Zermatt with a baby is advisable?

Transportation, Travel and Trips
21
you can go to a resort that has childcare for the little one so you wouldn't have to take turns with hubby, but rather enjoy the time together... not sure which places in CH have the option, but (I sound like a broken record here) we go to Serfaus in Tirol and lots of hotels have childcare as well as the town offers it at a place near the base station.

22
Just checked the weather reports for both Zermatt and Engelberg - Engelberg is in the minus (up to around -12) and Zermatt is continuously in the minus teens (-19 degrees)...

Have you ever been in minus 19 ? We did once, at Engelberg. It was -12 when we got off the train at 9pm, and the next day it was -18. The day after, a very wonderful, gorgeous -4.

You won't find me going anywhere with my kids anything colder than about -10. It stops being fun (for mum and kids) about then...especially if you don't have arctic equipment....

Oh, and for somewhere to stay - we stayed at the youth hostel, but if I was going again, I'd pick one of the hotels right next to the train station - just put 'hotel Engelberg' into a google maps search, and there are at least 8 that come up right next to the station. The little shopping centre is around Dorfstrasse and Klosterstrasse, and if you want to stay right on the slopes, then perhaps the 'Berghotel Trubsee' is the place for you...

But, I would also suggest you try the tourist info centre and ask them what they recommend, especially for last minute bookings, lessons and ski hire packages... they have a hotel/apartment search right on their website:

http://www.engelberg.ch/index.php?id=58&lang=en

23
It was a warm -17 at the top today.. almost bikini weather for Zermatt , temperatures are dropping again in a few days though. In Zermatt I often get frostnip and chillblains in my toes and fingers and that is WITH boot heaters and hand warmers.

24
Boot heaters and hand warmers aren't bad, but at -17 C you should really give it a try with boots and gloves.

25
Thanks for all the information. Really helpful.

26
For what it's worth, many years ago I did Zermatt with a baby and didn't have any complaints or problems. Did what you are planning, shared skiing and baby sitting with spouse and other couple with baby the same age. If I recall correctly, we did the Gornergrat train, and the first station on the cablecar. The babies had no problems whatsoever. Zermatt is car free, so walking around the village and shop with stroller was actually quite nicer than most cities/villages with traffic. There is skating, sledding, and some hotels will pools/hottubs if skiing all day is not your thing.

27
There's a much higher level of families this week, not surprisingly given its half-term for many. But yeah, a good choice, particularly if the non-skier wants to hang around next to the slopes, with the Klostermatt area at village level easily buggy-accessible.

And depending on the age of the child, there's the Yeti Park at the top of the cablecar too, which is great fun for young kids.

28
We just came back from Lenzerheide (our second time there) and enjoyed it a lot.

Depends what level of beginner skier you are. It caters for absolute beginners with tbar and a gentle slope just like Engelberg (called Fadial) but when it comes to long blue slopes serviced by chairlifts Lenzerheide has more.

Earlier you talked about booking ahead. Did you mean last minute? I would not head to any ski resort expecting to find accomodation when I get there. From Zurich I guess you can turn around and head home if you fail to find accomodation but that wouldn`t be much fun.

29
[QUOTE=BrianJW;1804399]We just came back from Lenzerheide (our second time there) and enjoyed it a lot.

Depends what level of beginner skier you are. It caters for absolute beginners with tbar and a gentle slope just like Engelberg (called Fadial) but when it comes to long blue slopes serviced by chairlifts Lenzerheide has more.

Earlier you talked about booking ahead. Did you mean last minute? I would not head to any ski resort expecting to find accomodation when I get there. From Zurich I guess you can turn around and head home if you fail to find accomodation but that wouldn`t be much fun.[/ QUOTE]

Sure dont wanna do that...it would be soooo disappointing!

30
I think Zermatt is a great place to learn. I have gone from *never ever put on skis before* to *cautiously intermediate* - and I learned all of this in Zermatt.

There's the absolute beginners slope by Sunegga (Wolli), after that you can progress onto a really gentle short slope (Eisfluh) which only take a few minutes to get down, ski lift at the bottom & then onto the easy blue slope (Findeln). They're all connected to each other so you might be able to only buy a ski pass for Sunegga (you'd have check that )

Regards baby: there's a restaurant/canteen at Sunegga where you'd be able to take turns in babysitting - and if the weather is nice, you can sit down at Wolli on the nursery slope and watch your other half skidding down the nursery slopes (there's WC there too)

And if you're feeling adventurous, there's always lots of other sledgers with babies on the sledge runs. This is how Swiss like to get their babies ready for the first time they put on skis...approx age 2.5!!