We love to hear from people about their own trips to the Alps by train. Alun Pinnegar recently contacted us to tell us about his journey from London to Zermatt by train:

London to Zermatt by Train

Alun’s journey took 13 hours door-to-door and cost £1000 for a family of four. Given he was travelling at half-term, Alun estimates this was less than half the cost of flying. And, of course, Storm Dennis meant that many people flying from Gatwick wouldn’t even have got off the ground.

“The Swiss are good at coordinating train services, so the train up from Visp will wait for a slightly delayed intercity and similarly they will hold an intercity a little if you are running late back down.”

The return journey also took 13 hours door=to=door, with their skis and boots following a week later.

“The end of half term traffic jam coming down the mountain into Visp was something to behold from the train carriage whilst enjoying the mountain views.”

How Alun booked his journey

“This trip took some planning but ultimately was simple to book via the train company apps.

SBB is particularly good for planning routes and changes as it has a very cool ‘Touch Timetable’ that enables a myriad of route options to be quickly explored.

Once on your journey the app also tells you what platform you need to be on for each train.”

Alun recommends booking early if you are travelling in half-term week, especially for the Eurostar trains.

He also suggests checking the schedules to see if you can travel from Paris via Gare de l’Est instead of Gare du Lyon. This is only a walk from Gare du Nord and means you can avoid the Metro/RER altogether.

Relaxing on the train

Sending luggage by DHL

To avoid having to carry his ski gear across Paris, Alun sent his equipment in advance via DHL at a cost of around £100.

It’s Alun’s feeling that taking ski gear with kids is too much:

“Sending our luggage in advance makes all this possible. The Eurostar luggage service was very good and if you work through the website eventually you can find the substantially better value ‘economy option’.

Alun saved the cost of shipping and more by going to Zermatt as the resort gives free lift passes for younger children.

Cost = Zero

 

Ski Flight Free

You can find out more about travelling by train on your next ski trip on Ski Flight Free. Follow us on Facebook to keep up to date with the latest news and to share your stories.

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