[wanderdiva]

28 March 2019 at 4:58:29 #820641

Hi folks,

I am planning to visit Engadine valley in early July for 5 full days. Is Zernez a good base to be in to visit both upper and lower Engadine areas? If not, can you please suggest a good base? I will be using trains/buses for travel.

Kindly suggest easy day walks in the areas. Also, what can we do in the Swiss national park? Is hiking allowed and are there easy, well-marked walks inside?

I will also do day trips to Guarda and Scuol.

I will be carrying a Half fare card. I hope this works in this area as well.

I have not yet managed to understand and converse in German. Will English work in the smaller towns?

Thanks in advance.

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[Removed user]

28 March 2019 at 9:19:25 #907753

Hi Wanderdiva

I do not have personal experience of Zernez, though it looks strategically placed between both Upper and Lower Engadine on the map. When I went to Graubünden, we stayed in St Moritz http://www.myswissalps.com/st moritz which was great to explore the area as well as for evening entertainment which may not be the case with the smaller villages.

You will find plenty of day and hiking suggestions in the area on this link http://www.myswissalps.com/gr aubunden/activities

If you are only staying in the Engadine, you should consider the graubündenPASS: http://www.myswissalps.com/gr aubundenpass

The canton has three official languages – Swiss German, Italian and Romansh – and English is spoken in the touristy areas. I did not find it a problem when I was there although it’s true that in smaller towns fewer people will be able to speak English.

Hope this helps! I am sure others will have suggestions too.

Maria.

[wanderdiva]

28 March 2019 at 9:36:19 #907754

Thanks for the details, Maria.

Additionally, I will be staying in Brig for 5 days and Zurich for 2 days. Does the half fare card not work for Graubünden area?

[Removed user]

28 March 2019 at 9:56:53 #907755

Hi again

In that case the Swiss Half Fare card would be good choice for all destinations including Graubünden http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isshalffarecard

A Swiss Travel Pass would also be worth looking into depending on how much travel you do a day, and it also offers ticketless travel: http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass

If you want to be sure you are getting the right pass you can input your itinerary into the spreadsheet tool and do the math http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/ticketspasses/prac tical/chooserailpass

Maria.

[Removed user]

28 March 2019 at 14:13:43 #907756

Wanderdiva– There is nothing much to Zernez, and it isn’t all that convenient to use as a launchpad for day hikes in either the lower or upper Engandine, in my opinion. I’d suggest having 2 bases– one in either Guarda (my favorite) or Scuol for 3 days, for the lower area, and then one in maybe Pontresina for 2 days, for the upper. You’ll get a much better feel for the environs that way and will be less stressed reaching your hikes each day. As to hikes, there are many, and you may want to obtain Kev Reynolds’ guide to Walks in the Engadine, available on Amazon and other sites.

I’ve not been to the National Park, but accessing it under your time constraints may be a problem, unless you drop everything else in the lower Engadine.

Beautiful area with an interesting culture.

NTL

[hockeyfan]

28 March 2019 at 17:37:26 #907757

Some hotels offer guests the use of free mountain railway and cableway services. You can find a list of the “Mountain Railways Included Hotels” on the http://www.engadin.stmoritz.c h website. It is valid: May 1 to October 31, 2019. This is a great value if you can find the appropriate lodging. We found many of the cablecars did not accept the 1/2 fare card.

[wanderdiva]

29 March 2019 at 7:54:51 #907758

Thanks Maria, Nevertoolate and hockeyfan.