Hi, we are travelling with a 16 month old and will arrive in London Heathrow at 6 am on Boxing Day and wish to fly straight to either Geneva or Zurich. We would then need to fly to Bournemouth from Geneva on New Year's Day.My question is: where would you recommend for us to see snow, is child-friendly and is not too far from our departing airport, Geneva? We really do not fancy moving around too much and would prefer to settle in one place. This is our first time travelling to Switzerland and we are completely overwhelmed by so many beautiful choices! Do we go to Zermatt to see the Matterhorn, or explore Interlaken or stay around Geneva so we wldn't need to rush to catch our early flight to Bournemouth? Lastly could you also recommend any cheap flights out of Heathrow? Many thanks in advance, every one!

Hi MayeBaye,

I'm surprised you haven't gotten any replies yet.

Anyway, yes, I think Zermatt would be a good choice for you. You're guaranteed to have snow, and it's a small and pleasant village.

I think that Interlaken would be too far for you to go (about three hours), and then the sweet mountain villages are a further 40 minutes on.

Another option would be the very nice villages at the place where the German Berner Oberland meets the French Pays d'Enhaut, the villages of Gstaad, Saanen, or Chateau d'Oex. These will be about 2h45 from Geneva airport.

A further option might be a place like Leysin, which is under two hours from the airport.

Let us know if you'd like more information on any of these --

Rail schedules are at www.rail.ch.

Have fun!

s

Hi swandav2000! Many thanks for the advice!I'll do more research on the places you mentioned. Leysin definitely sounds tempting because of the proximity to Geneva. If I have more time in Switzerland, I may venture further away, but as I have only 5 days, I really do not want to waste it travelling around. Plus, with a baby and 2 huge suitcases, it makes it even more difficult. Thanks again and I will definitely post again if I need yr advice.

You are going at the absoultely highest season of all and may find that hotels are already booked, or are requring 7-10 night stays. You may of course luck out now and get accomdation based on cancelletioans made by other people in the last few days as payment generally needs to be made 30 days out. You need to nail down accomdation ASAP.

I actually would say that if you are flying into Geneva you should go to France and the French Alps as they are going to be much closer and easdier for Geneva airport. the Mt Blanc area in the French Alps is only 2 hours and is really beautiful. Chamonix and Courmeyer are nice towns and very family friendly. You can also a bus to the area from Geneva airport, take a look at http://info.chamonix.com/ACCES/ChxGvaEn.php. Trains take a long time, so either a bus or a car is the best way. For some info go to http://www.sat-montblanc.com/ or for a mini bus private transfer, try http://www.chamonixshuttles.com.Mt Blanc is very awesome and really blows most Swiss Alps away, although most people can't admit that on this board. . . .

Otherwise the Leysin or Chateau d’Ouex reccos above are good, as they are probably the closest in to the airport. Zermatt is very nice, but its 4 hours by train from Geneva airport. You may luck out and get an afternoon or evening flight out, but this still means a whole day traveling.

If you want to go to the Interlaken area you shoul think about flying into Zurich, but still you are 3.5 hours or so by train.

Website for Geneva Airport is http://www.gva.ch/en/

Bear in mind that trains are bound to be very crowded during this period. Going first class and reserving seats would be recommended.

For hotels, try Fodors, above, also try

karenbrown.com
relaischateaux.com
romantikhotels.ch
summithotels.com
www.swisshotels.ch
alpineclassics.ch
frommers.com
tripadivsor.com (this has ratings by people who have stayed and is very useful)
lhw.com
slh.com

Also you might want to self-cater, try vrbo.com

Thanks for the very detailed advice, Cicerone. And you are right - I'm having difficulties finding accomodation in Zermatt as well as connecting flights from Heathrow to Geneva. I need to start looking at flying to Zurich instaed now. Where would you recommend we go if we do fly into Zurich? How is Lucerne? would we see snow there?

You won’t have snow in Lucerne because it is not high enough, but will see it in the mountains and can make day trips to Mt. Pilatus and Mt. Titlus to get into the snow (run searches). For that short a trip, it may make sense to stay there esp with a child and you may find hotels available as it is not a ski resort. I am not a huge fan of the place, but it does have the cute wooden bridge, the lion monument and a few other things. Ferries run on a somewhat abbreviated schedule, albeit you have to sit indoors. It’s only an hour by train from Zurich airport so is convenient as well. There may be sledding in the vicinity, this is something your hotel would be able to tell you, you could probably find it in the Mt Pilatus and Mt Titlus area if you went up for the day.

A recent poster on this board said she was having trouble finding any accommodation for January but did find a hotel in Bad Ragaz, which is another thought. This is in a broad and lovely valley in the Alps on the way to St Mortiz, its about 1.5 hours from Zurich. It’s part of “Heidil land”, i.e. near to where the story is set. You would most likely find snow in the town itself due to its elevation. There is cross country skiing and skating, and you can get to areas for downhill skiing and sledding (including the Bergun sled run, see below on that) and take scenic train rides from here, i.e. to St Moritz which is a beautiful ride. The area is known for its thermal baths (“bad” means “bath” in German) and is a bit of health retreat/resort in addition to a winter and summer resort; however as it is not actually at the base of any mountains like Zermatt, etc it may not get as full at Christmas. One hotels which I can recco is the Grand Hotel Quellenhof (http://www.resortragaz.ch) which is a very nice spa hotel, but I know there are others in town if that is not what you are looking for.
Try the other sites I listed above and see if they have any hotels.

You might also consider staying in Zurich, which has an excellent zoo, some pubic indoor pools (I am sure there are some in Lucerne I just don’t know where, most every Swiss town has at least one), many excellent museums and restaurants and you could also get out for day trips to mountains ski towns for sledding and walking. Places like Amden in the Alps are less than an hour away; the “Heidi land” area of Appenzell are about an hour as well. You could also take scenic train rides, like the absolutely gorgeous ride to St Moritz. There is sledding nearby, there is also a wonderful sled run in the Bergun valley on the way to St Mortiz. You should not have trouble finding hotels in Zurich during that time. You won’t find any snow in Zurich, it falls and then melts typically, but the snowfall is pretty when it does come down. The city is beautifully decorated and lit for Christmas. I have been there for New Years and there is generally a huge well-organized and non-drunken street party going on in the old town that I would not hesitate to bring a child to; mulled wine, music and fireworks. A lot of fun.

I've just been offered a double room at Hotel Hostatt in Engelberg. It's website is non-English, but there is a small transaltion on another accomodation website that says it is abt 2 km from the centre. What are your thoughts on Engelberg?

Since you want snow and mountains: great. Engelberg is a well known winter resort. Book soon!

Agree. Take the hotel and enjoy Engelberg.

Events in Engelberg:
26.12. Icedisco im Sporting Park from 19.00 o'clock
27./28.12. FIS Continentalcup Skispringen

29.12. Schweiz auf Eis

29.12. Candle Light Dinner on Titlis
30.12. Gospelnight in Engelberg
31.12. Diverse Silvesterparties
31.12. / 01.01. Fireworks in Kurpark um 00.15 Uhr

Januar 07
01.01. Familien Eisdisco im Sporting Park ab 14.00 Uh

That is great you could get into Engelberg; its a very charming ski town but there is other as well like sledding, taking cable cars up for views, and there is a monastery you can vist. YOu will no doubt have a good bit of snow in town. You should also be able to do sleigh rides. I think its a great choice. I don't know the hotel, but I would not worry about the distance from the train station, the town is small. Most hotels in ski towns will send someone to collect you and your luggage.

Thank you all for yr input!

Hi, I'm back for more help! Is Zurich HB train station situated in the airport or do we need to take a taxi/shuttle to it? I will have abt 3 large bags, so am interested in knowing more abt the luggage delivery which the train service offers. Where do I check in the luggages, at the airport or the train station? Is there a fee for this service? How fast will the bags arrive in Engelberg or when we depart, the Zurich airport/train station? Lastly, do I need to get a special travel pass if all we would be doing is travelling from Zurich to Engelberg and back, daily cable car rides and possibly a day trip to Lucerne? Thanks in advance!

Hi MayeBaye,

Happy to hear from you again!

Hope I can answer some of your questions.

There is a HB station in Zurich, which is the main station. But there is *another* station at the airport, called simply Zurich airport. It's located in the basement of the airport. Just enter "Zurich airport" at www.rail.ch to see your schedule from there.

There are two ways to check your luggage. The first way is from your US airport to Switzerland, but I see that you're first going to London. I don't know how it works from London -- but you can call the Raileurope folks to ask. Anyway, they sell the customs documents and a clear green plastic tag. You fill in the document, put them in the tags, and put the tags on your bags. When the bags arrive at the Zurich airport, the luggage handlers just move the cases to the train station, and the bags are on their way! This costs around $10 or $15 per bag (I forget the exact price). You can find it at www.raileurope.com, then go to the Switzerland pass pages.

The second way to send your bags is right from the Zurich airport to your destination. When you arrive in Zurich, go to the train station in the basement and head to the luggage counter. Just give them the bags, show them your rail ticket, and they'll send the bags on their way. It costs 10 chf per bag for 48-hour service or 20 chf for one-day service.

I doubt that a rail pass will be economical for you as you're just going to Engelberg. But you can find out for sure by getting all the fares for your trips at www.rail.ch, and then compare the sum to a railpass. Remember that with the "Saver" passes, two people traveling together get a 15% discount.

Good luck!

s

1) There is a Zürich Airport train station and the Zürich Hauptbahnhof. They are not the same. The airport train station is located in the basement of the airport. Follow the signs.

2) You can take your suitcases with you on the train. If you are not in rush hour traffic, you should find room on the train for your suitcases. Sometimes you can put suitcases above your seats, sometimes next to your seats, sometimes there is space for luggage as you enter your compartment and sometimes you have to wait in the "entry way" with your luggage. It just depends.

3. There are passes.

4. An example of a timetable for your journey from Zürich airport trainstation to Engelberg would be:

Zürich Flughafen dep 09:13
Zürich HB arr 09:23
Zürich HB dep 09:35
Luzern arr 10:25
Luzern dep 10:41
Engelberg arr 11:42

Total time: 2.29 minutes.
Change trains: twice

See sbb.ch to put in your details. You will also see the platform (gleis) that you will need to take.

Gosh, you guys are fast! It's back to the research board again for me...Thanks much!

hello! OK, flights to Zurich either too expensive or involves us hanging around Heathrow for abt 11 hrs! Have found a good rate with BA to Basel instead. Have done my investigation and it takes abt 2.5 hrs from Basel to Engelberg, quite similar to Zurich-Engleberg. Now that that's settled, pls can you advise how we can get from the Basel Europort to the train station? And do they forward our luggage too? Shd I get first class tkts and make the necessary reservations? Getting excited now that my flights are settled and we have a hotel (Edelweiss) all booked as well. Thanks very much again!

> Now that that's settled, pls can you advise how we can get from the Basel Europort to the train station?

There is the bus No. 50 departing every 10-15 min from the airport to the SBB station.

>And do they forward our luggage too?

Don't know (and don't think so), but the bus has a luggage trailer. The driver puts your luggage into the trailer and takes it out for you.

>Shd I get first class tkts and make the necessary reservations?

No and no.
1st class is a big waste of money in my eyes, and if you do reserve anything on the train (it is possible between Basel and Lucerne) you will be the only one on the whole train to do so.
In general, reserving seats in Swiss trains is about as usual as reserving seats on the London tube