route.
Online bookings open: up to two months ahead of the travel date
Try and be flexible with your departure and arrival times, book as near to 60 days ahead as possible and don't be overly concerned whether you will be taking an IC or EC train.
Seat reservations:
Seat reservations are optional on Swiss IC trains; and for the journey by EC trains as it's wholly within Switzerland, so seats won't be automatically assigned when booking online.
You can book reservations online, AFTER you have booked a ticket, by using the SBB (Swiss national railways) seat reservation service OR request and pay for a reservation when booking at a station ticket office.
Though you can virtually guarantee that seats will be available on the Swiss IC trains, but if the timings suit, avoid the EC trains which will be heading on to Italy.
Travelling with a rail pass:
Rail pass users can jump on any train, without having to make reservations; though the EC trains are best avoided, as they tend to be busier.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| SBB | * | |
| Trainline | * | |
| Omio | * | |
| Happy rail | * |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
The trains which are typically scheduled to depart from Bern daily at 07:34; 11:34, 13:24 and 18:34 are the international EC trains which will be heading on to Milano.
But if you will be buying a ticket or using a rail pass, it doesn't matter which train service you will be travelling by; Swiss 'rules' apply to the journey if you won't be travelling beyond Brig, meaning that reservations are optional, even if you will be travelling on an EC service.
Though those discounted 'Supersaver' tickets are less likely to be available on the EC trains, as they tend to be busier.
Most of the IC services will be double-deck train.
Now that these trains use the Lotschberg Base Tunnel this journey is not as scenic as it once was.
But from the left of the train (when facing the direction of travel) there are views over the Thunersee between Thun and Speiz.
On departure from Thun station:
And then on departure from Speiz station:
Though not only was that video captured on a different, more sunny, day - it was taken when travelling in the opposite direction. It's been included here to showcase, what you will see from the right on this part of the journey, when heading south!Then after exiting the Lotschberg Base Tunnel, the train will travel through a steep valley for the final part of the journey on to Visp.
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