Zermatt. How to affordably travel to this magical place
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- čas přidán 2. 06. 2024
- Zermatt is one of the most beautiful places in the world. How can you plan your trip to this gorgeous village and its incredible ski area without going broke. In this video I'll help you get to Zermatt, figure out where to stay, and show you how navigate the village and the mountains. I'll also focus on how you can AFFORDABLY travel to this very pricey destination.
Chapters
0:00 Introduction
0:30 What I'll cover
0:52 Rail transportation to Zermatt
2:08 Zermatt Bahnhof (train station)
2:46 Driving to Zermatt
3:18 Zermatt's geography
4:16 Transport/lifts into the mountains
4::49 Where should you stay
6:21 The perfect place to stay
6:37 Zermatt's charm
6:58 Bahnhofstrasse
7:08 Hinterdorf
7:41 Details on lifts into the mountains
8:19 Gornergrat Railway
9:03 Sunnegga Funicular
9:25 Matterhorn Express & its stations
10:40 Matterhorn Glacier Paradise
11:20 The ski area
12:00 Reducing costs
14:07 Lift passes & IKON Pass
14:34 Don't skip the special stuff
15:03 Mountain restaurants Chez Vrony
15:21 Apres Ski
15:37 Travel suggestions
16:44 Lift line protocol
17:40 Run/piste categories
18:20 Snow quality & grooming
18:48 Few snowboarders
19:10 Run length
19:40 Closing
Links to help plan your trip to Zermatt
Swiss National Rail (Timetables, rail passes, individual tickets) www.sbb.ch/en
Excellent introduction to Swiss rail travel and passes www.seat61.com/train-travel-i...
Info on almost everything Zermatt (transport, accommodations, activities, busses, restaurants, etc.) www.zermatt.ch/en
Swiss National Tourism site for Zermatt www.myswitzerland.com/en-ca/d...
Live webcams for Zermatt and ski area www.zermatt.ch/en/Webcams
Prices, schedules, and tickets for trains and lifts into the mountains for skiing and sightseeing
www.matterhornparadise.ch/en/...
Coop Supermarket Zermatt
www.coop.ch/en/locations/coop...
Migros Supermarket Zermatt (in German) filialen.migros.ch/de/migros-...
Dorsaz Sport(rental ski equipment and ski lockers) by base of Matterhorn Express Gondola
www.dorsaz-sport.ch/en/
Chez Vrony Mountain Restaurant chezvrony.ch/wordpress/en/
Hennu Stall Apres Ski Bar www.hennustall.ch/
Consider subscribing and check out my other travel content from around the world
/ @globedecker .
#budgettravel #budgettraveltips #travel #cheaptravelideas #budgettraveller #zermatt #switzerland #affordabletravel #traveling #travelling #swisstravel #ikon #ikonpass
Thanks for the Great comprehensive review.
I found the cheapest way to ski Zermatt was to fly into Milan, rent a vehicle and then drive up to Cervina and stay there. We would buy the dual mountain pass so we could ski down into Zermatt. My only caution is to keep a close eye on the weather so you don’t get trapped in Zermatt if the Klein Matterhorn tram shuts down late in the day. It’s an awesome experience to ski both the Swiss and Italian sides.
Excellent advice!
I've just had a week in Cervinia (Italy) and you can get an international ski pass which gives you access to Zermatt side as well as the Italian side. Fantastic ski area, Matterhorn Ski Paradise gondola at 3800 meters is amazing. Italian side is a lot cheaper for food and accommodation.
Memory jogging views of the town and mountains, good review or info for first time.
This was great video! Thanks!
If you want to make it affordable, go to Cervinia. But you will miss on the Zermatt night life.
Skiing in Zermatt was an unforgettable experience - the breathtaking scenery, exhilarating slopes, and crisp mountain air made it truly memorable.
Great overview. Just a couple of additions from someone from the US who has been going to Zermatt for the last 23 years. The busses are free, run every 10 minutes or less, and are an easy way to get to and between the base lifts. Hotels along the river are somewhat removed from the Bahnhofstrasse, but are a quick walk to shops and restaurants, generally offer Matterhorn views, and are on the bus route, since it runs along the river. Finally, February usually seems to have a lack of fresh snow. January and very early March are often better. We just got back from Zermatt last week, and Gornergrat had 100 cm of new snow while we were there.
I was just there too, skiing was fantastic, nice 30cm pow day!
Did the weather prohibit some of your skiing?
@@BarrysAdventures Slightly, but mainly due to low visibility.
Have you ever been in juli? Im contemplating going then :)
@@maksdegek1 No. Sorry!
Lol the line culture😂.. Was totally unexpected. There is no lines but swan of desperate skiers inching forward from all directions .. But it turns out to be surpriaingly efficient 😂😂👍👍
True, it is quite efficient most of the time, but during busy periods it was terribly inefficient.. With no grouping system, lifts often would not load full, significantly slowing and adding to the "line.".
Currently in Zermatt and 1 thing I appreciate is the live music in many bars.
True about the length of the runs, especially when compared to the U.S. (my legs were burning), but yes very beautiful. Those wide runs were great for going fast but the hard pack surface made me glad I sharpened my board edges the day before. Wonderful experience, especially up at the top where the observation deck was by the gornergrat. Such a cute town zermatt is to walk around, I’d love to go back just for some light hiking, taking the gornergat train up, and just more exploring the village. Went right before Christmas about 10 years ago and the little Protestant chapel service was also great experience (I believe most of the churches there were catholic?). Thanks for more tips for my next trip.
Very informative and easy to understand. We will be in Zermatt in May for 3 nights but we are not skiers and hikers. We just want to explore the place and maybe do easy hikes. . Hope you can also do a video of Jungfrau Region. Thank you
Thanks for the comment! You'll love Zermatt in spring. Most of the snow on the lower areas will have melted by then and there will be tons of relatively easy hikes available to you. To save your legs, consider taking the Matterhorn Express Gondola or Gornegrat Railway up a few stations so you can start your hiking at the magnificent higher altitudes.
Another budget friendly option is to stay on the Italian side of the mountains, in Breuil-Cervinia, accomodation and restaurants are much cheaper, and you can use the ski lift system to cross to Zermatt.
Absolutely agree! Italy is significantly cheaper than Switzerland (almost anywhere is!) The only consideration is the weather can sometimes impact the alpine crossing. When I was there, high winds kept it closed three of the six days.
@@GlobeDecker Yes, the Italian side is great too; no, staying on the Italian side is not a good alternative to the Zermatt.
The lifts over the ridge aren't always open and are very weather-restricted -- imagine if your lift back to Italy closes early due to weather; and the pistes on the Swiss side are so long that if you're trying to make it back to the Italian side every day before the lifts close, the time left for you will be very limited, so you'll be exhausted.
Great video can’t wait to go I’m looking to go for thanksgiving week .I m hoping that the crowds are lower and it has enough snow
In October it's possible that there might not be any snow. I wouldn't go at this period to ski
Very very very useful information.I have done my research and have allocated one day for Zermatt. I will travel from and return to Wilderwill to Zernatt.That travel to and fro is 5 hours to 6 hours. I can do the Gondolas and trains to Matterhorn. Thanks for the information. Thanks for Sbb app and very useful tips to the Top of mountains!
Have a great time!
spot on, less snow boarders due to cost as most here are younger folk, its why I go there 3 or 4 times per season - thanks
With an IKON, do you know if we simply just hop onto the various lifts, gondolas and trains (up the mountain) or do we have to somehow get actual tickets by showing our IKON passes?
You can just hop on the lift. It works as if you were at an IKON resort in the US or Canada.
Hello GlobeDecker. What can you say about where and how to ride the Alpine Crossing? Also is the price of its gondola included in the the all day, unlimited lift ticket?
That is an excellent question that I actually wondered about myself! When I was there in Feb 2023, the Alpine Crossing gondola wasn't in operation, they were either installing or replacing some of the cables, and had a new cable that hadn't been put under tension strung from the summits across the glacier below and then elevated on poles to cross over the one open ski run.
The "Alpine Crossing" is a tourist trap for non skiers. You could cross on skis for the last 50 years or so.
GlobeDecker, you asked why there are so few snowboarders in Zermatt/Europe, well the simple answer is that there skiing is still considered a sport while in the US is becoming more and more a vacation/fun time, i.e. going to the beaches or skiing is almost the same thing as you can have fun on both places, for the same reason in the US we have different ski bikes, snowboard seating chair and more....ski resorts are now fun parks like Disneyworld...
As suggestions, please use THERE ARE for plural and THERE IS for singular, as blogger you need to be grammatical correct.....THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE not THERE IS ......
Another suggestion, slow down your talking speed it will be more pleasant to listen and follow your suggestions, thank you.
Thank you for the feedback. I am still a beginner (under two weeks!) at CZcams and certainly learning as I go. My fast talking, and tendency to make contractions out of many words are certainly fair and accurate critiques. All the best to you!
Who told you that skiing is treated more like a sport in Europe? You're one of the few smug people I've seen on YT. Europeans prefer skiing simply because it has a longer history in Europe and is a very popular hobby, and most people like to ski on their "VACATION" because that's what they learned to ski in the beginning. And a significant number of the younger generation prefer snowboarding now.
Do we really need critiquing here?
@@hamstermomoco you are thinking about/ referring to one of your close relative?
@@CarloBiondolillo Unfortunately, as far as I know we don't have any relationship.