shortest way to get to zermatt?
Mar 8th, 2007, 12:01 PM
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shortest way to get to zermatt?
Hi everyone,
My husband and I have planned to go to switzerland for a week next month and we would love to know the shortest way to get to zermatt? We will be going to zurich, lugano and Lucerne and perhaps interlaken. While doing a search I read a thread that said you can go to Zermatt from locarno so we were planning on doing that. Would that be a scenic train ride? Can we drive to zermatt and park at tasch in winter? How safe (and difficult) with that drive be considering the snow? My husband has never driven in mountains.
My husband and I have planned to go to switzerland for a week next month and we would love to know the shortest way to get to zermatt? We will be going to zurich, lugano and Lucerne and perhaps interlaken. While doing a search I read a thread that said you can go to Zermatt from locarno so we were planning on doing that. Would that be a scenic train ride? Can we drive to zermatt and park at tasch in winter? How safe (and difficult) with that drive be considering the snow? My husband has never driven in mountains.
Mar 8th, 2007, 12:09 PM
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Hi browning,
You can find all the train schedules at www.rail.ch, where you can find the details of the Locarno-Zermatt trip.
s
You can find all the train schedules at www.rail.ch, where you can find the details of the Locarno-Zermatt trip.
s
Mar 8th, 2007, 12:23 PM
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This would best be done by train, not by driving. From Locarno to Domodossola you take the very scenic Centovalli railway:
http://www.centovalli.ch/
Google Centovalli railway for more photos and a description of the journey.
Then you change to a regular-gauge train to Brig, and change again there for a train to Zermatt. Schedules are on the link that Swandav2000 gave you.
http://www.centovalli.ch/
Google Centovalli railway for more photos and a description of the journey.
Then you change to a regular-gauge train to Brig, and change again there for a train to Zermatt. Schedules are on the link that Swandav2000 gave you.
Mar 8th, 2007, 05:18 PM
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As noted above, you can do any of those routes by train, there is no particular reason to drive. You can get train info at rail.ch. Much of the Lugano route is quite pretty, and the little train up from Brig to Zermatt is very charming. If you go from Interlaken, you will go via the Lötschberg tunnel, which is also interesting. (You can also take a car train through this tunnel if you drive from Interlaken or Zurich.) If you go via Zurich by train, this ride is also quite scenic. Trains are one of the pleasures of travel in Switzerland, IMO. Both of you would get to enjoy the scenery.
You could do all this by car if you wanted as well. The drives are not difficult, as in winter they are all going to be along valley floors or through tunnels or very low mountain passes. You would not be taking any high passes as they are closed in winter. Swiss roads are very well kept in winter, and your rental car would have snow tires or all-weather tires. Swiss highways are just as boring as driving on highways anywhere, and IMO the signage is awful, exits aren’t numbered and you need a good road map to really find your way around. The only reason to have a car in Switzerland would be in the summer when the high mountain passes are open, as they are quite fun to drive, very scenic and trains don’t go up there; but you won’t have that opportunity in April.
For Zermatt, you can park in Tasch. If you aren’t going on a holiday week, parking would be available without the need for a reservation. However, to pay for parking AND a rental car, and gas for a car (US$7 a gallon) that is then going to sit in the lot does seem like a waste; your message does not say how may days you are going to be in Zermatt. If only overnight, then perhaps the expense is not so bad.
You could do all this by car if you wanted as well. The drives are not difficult, as in winter they are all going to be along valley floors or through tunnels or very low mountain passes. You would not be taking any high passes as they are closed in winter. Swiss roads are very well kept in winter, and your rental car would have snow tires or all-weather tires. Swiss highways are just as boring as driving on highways anywhere, and IMO the signage is awful, exits aren’t numbered and you need a good road map to really find your way around. The only reason to have a car in Switzerland would be in the summer when the high mountain passes are open, as they are quite fun to drive, very scenic and trains don’t go up there; but you won’t have that opportunity in April.
For Zermatt, you can park in Tasch. If you aren’t going on a holiday week, parking would be available without the need for a reservation. However, to pay for parking AND a rental car, and gas for a car (US$7 a gallon) that is then going to sit in the lot does seem like a waste; your message does not say how may days you are going to be in Zermatt. If only overnight, then perhaps the expense is not so bad.
