 Poster: A snowHead
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Hello, it's been a long time since I've skied Europe but planning to do a 3-4wk ski trip in March 2026 and need a lot of help! I have booked a flight into Venice to start at Dolomiti Superski and fly home from Zurich or Geneva.
Here are the routes I'm deciding between: Dolomites to St. Moritz to Zermatt to Chamonix vs Dolomites to Ischgl to St. Moritz to Zermatt. I have not skiied at any of them before and will be staying until the end of March so snow-sure is important.
I normally like to bring my own skis in North America and rent a car, but I know the public transport system is much better in Europe. Is there a way to move from one ski resort to the other without a car, or is renting still best if we have equipment?
Another thing I was interested in is the Glacier Express train between St. Moritz and Zermatt - has anyone done this for a ski trip and have any tips?
Thank you so much in advance!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@gryphoak,
Welcome to snowheads.
Sorry to answer your queries with questions:- how long are you planning to spend in each resort? What sort of accommodation would you be looking at? What days of the week would you be transferring between resorts?
Be aware that a car hired in one country may not be legal to drive in another, especially in the mountains in winter, without purchased/pre-booked extras - check out the RAC website for what is needed where.
Given the resorts you are looking at rail travel may be better - an Eurail pass?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Thank you for replying.
We are planning about 5-7 days in each location and we prefer hotels near the lifts. Also love catered chalets if they exist at these resorts. We are flexible on days of transfer. We've done car hire between France and Switzerland before, and within Italy (without crossing into Switzerland). Do you think the trains covered by the Eurail pass would allow us to bring gear and get us into the ski areas without much hassle?
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You can get most places with a combination of trains and buses although you'll need to budget a travel day between locations. Google pretty good for planning. Seat61 good for trains. Integrated train/bus system best in Austria /CH IME.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@gryphoak, "Dolomites" covers a big area some parts fairly easy from Venice others not so much. Onward travel with trains not so easy either. Once you get into Switzerland pretty much everywhere is accessible by public transport. Austria pretty similar. Given your likely routes a car might be better but one way car hire might be problematical, if you hire a car make sure it comes with winter tyres (standard in Germany, Austria & Switzerland, less so in Italy). You might better off flying in & out of Zürich (also more chance of say hiring in Zürich and dropping off in St Moritz then doing train)
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I am planning a very similar trip (Zermatt/Dolomites/St.M). I always bring my own gear and I always drive. Snow coverage on piste in March should not be a problem due to all the snowmaking (I ski the Dolomites every March). Since Zermatt is car-free I intend to train there from ZRH, return to ZRH and get a car for the rest of the trip, hitting the D's next and St.M last. I much prefer traveling by car for the flexibility and hewing to no one's schedule except my own, and there's less lugging your stuff around. This gives you the option, for instance, of hitting Kronplatz for a day while you staying elsewhere in the Dolomites (Ikon works in Dolomiti Superski areas only; there are many other areas in the Dolomites where it does not). I don't think the catered chalet model is much of a thing in any of these resorts. You will notice how much more costly CH is vs IT; it is what it is.
I'm going to St. Moritz more for the sake of variety; it is really three small areas that are not linked...a little more old-school in a way. I've heard the town of St. M sucks but there are plenty of other villages there that don't.
Good luck, I'll be watching this one.
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Since more of your destination resorts are in Switzerland/Austria (especially if you do Ischgl/St. Moritz/Zermat/Dolomite), why not flying in and out of Zurich?
You can do all the Austria and Swiss resorts by train. Then rent a car from Innsbruck to drive to the Dolomites. And depending on the cost of drop off for a one way hire, you can either drive back to Innsbruck or onward to Venice.
There’s some backtracking involved. And depends on how many are in the party, it may or may not work out any cheaper than car hiring.
I strongly suspect the rail pass doesn’t really work out any cheaper, as you’re only doing the train once a week.
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Flight to Venice already booked? Dolomites not very accessible by transport so I’d look into renting a car in Venice go sKi the Dolomites. Drive back to Venice and fly to Zurich. Most of the rest of your options are accessible from there by train. Then fly back to the states from Zurich. And I’d skip Cham unless you have the skills and budget for high mountaineering days. For normal skiing I don’t think it has much to offer.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Are you aiming to ski only on piste? Several of the places you mention are especially known for their off-piste, including the Dolomites, though you would need a guide to even find it there.
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| abc wrote: |
Since more of your destination resorts are in Switzerland/Austria (especially if you do Ischgl/St. Moritz/Zermat/Dolomite), why not flying in and out of Zurich?
You can do all the Austria and Swiss resorts by train. Then rent a car from Innsbruck to drive to the Dolomites. And depending on the cost of drop off for a one way hire, you can either drive back to Innsbruck or onward to Venice.
There’s some backtracking involved. And depends on how many are in the party, it may or may not work out any cheaper than car hiring.
I strongly suspect the rail pass doesn’t really work out any cheaper, as you’re only doing the train once a week. |
I think you can get Eurail passes that allow a certain number of nonconsecutive days travel within a calendar month (Global passes https://www.eurail.com/en/eurail-passes/global-pass).
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Thank you for all the responses. I have booked a great business award flight into Venice already and don't want to change that part.
It sounds like renting a car from Venice to do Dolomiti Superski (eg Arabba) and then returning the vehicle and flying to Zurich sounds good. Without a car, I can do the glacier express between St. Moritz and Zermatt. But I'll check pricing of car hire and see if it's financially going to make a difference. We usually drive ourselves in Japan, Canada and the US.
I'm hearing St. Moritz might not be worth much time? I've got 5 days on my base pass - is there enough to do to use up 5 days?
I've been to Chamonix in summer and hiked Le Brevent but never skiied there. If it's nothing special, I can replace it with Ischgl which I've never been to before.
I think we will stay on piste this trip as I am just happy to explore inbound parts only, since these are all new to me.
Do I need to use Zurich as a hub between areas, or is there direct public transport among these ski resorts?
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@gryphoak, If you are committed to Venice then yes best pick up a car there (make sure it has winter tyres) and return. Probably best looking at the Cortina and Arabba areas. A flight to Zürich makes sense but if you want to fit in Ischgl (probably better than St Moritz) then a possible better option is the train. There are trains from Venice to Innsbruck (a few direct but otherwise change in Verona) and plenty of trains from there to Landeck, from where you can get a transfer to Ischgl. A car is little use in Ischgl, no free parking. Onwards there are direct trains from Landeck to Zürich for easy connections to Zermatt. Dont know if Verbier is on the "right" pass but if it is then easy enough to get there too, better than Chamonix for piste skiing though might be worth it for the Vallee Blanche in March.
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