Destinations with hiking activities similar to Zermatt/Wengen
A traveler is planning their second trip to Switzerland for 10 days to 2 weeks next summer, starting in Zurich. They want to explore car-free places with great hiking, considering Appenzell, and are also curious about potential visits to Austria and Germany parts of the trip.
- Start your trip in Lucerne to take advantage of the Swiss Travel Pass, as many excursions are included.
- Stay in one town in the Engadin region, like St Moritz or Sils, for easy access to various hikes and use of the guest card for transportation.
- The Swiss Travel Pass gives discounts on mountain transport but check for local guest cards for better deals in specific areas.
- Consider hiking in the Aletsch glacier area for stunning views, easily reachable with a day trip from Lucerne.
AI-generated summary-
Greetings,
I’m planning my 2nd trip to Switzerland next summer and plan to visit anywhere from 10 days to 2 weeks depending. The trip will begin in Zermatt but I’m not yet certain where I will fly home from so I will have some flexibility. On my previous trip I visited Zermatt, Kandersteg and Wengen and had an amazing time. I would like to visit similar places on my next trip that are easy to visit car-free but still have plenty of hiking opportunities available. Appenzell seems to fit this criteria but it appears I would only need a few nights here. Since I’m fairly certain I will be visiting this area it seems continuing east into Austria and/or Germany makes sense. Not sure if this forum is the right place to ask questions about Austria and Germany but if anyone has suggestions about these countries or other places in Switzerland that might be of interest please let me know.
Thanks kindly
-
Edit: My trip will begin in Zurich not Zermatt. MY apologies for the confusion.
Hi RJC,
>>> On my previous trip I visited Zermatt, Kandersteg and Wengen and had an amazing time. I would like to visit similar places on my next trip that are easy to visit car-free but still have plenty of hiking opportunities available.
You could consider the Engadin and/or Ticino:
https://www.engadin.ch/en/hiking/
https://www.engadin.com/en/tours
https://www.ticino.ch/en/explore/excursions/hike.html
Suitable bases in the Engadin (https://www.myswissalps.com/region/engadine/) would be St Moritz in the Upper Engadin, Scuol in the Lower Engadin, or any of the towns on the railway between the two, depending on where you want to hike etc.
For Ticino (https://www.myswissalps.com/region/ticino/), probably Locarno, but Lugano might also suit, depending on where you decide to hike. The extensive network of Postbus services will most likely be more useful than trains for access to hiking in Ticino.
>>> Not sure if this forum is the right place to ask questions about Austria and Germany.
Not really 🙂 Apart from travel to and from countries adjacent to Switzerland, those countries are outside the scope and expertise of this forum.
I suggest you get an overview of possibilities from the official tourist sites, then refine your plans and ask questions on the TripAdvisor forums:
https://www.austria.info/en-uk/
https://www.germany.travel/en/home.html
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g190410-i146-Austria.html
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g187275-i116-Germany.html
Happy planning!
Alpenrose
Hi RJC
I would strongly support everything Alpenrose says. Here are some rather random comments from someone who has travelled extensively throughout ‘D-A-CH-LAND’ that is Germany – Austria -Switzerland.
While public transport in Germany and Austria is better than in many other European countries, it is not nearly as good as that in Switzerland. There is much more (over)crowding. Train Punctuality in Germany is horrendous, with only about 70% of intercity trains on time. (Switzerland it is about 97%.) In Austria there are some routes where the trains are only every two hours.
Note that the Zurich to Munich and Zurich to Vienna trains are both only every two hours. The Munich run is notorious for its unpunctuality. Basel to Frankfurt is about hourly, … , but it too is notorious for its unpunctuality. Zurich to Stuttgart is hourly … and when it is running … quite punctual. The problem is that this line is often disrupted by engineering work.
Note that the high speed main line running west of Vienna was in September badly damaged by flooding. The line will reopen on the 15 December after temporary repairs. Permanent repairs will be done in summer 2025, when the line will be closed for four weeks. My source for this information is the December issue of ‘Eisenbahn Osterreich’, Which four weeks is not yet known.
Neither Germany nor Austria has the equivalent to the fabulous Swiss Travel Pass (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-travel-pass/). I get particularly frustrated with Austria, as Austria a long time ago did have an ‘Austria Ticket’ similar to the STP. I bought Austria Tickets in 1976 and 1980!
I have given you further food for thought.
Roger
Hello RJC,
I may suggest that you start your trip in Lucerne (https://www.myswissalps.com/town/lucerne/). Only 45-60 min train from Zurich, depending on your train. While not car free, it is a great walking city (small one) with some great scenery. There are several destinations one can visit there. With the Swiss Travel Pass, some are free. Stanserhorn (https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/stanserhorn/), Klewenalp, Rigi (https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/rigi/), and Stoos included. Mt Tilis (https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/titlis/), While only discounted with the STP, has some great hiking on the lower station around Lake Truebsee, which is very scenic. The whole excursion is beautiful on the way to the top. Mount Rigi has a lot of hiking available, as well as great scenery. Also, Stoos, in/on the eastern ‘arm’ of the lake is absolutely stunning. There is plenty of hiking there as well, with the scenery never ending. Again, not a car free city, but small, old cobblestone streets and a great base for the above destinations. Perhaps start there and head to the Appenzell. If you still want to see Austria/Germany from there, Lucerne isn’t that much out of the way. Lots to do and see there (Lucerne) and you won’t regret having been there. Since you’ve already been to Wengen and Zermatt, maybe the Engadin would be nice, as mentioned by Alpenrose. I spent 4 nights there 2 months ago. I stayed just outside St Moritz in Celerina. Great location, not as busy as St Moritz and only a six min train ride. Lots of access to hiking in the area. I spent the last part of my trip in Lugano, (Ticino) where I took a boat to Gandria and hiked back on the Olive Trail into Lugano. Very pretty, peaceful hike. I hope this helps in some way with your planning. Have a great trip
Regards,
Danielsan
Hi RJC
My thoughts are similar to Alpenrose and Roger. We have stayed in the Upper Engadine at the Waldhaus in Sils on Engadine on a hiking trip. There are many beautiful hikes in the area. We found the hikes in Val Fex to be very scenic and somewhat different from the typical alpine hikes we were used to. I’m not keen on St. Moritz but Sils was lovely. There are numerous small towns in the area suitable as a base.
We also stayed in Orselina just above Locarno on a hiking trip. Again the hiking in the area is very good and different from the typical alpine hikes you would find in Zermatt or Wengen. Nice hikes around Cimetta with beautiful lake views. When in Locarno you are quite close to the Italian Dolomites which have a very unique character as well and world class hiking.
Mark
Alpenrose,
Thanks for your reply. I appreciate it:)
The Engadin looks intriguing. Let’s assume I would spend 5-6 nights in the region. Would you suggest staying in two different towns such as St Moritz and Scuol or would it make sense to stay in one location in between these two so I could go in either direction? Is this an appropriate amount of time to spend here to see the highlights?
Based on some feedback I’m rethinking my original plan to venture over into Austria/Germany. I mean, why leave the most beautiful country in the world right?
Kind regards
Roger,
Thanks for your reply sir. You have definitely given me something to chew on.
I’m now leaning towards staying in CH after some thought. I had such a great time on my 1st trip to Switzerland and was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to navigate the country. I will be purchasing a STP again on this trip because I think it’s a no brainer and reduces some stress around buying multiple tickets (although I know it doesn’t work for all transportation).
Thanks again for your input.
Regards
Danielsan,
Great suggestion! I was considering Lucerne to begin the trip also but was unaware of all the value I could extract from the STP in the area. This makes sense and now a clearer picture is starting to emerge. Few nights here and then proceed to the Engadin. After that make my way to Appenzell for the finale.
Now is the part where I start getting greedy! I wanted to visit the Aletsch glacier on my last trip but did not have enough time. Now that time constraints have been lifted I would love to visit this attraction as well if possible but can’t get too greedy because I do have some monetary limitations. Now I’m thinking about making a stop between Lucerne and Engadin for a night or two in order to make this happen and would need to think about a good location to make this happen. Decisions, decisions…
Thanks kindly
Mark,
Thanks for the response. I will check out Sils and nearby hikes. Do you have any specific recommendations for hiking here?
My wife and I recently returned from a trip to Lake Como so I don’t believe I’ll be visiting the area around Locarno on this trip but I would love to visit the area in the future.
I should also mention that I will be traveling solo on this trip and don’t mind moving around from town to town but yet also understand the importance of spending time in the areas that interest me the most to enjoy hiking. The Engadin definitely looks like an area where I will want to spend some time.
Regards
Dear Moderator,
It seems the title of my post has been altered at least two times since I originally posted. Not sure if this is being done by AI or a moderator but I would like to clarify something because the current title does not accurately describe my post. When I said I would like to travel to places that are easy to visit “car-free” I meant that I will not be renting a car and it is myself that will be car-free not the places that I am interested in visiting. I should have worded that differently so it is probably my fault for the misconception.
So to be clear, I’m traveling solo without a rental car and I am interested in visiting places where there are interesting hikes nearby (which is probably just about anywhere in the country) and it doesn’t necessarily have to be a “car-free” village such as Wengen.
Thanks
Hello again RJC
Aletsch Glacier
I hope that people will agree that the best place for viewing this natural wonder of the world is from the top of the Eggishorn Cable Car. The bottom station of this cable car is at Fiesch, in the Rhone Valley not too far from Brig. You could visit the Eggishorn on a fairly long day trip from Lucerne. As you will have a Swiss Travel Pass, the only expense will be the fare for the two-stage cable car from Fiesch to Eggishorn. (STP gives a 50% discount on the cable car.)
If you left Lucerne at 07 00 and changed at Bern and Brig, you would get to Fiesch at 09 55. This schedule repeats itself every hour. At Fiesch the train and cable car stations are next door to each other.
Going back to Lucerne you could ‘go another way’. If you left Fiesch at 14 56 on the train bound for Andermatt, and changed there and at Goschenen you would be back in Lucerne at 18 41. This schedule also repeats itself every hour. One slight complication is that if you left Fiesch towards Andermatt at 13 56, 15 56 or 17 56, you would have an additional change at Arth-Goldau. The journey would still take three and three-quarter hours. For example, if you left at 15 56 you would be back at Lucerne at 19 41.
The Engadin
Here I am picking up on a point made by Alpenrose in her reply 2. She suggests staying somewhere between Scuol and St Moritz. Might I suggest the largish village of ZERNEZ, halfway between Scuol-Tarasp and St Moritz. Zernez has hourly trains to St Moritz, Pontresina, Scuol-Tarasp and Landquart.
It also has an hourly bus service (route 811) to Mals/Malles, just over the border with Italy. The STP is valid to Mals/Malles. (It is even valid on the joint Italian/Austrian bus route on to Landeck, well inside Austria.) The 811 (which runs 365-days-a-year) goes over the Il Fuorn pass, 2,149 metres above sea level. The scenery is fantastic!
Best wishes
Roger
The hikes we enjoyed most were in the Val Fex area, also around Fuorcla Sutlej, and Furtschellas. These hiking areas were very scenic and easy to get to with lots of options for length and difficulty. Also I would highly recommend staying at least part of the time at the Waldhaus in Sils It is a grand , historic hotel that is still family run and beautiful views of Sils Maria. They are very helpful in hiking advise too.
I have attempted to include some photo of the hikes.
Mark
The above photos order is Furtschella, Val Fex, Val Fex, and Fuorcla. Attachments below are of Waldhaus, Corvatsch hike, Corvatsch hike, and view of Sils Maria from Waldhaus.
Hello again, RJC.
Yes, it is very difficult not to get “greedy.” The more one looks, the more one wants to see. Try to stick with your initial thoughts, and go from there. As long as you have the STP, you can come and go as you please. I was at the Bettmerhorn two months ago, but I went from Zermatt, and the ride was only in the vicinity of an hour and a half. Even though it was overcast, it was still beautiful to see. You have a lot of great input from many good folks here in this post. Have fun sorting it out and planning. That’s part of the fun as well. Again, have a great trip wherever you do end up.
Regards,
Danisan
Hello Roger,
Once again you’ve provided me some food for thought. Keep it coming!
Aletsch Glacier
I was thinking initially that I might spend a night or two closer to Fiesch but a long day trip from Lucerne is definitely doable. I have an affordable hotel option in Lucerne where I could stay 4 nights. This should give me enough time to see a few highlights closer to the city and also make the day trip over to the glacier.
The Engadin
Zernez does look like an attractive centrally located option for staying in the area. When you mentioned that Landquart was a day trip option from Zernez I started looking around and found myself going down another rabbit hole. How did I not know about Heidiland and the Pizol 5 lakes trail!!! This area looks awesome and I want to include this in the trip.
True story: The inspiration for my first trip to Switzerland which also happened to be my first trip to Europe happened one day when my wife and I were watching Netflix. We were getting tired of watching a bunch of heavy dramas so we decided to watch something light-hearted and somehow ended up watching Heidi. Next thing I know I’m scouring the internet searching for things to do in Switzerland and that’s when my dream of visiting was born. LOL
Still have some sorting out to do but I think I have a rough outline of the areas I want to visit. So now I’m thinking Lucerne first with side trip to Aletsch. Next an undetermined amount of time in Engadin with side trip to Heidiland and then proceed to Appenzell to finish off. Now that I’m thinking about it, what would be advantages/disadvantages of starting in Lucerne first or doing the trip in reverse starting with Appenzell, then Engadin before heading to Lucerne to finish off? Everyone chime in and give me your thoughts if you don’t mind.
Appreciate the input Roger.
Best regards
Mark,
Love the photos! You know the old saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” and these pics you uploaded look great especially the one that shows what I assume to be your family posing in front of a massive mountain glacier (Fuorcla I think). Unfortunately I’m unable to open all the pics but thanks a lot for sharing!
I will do more homework on the places you mentioned.
Thank you sir.
Kind regards
Hi RJC,
>>> Let’s assume I would spend 5-6 nights in the region. Would you suggest staying in two different towns such as St Moritz and Scuol or would it make sense to stay in one location in between these two so I could go in either direction?
Checking out, travelling to the next place and checking in again usually wastes at least a half day, and you usually can’t check in before 3 pm. You wouldn’t run out of hikes to do if you stayed in one place. Somewhere in the St Moritz area (including Sils Maria) would be a good choice for the whole time.
If you will be using mountain transport to access hikes in the Upper Engadin, make sure to choose accommodation that offers the free guest card which gives you free travel on mountain transport for the duration of your stay. Some of the best mountain transport in the Upper Engadin is not included in the Swiss Travel Pass, not even for a discount, so the free guest card is worth its weight in gold. You need to stay a minimum of 2 nights to get the guest card.
There is more information here:
https://www.engadin.ch/en/mountain-railways-included/
You mention this will be a summer trip, but haven’t said what dates you have in mind. It’s worth knowing that the summer season in the Engadin (i.e. when all the mountain transport will be operating, and all hotels will be open) is shorter than in a lot of other places. To get the best out of it, you need to stay between the very end of June and mid-October. Outside those dates, your options will be more limited, both for activities and accommodation. Here are details of operating times for mountain transport in summer 2025:
https://www.engadin.ch/files/pdf/20241107_Betriebsdaten_Sommer25.pdf
>>> Is this an appropriate amount of time to spend here to see the highlights?
Yes, you could see a lot in 5-6 days, and wouldn’t even run out of things to do if it were 5-6 weeks!
If you wanted to break up your hike days with some sightseeing, my list would include:
- a return trip on the Bernina Express route St Moritz to Tirano; if taking the regional train instead of the Bernina Express panorama train, there are opportunities to break the journey at one or more of Morteratsch, Diavolezza, Alp Grüm, Poschiavo, Le Prese or Brusio
- cable car to Diavolezza to view the beautiful glacier
- trip to the wonderfully picturesque traditional village/s of Guarda and/or Soglio
- funicular to Muottas Muragl for the views (and hikes)
>>> Based on some feedback I’m rethinking my original plan to venture over into Austria/Germany. I mean, why leave the most beautiful country in the world right?
Staying only in Switzerland would be an efficient use of time, and you won’t run out of things to do. It will probably work out cheaper for transport as well, but perhaps hotels will be more expensive on average.
As you are travelling solo on this occasion, if budget is important, St Moritz has a youth hostel, which offers private rooms with ensuite. I don’t know whether you are familiar with youth hostels, but they are not just for young people. They are used by families with young or teenage children, retired people, young backpackers – the whole range!
Here is a link to the St Moritz Youth Hostel. Bus 9 from St Moritz station stops outside the door, or you can walk around the lake to the station. They also offer the free Engadin guest card for mountain transport.
https://www.youthhostel.ch/en/hostels/st-moritz-youth-hostel
I hope this helps!
Alpenrose
Hi Mark,
Thanks for those wonderful photos!
The ones that aren’t showing up properly are in .heic format, from an iPhone I suspect. Is there any possibility you could convert them to .jpg format and repost?
Thanks!
Alpenrose
Hi RJC!
Thanks for notifying us. Yes, titles do get adjusted, to provide the best possible summary for other visitors and readers. I understand how you meant your “car-free” preference and I removed it from your thread title :-).
Hello Mark,
I agree with Alpenrose.
I was able to see the first and last photos on both the top and bottom. The middle pics didn’t come through. I thought it was my phone, but aparrently not. I’d love to see the other pics as well. Thank you in advance if you can re-send them. That would be great.
Regards,
Danielsan
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