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Can my family group of 5 adults 3 kids travel from Chandolin to Gornagratt by postal bus to train to Gornegratt train straight through? We would like to travel in the morning of June 22 and return late that same day. What is the least costly type of ticket, or, would a Pass be best? How to book and pay for the travel? Thank you. Paul
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Hi Guano and welcome to MySwissAlps!
It is about 4 hours from Chandolin to Gornergrat (4 connections total). You can find specific trip details on the Swiss railways timetable here.
Prices can also be found on the timetable link once you are within 30 days of travel (but pricing doesn’t really change so you are looking at about 115chf one-way.
To know which pass is the best for your specific itinerary you need to plan out all trips you will make (train, bus, boat, cable car) while in Switzerland and compare the prices for regular tickets to the rail pass price (and which routes/mountains are free or discounted). Once you have that information you can read our page here on how to choose the best rail pass. There is a spreadsheet there to help with the math.
Thanks Lucas,
We have rental cars. Would it be quickest for us to drive to Tasch and take the shuttle in to Zermatt? If so, how much time should we plan it to take for that route and mode?
Ah, I thought you said you were traveling by bus and train.
A car would be quicker from Chandolin. Google Maps says about 1.5 hours each way to Täsch (probably a bit longer than that in the end). By train/bus it would take almost 3 hours.
Yes you would have to drive to Täsch and then train into Zermatt and another train to Gornergrat (https://www.myswissalp s.com/gornergrat/getti ngthere).
Alternatively, drive your car from Chandolin to the main valley, then to avoid another long drive uphill, and fully enjoy the scenic railway to Zermatt, park the car at Visp, and ride the train from there, it would be more relaxed, and allow the driver to see the scenery as well as the passengers.
Thanks, folks. Greutzi.
Happy travels! Gruetzi is Swiss for hello/greetings by the way. You’ll get it a lot on hikes.
Gruetzi, in Zermatt but perhaps not around Chandolin 🙂
and it is usually Gruesse in Bernese territory
Well if someone says a quick work to you on the hiking trail and it starts with a Gr they are saying hello. 😉
I could never keep up with the different words / slang around Switzerland. 😆
Anyone interested in the varieties of greeting in different areas of German-speaking Switzerland might find this site interesting:
http://www.dialektkarten.ch/p ointmaps.de.html#5112_ gruss
You can use the drop-down box at top right of the page to see varieties of other words and their geographical distribution.
Alpenrose
Thanks for the interesting link, Alpenrose!
How do you manage to find these things?
Maggie
Hi Maggie,
>> Thanks for the interesting link, Alpenrose!
Glad you found the link interesting!
>> How do you manage to find these things?
My usual way of finding things is by accident when I’m looking for something else 😀 That’s probably how I found that, several years ago.
I have been learning German for almost 10 years now, and have a particular interest in its many varieties, especially in regard to the words and expressions you hear a lot when travelling in German-speaking countries.
Alpenrose
We also heard “Greusse Gott” — which we took to mean “God greets you”, or “God’s grace with you”. Either way, and, even if the meaning’s actually not either of those, it was always said in a friendly way. We’re really excited about being able to bring our grandkids into your gracious land!”
Grüsse Gott is the commonest phrase in Austria and Germany
That’s about right for the translation – it threw me off the first time I heard it (usually in Austria) but of course it is a friendly greeting. 🙂
I’ve heard it in Switzerland once or twice and the Bavarian region of Germany once or twice too but mostly Austria.
The most common greeting we have heard is Gruetzi mittenand or Grüsse but have also been greeted by Grüsse Gott. When we mentioned it at our hotel, a local said that’s because it’s Sunday and some people say Grüsse Gott on Sundays only!
Maggie
Nearing my departure, and have a few more q’s:
We’re 8 people: 5 adults, two 13 year-olds, and a 10 year old. We’re visiting zermatt for just 1 day (June 22). We want to take hiking and walking excursions, using cable cars and possibly cog trains to reach mostly snow-free trail heads for trails that are mostly easy and less than 6km long. My specific q’s follow:
Where do we get onto the circular walk in Furi tht takes in the Gletschergarten Dossen and lets us travel on the 100m long suspension bridge above Gornerschlucht Gorge?
Where do enter on the walk through that gorge?
Would we need to pay a fee for those? If so, what are the costs for our full group?
About the Scooter riding from Furi: is it likely to be open on that day — that is, it may rain or snow, but will it have opened for the summer schedule by then? Does the path take us right back to the Dorsaz sport shop?
Regarding my last entry, another itinerary we’re considering is going up the Gornergrat to Riffelalp or Riffelberg and doing similar activities there or on trails heading down.
A third itinerary would be the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise or simply riding up to the Panoramic Platform (Kleine Matterhorn?), walking on snow, having lunch and returning.
We’ve also read about 3-wheeled mountain carts for rent. Are they likely to be available on the 22nd? Where would we get them, what routes do they use, where do they end up?
With just one day, is there a pass or other way to minimize cost of the mountain transport systems? We also may split into 2 or 3 groups going to different venues. Should we simply expect to buy individual tickets and skip the task of researching passes? What’s the location of the brass sculpted marmot? Walking times from the Train Station to the lift station heading to Furi, or to the brass marmot sculpture? Thanks!
Hi Guana,
For hiking trails, you’ll need to check with the local tourism office to see what is snow-free. Most should be by mid-late June. Especially those under 2000 meters. You can read about hiking opportunities in Zermatt here: https://www.myswissalp s.com/zermatt/activiti es
For a local transport card, have a look at the AdventureCard: https://www.myswissalp s.com/adventurecard. It might be just what you need.
We don’t have very specific information on our website for some of the adventure activities in Zermatt, like scooter rentals and their routes. Best to look through zermatt.ch and contact the rental companies for those specific questions.
Here are a few links to get you started:
The gorge is quite close to Zermatt, about 15 minute walk and does have a small entrance fee: (https://www.zermatt.ch /en/Media/Attractions/ Gorner-gorge)
Dirt scooters: https://www.zermatt.ch /en/Media/Planning-hikes-tours/Dirtscooter-on-Schwarzsee
Klein Matterhorn and Glacier Paradise are the same trip. https://www.myswissalp s.com/kleinmatterhorn
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