Andermatt. The easiest of the high Swiss resorts to reach, and the least obvious.
A garrison village at 1,444 metres in the Ursern valley, rebuilt over the last fifteen years into something quietly serious. It is a short motorway run from Zurich, it has its own mainline station, and in winter every pass out of it is shut.
The place
A crossroads with nowhere to cross
Andermatt sits in the Ursern valley in canton Uri, at the point where the Gotthard, Furka and Oberalp roads meet. For centuries that made it one of the great junctions of the Alps. In winter it makes it the opposite: all three passes close under snow, and the village is reached by one road and one railway. The Reuss runs through the middle, separating the old village from the new quarter built by the Andermatt Swiss Alps development, which brought The Chedi and a good deal else with it.
The skiing is the reason most of our clients go. The Gemsstock, at about 2,960 metres, is a serious north-facing mountain with a reputation among strong skiers, and it is linked across the valley to Sedrun and Disentis in the SkiArena, which runs to roughly 180 kilometres of piste. It is a resort people go back to rather than one they are taken to.
For the person arranging the trip, the important point is that Andermatt is unusually easy. It is not up a long valley road. It is effectively at a motorway junction, and it has a station on the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn that is also a Glacier Express stop. Very few Alpine resorts of this quality can say that.
At a glance
What you need to know
- Village altitude1,444 mUrsern valley, canton Uri, central Switzerland. Skiing on the Gemsstock to about 2,960 m.
- Closest large airportZurich (ZRH)Roughly 1 hour 30 to 2 hours by road, almost all of it motorway. About 2 hours by train with one change.
- Nearest business airfieldBuochs (BXO), near StansA 2,000 m runway and the main private aviation field in central Switzerland. Hours and handling confirmed for your dates.
- Winter road realityOne way inThe Gotthard, Furka and Oberalp passes all close for the winter. The Göschenen to Andermatt road through the Schöllenen gorge stays open.
Getting there
Airports and typical transfers
| Airport | By road | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Zurich (ZRH) | About 1 hour 30 to 2 hours | The default for both airline and private arrivals. Motorway the whole way to the Göschenen exit on the A2, then a few kilometres up the Schöllenen gorge. Add time on Friday afternoons and Swiss school holidays. |
| Buochs (BXO) | About 1 hour | Near Stans on Lake Lucerne. The closest field that takes business aircraft, and a short run down to the A2. A quieter option than Zurich when the aircraft and the hours suit. |
| Sion (SIR) | Not a direct road in winter | Geographically close over the Furka, but the pass is shut all winter. The realistic link is the car-carrying train through the Furka base tunnel from Oberwald to Realp. |
| Milan | About 3 hours | From the south through the Gotthard road tunnel. Genuinely useful for clients combining Andermatt with Italy, but the tunnel queues at weekends and holidays and there is no winter alternative over the top. |
Realistic ranges in normal winter conditions, not promises. Outside London and Manchester our cars are arranged through operators we know, with winter tyres and chains carried as a matter of course.
The passes and the car trains
When the mountain closes the road
From roughly late autumn until spring, the Oberalp, Furka and Gotthard pass roads are closed by snow. The dates move every year with the weather, and reopening can be anywhere from late April to the middle of May. This catches people out, because a mapping app will happily route a car over a pass that has been shut for four months.
Switzerland solves it with trains that carry cars. The Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn runs a service through the Furka base tunnel between Realp, just up the valley from Andermatt, and Oberwald in the Goms, year round and in about a quarter of an hour. In winter it also shuttles cars between Andermatt and Sedrun under the Oberalp. Both need booking and both run to fixed timetables, so they have to be planned rather than improvised.
The practical effect on an itinerary is simple. If you are coming from Zurich, Lucerne or the north, none of this affects you and the drive is easy. If you are combining Andermatt with the Valais, the Engadin or Italy, tell us early, because the connection determines the day rather than the other way round.
Local realities
What experienced visitors do
- Consider the train seriously here, unusually for a ski resort. Zurich airport to Andermatt station is about two hours with one change, and a chauffeur can meet the train rather than drive the whole way
- Send the exact address in the new quarter. The streets there are recent, some are pedestrian, and a hotel name alone is not always enough for a driver who is new to the village
- Leave a buffer on Friday afternoons and around Swiss school holidays. The Gotthard approach is the congestion point, not the mountain
- Do not plan a road route over the Furka, Oberalp or Gotthard between autumn and late spring. Ask us for the car train times instead
- Tell us the ski and boot bag count with the passenger count. The Gemsstock crowd travel with more kit than most, and it decides both the aircraft and the number of vehicles
- If you want a helicopter leg, say so early. Swiss landing sites are tightly regulated and the options are fewer than in France or Austria
Around the trip
Related pages
Routes and airports
Nearby and comparable
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Tell us the week
Dates, numbers, the hotel or chalet and how much ski kit is coming. We reply with aircraft options into Zurich or Buochs, the road transfer, and where a train leg would genuinely be quicker and more comfortable than driving.
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Questions people ask
About Andermatt
Can we fly in closer than Zurich?
Buochs, near Stans on Lake Lucerne, takes business aircraft and is about an hour from the village. It is a smaller field with its own hours and handling arrangements, so we confirm it against your aircraft and your timings before we put it in the plan.
Is the drive from Zurich difficult in winter?
No, and that is Andermatt's quiet advantage. It is motorway almost the whole way to the Göschenen exit and only a few kilometres of mountain road after it. The delays that do occur are traffic on the Gotthard approach rather than snow.
Why do you keep mentioning the train?
Because here it is often the better answer. Andermatt has a mainline station in the village, Zurich airport is about two hours away with one change, and a chauffeur meeting the train removes two hours of driving from the day.
We want to go on to Zermatt or St Moritz. Is that easy?
It can be done, but it needs planning, because the direct pass roads are closed in winter and the link is by car-carrying train or a long way round. Tell us at the start and we will build the itinerary around the timetable.
Do you have your own cars in Switzerland?
Our own cars and chauffeurs are in London and Manchester, and a trusted global network covers everywhere else. Swiss transfers are arranged through operators we know, and one contact at Odyssey holds the whole itinerary together.
When should we book?
For Christmas, New Year and February half-term, in the autumn. Andermatt is smaller than the famous French resorts, so the good hotel rooms and the helicopter capacity go early even when the flights are still available.
One contact, wherever you are