WhitHawaii

My wife and I have a ski trip scheduled for Switzerland between January 9-15. We are novice skiers and prefer great skiing with budget accommodations. We'd like to have the alpine feel, too, since it's our first trip skiing outside the U.S.

Saas-Fee vs. Zermatt? Any others? Pro's and Con's of each. Of course, we'd appreciate hotel recommendations, too. Thanks.

Cicerone

There are many excellent and beautiful ski areas in Switzerland. Saas Fee and Zermatt are certaintly two good choices. January is a good month, it traditionally is the coldest month for skiing, so bring lots of layers and warm clothing. I have skied both Saas Fee and Zermatt several times, for beginners I give a slight edge to Zermatt but really both are fine. Zermatt also will get a bit more sun as it faces south and west and is in a wider more open valley and position. Zermatt has the added advantage in that you can ski over to Italy for a day, and there is some very good skiing over there, plus the cable car rides and run over give great views and it is fun to say "lets ski to Italy today. . ." Zermatt gets more tourists and more day tripper skiers, while Saas Fee gets more Swiss people and more serious skiers (just my impression). Zermatt of course has the wow of the Matterhorn looming over you from everywhere, but the Saas Fee valley is lovely and has some impressive Alps of its own, including the Dom which is the highest mountain entirely within Switzerland.. The town of Saas Fee is car-free (like Zermatt) and is much smaller, a bit more charming and is more walkable and much less crowded than Zermatt. It does not get the day trippers that Zermatt does. It has some good restaurants. It is a bit easier to get to and from the lifts in Saas Fee as the town is much smaller, there is a better chance of being able to ski back to or close to your hotel (although being able to ski out from your hotel to a lift is hard to find). There is some good cross country down in the valley. Both Zermatt and Saas Fee have good winter walking trails.

If you stay in Saas Fee, you can take a day off from skiing and make a trip over to Zermatt quite easily, it is in the next vally over and makes a nice day trip. (If you are really adventurous and take a guide, you can also ski over to Zermatt, but this not really for novices .. . . )

I assume you are flying into and out of Geneva. If that is not the case, let me know, as if you are going into Zuirch you could consider places in western Swizterland like St Moritz/Celerena, Arosa, Davos and Klosters.

I don't have any budget hotel reccos for Saas Fee (and it is hard to say what "budget" means in Switzeraland, it's pretty expensive), try clicking "Hotels" then "Switzerland" then "Valais" above and searching, also try Frommers.com Some for Zermatt are below:

The Romantik Hotel Julen in town in Zermatt is a good choice, they have an indoor pool and spa area and very charming Swiss-style rooms. Not exactly budget, but good value. Go to www.zermatt.ch/julen

The Hotel Alpina is a 2 star. I have not stayed here, but it gets good reccos on this site, take a look at http://www.alpina-zermatt.ch

If you want real ski-in and ski-out in Zermatt, then you need to stay up on the Gornegrat portion of the mountain, there are only 3 hotels, one is a 5 star, the other two are:

Riffleberg, 3/4 star, have not been in the rooms, but lobby and restaurants are charming in Swiss style. Location is mid-way up the Gornegrat just below the Riffleberg station. http://www.matterhorn-group.ch. Great Matterhorn views. This group has other hotels in the town of Zermatt.

Klum Gornegrat. 2/3 stars, great location at the very top of the Gornegrat with stunning views. I have not seen the rooms, but the restaurants and public areas are nice. Run by the same group which operates the Riffelberg hotel.

I had friends who came to visit me 2 years ago when I was living in Zurich and they did a package deal with a US ski tour operator, and and they got a very good deal on airfare and hotel (the Riffleberg a wonderfaul 5 star in Zermatt) that was quite reasaonble. I picked the hotel, and then they worked with the travel agent to get the airfare and hotel package. They got a better hotel rate than I could have gotten just going through the hotel. You might try contacting ski tour operators. They did not have to join a big tour, just 3 of them arranged the trip and met me in Geneva.

Cicerone

Sorry, December is actually the coldest month, but January can be pretty cold too....

tom22

Saas Fee would be my first choice, as the slopes back to the village are more interesting than in Zermatt.

Saas Fee and Zermatt offer a white range of different accommodations. I recommend apartments for budget reasons. Try to find an apartment close to the base of the gondola (part of the village is called: Chalmattu). You can also stay in Saas Grund, if you do have a problem with a daily bus drive.

www.saas-fee.ch/en/reservations.cfm

Voyager2006

Whatever you do and wherever you decide to stay, book it soon....I know from very personal experience both these locations can fill very quickly.

For Zermatt you can also use www.zermatt.com

WhitHawaii

Thanks for the inside scoop. Our complete trip begins in Paris Jan 1 - 6th. Our initial plan is to take the TGV to Geneva and trains on from there arriving in Swizterland on Saturday, Jan 7. We fly out of Zurich on Jan 14th via Delta's only non-stop back to Atlanta. Does this change your thoughts on the best location for skiing and alpine village feel?

Cicerone

It doesn't really change my view, as from Paris IMO you are better off staying on the western side of Switzerland, as getting over to the eastern end will make a long trip from Paris even longer. For example, to get to Davos from Paris would take 9 hours and require 4 changes, versus about 7.5 to get to Saas Fee or Zermatt (2 changes). The only possible thought is going to Gstaad which is kind of in the middle (6 hours, 2 changes). Gstaad has a very charming and very Swiss feeling down town, but personally I like the skiing at Zermatt or Saas Fee better and both towns are very nice as well, and from what I understand, both are better for novices than Gstaad. Gstaad is also pretty pricey for hotels, but you might do a little searching around just to satisfy yourself.

From Zermatt or Saas Fee to Zurich is just under 5 hours so it only adds about an hour versus going back to Geneva, not too bad.

TGV is a lot of fun, by the way. Take the train to Lausanne (not Geneva) which is the fastest, and then switch for a train to either Visp or Brig for Zermatt or Brig for Saas Fee. If you want to go to Saas Fee, you have to get a bus from Brig, as there is no train station in Saas Fee. Go to rail.ch for schedules.

I see that Delta's flight departs at 10 am, which means you will have to overnight in Zurich. If you have had enough skiing, you could take a train back early Friday or late Thursday and see something of the city. If you want to stay late in the mountains, then take a late train and stay near the airport or a train station in Zurich so you can hop on the train in the morning. If you have Marriott, Hyatt or Sheraton points, consider using them as Zurich hotels are pricey, although on a Friday night you might get some deals at those hotels. I can recco some hotels if you give me a budget range.

Sounds like a great trip you have planned.

jrretired

this question is for Cicerone. Tell me about the ski trip to Italy from Zermatt. We have visited Zermatt several times and I have always wanted to know the particulars about going over the top to Cervina. Is a guide necessary? How difficult is the terrain? Could a 65+ year old intermediate skier handle the trip? Any other info would help. You can email me at [email protected]. Sorry to invade your thread, WhitHawaii, but its the only way I know to reach Cicerone.

jrretired

je

I don't think you'll have any problem going over to Italy. That area of the mountain in Switzerland and Italy is wide open and suited to intermediate skiing. I believe you might need a passport - at least that was the situation a few years ago although it may have changes with the EU now.

Cicerone

Skiing over the Italian side is quite easy, an intermediate could do it with no problem IMO. You take a series of cable cars up to the top and ski one longish trail down over to the Italian side, not a hard trail at all. The first time I did it was after 3 days back on skis after 10 years of not skiing at all. The trails on the Italian side are very good, in some ways better than Zermatt, esp for intermediates. The only drawback IMO with skiing is the trip back, at the end of the day when you are tired, it is a long ski down (basically down the base of the Matterhorn) and while not technically difficult, it is windblown and can be icy. It is no reason not to ski Cerivina, but just something to keep a little reserve of strength for at the end of the day.

I would start as early as possible (i.e. be at the lifts when the open) so that you can head back to Zermatt maybe before the majority of the other tired skiers are heading back.

The bottom portion of the trail into Zermatt can be quite skied off, but you have this issue if you are skiing that part of Zermatt anyway.

A great restaurant in Cervinia is Café Etoile. It is on the slopes just up from the Plan Maison lift. I could not find a phone number, but your hotel probably can. I would definitely recommend making a lunch reservation (your hotel can call), as it gets very crowded. They have a large outdoor seating area. On a sunny day there is nothing better than sitting out and having some of their great soup and pasta.

I always bring my passport but have never been asked to show it, no border guards even appear to be around, just lift attendants. So if you want to sneak into Switzerland, this would be the way to do it. . . .