Davos and Klosters. About two hours from Zurich, to the forum in Davos or the quiet of Klosters.
Davos is a working town at about 1,560 metres with a congress centre, a hospital and a long main street. Klosters, four hundred metres lower and twenty minutes down the pass, is a village. They share a mountain and an access road, and almost nothing else.
The place
A town and a village, one lift system
Both are in Graubünden, in eastern Switzerland, at the head of the Prättigau valley. Davos runs for several kilometres along the valley floor between Davos Platz and Davos Dorf, and it does not look like a ski resort: it looks like a small city that happens to be very high up, with a hospital, research institutes, a congress centre and a great deal of twentieth-century concrete alongside the older hotels. Klosters is the opposite, a Graubünden village of painted timber houses that has quietly drawn the same British and Swiss families back for generations.
They share the Parsenn, reached by the Gotschna cable car from Klosters and the funicular from Davos Dorf, and Davos adds the Jakobshorn, Madrisa above Klosters, Rinerhorn and Pischa. It is a large amount of skiing, spread out, and moving between the sectors by road is a normal part of the week.
Choosing between them is mostly a question of what you want in the evening. Davos has the restaurants, the congress traffic and the noise. Klosters has the quiet and the long-standing hotels, and pays for it with twenty minutes over the Wolfgang pass whenever you want the other one.
At a glance
What you need to know
- AltitudesDavos about 1,560 m, Klosters about 1,120 mGraubünden, Switzerland, at the head of the Prättigau. Linked by the Wolfgang pass road.
- Closest large airportZurich (ZRH)About 154 km, roughly 2 hours by road. Rail is about 2 hours 40 with one change.
- The way inLandquart and the PrättigauMotorway to Landquart, then the valley road through Küblis to Klosters and over the pass to Davos.
- To the EngadinThe Vereina car trainThe Flüela pass is closed in winter. Cars go on the train at Selfranga, near Klosters, for the twenty-minute run through the tunnel.
Getting there
Airports and typical transfers
| Airport | By road | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Zurich (ZRH) | About 2 hours to 2 hours 30 | The default. Motorway on the A3 and A13 towards Chur as far as Landquart, then the Prättigau valley road. Only the last part is mountain driving, and it is well maintained. |
| Samedan (SMV) | About 1 hour 30 to 2 hours | In the Engadin on the other side of the mountains, using the Vereina car train in winter. A high mountain airfield with strict requirements, so we confirm it with the operator for your dates. |
| St Gallen Altenrhein | About 1 hour 45 | A small field near Lake Constance with a short runway. Useful for light and midsize aircraft, and often quieter than Zurich. |
| Friedrichshafen | About 2 hours 15 | The other Lake Constance option, on the German side. Worth asking about when Zurich parking is tight. |
Realistic ranges in normal winter conditions, not promises. Forum week in January and Saturday changeover both add time. Outside London and Manchester our cars are arranged through operators we know, with winter tyres and chains.
January in Davos
One week unlike any other
The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting runs from 18 to 22 January 2027 at the congress centre in Davos Platz. For that week the town is a different place: security zones around the centre and the principal hotels, vehicle accreditation, checkpoints, and a great deal of helicopter movement. Rooms are taken far in advance, and aircraft parking and handling across eastern Switzerland and southern Germany tighten well before the meeting starts.
If you are travelling for the Forum, the detail sits on our World Economic Forum page, which covers airports, accreditation and how ground transport actually works inside the security perimeter. Odyssey holds no accreditation and no relationship with the Forum; what we do is arrange the aircraft and the cars and make sure the two plans match.
If you are going to Davos or Klosters to ski, the practical advice is simply to avoid that week. Klosters is calmer than Davos, but the access road, the airports and the hotels are all affected, and a normal ski week costs more effort than it should.
Local realities
What experienced visitors do
- Say whether you are in Davos Platz, Davos Dorf or Klosters. The town is several kilometres long and the difference is a real fifteen minutes
- Check the January dates before booking a family week. The Forum affects rooms, roads and airport capacity beyond Davos itself
- Ask about the Vereina car train if you are combining Davos with the Engadin or St Moritz. The Flüela pass is shut in winter and the train is the sensible link
- Consider the train from Zurich for small parties. It is a comfortable journey of about two hours and forty minutes with one change, and it is unaffected by road conditions
- Give us the hotel name and a pin. Klosters has narrow lanes above the village and Davos has one-way sections along the Promenade
- Tell us in the morning if you plan to ski the Parsenn from one end and finish at the other. Being collected at Klosters instead of Davos is easy with notice
Around the trip
Related pages
Airports and routes
Other resorts
Request a quote
Tell us the week
Dates, numbers, whether you are in Davos or Klosters, and whether the trip is for skiing or for the Forum. We reply with aircraft options, the road plan from Zurich, and the alternatives if the smaller fields suit your aircraft better.
Prefer to talk? +44 2030 048300 or WhatsApp, at any hour.
Questions people ask
About Davos and Klosters
How long is the drive from Zurich?
About two hours in normal conditions, and up to two and a half on a snowy Saturday or during Forum week. Most of it is motorway to Landquart, with the Prättigau valley road at the end.
Davos or Klosters?
Klosters if you want a quiet village and traditional hotels; Davos if you want restaurants, a choice of mountains and the convenience of a town. They share the Parsenn and are twenty minutes apart over the Wolfgang pass.
Can we get to St Moritz and the Engadin?
Yes, by the Vereina car train from Selfranga near Klosters. The Flüela pass is closed in winter, so the train is the reliable winter link, and it takes about twenty minutes through the tunnel.
What is Forum week like for transport?
Restricted. There are security zones, vehicle accreditation and checkpoints, and airport capacity across the region is stretched. Our World Economic Forum page sets out how it works in detail.
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 Forum week, as far ahead as possible. For New Year and February half-term, in the autumn. Other weeks are usually straightforward.
One contact, wherever you are