Ski Transfers from Zurich Airport

Zurich is the practical entry point to the eastern Swiss Alps. Graubünden — Davos, Klosters, St. Moritz, Arosa, Lenzerheide, Laax — is closer to ZRH than to any other international airport, and central Switzerland’s resorts sit inside two hours by road.

This page compares every connection honestly: what it costs by car, what it costs in time by train, and which one actually suits the way you are travelling.

Every resort from ZRH, compared

Resort	Road km	By car	By train	E-Class	V-Class
Engelberg	100	1 h 16	2 h 04 · 1–2 changes	CHF 440	CHF 490
Andermatt	123	1 h 33	2 h 18 · 2–3 changes	CHF 532	CHF 594
Grindelwald	151	2 h 07	2 h 51 · 1–4 changes	CHF 644	CHF 720
Klosters	161	1 h 50	2 h 09 · 2 changes	CHF 684	CHF 765
Lenzerheide	163	1 h 54	2 h 20 · 3 changes	CHF 692	CHF 774
Flims	165	1 h 48	2 h 15 · 3 changes	CHF 700	CHF 783
Laax	170	1 h 54	2 h 15 · 3 changes	CHF 720	CHF 805
Arosa	172	2 h 16	2 h 50 · 2 changes	CHF 728	CHF 814
Davos	174	2 h 05	2 h 38 · 2 changes	CHF 736	CHF 823
Adelboden	189	2 h 14	—	CHF 796	CHF 891
Gstaad	208	2 h 36	3 h 11 · 1–3 changes	CHF 872	CHF 976
St. Moritz	227	2 h 48	3 h 23 · 2 changes	CHF 948	CHF 1062
Saas-Fee	249	3 h 37	—	CHF 1036	CHF 1161
Zermatt — car to Täsch	252	3 h 36	3 h 31 · 1–4 changes	CHF 1048	CHF 1174
Verbier	281	3 h 06	—	CHF 1164	CHF 1305

Each resort now has its own page: Engelberg, Andermatt, Grindelwald, Klosters, Lenzerheide, Flims, Laax, Arosa, Davos, Adelboden, Gstaad, St. Moritz, Saas-Fee, Zermatt and Verbier, with the road and rail comparison for each.

Road distances and prices come from the same calculation as the booking system; rail times are from the SBB timetable for a mid-morning departure. Prices are per vehicle, not per person, and a return booked together takes 10 % off.

Car or train? The honest version

We sell the car, so here is the case against it first.

The train is excellent in Switzerland, and for a solo traveller with a rucksack it is very hard to beat. Engelberg is two hours from the airport on rails, Klosters just over two, and every one of these journeys is comfortable, punctual and scenic in a way a motorway is not.

The problem is not the train. It is the changes with equipment. Laax means three changes. Davos and St. Moritz mean two, one of which is at Landquart or Chur with a platform change. Each one is skis off the rack, bags down, up the stairs, onto the next train — and back again. With one adult and a rucksack that is fine. With two adults, two children, four cases and three ski bags it is the worst part of the holiday.

The threshold is roughly three people or any equipment. Below it, take the train. Above it, the arithmetic and the sanity both favour the car: four people to Davos is CHF 736 in total, loaded once at the airport and unloaded once at the hotel.

What changes in winter

Which resort suits which trip

Closest to the airport — Engelberg, at 100 km and a bit over an hour. The only resort here you can reach, ski and return from in a day without it being absurd.

Best all-round for a week — Davos and neighbouring Klosters. Six separate ski areas, a real town rather than a resort, and everything open outside the season too.

Snowboarding and freestyle — Laax, which built its reputation on parks and halfpipe and is the closest of the big Graubünden areas by road.

Glamour and altitude — St. Moritz. The longest drive in Graubünden and the highest profile, with a season that includes events found nowhere else.

The iconic one — Zermatt, under the Matterhorn, car-free, and the longest journey on this page. Worth it, but plan the last leg.

Summer in the same places

These are not only winter destinations, and the transfer prices are identical in July. Davos and Klosters run an extensive hiking and biking network; Laax and Flims have one of the largest bike parks in the Alps; Engelberg’s cable cars run through the summer to the Titlis glacier. The roads are faster without snow, and vehicles are far easier to book.

Ski transfers from Zurich Airport — FAQ