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Slow Lane Magazine, May 2019
Insights and stories from across Europe and beyond
  • favourite (but oft-forgotten) festivals
  • Nepal's secret valley
  • boutique beauty in Drôme Provençale
  • carving out a future in southern Italy
  • Inntravellers' Tales – our new writing competition
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Walking & Wildflowers in the Engadine

The Engadine - Switzerland's 'secret' valley
 
Located in an idyllic village of cobbled streets and frescoed houses, the centuries-old Hotel Meisser makes a charming base for this self-guided, single-centre walking holiday. Five guided walks with an experienced guide are included, along with detailed route notes and a local travel pass.
 
Walking & Wildflowers in the Engadine. 7 nights
Walking & Wildflowers in the Engadine. 7 nights
 

Holiday information

 

A walking holiday in the Engadine

To visit the Engadine Valley is to enter a land in which time seems to have stood still. Above the fast-flowing River Inn perch historic villages whose cobbled streets are lined with sturdy stone houses. Decorated with intricate pastel murals, the walls of these centuries-old houses would doubtless have many stories to tell. But the fairy-tale villages are just part of the allure of this tranquil Alpine valley – this is a region made for walkers, with flexible, varied routes that reward you with splendid views.
Your base for the week is the most idyllic village of them all, Guarda, silently watching over the valley from its panoramic location. It is one of those special places that you will never want to leave, quickly seducing you with its old-world charm. At the heart of the village lies the 3-star-superior Hotel Meisser, a fittingly romantic hotel that makes a delightful base from which to explore the Romansch-speaking Engadine on foot, both with a guide and independently.
 
Gallery
 

Walking & more

The key to Inntravel holidays is flexibility. Although the start dates are fixed, you are free to add extra nights.
  • The average maximum daytime temperatures and monthly rainfall relate to the nearest weather station and are intended as a guide only.

    The best time for flowers is from late May to early July.
     
    Average temperatures and rainfall
      Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
    °C -2 1 3 6 11 15 19 19 16 11 3 -2
    mm 113 96 111 122 132 150 155 162 126 108 124 112
  • An introduction
    The Engadine Valley is a walker's paradise. We include guided excursions (with picnics included) on five days during your week, leaving you free on other days to strike out along the inviting paths independently using our detailed walking notes and maps, or simply relax at the hotel and marvel at the scenery. From late May to early July, the wildflowers are at their best, complementing the spectacular Alpine vistas.
  • 5 guided walks are included in your stay
    Together with your knowledgeable and experienced English-speaking guide, you will explore larch woods, riverside paths, crystal-clear lakes, pretty villages and verdant meadows, all the while enjoying splendid views to the high peaks. The walks – some of which start with a journey by train and bus – are tailored to the group, with plenty of time to admire the splendid displays of wild flowers. Among the possible routes are a walk alongside the River Inn to a traditional farming village, an ascent past the tree line to the high meadows above Guarda, and a trail from one of Switzerland's highest villages to a frescoed monastery. The walks are generally 2.5-4.5 hours in length, with ascents and/or descents of between 300 and 700 metres.
  • 8km to 16.5km

    Tuoi valley option: 12km, 4hrs
    Head up the Tuoi Valley, ascending some 500 metres so as to gain superb views towards one of the most famous peaks in the area, Piz Buin. You follow the scenic Clozza River then head back through forest and fields to Guarda.

    High option: 16.5km, 6hrs; 1000m ascent/descent
    This longer option features even more ascent and descent, but rewards with flower-filled meadows, old larch and spruce woods, a panoramic ridge and magnificent views southwards and into Austria.

    Lavin option: 8km, 2.5hrs
    For a less demanding walk, cross the lower slopes of the Inn Valley to the attractive village of Lavin with its remarkable covered wooden bridge, from where you walk alongside the River Inn and then ascend some 180 metres back up the valley slopes to Guarda.
 

Accommodation

You stay in a high-quality hotel of great character located in one of Switzerland's most beautiful villages. Near the hotel you will find a small handful of shops and cafés.
Hotel Meisser
  • 3-star superior

Bedrooms

 

Options to extend or shorten your stay

 
Prices & travel options
All prices are in £ sterling (GBP). If you'd like to see what they equate to in your currency, use the converter.
Currency converter

We can only accept payment in GBP, but you can use this converter to find out how much the holiday equates to in your own currency.

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NB: this should be used as a guide only. Fluctuations in exchange rates could result in significant variation by the time you come to pay.

  • 7 nights: 01 June - 02 June 2019 & 08 June - 09 June 2019

    Start Saturday or Sunday | End by latest date(s) shown above

    Starting Price Single room
    1 - 2 June £1135 £145
    8 - 9 June £1135 £145
    3rd & 4th person discount £0
    Single traveller supplement £0

    Includes accommodation, meals and services integral to the holiday as described, plus walking notes and maps, but no travel from the UK, nor any connecting travel from the airport unless stated below.

    Book your flights through us and we'll find the best route and times to suit you. Please contact us to find out more about our flight booking service. We can also book connecting travel - see below.

    7 nights: 01 June - 02 June 2019 & 08 June - 09 June 2019

    Start Saturday or Sunday | End by latest date(s) shown above

    Starting Price Single room
    1 - 2 June £1560 £145
    8 - 9 June £1560 £145
    3rd & 4th person discount £0
    Single traveller supplement £0

    Includes all elements in the 'walk price', plus standard-class travel by Eurostar from London St Pancras or Ebbsfleet International to Lille or Paris, with onward travel as described below.

    Included travel from the UK: UK–Paris (Eurostar), Paris–Guarda (TGV/regional rail/bus), approx duration 11h plus 0h05 walk to the hotel. Home, Guarda–Paris (TGV/regional rail/bus), Paris–Uk (Eurostar), approx duration 11h plus 0h05 walk from the hotel.

    A Swiss Card is included, providing you with half price tickets for trains, bus and boat journeys and up to 50% reduction on private railways and cable cars.

     

    If you book your holiday less than 3 months in advance of your travel date, seats may no longer be available at the tariffs on which our prices are based, but we may be able to offer you seats on the sames services at a supplement.

    7 nights: 01 June - 02 June 2019 & 08 June - 09 June 2019

    Start Saturday or Sunday | End by latest date(s) shown above

    Starting Price Single room
    1 - 2 June £1195 £145
    8 - 9 June £1195 £145
    3rd & 4th person discount -£50
    Single traveller supplement £50

    Includes all elements in the 'walk price', plus a return ferry crossing between Dover and Calais with P&O Ferries for your party and one car.

    We also include a transfer back to the first hotel at the end of your holiday to collect your car.

    A supplement of £35 per car per single journey applies for outbound travel 5-7 Apr & 19-21 Apr, and for inbound travel 21-22 Apr 2019. A supplement of £45 per car per single journey applies outbound on Fridays & Saturdays 24-25 May & 12 Jul-17 Aug 2019 inclusive, and inbound on Saturdays & Sundays 1-2 Jun & 19 Jul-2 Sep 2019 inclusive.

  • Room upgrades (£ per person per night)

    Hotel Meisser
    Balcony: 01 Jun - 16 Jun 2019 £20

    Extra nights (£ per person per night) in a double or single room

    Hotel Meisser (with dinner) Double room Single room
    01 Jun - 16 Jun 2019 £122 £142
  • RECOMMENDED AIRPORT(S):
    Zürich

    Travelling from the UK

    Travelling from outside the UK

    If you are flying from outside Europe,  we recommend flying via Zürich. To discuss onward connecting travel to the start of your holiday, please contact us.

    Travelling from outside the UK
    We have many years' experience catering for customers who live outside the UK, and will be happy to make tailored arrangements to fit with your plans.

    You have two options:

    1) Book your own flights to London, from where we can book flights and onward connecting travel to your hotel.

    2) Book your own flights direct to an airport appropriate to your chosen holiday. You can either make your own way from the airport to the hotel, or we'll be happy to book onward connecting travel for you. Please consult with us before booking your flights, so that we can advise you on the suitability of your proposed route and timings.
    Outward route Airline
    Aberdeen - Zurich (via Frankfurt) Lufthansa 
    Aberdeen - Zurich (via Paris) Air France 
    Outward route Airline
    Birmingham - Zurich Swiss 
    Outward route Airline
    Bristol - Zurich (via Amsterdam Schiphol) KLM 
    Outward route Airline
    Edinburgh - Zurich Swiss 
    Outward route Airline
    Leeds Bradford - Zurich (via Amsterdam Schiphol) KLM 
    Outward route Airline
    London City - Zurich British Airways,  Swiss 
    Outward route Airline
    Gatwick - Zurich easyJet,  Swiss 
    Outward route Airline
    Heathrow - Zurich British Airways,  Swiss 
    Outward route Airline
    Luton - Zurich easyJet,  Vueling 
    Outward route Airline
    Manchester - Zurich Swiss 
    Manchester - Zurich (via Frankfurt) Lufthansa 
    Manchester - Zurich (via Munich) Lufthansa 
    Outward route Airline
    Newcastle - Zurich (via Amsterdam Schiphol) KLM 
    Outward route Airline
    Norwich - Zurich (via Amsterdam Schiphol) KLM 
    Travelling from outside the UK

    If you are flying from outside Europe,  we recommend flying via Zürich. To discuss onward connecting travel to the start of your holiday, please contact us.

    This list of flight options should be used as a guide only, and you should check each airline’s website for current routes, frequency and schedules. Not all flights operate daily, and may not run for the entire season. You should also heed the latest flight arrival time and earliest flight departure time stated in the connecting travel section, as it may not be possible to arrange connecting travel outside these times. Please do not book your flights until we have confirmed your accommodation to you. Alternatively, our expert reservations team will be happy to offer advice and to make flight bookings for you. We charge £30 per person for our flight booking service (£50 for India and Nepal). Your flights are then covered by our package-booking conditions, which give you greater protection in the event of delay or cancellation, as well as providing ATOL cover.

  • Prices below are based on 2 people travelling together. If you are travelling solo or as a party of 3 or more and our arrangements include a taxi, please contact us for prices; additional passengers often pay less.

    If purchasing outward connecting travel through Inntravel, the homeward travel is at no extra cost.

    Connecting travel options - flying via Zürich

    Outward route Price per person Latest flight
    arrival time
    rail Zurich airport to Guarda staziun (2h45), postbus Guarda staziun to village (cumün) (0h08) £94 1530
    Homeward route Price per person Earliest flight
    departure time
    hotel transfer or postbus to Guarda station (0h15), rail Guarda to Zurich Airport (2h45) £0 1300
What is included
  • 7 nights
  • 7 dinners
    5 picnics
    7 breakfasts
  • 5 guided walks
  • route notes and maps
  • local travel pass
 
Reviews

If you've experienced this holiday first hand, why not write a review?

We are keen for as many customers as possible to review their holiday. To make it easier to do so, we include a specific review section on our post-holiday questionnaire, and this is what we publish here, unedited. Read our full review policy >

All 7 reviews
  • Mr G Peters
    Ely
    08 June 2019

    The  breathtaking beauty of swathes of tiny wild white crocus emerging from the receeding snow will stay with me. The brilliant blue of the gentians and the profusion of wild flowers in the meadows will be a lasting memory of this holiday. 

  • Anon
    27 September 2018

    This was our second visit and we had a great time - the location of Hotel Meisser in Guarda is fabulous, with wonderful views of the surrounding mountains and valley. The hotel is a perfect blend of simple rustic decor and top-notch contemporary bathrooms. The food is wonderful - the chef is very creative and produces varied, innovative and tasty meals. The wine list is very interesting, with some excellent, albeit expensive, Swiss Pinot Noir wines available. The restaurant service is excellent. The walks to nearby villages of Lavin and Ardez are excellent and very relaxing.

    We chose the timing of late Sept/early Oct thinking it would be outside school holidays and therefore less busy than summer. However, we didn't realise that this was also a period of Swiss school holidays which meant the area and the hotel were busy and this put pressure on the staff, especially in the evenings in the restaurant. If we go again, we would pick a different time. 

     

  • Mrs H Carter
    France
    17 June 2018

    This is the sixth time we have been to Hotel Meisser in Guarda in June when the wild flowers are at their very best so what better recommendation is there? Our guide was excellent, familiar with the area and knowledgeable about the flowers. The five walks he proposed were varied and sometimes quite challenging and we and our little group enjoyed every one and were quite proud of our achievement. Guarda is a gem and the hotel has lovely rooms with a warm welcome from the family.

  • Anon
    11 June 2018

    The highlight for me was seeing the incredibly beautiful wildflower meadows in the Engadine, and listening to the cowbells. As well, I have pleasant memories of sitting on the deck of alpine "Huttes" and having a well-deserved drink. Our guide, Ernst, was very knowledgeable not only about hiking routes but about the flowers, and their names in both English and German. The size of the group was perfect - 3 couples - and we all got on well. One suggestion that we all agreed upon was that the trip should be done a week earlier, as the farmers were already mowing the fields for hay, and so the flowers lower down were gone. Apparently, the EU gives a subsidy to farmers who do not mow before June 15, so the wildflowers are best seen before that.

  • Anon
    18 September 2017

    Personal highlights were the scenery, the train journeys, the hotel and the food. We had an excellent holiday.

  • Anon, Cheshire
    17 June 2017

    The highlights were the walks and we each had different highlights - e.g. the challenge, the flowers, the scenery, unspoiled nature.....

  • Mr R Hall
    Hereford
    10 June 2017

    Hotel Meisser was stunningly good in every respect, views, food, service and peace.The wildflowers and butterflies were exceptional.

     
 

FAQs

If you have any questions relating to this or any other Inntravel holiday, our friendly travel experts will be happy to help. You might also find our General FAQs section helpful.
  • We’ll send you route notes and maps 2-3 weeks before your holiday. The route notes not only contain directions to get from hotel to hotel, but also include practical information about places of interest and eateries along each route, plus cultural information about the area. If/when you are moving between hotels, you leave your luggage in reception as you leave, and it will be transferred ahead to your next accommodation, meaning that all you need to take with you are a camera, sun cream, drinks, food and waterproofs.

    For more detailed information, see our walking holidays in Europe page.
  • We can book a wide range of airlines and routes from the UK. As well as being more convenient for you to book all elements of your holiday together, it also means that we’ll accept liability for your travel arrangements, so if things go wrong, such as the airline going bust, we’ll make suitable alternative arrangements for you. For Europe and Morocco, there’s a £30 booking fee per person (£15 for children aged 2-11). For India and Nepal, the booking fee is £50 per person. More information on flights >
  • We can’t book flights that originate outside the UK, but if you wanted book your own flights to London (or elsewhere in the UK), we can make all onward travel arrangements (including flights) from there. Alternatively, if you are booking your own flights to an airport in continental Europe that’s appropriate for your holiday, we can book onward rail travel and/or taxis. More information about how we can tailor holidays for customers outside the UK >
  • Since our holidays are self-guided, we recommend calling us for a chat about your plans before making a booking, especially if it’s the first time you’ve booked with us.
    The price panel shows the supplement for a single room and also the single traveller charge (this covers (luggage) transfers and other costs which are usually shared between two people).
  • Once you’ve decided on your exact itinerary (our travel experts will be happy to offer advice), you need to provide us with your party’s details, either by phone or via our booking form. At this point we also ask you to pay a deposit so that we can secure a room for you immediately on confirming availability with the hotel(s). If it turns out that we can’t secure the accommodation for the holiday you’ve requested, or offer an acceptable alternative, we’ll refund your deposit promptly and in full. After booking your accommodation and other key elements, we'll then book your travel (or you can do so if you’re making your own arrangements) and send you a Booking Confirmation and Invoice.
  • Yes, it’s something we insist on, even for holidays in the UK. The vast majority of holidays go smoothly, but when things go wrong, it can be expensive to put them right. Buying a new pair of walking boots after your suitcase is stolen mightn’t seem so bad, but the bill for being airlifted down from a mountain with a broken leg or flown home while still recovering from an illness or accident can cost tens of thousands of pounds.

    You don’t have to buy our policy (if you live outside Europe you’ll definitely need to make your own arrangements, as the policy is only for UK and EU residents), but you do need to make sure that you’re covered for medical emergencies and repatriation. We also recommend that you are covered for other eventualities, such as cancellation and loss of luggage and passports.
  • It is your responsibility to ensure you are in possession of the correct travel documents, with the correct validity. If you’re a UK citizen, you need a full British passport to travel to Switzerland, but not a visa (if you are travelling after 31 October 2019, see the Brexit question below for more information). If you are a citizen of another country, you’ll need to check requirements with the national embassy or your own consulate.

    Current information regarding vaccinations and travel health advice can be found through the following NHS link: www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk/advice/ You must make sure you have adequate insurance cover for illness, accidents and repatriation (see the insurance question). UK citizens should also obtain a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) by applying at a Post Office or at www.ehic.org.uk. The EHIC allows reciprocal health care but should not be seen as a substitute for travel insurance. EHICs may cease to be valid in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
  • The official languages are German, spoken in the majority of the country; French, spoken in the south-west; Italian, spoken in the south-east; and Romansch, mostly limited to the Engadine valley. The currency is the Franc. Swiss time is GMT/UTC + 1. It uses Daylight Saving Time, so in summer is on BST + 1.
  • Even in the event of a no-deal Brexit, it’s been confirmed that flights will continue as normal and that you won’t need a visa to go on holiday (the limit on stays is 90 days). What you will need if there’s no deal is a passport that is valid for at least 6 months beyond the date of your arrival (extra months added because you renewed your passport early do not count) and adequate travel insurance to cover you for accidents and illness in case reciprocal health deals are suspended. If you are driving while on holiday, you will probably need an International Driving Permit (plus a Green Card if you are taking your own car to Europe). More information >
  • The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) provides up-to-date, country-by-country travel advice, as well as information on security, local laws, passports and visas for UK citizens.
    If you live outside the UK, see our essential travel information page for a list of relevant websites.
Last fetch time is : 7/17/2019 2:47:48 PM