St. Moritz (Swiss Alps), Switzerland, is one of my most favorite vacation / escape destinations for
- its geographical expanse – for example, Zermatt lies in a substantially narrower valley
- its serenity – absolute quietness on the mountain peaks
- its natural beauty
- and its quality of experiences – there is no better way to sense an achievement and to get the right perspective on life than from looking down a 3km high mountain one’s just climbed upon.
This article originated in outlining over and over to my overseas friends/clients how to get in and how to make most of their stay there.
Ingredients of a Perfect Vacation
I firmly believe that the quality of one’s vacations depends directly on the richness of the experiences during the vacation – purely lying on a beach bathing in sun will certainly be less memorable than diving into an ocean while searching for a treasure hunt.
The best experiences are then, in my view:
- trips especially those where your heart rate jumps above 140 bps
- trips with the latest gadgets with magic powers
- finally, the fun is usually multiplied by the number of people around you sharing your values and your sense of humor
How to Get In
Citizens of many countries can enter Switzerland without a visa – check conditions and app website.
The best way is to arrive by plane to the Zurich International Airport and then take a train to St. Moritz (~3:40 hours) via Zurich Hauptbahnhof (HB) and Chur.
Tips
- For the segment Chur → St. Moritz, upgrade your ticket to the panorama the Glacier Express – the easiest way is at the railway station’s ticket counter
- Buy the train ticket via the SBB iPhone / Android app (at least for the return journey)
- If you intend to come to Switzerland frequently, get a SwissPass. Even for a one-time stay in Switzerland, travel cheaply 1st class with SuperSaver tickets. For example, with SwissPass and a SuperSaver ticket you can get 1st class ticket Zurich → St. Moritz for about 30 USD
Where To Stay
I highly recommend staying in Kempinski Grand Hotel des Bains, one of the best hotels I have ever stayed in. The hotel is actually not located directly in St. Moritz, but in St Moritz Bad (10 mins from St. Moritz train station by a bus) which makes it a more suitable starting point for all summer and winter sports. The hotel’s extremely spacious, the food is excellent, its spa with an indoor swimming pool has no competition, and unlike other hotels, they have an activity concierge for the summer and a ski school for the winter.
When booking your stay, you should optimize the dates of your vacation for the days off seasonal peaks and then the prices are not that bad at all. Start with the “Special offers“, some of which include a sweet complimentary upgrade upon availability – another reason for optimizing the dates.
The hotel price includes a complimentary pick-up from the train station, and as of 3 nights, an unlimited Engadin pass for all cablecars, busses, trains and in the winter ski lifts in the entire Engadin.
True, one can stay elsewhere in St. Moritz for half the price, however, that stay would not be that grand and that memorable.
Activity Concierge
The activity concierge is one of the best assets of the hotel.
In the summer, he personally designed for me everyday’s iteneraries (GPX files) taking into account the weather condition, my level of hiking / biking skills, the memorability of the trips, and the beauty of the destinations.
Some of his tips include hiking above the clouds, or before the dawn so that when the sun rises, you have unforgettable views of the scenery.
I would have never come up with the iteneraries he suggested and would have missed so much!
What to Pack for Both a Summer and a Winter Stay
| Recommended Item | Recommended Brands |
| Action Camera | GoPro Hero 5 Black with accessories 3-Way, Seeker, Strap and plenty of spare batteries and microSD cards |
| GPS Mapping | Garmin Montana 680t with maps from Topo Schweiz V4 Pro, Swiss TransAlpin V4 Pro, SchweizMobil, Outdoor Active, Open Alps Map, OpenMaps |
| Extra USB Battery Pack | XQisit Power Bank 20800 mAh |
| Small Drone for Photography | Aerix VIDIUS HD |
| 360 Degrees Camera | Ricoh Theta S |
| Whistle | Ultimate Survival Technologies Marine JetScream Floating Whistle |
| Head Flashlight | Petzl Tikka |
| Waterproof bags | aLoksak Waterproof Cases |
| Suncream +50 | |
| Sun Glasses | Oakley SLIVER™ Polarized |
What to Pack for a Summer Stay
| Recommended Item | Recommended Brands |
| Walking Poles | LEKI Micro Vario Carbon Trekking |
| Bike Helmet | Lazer |
| Waterproof and Windproof Trousers and Jacket | HAGLÖFS or The North Face |
| Waterproof Trekking Shoes | HAGLÖFS ROC ICON GT Men |
| Warm Underwear | X-Bionic |
| Cap | Tilley’s Hiker’s Hat |
What to Pack for a Winter Stay
| Recommended Item | Recommended Brands |
| Goggles | Oakley Airwave (Hyperdrive White, Fire Iridium) – watch this video |
| Skiing Backpack | Ortovox FREE RIDER 26 |
| Boots | |
| Helmet | Giro AVANCE MIPS |
| Waterproof and Windproof Trousers and Jacket | Kjus or Spyder |
| Warm Underwear | X-Bionic |
| Gloves | |
| Ski Socks | |
| Second layer |
What To Do in the Summer
When staying with Kempinski, the best is to ask the activity concierge for his recommendations. For me he helped organized paragliding, biking and hiking. His menu of activities also includes horse riding, archery, fishing, canoeing, sailing and actually anything imaginable.
His hiking recommendations for me are best described by the GPX maps of the actual hikes taken below:
One of the most remarkable hikes was a trip along the glacier close to the Boval Hut – see the GPX file of the hike.
For biking, one can rent the bike close to the Kempinski Hotel at Suvretta Sports, at best reserve before. Check out TrailForks for biking ideas.
Check out the excellent Engadin’s mountain bike map:
St.-Moritz-Biking
While hiking / biking around I recommend drinking a lot of water which reduces the high altitude dizziness. I found the best lunch bag to be a few GU Energy Chews for they are very light for a backpack, and (with some imagination) tasty.
And for any sport, check the Engadin’s Topo Map.
What To Do in the Winter
Signing up for a quick ski-refresher may be beneficial since the instructors can provide advice on best slopes and on off-piste skiing and since he can provide you with avalanche bags should it be needed.
Travelling with skis can be bothersome, so I recommend renting both skis and poles at Ski Service Corvatch.
General overview of the skiing in Engadin:
St.-Moritz-Ski-Catalog
Review the Engadin’s ski slope map:
St.-Moritz-Ski-Slopes
Apart from skiing, or cross-country skiing, one can also snowshoe.
Check out the Ski Slope Report and the recommendations at WeLove2Ski.
Weather
The Weather in St. Moritz or in Switzerland in general is very hard to forecast due to the high mountains and lakes.
In my experience, the most reliable forecasts are provided by the Weather Channel (see its iPhone app). For the snow overview, I recommend the iPhone app Swiss Snow.
I do not recommend wearing T-Shirts and shorts unless your skin is accustomed to the Alpine sun exposure. In the summer, I had a T-Shirt and shorts on my first day of hiking and I got so incredibly burnt that I had to be fully covered afterwards.