Saas-Fee, Switzerland
Saas-Fee: arrival, getting around and key facts
Prices, opening hours, timetables, weather and which lifts are open change through the season and are not on this page. Lena answers them in the chat with the current data. Ask Lena
Where is Saas-Fee, and how high is it?
Saas-Fee is a car-free village in the Saas Valley, in the canton of Valais in southwestern Switzerland, at about 1800 m above sea level. Eighteen peaks of over 4000 m stand around the Saas-Fee/Saas Valley region.
Source: Switzerland Tourism, Saas-Fee, read
Is Saas-Fee car-free?
Yes. Cars stay in the Parkhaus, the multi-storey car park at the village entrance. Inside the village people travel on foot, by electric taxi or by hotel transfer, which many hotels run themselves.
Source: Saastal Tourismus, arrival in the Saas Valley, read
How do I get to Saas-Fee by public transport?
Take the train to Visp, then change to PostBus line 511 towards Saas-Fee, which takes about 50 minutes to the Saas-Fee bus terminal. There are rail connections to Visp from the airports of Zurich, Geneva, Basel EuroAirport and Milan. Zurich Airport and Geneva Airport both have direct trains to Visp on some departures; from Zurich Airport the others change once, in Bern. Basel EuroAirport has no railway station: take bus 50 from the Swiss sector to Basel SBB station, about 20 minutes, and the train from there. The whole journey from those airports takes about three hours. Check the connection for your travel day with SBB or PostAuto, because the changes and the travel time vary by departure.
Sources: Saastal Tourismus, arrival in the Saas Valley, read ; SBB timetable, Zurich Airport and Geneva Airport to Visp, read ; EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg, transport, read
How do I get to Saas-Fee by car?
Drive to Visp and then south towards Saas-Fee. After Stalden, at the Killerhof roundabout, take the second exit towards Saas-Fee; in Saas-Grund, turn right after the church. Because the village is car-free, the car stays in the Parkhaus at the village entrance.
Source: Saastal Tourismus, arrival in the Saas Valley, read
How do I get from the bus terminal or the car park to my hotel?
Ask your hotel about its transfer, or take one of the local electric taxis. Walking is fine with light luggage over a short distance. Inside the village there is no regular bus in summer and autumn; in winter a village bus (Ortsbus) serves the village and the cable car stations.
Source: Saastal Tourismus, arrival in the Saas Valley, read
How big is the Saas-Fee ski area?
The Saas-Fee/Saastal ski area counts three areas together, Saas-Fee, Saas-Almagell and Hohsaas above Saas-Grund, with 36 lifts and 150 km of slopes between them. They are not connected on skis: from Saas-Fee, Hohsaas is reached by PostBus down the valley to Saas-Grund and then the Saas-Grund lift. The Saas-Fee area reaches 3600 m, and in winter the skiing reaches onto the Allalin, Hohlaub and Fee glaciers.
Sources: Switzerland Tourism, Saas-Fee, read ; Saastal Bergbahnen, cable car prices Saas-Grund, read
What is the SaastalCard?
The SaastalCard is the Saas Valley guest card. It is not sold: guests receive it from their participating accommodation from the first night, when the visitor's tax is paid, usually by email. All year it includes PostBus journeys within the valley, from Niedergut to Saas-Fee and from Saas-Grund to Mattmark, except on the days of arrival and departure. In summer and autumn it also includes the Saas Valley cable cars except the Metro Alpin. It is not a discount card, although it also gives reductions on local offers.
Sources: Saastal Tourismus, SaastalCard in summer and autumn, read ; Saastal Bergbahnen, cable car prices Saas-Fee, read
What is Allalin?
The name covers six separate places. The Allalinhorn is the 4027 m summit, a high-alpine climb made with a mountain guide. Mittelallalin is the station and viewing area at 3457 m. The Metro Alpin is the underground funicular from Felskinn up to it. The revolving restaurant Allalin is at that station, and VirtuAllalin, a virtual-reality glacier experience, is beside it. Aqua Allalin is the indoor swimming pool down in the village. They open and close separately, so a closure of one says nothing about the others.
Sources: Switzerland Tourism, Allalin, read ; Switzerland Tourism, Allalinhorn ascent with a mountain guide, read ; Switzerland Tourism, Saas-Fee, read ; Switzerland Tourism, VirtuAllalin, read ; Switzerland Tourism, Aqua Allalin, read
How do I get up to Mittelallalin without skiing?
Go up to Felskinn, at about 3000 m, and change there to the Metro Alpin, which runs underground to Mittelallalin. Two lifts run from the village to Felskinn, the Alpin Express and the Felskinn cable car, and which one operates depends on the season and the weekday, so check the cable car timetable for your day. The Metro Alpin is not included in the SaastalCard.
Sources: Switzerland Tourism, cable car ride to the Mittelallalin, read ; Saastal Bergbahnen, winter timetable Saas-Fee, read ; Saastal Tourismus, SaastalCard in summer and autumn, read
What are the emergency numbers in Saas-Fee?
Ambulance: 144. Police: 117. Fire brigade: 118. Rega air rescue: 1414, dialled without a prefix in Switzerland even with a foreign SIM card, for a person off the road network, on a trail or on a glacier, where no ambulance can reach. European emergency number: 112; if in doubt, dial 112 first. Poisoning: Tox Info 145. In the village, call 144 for a medical emergency.
Source: Rega, emergency numbers, read
Who do I contact about lifts, ski passes or tourist information?
Lifts, ski passes and pistes: Saastal Bergbahnen AG, +41 27 958 11 00, bergbahnen@saas-fee.ch. Everything else: the tourist office, Saastal Tourismus AG, Obere Dorfstrasse 2, 3906 Saas-Fee, +41 27 958 18 58, info@saas-fee.ch.
Source: Saastal Tourismus, skiing in November, read