DH and I were thinking of taking a trip to Switzerland on President's weekend (long weekend which coincides with Valentine's day) for a bit of skiing and sightseeing.

My questions are the following:

1. We've only been skiing a handful of times, so we are not very good, but the idea sounds like great fun to us. We've been told that unless we are good, we should not do it.

2. What is the best city to do our sightseeing and possible skiing?

3. Any relatively inexpensive hotel suggestions?

Thanks for all your help!

Beth

In terms of abilities and the difficulties of the runs it all depends on which resort you pick. If you aren't absolutely fearless or at relatively experienced some of those vistas at the TOP of the runs can be absolutely terrifying..but I wouldn't be deterred by that or any well-meaning friends....a lot of that fear is psychological and overcome by experience. I am sure others can comment on the run difficulties for specific resorts.
What I would advise you to do is BOOK ASAP when you decide. I was looking for space in Zermatt two months ago for next April and it was difficult to find things.

Don't worry. People in Europe aren't born expert skiers either but have to learn skiing somewhere and that includes Switzerland. You will find everything from experts to absolute beginners.

I live in Switzerland and am an intermediate skier. As noted above, you will find trails at all levels of ability. In some respects skiing here is easier than the US (at least the East Coast) as there is very little ice, so you don't have that obstacle to overcome. I find the trails here to be wider than in the US and therefore easier to negotiate. You will probably find trials to be longer than you are used to in the US, which some people may find harder as it is more tiring.

Before recommending places in particular, I would note that with the falling US Dollar, skiing in Europe is not the bargain it used to be. On top of that Switzerland is very expensive and the Swiss Franc is very strong. Many Swiss people go Austria to ski. In your case, you may find it cheaper to stay in the US and go West to Colorado, New Mexico, Idaho, etc. In the near term (3 months or so) I would expect the Dollar to fall further, so hotel and restaurant prices now will be even more expensive. Lift tickets are about the same price as the East Coast of the US, but the ski areas are generally much larger here.

For beginner skiers, I would recommend the following:

Davos, Switzerland
Zermatt, Swizterland (particularly the Gornegrat area)
St Moritz, Swizterland
Gstaad, Swizterland
Saalbach, Austria
St Anton, Austria (known for its après ski activities)
Innsbruck, Austria

Also note that most ski areas are in small towns and village where there is little to do beyond skiing, eating out and a little (expensive) shopping. There are no "cities" to speak of (although St Moritz is a good-size town). If you are not sure you want to ski your entire vacation, you might want to do a trip to Salzburg, Austria (a charming city with lots to see and do) and include a 2 or 3 day ski trip as part of that. Other cites to consider are Vienna, Zurich (good skiing within 1 hour), Vienna, Munich and possibly Milan. A tourist town like Lucerne Switzerland might also be a good choice, as you can ski in the area and also tour the town.

There is a website called goski.com that has a chat room where you could post your question. Go to http://www.goski.com/talk/chat

Hi BethGL,

I can understand a bit of intimidation when thinking about skiing the Alps, but as Hans said, there are all skill-levels all over Switzerland. I actually learned to ski in Germany when I was WELL past my prime . . . I've enjoyed skiing in Switzerland four times, and I'm just a terrible, terminal intermediate.

My advice is to pay for group ski lessons. You'll be assigned to a group by skill level after the instructors see you slide, skid, or ski a short distance. Then your instructor will keep your group only on hills that you can manage and enjoy! Your instructor will take you ALL OVER the mountains, seeing lots of the trails without having to study and memorize the ski trail maps so you don't get lost or wind up on an expert slope. And that's an invaluable help, as Swiss ski areas tend to cover several mountains and villages! All of the towns I've skiied in offer English-language instruction in every group (all instructors and many other skiiers speak English even if your group is mostly German or French . . . ).

You can find the best deals if you buy a ski package from one of the town's tourist offices (www.grindelwald.ch, www.wengen.ch, etc). The packages usually include half board and a ski pass, so you'd only have to add on your lessons.

Finally, I'd recommend you check out Grindelwald for your destination. I think Zermatt is too cold and has too many expert slopes. Wengen is a picturesque town, but it's a bit harder to get to the nice ski hills from there. Muerren is also a beautiful, stunning town, but it's even more remote from the nice (gentle) ski trails. Grindelwald, while larger and more touristed, has immediate access to the "First" ski area that is heaven for poor intermediates like me.

What kind of sightseeing do you want to do? Where do you want to go? Interlaken would be a better transportation base, but it's about 30 minutes from the mountain villages and then another 15-20 minutes to the slopes.

Let me know if I can help further.

s

Hi Beth (and hi S!),

First some general thoughts in response on the previous posts. Although I don't live in Switzerland I travelled (and skied) the country quite many times. Cicerone is right that the falling US Dollar will make your ski vacation not even a bargain. But please notice that the Swiss Franc is weaker than the Euro. I am happy about that fact, because that will save me some money (going to Switzerland next week for skiing). Comparing prices in Euro countries like Austria and Italy with Switzerland I noticed that the latter is not always more expensive.

I am surprised that Cicerone suggested only the well known (expensive) big resorts. Sure, you can ski there all levels, but they are famous for advanced to expert skiing and beginners are quite limited ? and the (expensive) ski pass is a waste of money.

S recommended a very good place (Grindelwald ? First). If you stay in Grindelwald you can easily do a day trip to Thun or Bern for sightseeing and shopping.

In case you would like to stay in a city (which I would not recommend) Lucerne should be your best choice. It is great for sightseeing and shopping, conveniently located to Zurich Airport, and there are a couple of nice small ? relatively inexpensive ? resorts with lots of easy slopes in the vicinity. To name a few Beckenried, Rigi, Dallenwil ? Wirzweli. These are mostly frequented by locals. A bigger resort near Lucerne is Engelberg, but the slopes there are quite challenging in the upper parts. You will certainly find some inexpensive lodging in Lucerne since it is low season.

My favourite resort is Scuol (www.scuol.ch) where I will be skiing next week. It is a village, very charming (obviously not for extensive sightseeing and shopping, but St. Moritz is only an hour by train away). It offers slopes for all levels, excellent for beginners, too. The big advantage is the public spa ? one of the best I know.

First you should decide on city/mountain village, then give us an idea what "inexpensive hotel" means to you.

Ingo

BethGL, please forgive this digression --


aaahhhhh Ingo I can't see the monitor cause I'm GREEN with envy! Have a lovely time!

s

Thanks everyone for the great insight and ideas. We only just came up with this idea, so thanks for letting me know that we should act now if this is something we are serious about.

I will post in a couple of days with an itinerary or to let you know if we will be able to make it.

Keep the great ideas coming!

Beth