Country Roads of Switzerland
Or should I say Cows, Clocks, Cheese, Chocolate, Cable Cars and Castles.
And mountains.
I decided at the last minute to do this tour but I had already spent some time looking for the best tour of Switzerland without having to combine two tours together. I opted for this one because it was the most comprehensive single tour I could find, and given the higher cost of flying to Europe in the summer, I wanted to see as much as possible. And what a treat it was!
I was like a kid in a candy store.
Our tour director was incredibly well organized and the tour ran like a well oiled machine. I highly recommend it and if you’re considering Switzerland, compare the itineraries. I think you’d be hard pressed to find a better tour.
My tale is very detailed. You can start with the Table of Contents or start with the Travel Day.
All the photos for this tour can be found on my flickr page here.
Enjoy!
🙂
Hello: I am taking my whole family on this trip in August. There are four of us. I told each one of them that they could pick an excursion of their choice. I was curious, if you had to pick four only, which ones would you do?
Hi Bo,
Like a lot of people, we go to Switzerland for one reason – the mountains. I took a look at the current offerings on the Insight Page and there isn’t a lot of difference in what is offered as optionals (We didn’t have the Charlie Chaplin optional).
Without hesitation, I would recommend the three mountain optionals – Jungfrau, Klein Matterhorn and the Bernina Express. (And when you get back from the Bernina in time, go straight up the gondola/funicular to Piz Nair on your own if the sky is clear. The view is astounding).
The fourth would depend on your interests. Secret Switzerland is interesting if you like Cold War History. Isola Bella for architecture, gardens and Swiss history.
The meals are the easiest to skip. If I had to recommend one, the meal in Lucerne was a lot of fun and was a chance to get to know everyone on the tour. The two lake cruises were fine, but you get a cruise on Lake Geneva that’s included and was as scenic as the others (plus the ship was unique).
Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions. 🙂
Hello: We’re taking this tour in June, 2019. If we take the optional mountain tours, do we need to pack winter clothes, such as waterproof boots, and gloves?
Hi Joyce,
You don’t need winter clothes as such. For the Klein Matterhorn, you’re only outside on the peak for a short period. A light pair of gloves would be fine and a hood or cap to cover your ears. When I descended down for my walk to the lake next to the Matterhorn, I had to shed some of it because I was too warm. I wore similar at the Jungfrau where you can control how much time you spend outside (as much of the mountain top is indoors). You don’t need waterproof winter boots. I wore my hiking sneakers and others had ankle hiking boots, so even if you go out on the snow, you’d be fine. That’ll get you through anything especially since you can spend as much or as little time outside as you want. Piz Nair in St. Moritz was quite warm and again, you can go outside for as long as you want.
Since I travel with a light fleece and waterproof shell anyway, the only extra I brought with me was the gloves, a light cap for my head and a pair of wool socks. Since luggage is limited, it didn’t add much and kept me under the limit.
🙂