Situated smack in the centre of the Bernese Oberland, at the end of the beautiful Engstligenalp Valley, Adelboden is a classically attractive Swiss alpine village that often gets overlooked in favour of its more famous counterparts in the nearby Jungfrau region - Wengen, Murren and Grindelwald. Indeed, it's a real hidden gem, with the vast majority of skiers on the slopes being Swiss. Given it's lack of foreign tourists you won't find absolutely everyone speaking English, as you would in resorts like Wengen or Grindelwald, but enough is spoken for you to get by if your German is a bit rusty (or a bit non-existent). To be honest, occasionally having to make some effort to make yourself understood is what a holiday should be about, and it all adds to the charm of the place.
So if you're after a quiet resort, with a surprisingly large ski area, then you should definitely check out what Adelboden has to offer. It's got a reputation as being one of Switzerland's most friendly ski resorts and also has a proper Swiss feel to it - genuinely authentic and unspoilt - mainly because so few non-Swiss people ski there. So when we get round to doing a list of the top 10 unspoilt ski resorts, Adelboden will be high on our list.
The live images below of Adelboden : Sillerenbühl are provided courtesy of Feratel Media Technologies AG
A list of webcams for Adelboden and the surrounding area.
Adelboden comes across as a really friendly place, and it's low-key nightlife, it's tranquil setting and unspoilt character all combine to make it a family-friendly resort. Quiet slopes and pistes are other key factors for those looking for an enjoyable family ski holiday, and quiet pistes are certainly what you get at Adelboden.
Fly to Geneva, then take the train to Bern. Change trains and get on one to Frutigen, followed by the bus to Adelboden. Remember, public transport in Switzerland is excellent. For those hiring a car, it takes about 2 and a half hours from Geneva airport, and approximately 2 hours from Basel or Zurich airports.
Adelboden, along with neighbouring Lenk, has one of Switzerland's larger ski areas, with nearly 200km of pistes and over 50 lifts. The main ski area is shared between the two resorts, but there are 5 other ski areas nearby - Betelberg, Elsgien-Metsch, TschentenAlp, Engstilgenalp and Kandersteg.
Skiing tends to suit intermediates but with the amount of areas nearby there is plenty of variety on offer.
A list of piste-maps for Adelboden and the surrounding ski areas.
Adelboden is not renowned for it's night-life and après-ski, so if you're after the Swiss equivalent of Ischgl then look elsewhere. However, for those wanting some post-slope bevvy's, the night-life at Adelboden isn't completely non-existent. There are a couple of decent bars which have a cool, modern feel to them - the Arte Bar, which is quite handy if you're coming off the gondola, and Scott's Bar, which is located in the Cambrian Hotel. The World Cup Bar on the main street and the Time Out bar are also good bets and both have quite decent, lively atmosphere's.
Annual Events in this and neighbouring resorts...
If you want some further information on Adelboden, then you might find these links to other sites useful...
Adelboden hotels and chalets.