You can maybe travel affordably to the great Ski resort Zermatt... but Zermatt itself isn't really affordable for the average family. I had the luck that an uncle of me owned an appartment near the "Gornergrat- Bahn" - station . So I had the luck to visit Zermatt eight times long ago in my twenties. I visited the impressive "Kleines Matterhorn" - station in its first season in 1981. To be honest, since this time ... Skiing in Swiss - at its best spots - wasn't never cheap in general. You have a significant more relaxed time in Zermatt, if don't have have to count your money before😉
I've just had a week in Cervinia (Italy) and you can get an international ski pass which gives you access to Zermatt side as well as the Italian side. Fantastic ski area, Matterhorn Ski Paradise gondola at 3800 meters is amazing. Italian side is a lot cheaper for food and accommodation.
Great overview. Just a couple of additions from someone from the US who has been going to Zermatt for the last 23 years. The busses are free, run every 10 minutes or less, and are an easy way to get to and between the base lifts. Hotels along the river are somewhat removed from the Bahnhofstrasse, but are a quick walk to shops and restaurants, generally offer Matterhorn views, and are on the bus route, since it runs along the river. Finally, February usually seems to have a lack of fresh snow. January and very early March are often better. We just got back from Zermatt last week, and Gornergrat had 100 cm of new snow while we were there.
With an IKON, do you know if we simply just hop onto the various lifts, gondolas and trains (up the mountain) or do we have to somehow get actual tickets by showing our IKON passes?
Well done and thank you for your review/comments and advice. What you are doing (did) is not an easy task. Bravo ✌️ I've visited Zermatt for the past four years and I found your review helpful. Have not visited Chez Vrony though your review is my next selection. Happy Snow ❄️to you
Lol the line culture😂.. Was totally unexpected. There is no lines but swan of desperate skiers inching forward from all directions .. But it turns out to be surpriaingly efficient 😂😂👍👍
True, it is quite efficient most of the time, but during busy periods it was terribly inefficient.. With no grouping system, lifts often would not load full, significantly slowing and adding to the "line.".
Very informative and easy to understand. We will be in Zermatt in May for 3 nights but we are not skiers and hikers. We just want to explore the place and maybe do easy hikes. . Hope you can also do a video of Jungfrau Region. Thank you
Thanks for the comment! You'll love Zermatt in spring. Most of the snow on the lower areas will have melted by then and there will be tons of relatively easy hikes available to you. To save your legs, consider taking the Matterhorn Express Gondola or Gornegrat Railway up a few stations so you can start your hiking at the magnificent higher altitudes.
Thanks! Yes, all the Zermatt gondolas, lifts, and the Gornergrat train are included on the IKON. Obviously the Swiss Rail train to get there isn’t and neither is anything on the Cervinia (Italy) side.
@@GlobeDecker That's great! Already booked my condo for 2025! Did you have to use local cash anywhere? I heard you need cash for laundry facilities and some stores..
@@LuckyUSA7 If I remember correctly, I think I took out around 100CHF from an ATM when I arrived and still had some leftover by the time I left a week later. 99% of places take cards, I didn't do laundry though so can't speak to that!
True about the length of the runs, especially when compared to the U.S. (my legs were burning), but yes very beautiful. Those wide runs were great for going fast but the hard pack surface made me glad I sharpened my board edges the day before. Wonderful experience, especially up at the top where the observation deck was by the gornergrat. Such a cute town zermatt is to walk around, I’d love to go back just for some light hiking, taking the gornergat train up, and just more exploring the village. Went right before Christmas about 10 years ago and the little Protestant chapel service was also great experience (I believe most of the churches there were catholic?). Thanks for more tips for my next trip.
1. being a top-5 item on every skier's bucket list zermatt is overcrowded like venice in summer. forget about that charming postcard little alpine village, its not anymore. 2. they introduced that dynamic price for skipass: the more people on the mountain the higher the fare, that is i ended up paying 98 CHF (cervinia not included) which is absolute maximum ive ever paid in europe. 3. staying the tasch might also be an option. 4. swiss food is shit, especially bread they dip in melted cheese
Thanks for the comment. I guess to avoid the crowds, like anywhere is to go off peak. When I went from a Sunday-Thursday in early February, I never had a lift line longer than 5 minutes on the Sunday and during the four weekdays there were no lines. Didn't know about the dynamic pricing of ski passes, I used my IKON pass paid zero.
Thanks for the Great comprehensive review. I found the cheapest way to ski Zermatt was to fly into Milan, rent a vehicle and then drive up to Cervina and stay there. We would buy the dual mountain pass so we could ski down into Zermatt. My only caution is to keep a close eye on the weather so you don’t get trapped in Zermatt if the Klein Matterhorn tram shuts down late in the day. It’s an awesome experience to ski both the Swiss and Italian sides.
This video was shot the first week in Feb 2024, and I had also been to Zermatt in mid-March 2023. It was hardpack both times with no new. Bluebird skies though and temps just below freezing in AM and slightly above in PM. The grooming of trails there is awesomely wide and smooth, but don't expect fluffy powder. But your experience may vary!
Another budget friendly option is to stay on the Italian side of the mountains, in Breuil-Cervinia, accomodation and restaurants are much cheaper, and you can use the ski lift system to cross to Zermatt.
Absolutely agree! Italy is significantly cheaper than Switzerland (almost anywhere is!) The only consideration is the weather can sometimes impact the alpine crossing. When I was there, high winds kept it closed three of the six days.
@@GlobeDecker Yes, the Italian side is great too; no, staying on the Italian side is not a good alternative to the Zermatt. The lifts over the ridge aren't always open and are very weather-restricted -- imagine if your lift back to Italy closes early due to weather; and the pistes on the Swiss side are so long that if you're trying to make it back to the Italian side every day before the lifts close, the time left for you will be very limited, so you'll be exhausted.
Thanks! A regular ski pass will get you on anything that carries skiers in Zermatt, be it gondola, lift, funicular, or Sunnegga train. It won't get access to any lifts on the Italian side (Cervinia) though unless you pay a surcharge.
Very very very useful information.I have done my research and have allocated one day for Zermatt. I will travel from and return to Wilderwill to Zernatt.That travel to and fro is 5 hours to 6 hours. I can do the Gondolas and trains to Matterhorn. Thanks for the information. Thanks for Sbb app and very useful tips to the Top of mountains!
Hello GlobeDecker. What can you say about where and how to ride the Alpine Crossing? Also is the price of its gondola included in the the all day, unlimited lift ticket?
That is an excellent question that I actually wondered about myself! When I was there in Feb 2023, the Alpine Crossing gondola wasn't in operation, they were either installing or replacing some of the cables, and had a new cable that hadn't been put under tension strung from the summits across the glacier below and then elevated on poles to cross over the one open ski run.
GlobeDecker, you asked why there are so few snowboarders in Zermatt/Europe, well the simple answer is that there skiing is still considered a sport while in the US is becoming more and more a vacation/fun time, i.e. going to the beaches or skiing is almost the same thing as you can have fun on both places, for the same reason in the US we have different ski bikes, snowboard seating chair and more....ski resorts are now fun parks like Disneyworld... As suggestions, please use THERE ARE for plural and THERE IS for singular, as blogger you need to be grammatical correct.....THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE not THERE IS ...... Another suggestion, slow down your talking speed it will be more pleasant to listen and follow your suggestions, thank you.
Thank you for the feedback. I am still a beginner (under two weeks!) at RU-vid and certainly learning as I go. My fast talking, and tendency to make contractions out of many words are certainly fair and accurate critiques. All the best to you!
Who told you that skiing is treated more like a sport in Europe? You're one of the few smug people I've seen on YT. Europeans prefer skiing simply because it has a longer history in Europe and is a very popular hobby, and most people like to ski on their "VACATION" because that's what they learned to ski in the beginning. And a significant number of the younger generation prefer snowboarding now.
