Skiing the gorgeous Matterhorn is a dream for any skier, but it’s no surprise Switzerland is rather pricey compared to the rest of Europe. I’m here to show how to have an inspiring bucket-list worthy ski holiday to Zermatt while keeping some cash in your pocket!
Tip #1: Book an Apartment with a Kitchen
My number one tip how to keep costs down while still having the perfect relaxing holiday is to book an apartment with a kitchen. Do this and you’ll be all smiles like me up there 🙂 .
You can also save more cash if you book on shoulder seasons, and this applies to ski towns as well. We chose to go to Zermatt just before ski season officially started, mostly because I wanted to ski in late November but in retrospect I think this really saved us some money!
We stayed at an incredible, large studio apartment equipped with a full kitchen: an island with a 4-burner stove top, oven, fridge, and even dishwasher (which felt extra luxurious) and it was fully stocked. To top it off, we had the BEST views of the Matterhorn from our spacious balcony, AND it was less than a 5 minute walk to the Matterhorn ski lift, and 1 minute walk to the Winkelmattern e-bus stop. The house also had a sauna and steam room. Would you believe we paid just $115 USD per night for this steal of a place… in Zermatt? This was probably my favorite apartment I’ve ever stayed in. Book it here.
Tip #2: Pack Food or Shop at the Supermarket to Make Easy Breakfasts and Dinners at Home
With a little bit of planning, you can save major money this way. We packed food with us to bring on the car ride and have on-hand in our apartment. We also stopped in the local Coop grocery store to pick up a few things to make a fresh salad, just across the Zermatt bahnhof and an easy 15 minute walk from our apartment (or you can take the e-bus there and back, free with your skipass or 3.20CHF pp).
Our breakfasts at home varied between eggs and avocado, croissant and eggs, or oatmeal for hearty breakfasts before a full day of skiing. At night we alternated hosting dinner at our place and our friend’s place (who also stayed in the same building), which made it nice. We hosted with an easy side salad and homemade carbonara, and when they hosted dinner they made a salad, baked tortellini dish, and a delicious roasted chicken thigh and leg second course. Everything was delicious! Both us and our friends brought wines from home and we ate well every night, with great company!
I had cooked an early Thanksgiving meal a few days before our trip so I packed our leftovers and made turkey and cranberry croissant sandwiches for us to eat on the drive down and back. We had some thanksgiving leftovers on another night for dinner. It took just a few minutes to heat in the oven and we had a feast in front of us!
We did eat out on the first night we arrived, so we could still taste the cuisine of the region. We ate at Wympher Stube, a traditional Swiss restaurant. Between our group we had fondue, raclette (my favorite!), and a steak. We also got drinks out a few nights, I would recommend Elsie’s Champagne Bar 🙂 and the Paperla Pub for a fun apres-ski vibe with a band playing inside. Eating out wasn’t terribly expensive, but I definitely wouldn’t be able to do it for every meal. Cooking in is such an easy way to save big, and it makes for an extra fun night cooking for friends!
Tip #3: Ski Your Heart Out!
This is what you came to Zermatt for, right?? We had three wonderful days of skiing. The first day both the Swiss and Italian sides of the mountain were open, but we were skiing in the clouds for most of the day. The second day brought snow from morning and into the night, and that day was almost white-out conditions. The third day was a picture-perfect blue sky day with (almost) all of the runs open during pre-season. Hallelujah for the third day!!! Having a clear day REALLY made our trip (just watch that video above to see what I mean!). It was so amazing to see the Matterhorn and tops of the alps all day long as we skied in Zermatt and into two Italian towns, Valtournenche and Cervina. The longs from the top next to the Matterhorn, winding all the way down to the towns were really nice, long runs. It was such a great ski day!
If you choose to eat lunch on the Italian side, you can have your pick of pastas, lasagnas, minestrone soup, or bisteca tender beef steak washed down with your choice of delicious Italian red wines. We loved Rocce Nere restaurant on the Italian side! If you choose to eat on the Swiss side, look out for rösti, a dish of shredded potatoes cooked in a skillet and topped with yummy melted cheese, a fried egg, bacon, or all of the above, or schnitzel und pommes. We ate on both sides and didn’t have a bad meal on the mountain!
If you take the Matterhorn Express ski lift all the way to the top, it will drop you off at 3900m and feeling on top of the world. There are a few spots to snap a few pictures before heading downhill – make sure to do this! We had a great time skiing and preferred the Italian side to the Swiss side, which I was surprised because we usually LOVE Switzerland’s wide, long, open runs. This time we found the long downhill runs on the Italian side were really nice. The pistes around the Swiss Trockner Steg lift had some flat areas, I was shocked they labeled most of their runs as red intermediate pistes because they felt more like blue runs to us. Just my opinions! I didn’t get to ski into the other side of Zermatt unfortunately since that half of the mountain was closed all of the days we were in town (I think this was due to it being just before the main ski season opened – a side effect of lower priced accommodations). Even though some of the mountain was closed, we still skied all day every day. If you ski into Italy, just be cognizant of the last time to catch the lifts back to Switzerland – or you risk staying in an Italian hotel or a $500CHF taxi fee to get back! We had no problems with this though and had a blast skiing both in Switzerland and Italy, no passport required!
Tip #4: Know the Zermatt Logistics
A picturesque Alpine village dotted with wooden ski chalets and the majestic Matterhorn looming over the town, Zermatt is definitely a bucket list destination but there are a few things that make Zermatt unique that you’ll want to know before you go. The city is very eco friendly and don’t allow cars in the city. The means of transport are walking, taking the e-bus, or taking an e-taxi, riding the ski lift up, or skiing down.
Because it’s car free, you will have to drive (or train) to the next town over, Täsch, and ride the train in. Keep this in mind when planning your logistics. Parking at the Taesch garage is 14.50 CHF per day and you’ll need a train ticket and return to and from Taesch.
I also recommend thinking about logistics when carrying everything, because again you can’t park right at your hotel or apartment. We each had a medium roller suitcase, a large reusable bag of groceries, ski boot bag, and skis to carry. It was easy enough to roll through the train station and to our house, but just keep in mind how you’ll carry everything while packing!
I hope you enjoy your ski holiday to beautiful Zermatt! There’s nothing like waking up to a snow draped village of ski chalets and looking out to the mountain you’ll ski down! Enjoy!!
xx
