Places to stay for longer stay in Switzerland
A traveler named Ohman 91 is planning a hiking trip in Switzerland from August to mid-September, spending 5-6 weeks exploring various places. They are seeking recommendations for 5-7 villages to stay in for 4-6 days each, with good hiking options, considering towns like Bad Ragaz, Andermatt, Fiesch/Bettmeralp, and Kandersteg, while also possibly revisiting areas like Zermatt for the 5 lake hike.
- Appenzell is a great base to explore the Eastern region and offers good hiking options with scenic train trips like the Glacier and Bernina Express.
- For a different experience, consider the Ticino region for beautiful views and complimentary local transport for hiking trails.
- Staying near Lake Maggiore provides access to scenic hikes and ferry rides to explore the area.
- Don't miss the historical sites near Bad Ragaz, like Altes Bad Pfaefers, for added interest in your hiking adventure.
- Consider spending a night on Mt. Pilatus or visiting Zernez for great hiking opportunities.
AI-generated summary-
Hello,
If everything goes well with the pandemic and vaccine, I will go to Switzerland for hiking again after 2 years away from it (far too long 🙁 )
My plan is to go 9th of August to maybe middle of September.
This time, I will stay 5-6 weeks and hike different areas. Therefore, I need 5-7 places where I can stay for maybe 4-6 days each, which also have nice hiking options.
My thoughts so far are;
1. Starting with Bad Ragaz/Appenzell – Do you recommend me to stay in each village or is one enough, and just travel between?
2. Andermatt
3. Fiesch/Bettmeralp
4. Kandersteg
Now I need your ideas 🙂 I’ve been thinking about maybe St Moriz and Ticino also. Maybe go to Engelberg on my way back up to Zürich before flying home.
I have already been to: Grindelwald, Zermatt, Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, Brunnen/Schwyz and Luzern. I might go to Zermatt for the 5 lake hike.
So please hit me up with any village you think I should/could stay in for some nice hikes! (high/middle altitude)
Thank you once again for an amazing forum. Take care all!
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Hi Ohman 91,
Five to six weeks is a good length to explore all of Switzerland. Appenzell is a lovely village and I would definitely recommend it as a base to explore the Eastern region of Switzerland. From Appenzell, you can travel down to St Moritz and discover the Graubünden region next. Lots of places to hike here and scenic train trips to enjoy such as the Glacier Express that takes you to Zermatt, or the Bernina Express to Lugano in Ticino. From either Zermatt or Lugano, you can easily make your round trip back to Zurich and in between visit all the places you mentioned including Engelberg.
You can find more suggestions and ideas from the following links:
- St Moritz: http://www.myswissalps.com/stmoritz
- Graubünden: http://www.myswissalps.com/graubunden
- Ticino: http://www.myswissalps.com/ticino
- Glacier Express: http://www.myswissalps.com/glacierexpress
- Bernina Express: http://www.myswissalps.com/berninaexpress
Hope these links will give you some ideas about places to explore.
For accommodation suggestions, you can choose from hotels or self-catering rentals from our list here: http://www.myswissalps.com/accommodation (you can narrow your search based on destination, budget or type of accommodation)
Also, before you travel be sure to check the latest updates about the travel restrictions in place from the following links:
- Travel planning during the pandemic: http://www.myswissalps.com/coronavirus/planning
- Updates about travel restrictions: http://www.myswissalps.com/forum/topic/does-the-corona-virus-affect-trips-to-switzerland
Best regards,
Anna
Regards,
Anna
Hi Ohman –
Lots of good ideas, away from the tourist hot spoys.
I wonder if the Betttmeralp/Fiesch area will fill that many days, but there is certainly some spectacular hikes overlooking the whole Futka Pass, and the many ridges.
Near Bad Ragaz, don’t forget Altes Bad Pfaefers for a bit of interesting history.
Slowpoke.
Hi Ohman
I think you would likely enjoy a stay in the Ticino region. It is very different from the Swiss Alps areas. We stayed a week in the Locarno area at the Villa Orselina which I highly recommend. It is situated in Orselina which is just above Locarno with beautiful views of the town below and Lake Maggiore. The area hotels will give you a complimentary pass that lets you use the local busses and trains for free which is very handy to reach the nearby hiking trails and there are many great hikes in the area. Locarno is adjacent to the old town of Ascona which we found to be very scenic and easily accessible by bus. Lake Maggiore ferry system is also very nice to use to access local hiking trails. Overall a very nice area to visit with lots of options. We found the hiking very nice but quite different from hiking around Wengen, Zermatt, St Moritz etc.
I suspect Lugano may be similar but we only stayed in Locarno so perhaps someone else could compare Locarno to Lugano.
Mark
Thank you very much everyone for your replies! 🙂 I will look into it further during the coming week.
Traveling over to Austria or Italy would also have been nice, but it’s hard to plan already now due to the situation with the pandemic.
But I am still up for more ideas of where to stay! If you have a favorite valley/city to stay for nice hikes in the area.
Hi Ohman 91,
You said you have been to Lucerne…perhaps think about spending a night on Mt. Pilatus. on your way to or from Engelberg. That’s definitely an experience to behold. Also maybe think about spending some time in Zernez, which is close to the Swiss National Park. There is a lot of hiking to do there. I’ve not been there but would like to put that on my itinerary for next time I go. Hope all works for you and you can go on this trip. Enjoy.
Danielsan
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