Andermatt is close to Realp, so the travel advice given here is as for Realp. Andermatt is slightly easier to get to.
Tour specific travel advice to cut carbon emissions – for your tour in Andermatt or Realp
The Eagles now has a target to emit net zero carbon from its activities within two full seasons, by cutting emissions by swapping from air to train, for example; and by offsetting. At the moment, net emissions from club tours (after offsetting) are about 280 tonnes/year. (To keep global temperature rise below 2 degrees by 2100, each person should emit on average no more than 1.5 tonnes per year.) If you would like to help reach the club’s target, there are two main things you can do:
- Choose lower emission mode(s) of transport for all or part of your trip. (Taking a direct flight from say Edinburgh to Munich then continuing to Innsbruck by train, instead of taking connecting flights, will still cut emissions. Or travel by train in one direction and plane the other.) And/or;
- Offset your travel (by whatever mode) by buying from the Club’s emissions offset scheme at a cost of around £3.50 for an average return flight within Europe and less for other modes.
Per passenger, the rough CO2 emissions for a return from London to Geneva are as follows
Direct flight, Economy Class 400kg
Large car, 4 passengers 160kg
Small car, 4 passengers 80kg
Coach 50kg
Train (e.g. Eurostar ) 25kg
(Source of data: here)
This document gives a few tips on booking lower carbon travel to the start/end point of your tour, Realp, from London.
Train. Realp is 9-12 hours by train from London St Pancras, with changes in Paris (from Gare de Nord to Gare de Lyon, using one fast metro line; tickets are sold at the Eurostar buffet car; or a walk to Gare de L'Est) and then Basel or Lausanne and onwards on Swiss public transport. Return from Engelberg is via Basel, with the 0600 train getting you into St Pancras at 1430. For train times see www.bahn.co.uk – just enter origin London, or your local GB station, and your final destination, pretty much anywhere in Europe.
Eurostar does not offer through tickets for this trip. You can buy a ticket to Paris on www.eurostar.com, and another onwards from Paris to Lausanne or Basel at the French railways page www.oui.sncf.com . To be on the safe side allow 60 minutes in Paris if changing to Gare de Lyon (less is OK for Gare de L'Est). Booked well ahead Eurostar charge around £60 for a single from London to Paris and SNCF charge as little as €49 from Paris to Lausanne or Basel. Booked ahead at www.sbb.ch, a single from Lausanne to Realp costs CHF20, and around CHF40 from Basel.
Eurostar and German Rail (DB) tickets go on sale 6 months in advance and SNCF 4 months. More train travel info at https://www.eagleskiclub.org.uk/plan-your-trip/low-carbon-travel/train-travel-tips-and-hints.
Bus. London to Lausanne takes 18 hours with one changes, and costs from around £50. You can look at times and prices at www.flixbus.co.uk
Car. The Michelin route planner www.viamichelin.com suggests a drive time from London to Realp of 13-14 hours, a distance of 1000 km/625 miles and tolls of €90 one way. It also calculates fuel costs for your car, though not Euroshuttle.
Carshare. Blablacar is a carsharing app, heavily used in continental Europe. You pay for a lift – www.blablacar.com. If driving, register to offer lifts and make money - €70 Lyon-Calais, for example.
Travelling from outside London? Apologies if this info all seems a bit London-centric but pretty much all rail and bus travel from the UK to the continent is via London, though when driving, the Amsterdam-Newcastle or Hull-Zeebrugge ferry may alternatives to Euroshuttle (although ferries emit much carbon per km). By train, it is possible to return as far north as Edinburgh in one day from the western Alps (Moutiers or Zurich, for example), though more difficult on the outward due to the time difference.