Car-free from Bever
- Station
- 4-minute walk, around 400 m
- During the day
- R15 hourly, towards Scuol and towards Pontresina
- Bus
- 606 via Samedan and Celerina to St. Moritz, every half hour
- Fare zone
- engadin mobil, zone 40
- Guest pass
- 3 to 14 days, fares at engadin mobil
- Luggage
- station to station or door to door, fares at RhB
Why Bever works well without a car
Bever is one of the few places in the Upper Engadin where the station sits right in the middle of village life: a four-minute walk, around 400 metres, from Chesa Michel. From here you reach Samedan in three minutes, Pontresina and St. Moritz in a quarter of an hour, and the Lower Engadin without changing. Coming without a car spares you mountain passes, winter tyres and hunting for a parking space in St. Moritz. This article is your cheat sheet – with the quirks of the timetable that you would otherwise only learn on the spot.
Getting here by train
| From | Journey time to Bever | Route |
|---|---|---|
| Zurich HB | 2 h 59 – 3 h 15 | via Landquart–Vereina or via Chur–Albula |
| Zurich Airport | around 3 h 17 | as from Zurich |
| Basel SBB | around 4 h | via Zurich |
| Bern | around 4 h | via Zurich |
| Milan | around 4½–5 h | via Tirano and the Bernina Line, or via Chiavenna and the PostBus over the Maloja Pass |
| Lugano | around 4½ h | PostBus via Chiavenna and Maloja to St. Moritz, then train |
The more scenic of the two routes from Zurich is the one via Chur and the Albula Line: over the Landwasser Viaduct, through the spiral tunnels between Bergün and Preda and through the new Albula Tunnel (opened on 8 June 2024, 5864 metres long) into the Engadin. The faster one usually goes through the Vereina Tunnel. For more on travelling by car or plane and on parking, see the article Getting to the Engadin.
Sending your luggage ahead
With children, skis or for a month in the Engadin, it is worth not carrying your luggage yourself:
- Station to station: for suitcases, skis, bikes or e-bikes. You check your luggage in at your departure station and collect it at Bever station.
- Door to door: collection and delivery at the front door, at an extra charge.
- Bever ticket counter: your luggage can only be collected while the counter is open – plan your pick-up accordingly. Opening hours and current fares are listed on the Rhaetian Railway page for Bever station.
Which train stops in Bever?
This is the most important quirk: during the day, only the R15 regional train stops in Bever – but reliably every hour:
- towards Zuoz – Zernez – Scuol,
- towards Samedan – Punt Muragl – Pontresina.
The fast Albula Line trains (IR38/RE3 to Chur) stop in Bever only early in the morning and in the evening. The Bernina Express and the Glacier Express pass through without stopping. For St. Moritz, change in Samedan during the day.
The SBB timetable and the SBB app show the exact departure times.
Journey times from Bever
| Destination | Journey time |
|---|---|
| Samedan | 3 min |
| Celerina | 11–18 min |
| Punt Muragl (Muottas Muragl) | 10 min |
| St. Moritz | 15 min |
| Pontresina | 15 min |
| Morteratsch | 33–38 min |
| Diavolezza | 42–46 min |
| Alp Grüm | 1 h 02 – 1 h 09 |
| Tirano | 2 h 09 – 2 h 43 |
| Zuoz | 11 min |
| S-chanf | 15 min |
| Zernez (National Park) | 34 min |
| Scuol | 1 h 07 |
| Spinas | 15 min (trains stop only every other hour) |
| Preda | 22 min |
| Bergün | 40 min |
| Filisur | 53 min |
| Chur | 1 h 56 |
| Silvaplana | 46–50 min |
| Surlej (Corvatsch) | 49 min |
| Sils Maria | 45–49 min |
| Maloja | 48 min |
For Spinas, Preda, Bergün, Filisur and Chur, change in Samedan during the day. For Silvaplana, Sils and Maloja, take the train to St. Moritz and continue by bus from there. This way you can reach almost all the mountain railway valley stations without a car; more on this in the article Mountain railways in summer.
The buses
- Bus 613 Zuoz – Bever – Samedan – St. Moritz: hourly during the day, a few runs in the evening. Handy if you want to go straight to the centre of St. Moritz.
- Bus 606 Chamues-ch – La Punt – Bever – Samedan – Celerina – St. Moritz station every half hour. The most frequent connection to St. Moritz.
Getting back in the evening
Dinner in St. Moritz works without a car too – as long as you know the last connections.
Later in the evening there are still trains, a few runs of bus 613 and the night buses 610 and 611; in the season, the night bus 611 runs from Samedan into the early hours at weekends. The exact times change with the timetable change and the season – check the last connections on the day itself in the SBB timetable.
Tickets: single, day ticket or guest pass?
Bever belongs to the engadin mobil fare network and lies in zone 40; the core zone stretches from Silvaplana to Bever.
There are single tickets by zone, a 24-hour ticket and the guest pass for three to 14 days, valid on buses and trains from Maloja to Cinuos-chel and from Spinas to Alp Grüm. You will find the current prices directly at engadin mobil.
A rule of thumb: if you make more than one trip a day across two or three zones, the guest pass works out cheaper. With a GA travelcard you travel free anyway, and with a Halbtax (half-fare travelcard) at half price. The Swiss Travel Pass is valid on RhB regional trains; the Bernina Express requires a seat reservation at an extra charge. Dogs travel at half price or with the dog day pass. Chesa Michel does not take part in the “public transport included” scheme – you buy your tickets yourself.
On foot, by bike, by hire car
- On foot: the hiking trails into Val Bever, to Samedan and along the Inn start right at the station. Many hikes can be planned as one-way walks with a return by train – see Hikes around Bever.
- Bike: on the train your bike travels at half price or with the bike day pass. E-bikes can be hired, for example, from Bikelocal in St. Moritz.
- Hire car for a day: there are Mobility car-sharing locations at Samedan station, in St. Moritz and in Pontresina – but not in Bever.
In winter
In winter you need a car even less. The Upper Engadin ski pass includes buses and trains between the ski areas; tickets for a single area do not. The cross-country ski trail starts at Bever station and leads into Val Bever towards Spinas. More on this in the articles Engadin ski pass with Snow-Deal and Cross-country skiing from Bever.
More inspiration in the Journal – or view the holiday apartments and check availability.
