SAAS FEE
SWITZERLAND
24 - 29 DECEMBER 2019
Skiing holidays are not on the top of our agenda, however our number two has finished his final year at school so requested we go on a skiing holiday.
We have previously skied in Zermatt, Switzerland and loved the "no car" village and atmosphere. Looking around we discovered Saas Fee. Located under one of highest mountains in Switzerland (the Dom, 4,545 metres), Saas Fee is a year round ski resort which caters to all levels of skiers. It is the largest village in the Saas Valley with neighbouring villages Saas-Almagell, Saas-Grund and Saas-Balen accessible with your ski pass.
A brood of eight (two families of four), we met in Milan and took the two hour train ride to Visp where we were transferred to Saas Fee. Unlike Zermatt, there is no train from Visp to Saas-Fee, however there is a public bus which runs every 30 minutes or you can hire a private transfer.
As we were a large group, we opted for a private transfer. Helmut from Taxi Zurbriggen was very punctual and accommodating. His taxi's were clean, had plenty of space and he offered us beverages for the 40 minute ride to Saas Fee.
We stayed at the Black Pearl Chalet. Architectural designed, built and operated by Edwin, the chalet accommodated all of us extremely comfortably. Located up quite a steep hill, it is set amongst the snow covered pines with the option of ski in/ski out. We couldn't have asked for a more picturesque setting for Christmas and for our friends first time in the snow.
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| Black Pearl Chalet |
There is a good selection of restaurants in the village. Astrid's Fondue Hitta offers a traditional fondue and raclette along with a good wine list. We also had a really lovely dinner at Schaeferstube located close to the chalet. Simone and Daniel are young and keen restaurateurs offering a great selection of wines and delicious food.
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| Schaeferstube Restaurant |
Not having skied for six years, we had private ski lessons with Nico from Eskimos. Sandra in the Eskimos office organised everything for us prior to our arrival, so we just had to sign-in the evening we arrived. We hired skis and lockers from Cesar Sport, which again, was done online prior to arrival, so we just had to collect our gear.
There are 23 lifts in Saas Fee, 9 Gondolas/cable cars/funicular and 2 chair lifts. There is a good selection of mountain eateries including the highest revolving restaurant in the world, Allalin. The views over the alps are stunning and the food is just as good.
Tired of skiing? Saas Fee offers a 5 kilometre toboggan run. It is awesome! The cable car to Hannig is covered in your ski pass, so all you have to do is hire a toboggan. Not for the faint hearted and probably a little scary for some, it take around 40 minutes to sled from Hannig (2336m) to Saas Fee (1800m). Using your legs as your only breaks, the run takes you through the most scenic forest a quite a speed.
Hannig is worth a visit, even if you don't want to toboggan down the mountain. There is a cafe/restaurant at the top and you can either take the walking trail back down to Saas Fee (approximately 1 hour walking) or just hop back on the cable car.
There was a good night club scene in the village and apart from one day when we had a white-out, the days were beautifully clear and sunny. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect way to spend Christmas with our family and friends.
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