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Switzerland in Winter - Stay in Mountains but we don't Ski. Help please.

Switzerland in Winter - Stay in Mountains but we don't Ski. Help please.

Old Apr 11th, 2013, 05:57 AM
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Switzerland in Winter - Stay in Mountains but we don't Ski. Help please.

Have been to Switzerland 3 times - twice in Sept (beautiful) and once in April (rainy, except for an exceptional day in Engleberg).

Would love to go in winter and stay in some mountain area but we don't ski. What would you suggest as a general area - or specific place - where there would be other activities besides skiing? Sledding, etc. Would having a car be ideal? (We've only ever used their railroads.)

Have only been to the Berner Oblerland mountain area as far as mountains are concerned (and Mt. Titlis).

Also hoping not to spend a fortune (so Gstaad is out?).
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Old Apr 11th, 2013, 06:25 AM
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What about Rigi and surrounds?

http://www.ums.ch/search/list/

http://www.rigi.ch/en/navpage_list-W...rsportWVR.html
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Old Apr 11th, 2013, 07:00 AM
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look at cross country skiing, very little skill required to get fun back, very cheap and low risk.
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Old Apr 11th, 2013, 07:19 AM
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A car is a bad idea in the winter. Stick to public transportation.
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Old Apr 11th, 2013, 07:22 AM
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There is a big difference between December (late sunrise, early sunset) and March. In late December, some places (like Lauterbrunnen, Elm) have no sun at all, others (like Murren) only in the morning or (like Wengen) only in the afternoon.

So, if you want sun, don't go to a place down in a valley and don't go to a place with high mountains before the sun.

Sunniest places:
Crans-Montana, Riederalp-Bettmeralp, St Luc-Chandolin (Val d'Anniviers), Verbier, Engiadina Ota (St. Moritz, Silvaplana, Segl Baselgia, Maloja), Flims, Hasliberg.

You will find prepared winter hiking trails at all these places. The length of the trail network varies from place to place; it's particularly long at Crans-Montana (upwards up to 2000m and downwards up to the vineyards which are most of the time free of snow) and in the Engiadina Ota.

It's possible to sledge everywhere, but the best sledging pists are
around Grindelwald: Faulhorn - First - Bussalp/Waldspitz - Grindelwald village, Kleine Scheidegg - Grindelwald, Kleine Scheidegg - Wengernalp http://www.jungfrau.ch/en/tourism/ex...edging-hiking/
from Preda to Bravuogn/Bergun (sledging trains from St. Moritz) http://www.myswitzerland.com/en/tobo...a-berguen.html
from Bettmeralp and Fiescheralp to Lax http://www.valais.ch/en/Activities-e...eralp-Lax.html
from Winterluecke to Hasliberg Reuti http://www.haslital.ch/en/page.cfm/W...chlitteln/2559
from Petit Mont Bonvin to Aminona (Crans-Montana) http://snow.crans-montana-aminona.com/sledding/
from Belalp to Blatten http://www.valais.ch/en/Activities-e...bogganing.html
from Savoleyeres to La Tzoumaz (Verbier) http://www.verbier.ch/en/discover/wi.../1667-sledging
from Alp Foppa to Flims http://www.bellaval-laax.ch/index.ph...inter/sledging

Most places have natural open air skating rinks, snow shoe treks, nordic skiing slopes and indoor swimming pools (some of them with panoramic views to the Alps).

Crans-Montana and Flims are linked by frequent services to the regional capitals Sion resp Chur (last trains resp buses back from Sion or Sierre around 10pm and from Chur around 11pm). It's therefore mega easy to visit the churches, museums, etc, of these towns.
http://siontourisme.ch/index.php/en http://www.myswitzerland.com/en/sier...-environs.html
http://www.myswitzerland.com/en/martigny.html
http://www.churtourismus.ch/?&L=4
http://www.raetischesmuseum.gr.ch/Th...um.1671.0.html
The last departure from the small medieval town (and railway hub) Brig to Riederalp is at 22.50 (handy for day trips to places like Berne, Lake Maggiore (usually in flowers late February/March) or even Milan).
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Old Apr 11th, 2013, 08:01 AM
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You don;t ski or you don;t do any winter sports? There is a lot more than skiing - but IMHO - I have not seen anything that isn;t really expensive in Switz in the past 10 years.

Have you considered the German or Austrian alps instead?
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Old Apr 11th, 2013, 09:43 AM
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I've been to the Upper (around St. Moritz) and Lower Engadine (Scuol) many times in winter and don't ski all the time. My parents who came along a couple of times do not ski much either. All of us enjoyed the vacations tremenduously.

There are endless activities in the Upper Engadine beside skiing. Sledding, ice-skating, winter hiking, horse-drawn carriage rides, cross-country skiing (ok, some kind of skiing ), all sorts of winter sports watching, excursions by train and bus, museums, churches and so on.

The Lower Engadine is not as busy but you can do most of these things there, too. It's quieter, also a little less expensive. Btw, if you rent an apartment and don't dine out much for dinner (lunch specials available in many places) this trip won't cost an arm and a leg. For public transportation look into the Graubünden Pass.

I.
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Old Apr 11th, 2013, 01:02 PM
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Wow neckervd, that's quite a list! I've never heard of sledging but it looks like scary fun. You mentioned these as sunniest places: Crans-Montana, Riederalp-Bettmeralp, St Luc-Chandolin (Val d'Anniviers), Verbier, Engiadina Ota (St. Moritz, Silvaplana, Segl Baselgia, Maloja), Flims, Hasliberg. Are they within traveling (day trips) of one another by public transport?

nytraveler - Yes, I would do other winter activities. Have you gone in the winter?

With Ingo's input as well, it seems like Upper Engadine might be the best place to visit. (And, we've never been there.)
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Old Apr 12th, 2013, 01:29 AM
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I suppose you checked that Engiadina Ota and Upper Engadine is the same (name in the local Ladin language resp English translation).

" Are they within traveling (day trips) of one another by public transport?"
Frankly, I don't understand the question, but in order to give an answer;
Crans-Montana, Val'Anniviers, Verbier and Riederalp are all in the same area, about 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hrs from each other by public transport. Hasliberg is 1 to 2 hrs further away whereas Flims and Upper Engadine are at the other (Eastern) end of Switzerland.

May be youo will have a look at a map.
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Old Apr 12th, 2013, 05:49 AM
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neck - I think you did understand my question as you answered it well. I have looked at a map but it doesn't tell the whole story about transport and hoped someone who knew could give me at lest a heads up.

I have looked at various hotels in the Upper Engadine area and the prices are WOW!!! Then I looked at Innsbruck hoping it would be better (as per another Fodorite's suggestion). Didn't get to the hotels but the air flight fee in Jan. is $1300-$1400 (from JFK). Yow.

Perhaps I need to rethink this whole thing.
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Old Apr 12th, 2013, 08:05 AM
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Check this hotel: www.engadinerhof.ch in Pontresina.
Have stayed there and liked it a lot - moderate prices, check the "magic prices" in particular (one week arrangements incl. breakfast, dinner and public transportation)

I.
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Old Apr 13th, 2013, 06:11 AM
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Sorry, I forgot to give you the links to the timetable and to the map with all train and bus stops:

http://fahrplan.sbb.ch/bin/query.exe/en
http://www.mapplus.ch/?x=579877&y=22...ng_line&size=1

http://www.myswitzerland.com/en/home.html
http://www.swisstravelsystem.ch/en/
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Old Apr 13th, 2013, 07:23 AM
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Ingo - Thanks for the hotel information. Looks good.
Thanks neck for your continued information.

Know of anywhere to fly into that is closer than Zurich? I see it's almost 4 hours by train.
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Old Apr 13th, 2013, 09:10 AM
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http://www.engadinexpress.ch/deutsch/01_01_fahrplan.asp
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Old Apr 14th, 2013, 05:41 AM
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Thanks again.

What do you think of the Zermatt area in winter?
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Old Apr 14th, 2013, 07:44 AM
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Zermatt is not ideal for non-skiers. At least not for longer than two or three days.
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Old Apr 15th, 2013, 02:20 AM
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Zermatt HAS winter hiking trails. But I agree with Ingo. Therefore I didn't mention it in my first post.
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Old Apr 15th, 2013, 05:26 AM
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Just checked out Innsbruck, Austria. Seems it's only about 1 1/2 hours from Munich by train. Seems easier to fly into Munich and go there than almost 4 hours from Zurich to Engadine.

What are your thoughts on that area?
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Old Apr 15th, 2013, 05:55 AM
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The Upper Engadine is a scenic mountain valley at an altitude of about 1800 metres, with 4 lakes (1 of them with boat service), tons of mountain hiking trails and cabeways to glaciers, etc.

Innsbruck is a town with about 130.000 inhabitants at about 570 metres above sea level, 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hrs by train from Munich airport (according to the train). Innsbruck has an own airport and is best reached by plane via Vienna.
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Old Apr 15th, 2013, 09:33 AM
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Hi kenav,

In your original post, you assume that Gstaad is out because of cost, but I wouldn't say that's necessarily so. I spent 11 nights at the 4-star Gstaaderhof in August, and it was reasonable; I decided to take half board, and it was a steal. The hotel sits just around the corner from the pedestrian zone.

Another option would be the 3-star Posthotel Rössli, which sits right on the main pedestrian street. It's also pretty reasonable, with a standard double at 260 chf per night in the winter.

Gstaad is only 2h45 from the Geneva airport, and it has lovely hiking along the valleys to other nearby towns. And of course you can make excursions to Lake Thun, Gruyeres, the chocolate factory at Broc, and to Chillon and Montreux on Lake Geneva.

I hope you settle on a good plan!

s
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