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Zinal Ski Holidays

At a glance

  • Val d’Anniviers ski pass
  • Small mountain village
  • Incredible freeriding

Great for

  • Off piste
  • Scenery
  • Quiet ski holidays

Ski Holidays in Zinal

Zinal’s a tiny old Swiss village with surroundings that’ll make your jaw drop – the ‘Imperial Crown’ of iconic 4000m peaks. There’s 115km of pistes to explore throughout the Val d’Anniviers, and plenty more beyond the markers for freeriders.

  • Flight Time
  • 1.5 hours
  • From London
  • Nearest Airports
  • Geneva, Zurich
  • Time zone
  • GMT + 1 hour
  • Language
  • German, French, Italian, Romansh
  • Currency
  • Swiss Franc
  • Ski Season
  • Dec - April

Zinal Stats

Top Altitude
2900m
Bottom Altitude
1500m
Resort Altitude
1670m
Total Piste
115km
Longest Run
4.3km (local area) 5.8km (Val d’Anniviers)
Slope Orientation
N E NE
Vertical Drop
1400m
Skiable Vertical
Night Skiing
No
Glacier Skiing
No

Zinal feels wonderfully worlds away from the everyday - high up at the far end of the stunning Val d’Anniviers and under some of the Alps’ highest peaks - the 4000m+ Imperial Crown of Dent Blanche, the Weisshorn, Matterhorn et al.

The small, quiet village has only 300-400 permanent residents and is home to some charming old larch chalets – one farmhouse dating back to 1768. On the outskirts, the Zinal-Sorebois cable car takes you up into the ski area, which is linked with the bigger village of Grimentz, 8km along the valley.

But that’s not all you can access with your ski pass – also in Val d’Anniviers you’ll find the St Luc-Chandolin and Vercorin ski areas and together with Zinal and Grimentz there’s 220km of pistes. Buses connect you to St Luc and Chandolin in about twenty minutes and Vercorin’s small, tree-lined area is half an hour away.

When it comes to getting here, Sion and Geneva are the nearest airports – the first an hour away and the second under 2.5 hours. If you’re travelling by rail, Sierre is the closest station with bus links taking 40-60 minutes.

Winter Sports Ratings

Beginners

Intermediate

Advanced

Snowboarding

Zinal Transfer Times

Sion Airport 1 hour
Geneva Airport 2h15
Bern Airport 2.5 hours
EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg 3.5 hours
Zürich Airport 3.5 hours

The nearest airport to Zinal is Geneva / Geneve at 200 km or about 3 hours by car

What's the ski area like in Zinal?

The Zinal/Griments region has about 100km of piste, with an even spread across the levels of ability.

Which other ski resorts are near to Zinal?

The nearest ski resorts to Zinal include Grimentz.

Ski Area Facts

LocationValais, Switzerland
Established1961
Downhill115km
Lift Pass290CHF Grimentz-Zinal / St Luc-Chandolin / Vercorin Adult 6 Day

Beginner Slopes

25km22%

Intermediate Skiing

25km45%

Advance & Expert Terrain

28km + 10km itinerary33%

Snowboarding Trails

115km100%

What is Zinal like for Beginner skiers?

There’s a learning area at the middle station with the blue Combe to progress onto, you can happily get a lift back at the end of the day.

What is Zinal like for Intermediate skiers?

Intermediates and above are best off here, as there’s a long cruisey red route – Aigle – leading back to the village (with a straighter, steeper black detour halfway down). This place has plenty of variety of intermediate piste. We like the Durand and Crete from the Combe Durand drag – the former can link up with Coupe du Mond and Aigle for a valley run back to base. L’Arete from Corne de Sorebois is worth a ski, as is the lovely wooded Foret over above Grimentz.

What is Zinal like for Advanced skiers?

Moving up in difficulty, the longest, most interesting expert run is the Chamois that connects over to Grimentz – starting off with a hairy narrow ridge (rockface one side, a drop on the other), then widening into a scenic stretch and narrowing again as it plunges down between the trees. While in the Grimentz half of the ski area, connect to Becs de Bosson for another black run down and the FIS trail above the mid-station.

What is Zinal like for off-piste skiing?

This area really comes into its own is beyond the piste markers. This was Switzerland’s first official freeride area and is home to an avalanche training centre which’ll clue you up on handling the backcountry sensibly. The Terrain at Gardes de Bordon is famously good, and local guides will be able to show you everything from couloirs to untouched powder fields and forest trails.

What is Zinal like for cross country skiing?

There is 19km of trails, 7km skating trail accessible directly from the resort, the rest are groomed for the classic style

Zinal Restaurants

Food-wise, Le Besso serves artistically presented, seasonal dishes and we can’t get enough of the fondues at Le Trift. For traditional Swiss nosh like rosti, try Restaurant de la Poste. Restaurant at Hotel La Pointe de Zinal ,The chef offers a gastro-pub-style menu based on fresh and seasonal ingredients, where rustic, creative and well-garnished mountain specialities are the order of the day.

Zinal Après Ski

Zinal definitely doesn’t throw parties as big as Verbier, but if you prefer a quiet night with a bottle of vino anyway, this is one of Switzerland’s biggest and best wine regions. There are a couple of traditional après options, like Bar a Pente at the car base station, where you can experience the joy of skiing one minute and sipping vin chaud the next. For a later evening, Bar E Voc closes 11pm weekdays and midnight at weekends, while Pub le Roc noir usually opens its doors until 2am…

Zinal Activites for Non-skiers

And when it comes to other activities, you can set off on snowshoe treks to the Zinal glacier or skate on the natural ice rink (just under Hotel Europe) which is lit up in the evening.

Clothing Food & Souvenir Shops

Best Time to Visit Zinal

Surrounded by the Imperial Crown – the sky high peaks of the Weisshorn, Dent Blanche and Matterhorn – helps keep the temperatures low and climate snowy. As spring approaches, the north facing nature of the slopes keeps the white stuff shaded from the Swiss sunshine, leaving Zinal with the best conditions in the valley. Earlier in the season, there is snowmaking on about 30km of trails if a top up is ever needed.

What's Zinal like at Christmas?

Get the bus over to Grimentz for the famous Christmas Market and head to the tourist office for a torchlight walk to the live nativity scene. Look out for Santa too, who usually appears to hand out sweet treats. It all adds up to a magical Christmas in Zinal.

What's Zinal like in the New Year?

The ski school usually help to mark the New Year in Zinal with a torchlight descent and previous years have seen gallons of mulled wine and a big party at the community centre.

What's Zinal like in Half-Term?

If you want to feel that the classroom or office is another world away, Half Term in Zinal is just the ticket.

What's Zinal like at Easter?

With high, north facing pistes in the local ski area, you’ll find some of the best spring snow in Val d’Anniviers over Easter in Zinal.

Zinal Snow Conditions

Snow Report, History & Forecast

View our detailed Zinal snow report to see skiing confitions now. Our Zinal snow history shows you what snow depths have been in recent years month-by-month. If you're visiting soon, use the Zinal snow forecast to see predicted snowfall over the coming days.

  • Partly cloudy skies Today
  • Light snow Sunday
  • Sunny skies Monday
  • Heavy snow Tuesday
  • Light snow Wednesday
  • Patchy moderate snow Thursday
  • Current snow depth at top
    99 cm
  • Alternate Text
  • Current snow depth at base
    49 cm

The International ski school take kids from 3.5 years for group ski lessons, and classes run for every level of skier and snowboarder. If everyone needs a break from the skis, there’s an indoor swimming pool with wellness facilities to keep the whole clan happy.

For a proper group getaway, escape deep into the Anniviers valley, surround yourselves with pretty chalets and soaring peaks and enjoy good times together. The après ski is far from the craziest you’ll find in the Alps, but spots like Bar a Pente make for cracking meeting points during a day on the hill. If a bunch of you are confident off-piste, share the cost of a guide and head out to explore the incredible freeride terrain here.

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Ski Extras

How much is a ski pass in Zinal

Maximum and minimum adult Zinal lift pass prices ranged from CHF? to CHF? for 6 days access to the Zinal ski lift system at the start of the 2025 winter season. Our lift passes are part of a packaged Zinal holiday with accommodation, so prices vary depending on chalet or hotel suppliers. Confirm price for the lift ticket before booking your holiday.

Lift Tickets Child Adult Senior
1 Day Price N / A N / A N / A
6 Day Price N / A N / A N / A
Age Range 6 - 15 25 - 64 65+

Getting to Zinal

Most of our ski holidays to Zinal packaged with flights include airport transfers. We can also arrange private transfers to Zinal from nearby airports

How long does it take to fly to Zinal from the UK?

Flights from London take about 1.5 hours to Geneva, Zurich. This table shows approximate transfer times to Zinal from the nearest airports, smaller airports can be more prone to delays.

Airport Distance Transfer Time
Geneva / Geneve 200 km 3 hours
Zürich / Zurich 325 km 4 hours
Sion 40 km 1 hour

How long does it take to drive to Zinal from the UK?

Browse our self-drive ski holidays which include your car channel crossing, or go choose accom-only and book your car ferry or tunnel later.

How long is the transfer from nearest Switzerland train station to Zinal?

The transfer time from alpine train stations are generally shorter than from airports, Call us for details of Zinal transfers.

Station Distance Transfer Time
Sierre 30 km 30 minutes

Zinal Maps

Going to Zinal under your own steam

For independant travel to Switzerland, compare accommodation only with Zinal self-drive packages which include Eurotunnel or ferry.

Accomm-Only & Self-Drive

See driving directions to and from Zinal in Switzerland.

Enter your start location and click "Get Directions" to view the route:

Zinal Ski Holiday Resources

Need help choose your Zinal ski holiday? Call us on 020 7770 6888 or click Enquire - we love to help!

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Similar Ski Resorts to Zinal in Switzerland


Every Sno holiday packaged with flights is ATOL protected by the Civil Aviation Authority. All our suppliers are ATOL bonded, so your money is safe. In addition to this, payments for your holiday are held in trust, by NatWest bank and the Travel Trust, who insure every booking against supplier failure.

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