Switzerland is known for its chocolate, eidelweiss and most important, The Alps. For those looking for the ultimate ski experience, Zermatt is a lovely spot to cross off that bucket list item!

My colleague and I had a free weekend and decided to do something we had talked about since I moved to Europe. He goes skiing every year in Colorado and wanted to test his skills on the Alps; I am not a skiier but couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be in the amazing Alps. For those who haven’t been to Switzerland, please be aware that it is not the cheapest place to go! Switzerland has its own currency, the Swiss Franc, and you should be aware of the current rate before you go.

Zermatt is close to the Italian border, thus giving a few options of airports to come into; but one is not closer than the other. We flew into Basel for no reason other than it worked with our itinerary and opted to rent a car. The Zermatt travel website and many other travel blogs will suggest to take the train from your starting airport to Zermatt; I disagree. The cost per person to take a train will run around 500 Swiss Francs round trip and while it is the hassle-free option, it is clearly the most expensive. However, if you book in advance you may get a lower rate. Our car for the weekend cost around 200 Swiss Francs and we had the flexibility and ease of arriving and departing at our leisure. Again, I use Kayak to choose the car for my specific trip.

Google Maps will tell you to plan for a four hour drive from airport to Zermatt; like I wrote before, one airport isn’t vastly closer than the other. About halfway into the drive, we came upon a toll station. As many highways in Europe are not free, we treated this toll like any other, until we realized the price- 30 Swiss Francs! Turned out that this fee was actually the price to take the Lotschberg car transportation and cut our trip by 45 minutes! Once we were on the other side of the mountain, it was only an hour until we reached the city, Tasch.

Zermatt is a car free zone; you must park your car in Tasch and either take a train or a taxi into Zermatt. When you drive into Tasch, all you see are car parks. If you plan ahead, most privately own car parks will also service as a taxi service and bring you to the outskirts of Zermatt. We did not plan ahead but had no problems parking at the main train station. The trains from Tasch to Zermatt run every 15 minutes and is eight Francs each way.

We arrived in Tasch very late and opted for the taxi choice as we were already very tired! The taxi took us to the outskirts of Zermatt (20 Francs) where we switched to what would be our transportation for the remainder of our trip:  The cutest little battery operated shuttles ever.

Most hotels in Zermatt have their own shuttle cars that are offered free of charge to their guests. But like I wrote, Switzerland is not the cheapest country to visit and Zermatt is like its Disney World. For those who are like me and looking for cost savings where you can, consider booking on Air BnB. The concept behind this website is you rent out people’s homes, typically apartments, for your stay. You rent from specific people so there isn’t a breakfast, turn down service or daily cleaning but you do have a fully functiong kitchen, bathroom and as many beds as you need. In most cases, you will pay half the amount on this website as you would in a hotel.  You can find great deals that put you right in the city center! This picture above was taken from my private balcony.

For breakfast, we went down the hill to one of the many hotels, where you can get buffet breakfast for 25 Swiss Francs-expensive so make it count! From there, we searched for a place to rent our ski equipment!

 

There are many places to rent equipment but we absolutely fell in love with the staff at this place! Steve, an American, moved to Europe in his twenties and never left. Renting equipment is where you will find cost savings; helmet, skis, poles, goggles, jacket, pants, all of it for as low as 150 Swiss Francs. Steve was so much fun that he even threw in gloves for free! They also have a storage room where you can store your equipment free of charge.

With full gear in place, we went to purchase our ski lift tickets for the day. Zermatt is broken up into many different slopes, spread out over the Alps. You can even purchase multi country lift tickets and ski in Italy. The price for a single day, single country pass is 79 Swiss Francs; apparently this is a lot cheaper than skiing in Colorado!

Those who know me know that I am not sporty; so skiing was going to be a challenge. Surprisingly, I mastered the kiddy slopes after a few runs!  It was time to take on the next level! 

We went down Sunnega runs on the first day to get myself better acquainted with the runs and how you’re supposed to move your body;  I fell a lot. 

We ski’d for close to four hours before my body finally gave out. Luckily, my colleague showed me mercy and we stopped at a cafe near the bottom of the mountain. It is tradition to stop for a Swiss beverage before you leave the slopes–my favorite kind! 

Once at the bottom, we walked to a nearby pub for a post ski snack and much needed Swiss beer to reward ourselves for a job well done. What started as a “reward” turned into dinner as we stayed longer than we anticipated 🙂  Food and drinks seems to be the biggest expense in Switzerland so be sure to plan for 8-10 Franc beers and 20 Franc cocktails.

On Day Two, I opted to take in the sights of Zermatt rather than hit the slopes again,- no big surprise coming from me! But the walk through town was actually quite charming. Zermatt is nestled in the Swiss Alps so you see mountains everywhere you look.

  

In all, Zermatt is AMAZING. Even if you don’t like to ski, you should not pass up a chance to come to this delightful town. Simply plan your trip around the spring/summer time and enjoy the Alps while hiking 🙂