St. Moritz Travel Guide: What to Know Before You Go (Winter 2026-27)
Everybody has heard of St. Moritz. Ask most people what's actually there though and you get "rich people and snow". That's not wrong, but it misses alot. St. Moritz is a small mountain town in southeast Switzerland that more or less invented the winter holiday, still races horses on a frozen lake, and has one of the trickiest airports in Europe sitting ten minutes down the road.
We get asked about St. Moritz more every season, so here's the guide I wish I had the first time: what it is, when to go, what's worth your time, and how getting in by private jet really works.
St. Moritz in 60 Seconds
Where it is: the Upper Engadin valley in the canton of Graubünden, close to the Italian border. The town sits at about 1,800 meters (roughly 6,000 feet).
The two halves: St. Moritz Dorf is the village up on the hill with the hotels, shops and restaurants. St. Moritz Bad is down by the lake and a little quieter.
Languages: Swiss German, Italian and Romansh, the old local language you'll see on street signs. English works almost everywhere.
Money: Swiss francs. Cards are taken basically everywhere.
The weather: cold, dry and very sunny. That sun is a big part of why St. Moritz exists as a resort at all.
Season: winter runs mid-December through March and is the main event. Summer is quieter, greener and honestly underrated.
How a Bet Created Winter Tourism
Back in 1864, Johannes Badrutt ran the Kulm Hotel, which at the time was a summer hotel. The story goes he made a bet with a group of British summer guests: come back in winter, and if you don't love it, your stay is free. They came, stayed until spring and went home tanned. That's widely credited as the start of winter tourism in the Alps.
Everything else followed from there. The British guests got bored and started sliding down the icy roads, which led to the Cresta Run (the St. Moritz Tobogganing Club dates to 1887) and the bobsled run. St. Moritz hosted the Winter Olympics twice, in 1928 and 1948, with opening ceremonies in the Kulm Park. The Olympia Bob Run St. Moritz–Celerina has been running since 1904 and is the oldest natural ice bob run in the world, and the last one left.
The 2026-27 Winter Calendar
This is where St. Moritz is different from every other ski town. A lot of the biggest events happen on the frozen lake.
Cresta Run season opens (Dec 17, 2026): The famous head-first skeleton toboggan run
Olympia Bob Run opens (Dec 22, 2026): Natural ice bobsled track, with guest rides
Snow Polo World Cup (Jan 22–24, 2027): High-goal polo on the frozen lake, held since 1985
The I.C.E. (Jan 29–30, 2027): Classic car concours on the frozen lake
White Turf (Feb 7, 14 and 21, 2027): Horse racing on the lake, running since 1907
Engadin Skimarathon (Mar 14, 2027): 42 km cross-country race from Maloja to S-chanf
A tip from experience: the polo weekend and the White Turf Sundays are when hotels, restaurants and the airport ramp all fill up at the same time. If you want any of those dates, lock in the hotel and the aircraft early, like now.
Skiing: The Three Mountains That Matter
Corviglia: the town mountain, right above St. Moritz Dorf. Sunny, cruisy groomers and the famous lunch spots. Most people start here.
Corvatsch: higher and a bit more serious, with the best views over the Engadin lakes. On Friday nights they run Snow Night, a floodlit run that's a blast.
Diavolezza: the glacier side of the valley. Strong skiers can take the unprepared glacier run down to Morteratsch, about 8 km, marked with yellow signs. Go with a guide if you've never done it.
If skiing isn't your thing, the Olympia Bob Run does guest rides with a professional pilot driving. It's about 75 seconds and hits around 130 km/h. People either love it or never talk about it again.
Famous Spots Worth Seeing
Badrutt's Palace: the hotel everyone pictures when they think St. Moritz. Even if you don't stay there, go have a drink in the bar.
The Kulm Hotel: where the 1864 bet happened, next to the Cresta Run and the old Olympic park.
Chesa Veglia: one of the oldest buildings in town, now restaurants and a pizzeria in an old farmhouse.
El Paradiso: the classic mountain lunch on Corviglia. Long lunches, big views, book ahead.
The leaning tower: what's left of the old St. Mauritius church in the village, and yes it leans, a lot.
Muottas Muragl: take the funicular up (about 25 minutes from the valley, from around CHF 30) for the best view of the whole lake chain at sunset. In winter there's a 4 km toboggan run back down.
The Bernina Express: the red trains of the Rhaetian Railway run from St. Moritz over the Bernina Pass toward Tirano in Italy. It's a UNESCO World Heritage line and one of the best train rides in the world.
Sils Maria: a short drive up the valley, quieter and very pretty. The Nietzsche House and the Segantini Museum in St. Moritz are good stops if you like art and history.
The Insider Stuff
These are the things locals point you to once you've been around a couple of seasons:
Carigiet Fondue Stübli in Chesa Veglia is a tiny fondue room that seats about 12 people. Book it early.
Hotel Bellavista in Surlej has a sunny lunch terrace and does a local dish called Krautpizokel. Far less scene, alot more local.
GIGERs in Sils is a log cabin restaurant next to the Waldhaus Sils, cozy in a way the big hotels can't fake.
Take a horse-drawn carriage into Val Fex at night and have dinner at the end of the valley. It's one of the most memorable nights you can have here.
Ski early. Lifts start around 7:45am and the first hour on freshly groomed Corviglia is a different mountain.
Mineralbad & Spa Samedan is a mineral bath stacked over five floors, right near the airport. It's a good way to kill time before a flight.
Try curling on the natural ice rink at the Kulm. It's harder than it looks.
La Gondla is an après bar built in an old Diavolezza cable car on a parking garage roof. Just go.
If you're there March 1, look for Chalandamarz, the kids' spring festival with bells and singing through the village.
Flying Private to St. Moritz: How It Actually Works
The airport is Engadin Airport in Samedan (SMV / LSZS), about 5 km from town, so you're at your hotel in around 10 minutes. It's not a normal airport though, and it's worth understanding why.
It's high. The field sits at about 5,600 feet with a runway of roughly 1,800 meters, and the airport calls itself the highest in Europe. Altitude and a shorter runway mean the operator has to run performance numbers on weight and fuel, especially for bigger jets on cold or warm days.
Crews need special training. Pilots have to complete Samedan's mandatory briefing before they're allowed to operate there. Not every crew has done it, so we check that the operator flies into Samedan regularly before we put anyone on the airplane.
No night flying. There's no runway lighting and no night operations. In winter the airport closes about 30 minutes after sunset, and winter days in the Alps are short. A late afternoon departure from London can easily miss the window, so plan your departure time around it.
Mountain weather. Low visibility closes the runway, and the approach comes in between mountains. A backup plan is part of every Samedan trip.
Customs is available, so you can fly in directly from outside Switzerland.
If Samedan doesn't work (weather, a late arrival, or an aircraft that doesn't suit the runway), the usual options are Lugano, Zurich or Milan, then a car, helicopter or train the rest of the way. Zurich and Milan are roughly a three hour drive.
What aircraft make sense: for Europe-based trips, light and midsize jets are the most common in and out of Samedan. Super midsize and heavy jets fly in too, but the operator will look closely at runway performance. For long-range trips from the US, it often makes sense to fly the long leg into a bigger airport and do a short hop or ground transfer up the valley.
Rough costs: in today's market a light jet runs about $6,000 to $7,000 an hour, a midsize to super midsize about $7,000 to $9,000 an hour, and a heavy jet about $8,000 to $11,000 an hour, plus taxes and fees. London to Samedan is roughly a two hour flight. Polo and White Turf weekends are the busiest and hardest to source, so the earlier the better. It's worth keeping an eye on empty legs after those weekends too, when aircraft reposition out.
Don't Skip Summer
Most people only know St. Moritz in winter, but summer in the Engadin is a totally different trip. The lakes turn blue, the afternoon Maloja wind makes the Silvaplana lake one of the best kitesurfing spots in the Alps, and the 17 km lakeside trail from Maloja back to St. Moritz is an easy, beautiful walk. Hotels are calmer, and getting into Samedan in long summer daylight is alot simpler.
A Few Practical Tips
Pack for sun and cold. The sun at 6,000 feet is strong even in January. Bring sunglasses and sunscreen along with your warm layers.
Take the altitude easy the first day. Drink water and go light on the first night out.
Book the big lunches. El Paradiso and the popular huts book up on sunny weekends.
Don't plan a late departure. With no night operations, a "quick last lunch" can turn into an extra night at the hotel.
Book Your Private Jet Charter to St. Moritz
Whether it's a quick hop from London, Paris or Geneva or a long-range flight from New York, Charter Worldwide plans private jet charter to St. Moritz around what actually matters here: crews who are qualified for Samedan, departure times that beat the sunset cutoff, and a real backup plan through Lugano, Zurich or Milan with a helicopter or car waiting. We compare on-demand charter, one-ways and empty leg flights across light, midsize, heavy and ultra-long-range jets, so you get the right aircraft at a fair market price, not just the first one available. Polo and White Turf weekends sell out early, so request a quote and we'll build your St. Moritz trip from wheels up to ski boots on.
Common Questions About St. Moritz
What airport do you fly into for St. Moritz?
Engadin Airport in Samedan (SMV / LSZS), about 5 km from St. Moritz. It handles private aircraft, has customs, and is around a 10 minute drive to town.
Can you land at St. Moritz at night?
No. Samedan has no night operations. In winter it closes about 30 minutes after sunset, so arrivals and departures need to be planned for daylight.
When is the Snow Polo World Cup St. Moritz 2027?
January 22 to 24, 2027, on the frozen lake of St. Moritz.
When is White Turf 2027?
White Turf horse racing runs on the frozen lake on three Sundays: February 7, 14 and 21, 2027.
What are the best things to do in St. Moritz besides skiing?
A guest ride on the Olympia Bob Run, the funicular up Muottas Muragl, the Bernina Express train, a night carriage ride into Val Fex, curling at the Kulm, and the events on the frozen lake.
How much does a private jet to St. Moritz cost?
Charter is priced by the hour. Light jets run about $6,000 to $7,000 an hour, midsize and super midsize about $7,000 to $9,000, and heavy jets about $8,000 to $11,000, plus taxes and fees. London to Samedan is about a two hour flight.
How long is the flight from London to St. Moritz by private jet?
About two hours into Samedan on a midsize or super midsize jet.
What's the closest backup airport to St. Moritz?
Lugano is usually the closest larger option, with Zurich and Milan about a three hour drive away. Your operator will pick the right one based on weather and the aircraft.
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