Best time to visit Austria and Switzerland

[DElliott]

Hi FF's
Would like some advice on the best times of the year to visit Austria and Switzerland . Not overly interested in skiing , but would still like to experience snow ! Would love to take in the scenery without everything being covered in snow and ice . Have been thinking November / December or Feb / March . So far planning to fly into Vienna and finish our travels in Copenhagen . Your thoughts and ideas greatly appreciated .
P.S. One must is the Glacier Express .
Cheers

 

[romney]

There will definitely be snow! We were in Austria at the end of June, and there were still patches of snow up in the mountains. I suggest you check the "seasons" for wherever you would like to go, as they shut down the lifts and many of the facilities in between the summer and winter seasons. I think your dates should be okay, but pays to check.

 

[Pushka]

We were there in September. Sunny blue skies and snow up in the mountains e.g. Eiger.

 

[pyffii]

We have been there many times and always in June...Plenty of lifts and cable cars running and with hotel bookings comes free buses and lifts....Lots of snow around plus the wildflowers are in full bloom making for a spectacular landscape....Travelled the Glacier Express to Zermatt and both are a must especially the Matterhorn up close from the top station where again there is plenty of snow....Austria is the same so you will have a ball....try staying in St Moritz,Adelboden and Zermatt in Switzerland whilst Mayhofen and Innsbruk are highly recommended in Austria....As you will be very close to the Dolomites ( northern Italy ) try staying in Selva just over an hour away from Innsbruck...Enjoy !!

 

[DElliott]

Thank you very much Pyffii. Will file away those recommendations .

 

[kelvedon]

The higher mountains are snow covered all year round, but there should be more snow at a lower altitude in Feb/March than earlier in their early winter (Nov/Dec), indeed a lot of the mountain passes will be closed during your suggested periods. The Glacier Express will run throughout the year, even though in the higher parts your views will be interrupted by 2m high snow banks!. The train ends in Zermatt where you'll see the iconic Matterhorn, but remember February is peak ski season with prices to match.
Mountain views rely on clear weather, never a guarantee even in summer, but a strange mountain effect called temperature inversion means the higher resorts (like Grindelwald, Wengen, Zermatt, And Murren) are often warmer than the valley towns (like Interlaken, Brig), affording views of the mountains sticking out of the cloud (aka fog) covered valleys.

 

[Happy Dude]

Best time? The late 1930's.

 

[Renato1]

Depends on how you are getting around.
I've driven a fair bit around Switzerland and Austria in August, September and October, and it was great fun and very easy to do.
But I'd never want to drive there or anywhere else on foggy, frozen or snowy roads like one may encounter at the start of their winter - too scary for people like me who aren't used to it, as the chance of accidents is greatly imcreased.
Regards,
Renato

 

[ChrisDPom]

I took the missus up to Titlis glacier in early July so she could throw a snowball at me.

There are a number of all year round glacier excusions by cable car that you can do (above 3,000m there is still plenty of snow/ice).

On the Glacier Express be aware there are a number of different routes available. Check the timings (some mean a real early start from somewhere like Zurich to connect).

Also, book early as they can get very busy/ the good seats can be taken.

Another hint. Switzerland is one of the most expensive places in Europe (due to the strong CHF), and the tourist trains are no different.

You can save a lot by booking a Eurail Swiss pass (1st Class only) and then reserving the tourist express seats. I saved over 200CHF on each trip this way (way more than the daily fee for the Swiss pass and didn't have to pay for the trains to & from the tourist train pickup/set down points).

Eurails can be booked and then not used fo up to 11 months. You can then just get on any Swiss train as long as it is not an inter country one that needs a seat res.

There is often a 20% European winter discount available - I often just wait for the special price, buy my Eurail and then book flights/ accom for the next Euro summer.

Check the eurail and SBB websites for more info.

Have a great trip - its a great country

 

[coriander]

On the Glacier Express be aware there are a number of different routes available. Check the timings (some mean a real early start from somewhere like Zurich to connect).
Also, book early as they can get very busy/ the good seats can be taken.

There is only one route for the Glacier Express: St Moritz - Chur - Andermatt - Visp - Zermatt and vice versa. They run 1-3 trains per day depending on the season.
You can reserve seats on the GE 90 days out -start checking daily at 96 days out. The seats go VERY quickly.

You can save a lot by booking a Eurail Swiss pass (1st Class only) and then reserving the tourist express seats. I saved over 200CHF on each trip this way (way more than the daily fee for the Swiss pass and didn't have to pay for the trains to & from the tourist train pickup/set down points).

Eurails can be booked and then not used fo up to 11 months. You can then just get on any Swiss train as long as it is not an inter country one that needs a seat res.

For Switzerland only, a Swiss Travel Pass (rather than Eurail) is a better option - covers all mainline rail systems and gives discounts on most of the scenic railways. Also can be used on trams and buses and museums.

 

[earlyriser]

Enjoyed a visit to Wengen and Murren a few years go in January. Plenty of sun and snow, with relatively small crowds.

 

[ChrisDPom]

There is only one route for the Glacier Express: St Moritz - Chur - Andermatt - Visp - Zermatt and vice versa. They run 1-3 trains per day depending on the season.
You can reserve seats on the GE 90 days out -start checking daily at 96 days out. The seats go VERY quickly.


For Switzerland only, a Swiss Travel Pass (rather than Eurail) is a better option - covers all mainline rail systems and gives discounts on most of the scenic railways. Also can be used on trams and buses and museums.

Yes there is one called the Glacier Express, but there are plenty of others:

https://www.sbb.ch/en/leisure-holidays/travel-in-switzerland/panorama-trips.html

On the Swiss Travel Pass, they are offered 3 different ways:

1. Direct by SBB (and damn expensive) and same conditions as the Interrail one in Option 2;


2. By Interrail which is the railpass division of all the national rail companies for European passport holders only.

Cheaper than direct to SBB.

Less flexible than the Eurail version (only allow 1 month travel and you have to nominate a start date which they print on the pass).

Advantage is you don't have to queue to get your pass validated which you do with a Eurail pass - Disadvantage is you are locked on the dates and they are an expensive pain to change.


3. By Eurail which is also the railpass division for all the national rail companies but for non-European passport holders only.

Cheaper than Interrail.

More flexible as per my first post (and allows 2 months use where you pick number of days in a month).

Have to be validated before first use.


Can be issued for 1 country, 2 to 4 countries or global (as can the Interrail version for Euro passport holders).

I have done over 30 of these (and have a British as well as Oz passport so can access either).

I have done also done most of the scenic trains in Switzerland.


Totally agree on the timings of bookings

 

[Pushka]

Enjoyed a visit to Wengen and Murren a few years go in January. Plenty of sun and snow, with relatively small crowds.

Yes. That's where we went. In September and it was gorgeous.

 

[codash1099]

The absolute best time IMHO is any time you've got time!