# Two nights at the Aletsch Glacier from Geneva: Lake Märjelen, a crossing on the ice and the Riederalp forest

Train to Fiesch, Lake Märjelen, a guided crossing of the glacier, a night in Riederalp, the Aletsch forest and the Bettmerhorn before the train home.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/switzerland/valais/aletsch-glacier/itineraries/two-nights-with-marjelen-and-riederalp · Revisado: 2026-11-12

Dónde: Aletsch Glacier

The Aletsch Glacier, the longest in the Alps, deserves a night up high. From Geneva it is around three hours by train to Fiesch, so in a single day you only have time for one thing. With two nights you do the three that are worth it: reaching its edge on foot at Lake Märjelen, walking on the ice roped to a guide and looking at it from above among the Swiss stone pines of the Aletsch forest and from the Bettmerhorn. You don't need a car at any point: the villages on the terrace don't allow them.

## How do you get there?

By plane to Geneva (GVA), which has flights from several Spanish cities, and by train. The airport station is next to the terminal. From Genève station, the EC or InterRegio takes you along Lake Geneva and the Rhône valley to Brig, and there you change to the regional Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn train to Fiesch, Betten or Mörel. If you fly on Thursday night, sleep in Geneva and leave on the first train.

## Where to sleep

AccommodationAreaWho for

Fiescher HostelFiesch, with its own stationThe first night, beside the crossing's meeting point; from CHF 52 with breakfast

Golfhotel RiederhofRiederalp, on the promenadeThe second night, with a wellness area and pick-up at the cable car

Hotel WaldhausBettmeralp, next to the cable carAn alternative to Riederalp, smaller, with half board at CHF 45

## What if there is no space on the crossing?

The crossing runs with a minimum of six people and can be cancelled because of the weather. If it doesn't run, swap Saturday for the Eggishorn, at 2,869 m, which in 2027 is open from 5 June to 15 August because of works on the new cable car, or for the crossing from Belalp to Riederalp over the Massa suspension bridge, four and a half hours, which ends in Riederalp, where you sleep.

## With children

The crossing is from age 10 and needs some walking experience. With smaller children, swap Saturday for the Bettmerhorn and the forest, and spread Sunday out calmly. The indoor pool at Sport Resort Fiesch is included in the hostel night.

## El plan

### Friday · 08:55 · Train from Geneva to Fiesch
Changing at Brig. You reach Fiesch around 12:20; leave your rucksack at the Fiescher Hostel, at Fiesch Feriendorf station.

### Friday · 13:15 · Lake Märjelen via the Tälligrat tunnel
Cable car to Fiescheralp and a 10.6 km circular route, about three hours: the lit tunnel, the lakes and the edge of the glacier. Check the tunnel's status first.

### Friday · 19:00 · Dinner at the Hotel des Alpes
On Fiesch's main street: Goms chouera or rösti and an Aletsch Bier, the house beer. Kitchen until 21:15.

### Saturday · 08:15 · Guided crossing of the glacier
With the Bergsteigerzentrum Aletsch, from Fiesch: about six hours, two of them roped on the ice with crampons. CHF 99 for adults and CHF 89 for ages 10 to 16; the cable car is extra. Book in advance.

### Saturday · 16:30 · Train to Mörel and cable car to Riederalp
About 25 minutes by train and the cable car. The Golfhotel Riederhof picks you up at the station if you let them know.

### Saturday · 19:00 · Dinner at the Golfhotel Riederhof
In its restaurant or on the terrace, with regional cooking and Valais wines. Beforehand, the wellness area if you are 16 or over.

### Sunday · 09:30 · Aletsch forest and Villa Cassel
On foot to the Riederfurka and the Bischofsitz and Silbersand walk, two hours among Swiss stone pines. The Pro Natura centre opens at 10:30.

### Sunday · 12:30 · Lunch at the Riederfurka
Next to the villa: the Valais platter with its rye bread, the risotto or the burger. Lunches until 14:30.

### Sunday · 14:00 · To Bettmeralp and the Bettmerhorn
Along the promenade to Bettmeralp and the cable car to the viewpoint, at 2,647 m, above the great bend of the glacier. If you have time to spare, a coffee on the Alpfrieden terrace.

### Sunday · 18:15 · Return to Geneva
Cable car to Bettmeralp Talstation and the 18:47 train changing at Brig. In Genève around 21:30.

## Un consejo más

The Aletsch Explorer day pass covers the cable cars, the viewpoint gondolas and the train between Brig, Mörel, Betten and Fiesch. On Sunday, with the Bettmerhorn and the descent, it pays off.

## Cuándo no ir

Don't go down onto the glacier on your own from Lake Märjelen: it has hidden crevasses and you only step on it with a guide.

## Preguntas frecuentes

### How much does the getaway cost?
Add the train from Geneva, the hostel from CHF 52 with breakfast, the CHF 99 crossing, the Sunday Aletsch Explorer pass (CHF 55 in 2026) and meals at CHF 25 to 60 each. The Golfhotel Riederhof does not publish prices on its website: ask when booking or compare with the Waldhaus.

### Do I need a car?
No. Everything is done by train, cable car and on foot, and the villages do not allow cars.

### When is the best time to go?
From July to September, with the paths free of snow and the crossing running almost daily in July and August.

### Do I need to book in advance?
Yes, the crossing and the Riederalp hotel, which is open from 14 June to 11 October 2027.

## Dónde dormir without a car
- **Golfhotel Riederhof**: A hotel on Riederalp's promenade
The Golfhotel Riederhof is on the Aletschpromenade, the path that crosses Riederalp from end to end, at about 1,900 m. It is run by Aletsch Hospitality AG and the house presents itself as a four-star hotel. Its name comes from its neighbour: in front of the door begins Riederalp's nine-hole golf course, and behind is a stone pine wood where, according to the hotel itself, you can see squirrels from the north-facing balconies.
It opens two seasons: in summer 2027, from 14 June to 11 October, and in winter, from 18 December 2026 to 29 March 2027. Outside those dates it is closed. For summer 2027 it takes bookings by email.
Rooms, suites and apartments
There are standard doubles, facing the mountain and the golf course, almost all with a north-facing balcony; superior doubles, facing the valley and the Simplon; a family room with two separate bedrooms and no balcony; three suites (the Cassel, named after Sir Ernest Cassel, the banker of the Villa Cassel; the Riederhorn, and the Riederhof, in house B), and two two-bedroom apartments, one of 70 m² for four to six people and another of 60 m² for four or five. The doubles have a shower, safe, television, capsule coffee machine and free wifi.
The price includes the wellness area: saltwater pool with jets, Finnish sauna, steam bath, sensory showers, Kneipp pool and relaxation room. Only guests aged 16 or over are admitted, from 13:00 to 20:00.
Eating at the hotel
Breakfast is a buffet from 7:30 to 10:00. The restaurant is open to the public: regional seasonal cooking, with simple dishes at lunchtime and a longer menu in the evening. Until 31 August the kitchen runs without a break; from September, from 12:00 to 14:00 and from 18:00 to 21:00. There is a dining room, a wooden Stuba and a terrace with views of the mountains. The bar serves Valais wines until 22:00.
Getting there without a car
Riederalp has no cars. You take the train to Mörel and go up on the Aletsch Bahnen gondola to Riederalp Mitte (the large one) or Riederalp West (the small ones). From there the hotel picks you up from 8:00 to 20:00 for CHF 30 return: call ahead and say which station you are arriving at. If you come by car, it stays in the paid car parks at Mörel.
From the hotel you walk to the Villa Cassel and the Aletsch Forest, and you reach the suspension bridge route from Belalp, which ends at Riederalp.
- **Hotel Waldhaus Bettmeralp**: The woodland house of Bettmeralp
The Waldhaus, Waldhüs in the house's dialect, is a small hotel run by the Berchtold family. It is 100 metres to the left of the gondola station in Bettmeralp, slightly raised, at the edge of the village and the woods. The centre is a few minutes' walk away, but here you do not hear the passing of people coming and going from the lifts. In winter the Blausee chairlift leaves in front of the door; in summer, the paths.
It opens in two seasons. In 2026 it was open in summer from 12 June to 10 October, and in winter it opens from 13 December 2026 to 29 March 2027. The summer 2027 dates are not yet on its website.
Rooms for almost every budget
The list is long for such a small hotel. There are budget singles with a tiny north-facing balcony, very small Cozy rooms with a double bed, doubles with views of the woods, of Bettmeralp or panoramic ones, of 22 m² and with a south-facing balcony, the Adlerhorst under the roof, the two-floor Top of Waldhaus suite and the Romantica, in an annexe 60 metres away. The Holz100 rooms are of solid wood cut by the moon (Mondholz), with mountain views, a window seat and Hüsler beds. The price includes the buffet breakfast until 11:00, the sauna, wifi and the Aletsch Arena tourist tax.
Half board and restaurant
In the evening half board costs CHF 45 per person if you take it for the whole stay. It is usually a four-course menu with meat or a vegetarian version, plus a salad buffet, partly organic. On Mondays there is raclette or cheese fondue, and on Wednesdays, fondue chinoise. If you dine out one night, tell them before 11:00 and you are not charged.
The restaurant is open to people who are not staying here too. In summer 2026 it served simple dishes from 12:00 to 16:00 and drinks until 22:30, and closed on Monday at lunchtime. The all-you-can-eat raclette on Mondays cost CHF 45.
Getting there
Train to Betten Talstation and gondola to Bettmeralp: seven minutes in the large cabin, which also carries the luggage trolley. If you send your bags by train, send the hotel a photo of the receipts and they will bring them up. From here the Bettmerhorn gondola is close and, on foot, the path to Riederalp and the Aletsch Forest.
- **Fiescher Hostel (Sport Resort Fiesch)**, desde 52 € / bed: A hostel inside a sports village
The Fiescher Hostel is part of the Sport Resort Fiesch, a large holiday complex at the entrance to Fiesch, in the Goms valley, with ten group houses, chalets, apartments and two garni hotels. Schools and clubs come here for their camps, but the hostel is designed for the independent traveller: you book your room online, with no group or hostelling card needed.
It is this guide's budget base for the Aletsch glacier. It has its own railway station, Fiesch Feriendorf, on the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn, and the gondola up to Fiescheralp and the Eggishorn is, according to the house, two minutes away. It is just what you need if you are doing the guided glacier crossing, which meets in Fiesch first thing.
The rooms
There are 26 rooms with 92 beds, for two, four and six, spread over two identical floors. Most have a shower and WC inside; the rest use the floor's bathrooms. The rooms are large for a hostel, with light wood furniture. Downstairs there are three common rooms, a lockable store for skis and bikes and a drying room. Bed linen and towels are included.
If you want something more like a hotel, the same complex has the Garni Aletsch, with singles, doubles and triples with bathroom and television, from CHF 79 per person in summer.
What it costs and what is included
In summer (1 May to 30 November) a bed costs from CHF 52 per adult in a four- or six-bed room without bathroom, from CHF 57 in a double without bathroom and from CHF 67 in a double with shower. Young people aged 6 to 16 pay less; ages 3 to 6, half the youth rate, and under-3s, nothing. The tourist tax is added.
The price includes buffet breakfast, bed linen, wifi and the complex's indoor pool during its opening hours; depending on the season, also the minigolf and disc golf. There is no kitchen: lunch and dinner are booked at the self-service restaurant, at CHF 19 per person. The climbing wall, gym and tennis courts are paid separately.
Getting there
By train, get off at Fiesch Feriendorf. By car, through the Valais from Lake Geneva, Brig and the Furka road; parking is free. Cancellation is free up to three days before.

## Dónde dormir if you're flying
- **Golfhotel Riederhof**: A hotel on Riederalp's promenade
The Golfhotel Riederhof is on the Aletschpromenade, the path that crosses Riederalp from end to end, at about 1,900 m. It is run by Aletsch Hospitality AG and the house presents itself as a four-star hotel. Its name comes from its neighbour: in front of the door begins Riederalp's nine-hole golf course, and behind is a stone pine wood where, according to the hotel itself, you can see squirrels from the north-facing balconies.
It opens two seasons: in summer 2027, from 14 June to 11 October, and in winter, from 18 December 2026 to 29 March 2027. Outside those dates it is closed. For summer 2027 it takes bookings by email.
Rooms, suites and apartments
There are standard doubles, facing the mountain and the golf course, almost all with a north-facing balcony; superior doubles, facing the valley and the Simplon; a family room with two separate bedrooms and no balcony; three suites (the Cassel, named after Sir Ernest Cassel, the banker of the Villa Cassel; the Riederhorn, and the Riederhof, in house B), and two two-bedroom apartments, one of 70 m² for four to six people and another of 60 m² for four or five. The doubles have a shower, safe, television, capsule coffee machine and free wifi.
The price includes the wellness area: saltwater pool with jets, Finnish sauna, steam bath, sensory showers, Kneipp pool and relaxation room. Only guests aged 16 or over are admitted, from 13:00 to 20:00.
Eating at the hotel
Breakfast is a buffet from 7:30 to 10:00. The restaurant is open to the public: regional seasonal cooking, with simple dishes at lunchtime and a longer menu in the evening. Until 31 August the kitchen runs without a break; from September, from 12:00 to 14:00 and from 18:00 to 21:00. There is a dining room, a wooden Stuba and a terrace with views of the mountains. The bar serves Valais wines until 22:00.
Getting there without a car
Riederalp has no cars. You take the train to Mörel and go up on the Aletsch Bahnen gondola to Riederalp Mitte (the large one) or Riederalp West (the small ones). From there the hotel picks you up from 8:00 to 20:00 for CHF 30 return: call ahead and say which station you are arriving at. If you come by car, it stays in the paid car parks at Mörel.
From the hotel you walk to the Villa Cassel and the Aletsch Forest, and you reach the suspension bridge route from Belalp, which ends at Riederalp.
- **Hotel Waldhaus Bettmeralp**: The woodland house of Bettmeralp
The Waldhaus, Waldhüs in the house's dialect, is a small hotel run by the Berchtold family. It is 100 metres to the left of the gondola station in Bettmeralp, slightly raised, at the edge of the village and the woods. The centre is a few minutes' walk away, but here you do not hear the passing of people coming and going from the lifts. In winter the Blausee chairlift leaves in front of the door; in summer, the paths.
It opens in two seasons. In 2026 it was open in summer from 12 June to 10 October, and in winter it opens from 13 December 2026 to 29 March 2027. The summer 2027 dates are not yet on its website.
Rooms for almost every budget
The list is long for such a small hotel. There are budget singles with a tiny north-facing balcony, very small Cozy rooms with a double bed, doubles with views of the woods, of Bettmeralp or panoramic ones, of 22 m² and with a south-facing balcony, the Adlerhorst under the roof, the two-floor Top of Waldhaus suite and the Romantica, in an annexe 60 metres away. The Holz100 rooms are of solid wood cut by the moon (Mondholz), with mountain views, a window seat and Hüsler beds. The price includes the buffet breakfast until 11:00, the sauna, wifi and the Aletsch Arena tourist tax.
Half board and restaurant
In the evening half board costs CHF 45 per person if you take it for the whole stay. It is usually a four-course menu with meat or a vegetarian version, plus a salad buffet, partly organic. On Mondays there is raclette or cheese fondue, and on Wednesdays, fondue chinoise. If you dine out one night, tell them before 11:00 and you are not charged.
The restaurant is open to people who are not staying here too. In summer 2026 it served simple dishes from 12:00 to 16:00 and drinks until 22:30, and closed on Monday at lunchtime. The all-you-can-eat raclette on Mondays cost CHF 45.
Getting there
Train to Betten Talstation and gondola to Bettmeralp: seven minutes in the large cabin, which also carries the luggage trolley. If you send your bags by train, send the hotel a photo of the receipts and they will bring them up. From here the Bettmerhorn gondola is close and, on foot, the path to Riederalp and the Aletsch Forest.
- **Fiescher Hostel (Sport Resort Fiesch)**, desde 52 € / bed: A hostel inside a sports village
The Fiescher Hostel is part of the Sport Resort Fiesch, a large holiday complex at the entrance to Fiesch, in the Goms valley, with ten group houses, chalets, apartments and two garni hotels. Schools and clubs come here for their camps, but the hostel is designed for the independent traveller: you book your room online, with no group or hostelling card needed.
It is this guide's budget base for the Aletsch glacier. It has its own railway station, Fiesch Feriendorf, on the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn, and the gondola up to Fiescheralp and the Eggishorn is, according to the house, two minutes away. It is just what you need if you are doing the guided glacier crossing, which meets in Fiesch first thing.
The rooms
There are 26 rooms with 92 beds, for two, four and six, spread over two identical floors. Most have a shower and WC inside; the rest use the floor's bathrooms. The rooms are large for a hostel, with light wood furniture. Downstairs there are three common rooms, a lockable store for skis and bikes and a drying room. Bed linen and towels are included.
If you want something more like a hotel, the same complex has the Garni Aletsch, with singles, doubles and triples with bathroom and television, from CHF 79 per person in summer.
What it costs and what is included
In summer (1 May to 30 November) a bed costs from CHF 52 per adult in a four- or six-bed room without bathroom, from CHF 57 in a double without bathroom and from CHF 67 in a double with shower. Young people aged 6 to 16 pay less; ages 3 to 6, half the youth rate, and under-3s, nothing. The tourist tax is added.
The price includes buffet breakfast, bed linen, wifi and the complex's indoor pool during its opening hours; depending on the season, also the minigolf and disc golf. There is no kitchen: lunch and dinner are booked at the self-service restaurant, at CHF 19 per person. The climbing wall, gym and tennis courts are paid separately.
Getting there
By train, get off at Fiesch Feriendorf. By car, through the Valais from Lake Geneva, Brig and the Furka road; parking is free. Cancellation is free up to three days before.