Getting here is very easy.  Engelberg is situated in the heart of Switzerland and served by three airports which are less than two hours drive away.  There are several excellent and cheap flight options to these airports on both chartered and scheduled flights, from many airports in the UK and so it is well worth shopping around on the internet for the best deals.  There are also very good road and rail links to the resort.  We can discuss travel arrangements and directions with you when you book, but in the meanwhile we have included some information below which you might find helpful.  Please bear in mind that travel information does change from time to time and therefore this information may not be bang up to date – where possible we give you a web-site address to allow you to double-check.

PLANES ...

Zurich

The easiest access to the resort is via Zurich airport which has great road and rail links to Engelberg (see further details below).  It is also our favourite.  The airport is very modern, spacious and quiet.  Many holidaymakers overlook it as a gateway to Switzerland and the rest of Europe, which means that it has none of the crowded, manic feel of Geneva airport.  Because it is not crowded, baggage (including bulky skis and boards) arrives quickly - in true Swiss fashion, there is even a display on the baggage carousel telling you how long it will be before the luggage will start to come through (we’ve never had to wait longer than 5 minutes) and a live train timetable for that quick dash to the platform once you have your luggage! 

Swiss (www.swiss.com) and BA (www.ba.com) both operate scheduled flights to Zurich and there are often excellent deals available. The added advantage of using scheduled services is that there are lots of flight times to choose from. Swiss has several flights a day to Zurich from Heathrow and London City airport, as well as flights from Birmingham and Manchester. BA offers regular flights to Zurich from Heathrow and Gatwick. BA advises travellers from other airports in the UK to route to Zurich via Heathrow.

Easyjet (www.easyjet.com) also fly to Zurich (and Basel - see below) from Luton airport. While Easyjet operate only 1 or 2 flights a day, their prices are often extremely competitive, especially if you book well in advance.

Basel (sometimes spelt Basle) and Bern (sometimes spelt Berne) are also close to Engelberg and there are good, fast road links (less than 2 hours) from these airports as well.

Basel/Basle

BA operates 3 flights a day to Basel from Heathrow.  In our experience scheduled flights to Basel are generally more expensive than flights to Zurich, but again it is always worth checking.

Basel airport is very much smaller than Zurich and receives fewer flights, but these can be excellent value. Swiss and BA operate scheduled services to Basel from Heathrow, and Easyjet offers flights from Gatwick, Luton, Stansted and Liverpool.

Bern/Berne

Bern is another great little airport although not quite as convenient to get to as Basel. The best bet for weekend flights to Bern is with Flybe (www.flybe.com). They offer flights from Birmingham and Southampton between December and March.

Geneva

Geneva is a 3 hour drive from Engelberg and therefore not nearly as convenient as Zurich, Basel and Bern airports.  It can also be very busy in the winter season.  However, it is one of the major hubs for European flights and so there are flights from all over the UK – it is very unlikely that you will not find flights to Geneva from whichever airport is closest to you. 

The options are too many to mention here, but for scheduled services to Geneva you can fly with Swiss (from Heathrow and London City airports) or BA (from Gatwick, Heathrow, Birmingham and Manchester).  For chartered flights there is Flybe (flying from Exeter, Birmingham, Norwich and Southampton), Bmibaby (www.bmibaby.com - from Cardiff, Birmingham and Manchester), Jet2 (www.jet2.com - from Leeds Bradford and Manchester) and Easyjet (from just about anywhere you care to mention in the UK – 10 airports at the last count).

... TRAINS ...

Switzerland is known for its super-efficient train services and this is an excellent and relaxing way to travel from the airport to Engelberg.  The quickest and easiest route of all is from Zurich airport where trains depart for Lucerne every 30 minutes from right underneath the terminal building.  Direct services to Lucerne take an hour and indirect services (which involve a very simple change of train at Zurich central station) take an hour and 10 minutes. 

At Lucerne, you change for the mountain railway up to Engelberg which takes about an hour.  The trains are very small and quite slow, especially on the steeply climbing track as you approach Engelberg, but it is a very pleasant and relaxing journey.  If you give us a call on your way up to Engelberg, we can pick you up from the little station in the centre of the resort.  Alternatively, for those travelling in groups of 6 or more, we may be able to arrange to pick you up at Lucerne station, although we cannot guarantee to do this as arrivals day is a very busy time in the chalet. 

You can also travel to Lucerne by train from Basel station, although you will to need to take a bus to the central station from the airport (which is again very quick and easy).  The total journey between the airport and Lucerne takes about 1 hour 45 minutes. 

Please let us know if you plan to take the train to Lucerne from Bern airport.  The route isn’t very complicated but involves taking a bus from the airport and a short 3 minute walk to the station, and so it is better if we send you an email with directions.  The journey time from Bern airport to Lucerne is about 2 hours. 

For full details about train services, including timetables and fares, you can contact us or check out the Swiss railway web-site (www.sbb.ch) which is excellent and written in English.  Standard adult return fares from Zurich, Basel and Bern airports to Engelberg cost about £33, £38 and £46, depending on the current exchange rate. 

Another option only available to travellers arriving in Switzerland from abroad is the Swiss Transfer Ticket.  This ticket covers one return journey from your place of arrival to your destination and costs about £55.  Although more expensive than standard return fares, it can work out cheaper for larger families as children travel for free (if you choose the free Family Card option on the ticket).  Full details about the Swiss Transfer Ticket can be seen on the Swiss railway web-site.  The main downside with this ticket is that it can only be purchased online before you travel from the Swiss railway web-site (which requires you to register and to pay for the ticket to be sent to you by post) or from various organisations in the UK who may charge for this service (a list of agents in the UK is shown on the Swiss railway web-site).  

... & AUTOMOBILES

Transfers

We may be able to offer your group a competitively priced transfer service from Zurich, Basel or Bern airports in our Land Rover and trailer, which can accommodate up to 8 passengers and their luggage (including skis). This service is very much dependent on flight times, and the arrival and departure times of our other guests. Alternatively, you may wish to arrange your own taxi or minibus transfer, in which case we can give you our recommendations for firms to contact.

Hiring a car

It takes about 1 hour and 40 minutes to drive from Zurich airport to Engelberg and about 1 hour 45 minutes from Basel and Bern airports.   The route from all of the airports is mainly on motorway and very easy.   Please let us know in advance if you are hiring a car from the airport and we will send you details of the best routes to take.

Zurich, Basel and Bern airports are all served by Alamo/National, Avis, Budget/Sixt, Europcar and Hertz.  We would advise you to book and pay for your hire car in the UK before you travel as it is usually cheaper that way.  We have usually obtained the best prices for car hire in Switzerland through Holiday Autos (www.holidayautos.co.uk) and Easycar (www.easycar.com).

It is worth checking that your car is fitted with snow tyres.  These can often get you through light snow conditions on many roads and are automatically provided with cars hired from Zurich airport in the winter months.  But whatever you do, make sure you hire snow-chains with your car!

Driving from the UK

Driving can often be the cheapest way of getting to the Alps if you are travelling in a small group. 

We have driven to Engelberg from the UK (usually via Calais) on a few occasions and can give you our recommended routes.  We would also recommend the web-site www.viamichelin.com for planning your journey.  It is easy to use and generally reliable, although it will often suggest the most direct route using smaller roads, which in our experience are often slower than less direct motorway routes.  One great benefit of using the site is that it gives you an estimated cost of driving, taking into account current motorway toll prices in France (usually between about £15 and £30 each way, depending on your route), compulsory Swiss motorway tax which you buy at the Swiss border (for about £18), and petrol costs (usually between about £40 and £50 each way).   It will also tell you of major roadworks and even the location of speed traps!  There are several other web-sites giving similar information, for example the AA has its route-planner service at www.theaa.com.

Depending on the route you choose, the journey from Calais and Engelberg is between 800 and 880 kilometres.  The Viamichelin site will tell you that you can drive this is in as little as 8-8.5 hours, but you should probably allow 9 to 10 hours for a more relaxed drive (and the AA website seems to agree with us on this point).