Car Hire St. Moritz

Car Hire

St Moritz is one of the world’s premier winter sports resorts. It’s popular with skiing fanatics as well as those who simply revel in the winter atmosphere. In addition to the ski slopes, St Moritz offers a wide selection of gourmet restaurants, hotels, clubs and pubs. In the spa section of the city, known as St. Moritz-Bad, you can benefit from mud treatments, mineral-water baths and a range of top-notch physical therapies.

Who to Book With
Most of the major car rental firms are represented in St Moritz. There are also a number of independent rental firms which may offer cheaper rates. The best option when it comes to finding the cheapest deal is to compare prices on our aggregator website.

Best Time to Go
Mid-June to mid-October and December to early April are the two most popular times of year to visit St Moritz. For this reason, you will find significant savings can be made if you make a reservation in the spring or the autumn. Concerts and special cultural and sporting events, such as the British Classic Car Meeting in the summer, lead to price increases and a shortage of hotel rooms so it’s best to book ahead at these times. The weather in St Moritz is generally very good: it has an average of over 320 days of sunshine a year. The average temperature in July is 5°C while in the coldest month, January, the mercury drops to -10°C.

Need to Know Essentials
You will need to show the following documents when collecting a hire vehicle:

- Both parts of your UK driver’s licence or an International Driving Permit
- The credit card you used to book the vehicle
- Confirmation of identity, such as a passport or utility bill
- Verification of booking

Read our FAQs page here.

Driving
If coming from Zurich, take the N3 (which turns into the N13) to the town of Chur. From here, go southwest along Route 3. The journey takes around 2 hours, 30 minutes to 3 hours. Note that the only pass open in wintertime is the Julierpass. If coming via Davos or Klosters, catch the car train at Klosters, which passes through the Vereina Tunnel. Access to St Moritz from Italy is via the Bernina Pass or the Maloja Pass. Options for parking in St Moritz range from public car parks to hotel parking.

Our Guide to Switzerland has further tips on driving here.

Transport

The options for getting around St Moritz include the Engadin Bus, with stops throughout the valley and the town, and taxis. For complete freedom of movement, there’s no beating a rental car.

Trains
Switzerland’s highest city with a rail connection, St. Moritz is connected to the rest of the country by means of a series of tunnels which highlight the achievements of Swiss engineering. At the town of Chur, there are connections to cities such as Milan and Munich in neighbouring nations. From Chur, it takes 2 hours to reach St. Moritz. The world-famous Glacier Express, which travels through 91 tunnels and across almost 300 bridges, and passes superb scenery throughout, links Zermatt with St. Moritz. For travel around the Graubünden Canton in which St Moritz is situated, the Rhaetische Railway (Rhb) is a good alternative to hiring a car. There is a station in St Moritz itself.

Buses
Although renting your own vehicle is the most convenient way to explore the area surrounding St Moritz, the Engadin Valley is well served by PostAuto bus. It is also linked to Chur, Lugano, and Pontresina by bus, each of which is easily reachable via coach connections from Munich, Germany.

Taxis
A wide range of taxis and limousines are available in St Moritz, including Taxi-Zentrale St Moritz.

Exploring

From St Moritz, there are numerous places to explore in the Engadin Valley and further afield in the surrounding canton of Graubünden. The entire valley is full of fascinating resorts, each one with a different character, which makes exploring by rental car truly worthwhile.

Recommended Drives

Engadin Valley - The 50-mile long Engadin Valley contains many charming traditional villages and some of Europe’s most spectacular mountain scenery, ideal for discovering by rental car. Sils is the valley’s cultural and spiritual centre, with a unique energy all of its own: no wonder it has drawn artists such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Joseph Beuys and more recently, David Bowie. Pontresina is a perfect example of a traditional Engadin village which offers visitors the ultimate in peace and quiet, great Alpine hiking, mountain biking and nature-watching. Why, there’s even golf at this altitude! High up in the Upper Engadin, Celerina overlooks a magical lake landscape.

Lake Como - There are many lovely places to stop, take photos and have lunch on the way to the spectacularly beautiful Lake Como from St Moritz, making it an ideal daytrip. Soglio is a charming village (turn off for Soglio in Promontogno shortly before you reach the Italian border) with outstanding views. Chiavenna is another ideal place to halt. The 82-mile journey takes you via Route 3 then along the Italian highways S-S37, S-S36 and S-S34 to Lake Como’s western shoreline. The total journey time is around 2 hours. Note that this route is subject to seasonal closure.

Lugano - Lugano is one of the prettiest cities in the country. It central area offers its visitors lots of piazzas and cafés, and a beautiful lakefront lined with palm trees. No cars are able to drive here either. It's ideal for shopping, people-watching, taking a dip in the lake and mini excursions to nearby sights. To get here, follow Route 3 then the S-S37, the S-S36 and the S-S34 which skirts Lake Como as far as Menaggio, where you branch off onto the S-S340. From here, it’s a 40 minute drive to Lugano along the northern shore of Lake Lugano. Halfway along you cross back into Switzerland.