We would like some advice on a ski trip to Switzerland. We are traveling the first week of March 2003. We are thinking about the Club Med in St. Moritz. One of us is an expert skier and one is an beginner/ intermediate. Can anyone make a recommendation? Also, is it better to fly into Zurich or Milan? Thanks for the information.

Hello Kimberly!<BR><BR>Sorry, I’ve neither skid St. Moritz nor taken a Club Med vacation. But at least one regular poster here prefers the Engadin over all areas of Switzerland, so your destination seems to be a safe bet! You can do a text search here on “Endadin” or “St Mortiz” to see all of the reports.<BR><BR>I do have some information about the airports though. If you’re taking a train, fly into Zurich. The train from Milan to St. Moritz will take anywhere from 4.04 hours with three changes to 5.33 hours with one change -- and this doesn’t include the connection needed to get from the airport to the train station. The train from Zurich airport to St. Moritz will take 4.12 hours with two changes. Check out the schedules at www.rail.ch (for the Zurich airport connection, be sure to enter “Zurich airport” as your origin to distinguish from the main station there).<BR><BR>If you’re driving, it’s really a toss-up (I’m not familiar with these roads, so I can’t comment on ease of driving or scenery). According to www.mappy.com, the drive from Milan to St. Moritz is 168 km and will take 2.17 hours. The drive from Zurich to St. Moritz is 203 km and will take 2.18 hours. If you go by Zurich, you’ll need 40 CHF for the highway sticker.<BR><BR>From what I’ve read from other posters, renting a car in Italy will be very expensive. With the ease and convenience of trains, I’d suggest you fly into Zurich and take the trains. You can check your big ski bags from your US airport to St. Moritz for a fee of about $15 per bag, leaving you free to enjoy the scenery and your first Swiss picnic lunch on the train!<BR><BR>Have a great trip!<BR><BR>s<BR>

Hi Kimberly,<BR><BR>I use to go to St. Moritz (area) at least once every year for skiing. I guess I am the regular poster mentioned in s’ post J<BR><BR>Of course St. Moritz and its surrounding offers great opportunities for a winter holiday. The slopes are fantastic. This year in the first half of February the Alpine Ski World Championships take place there. The skiing area above St. Moritz – Corviglia – offers good slopes for beginners as well as for experts. Beginners should use the easy slopes around the top station of the Corviglia funicular (2488 m). But you said beginner/intermediate, so I am assuming you will be able to ski the whole area after one or two days. From every top station of a lift you will find an intermediate slope down, sometimes beside a slope for experts. These for experts are e.g. to find at Fuorcla Grischa and Trais Fluors.<BR><BR>Luckily the skiing region does not only consist of the Corviglia area. One of my favourite mountains is Piz Corvatsch above Silvaplana-Surlej. This mountain is IMO more difficult than the Corviglia area. I would not recommend it for a beginner. But maybe the beginner can spend an hour or two on the sunny terrace at the middle station of the cable car (with great pizza and a glass of red wine) while the expert goes skiing … By the way, the Hahnensee-run down to St. Moritz is marked for experts (black), but I think it is doable for an advanced skiier. The Furtschellas region above Sils is connected by lift and slopes with the Corvatsch region, but IMO does not offer as great opportunities as the Corvatsch. On the other hand, it is less crowded and less windy.<BR><BR>Another fantastic region is Diavolezza/Lagalb, 20 km away from Pontresina toward the Bernina Pass, accessible by ski bus and Rhaetian railway. Lagalb is rather for experts, Diavolezza for intermediates.<BR><BR>By the way, beside the fantastic skiing, you should always have a look at the scenery!<BR><BR>Regarding Club Med, I have no experience with this, sorry. I spoke with someone a couple of years ago who liked it very much. But I personally prefer renting an apartment or smaller hotels with familiar atmosphere, or at least, if bigger, with charm. I don’t like crowds, fighting at the buffet for their croissants … and I dislike animated group activities. <BR><BR>Another reason against Club Med is IMO that the club is situated right in St. Moritz Bad (means spa), which consists of rather big apartment buildings/hotels – overbuilt in my eyes. You should better go to a small village nearby – preferably Sils, Celerina or Pontresina, which is livelier than the two before (in case you are looking for “action”).<BR><BR>You should definitely fly into Zurich. Milan has often problems with fog in winter and transportation from Zurich to St. Moritz is more convenient.<BR><BR>If you like to get more info, please contact me directly or post here.<BR><BR>Ingo<BR>

Thank you so much for the information. We will opt for the flight to Zurich and look into smaller hotels/inns. Would appreciate any suggestions.

Unfortunately you did not mention a price range. So I will suggest some mid price hotels. By the way, you will hardly fail with ANY hotel. Food is in general good, also if not mentioned. I am afraid many websites are only in German.<BR><BR>From personal experience I can recommend:<BR>Pontresina, Hotel Albris, a three star with familiar atmosphere, cosy, charming and with fantastic food. www.albris.ch <BR>St. Moritz, Hotel Waldhaus am See, a three star, right on the lake and only a few steps from the railway station, with great views. About a ten or fifteen minutes walk up to the city centre with shops, nightlife etc. www.waldhaus-am-see.ch <BR>St. Moritz, Hotel Languard Garni, a three star right in the middle of everything, but quiet location. Beside the famous five star hotel Kulm. Some of the rooms have gorgeous views of the lake and mountains. Garni means no own restaurant, only breakfast buffet is offered. But many good restaurants etc. around, no reason for starving!<BR>Silvaplana, Hotel La Staila, a three star in an old Engadin style house, very cosy and familiar. Good local food. Central, but relatively quiet location.<BR>Sils, Hotel Villa Mira Margna, a three star up on a little hill, quiet with stunning views, surrounded by pure nature. www.villamiramargna.ch <BR><BR>Other hotels, which I have not stayed at, but heard they would be very good:<BR>Pontresina, La Collina, a four star with a three star dependency called Soldanella, quiet, with very good food (Thai).<BR>Celerina, Hotel Misani, a three star, recently renovated, now a sort of quite modern “designer” interior as far as I know.<BR>Silvaplana, Hotel Bellavista, in Silvaplana-Surlej, close to the Corvatsch cable car. Fantastic views, very good (esp. Italian) food. Recently a new wing has been built – with some very pricey suites and apartments.<BR>Sils, Hotel Chesa Randolina, a three star. Only that it is in Sils is qualification enough for me to go there!<BR><BR>Silvaplana and especially Sils do not offer a lot of nightlife (except some bars in hotels and special events). So you have to go to St. Moritz for entertainment, clubs etc. But it is not really a problem, because there is a night shuttle between Sils, Silvaplana and St. Moritz. The latest leaves St. Moritz at 02:00 in the morning. Fare is 5 Sfr. per person – at least it was last year. <BR><BR>Ingo<BR>

Ingo, thanks for the info you posted here! I am also going to St. Moritz for a week, but for New Year's and had some questions. We are staying in Celerina. Is it a separate small village or an area of St.Moritz? What does is look like, compared to St.Moritz? Cozier with chalets etc? What is there to do at night, especially during the holidays? Any traditions? Where to go for New Year's Eve? <BR><BR>Also, do you know approximately how much do the ski passes cost in that region? <BR><BR>Thanks a lot! <BR>

Hello delphine,<BR><BR>Celerina is a relatively small village (pop. 1,300; 3000 beds for tourists). It is definitely cosier than St. Moritz. It was able to remain its village atmosphere. Don’t expect many wooden Chalets like in the Bernese Oberland or Valais – Engadine houses look different, but IMO very beautiful. If I recall correctly, there is a virtual tour through Celerina on their website http://www.celerina.ch/aussichten/index.html (German, but you will find where to click).<BR><BR>What are you looking for to do at night? I am assuming you think of party, bars, dancing etc. … Well, there is a disco called “The Shack” www.shack.ch (again, German only, but click on “Gallery” and you will see pictures) for the younger folks. But there are also some bars around, e.g. in the Hotel Misani, which is a cool and trendy place. <BR><BR>You will definitely find the best places in St. Moritz, e.g. Vivai (Hotel Steffani), Pit-Stop (near Kulm Hotel, especially for younger folks/many snowboarders), the bars in the Hotel Schweizerhof and many more. Pontresina has a very good disco/bar called “Sarazena”. St. Moritz and Pontresina are both only 3 or 4 km away, so a taxi back to Celerina should be affordable.<BR><BR>In the evening there are almost every day classical concerts in one of the villages (30.12. Celerina) in case you are looking for such events.<BR><BR>On New Year’s Eve there is of course a party in “The Shack” in Celerina, and if you are looking for something upscale you might want to have a look at the ***Hotel Misani (two bands playing live, dancing, excellent dinner, fireworks etc. – pricey 210 SFr. per person) or ****Hotel Cresta Palace (don’t know exactly, but splendid location). A unique experience is of course the mountain hotel Muottas Muragl, accessible by funicular from Punt Muragl (2 km away), with open fireplace, excellent food etc. and fantastic view of St. Moritz and the whole Upper Engadine. www.muottasmuragl.ch <BR><BR>A 6-days consecutive ski pass costs 314 Sfr. (approx. 210 USD) in High season. This includes public transportation (trains, buses) and the public indoor pools in Pontresina and St. Moritz (surcharge for sauna). There is a direct access from Celerina to the skiing area Corviglia by gondola, but I recommend to ski a day in Corvatsch/Furtschellas area and another day in Diavolezza/Lagalb area.<BR><BR>Post again if I can help further.<BR><BR>Ingo<BR>

I'm note sure what type of Vacation you are looking to take. Obviously skiing, but fancy and pampered, or a swiss &quot;authentic&quot; ski trip. I have skied Verbier (french speaking Swiss) fly into Geneva: less than 2 hours by train) Verbier has a ton of good skiing for both types and a good nightlife for all ages. I have also skied in Davos. That was a great experience, a large mountain town with many other things to do than ski. Terrian for both levels of skiing. But I must say that the most beautiful place i have even been was Murren. MUrren is a small town (carless) with a population of around 450 or so and the skiing.........not really a place to go for a nightlife but the views are unreal.