Itinerary

Thursday                   
Fly overnight to Zurich, Switzerland from whichever airport is convenient for you.

Friday
Assemble at Zurich Airport at 8.30am.  Load van and drive to the capital city, Bern and walk the cobbled-stoned streets of this beautiful 16th century town.  The Aare River snakes through the medieval city and offers beautiful views from a myriad of vantage points.  We’ll discover Bern’s ornate fountains, monuments, cathedral and clock tower on our walking tour of the city.  Enjoy lunch at an outdoor café then drive to Thun near Interlaken.   We’ll take a short tour of this 800 year-old castle and see armor, weapons, furnishings and dungeons.  There are great photos to be had from the towers.  Drive up to the Lautebrunnen Valley set in a beautiful hanging valley. visit nearby Trummelbach, which is a series of glacier waterfalls inside a mountain.  Climbing through this mountain, you’ll be amazed by tunnels carved out by water and gravity.  Dine on the balcony of our charming hotel.

Saturday                 
After a sleep-in we’ll drive into Interlaken and mount beautiful Swiss horses for a relaxing two-hour ride through fields and forests to Thuner See.  Lunch is easy at a bakery in town.  Back up in the Lautebrunnen Valley we’ll change into hiking boots and ride a cable car to 5000’.   We’ll hike through woods and pastures to the alpine hut called Lobhornhutte at 6,500’.   This is a two-hour hike through forest and meadow and we take our time and go at a pace that suits our least capable participant.  Sometimes we have the opportunity to see cheese being made in mountain barns and sometimes we hear the cuckoo bird calling in the fields!  Your hard work is rewarded by the views from the hut across at the sunset on the Eiger, the Monch and the Jungfrau.  Dinner is a typical hearty Swiss mountain stew and dessert.  Our dorm room has plenty of blankets so we are plenty cozy.  There are no showers this evening.

Sunday
Hike back to the cable car and return to Lautebrunnen where we’ll order a late breakfast. Drive to Kandersteg and board the vehicular train taking us through the mountain to Goppenstein.  The wonders of Swiss engineering never cease!  Drive to the hot mineral pools of Leukerbad for a soak and lunch.  It’s great to relax after our big hike the day before.  Drive to Tasch and board a train for a short ride to Zermatt.  Check into our hotel.  You’ll have time before and after dinner to shop and explore this town of the rich and famous, lying at the base of the Matterhorn.

Monday
This morning we’ll take a cog-rail train ride up to Gornergrat offering us sweeping views of not only the magnificent Matterhorn but also Gorner Glacier and Monte Rosa, the highest mountain in Switzerland.  Our hike down to Riffelberg offers great photo op’s of the Matterhorn, These world-class vistas make for indelible travel memories.  If it’s a clear day we’ll see 29 of Switzerland’s 35 highest summits.  We’ll lunch in Riffelberg then hike down to Riffelalp and catch the train back down to Zermatt.  You’ll have an hour free before returning by train to Tasch.  It’s a short van ride to Brig where just up the valley we’ll board another gondola to Riederalp.  We’ll stay in a cozy hotel in high up in the Alps at 6000’ with amazing views.

Tuesday
After breakfast, we’ll hike up to see the mighty Aletsch Glacier which forms on the Jungfrau Mountain.  This two hour hike to the glacier and along the spine of the mountain is relaxing and full of amazing views.  We’ll buy a sandwich for lunch and picnic looking across at the sweet villages on the other side of the valley.  This afternoon we head east through the heart of the Alps.  We’ll climb twisting mountain roads over high passes and see glaciers and tumbling falls.  Drive along picturesque valleys right out of Heidi, with cows at peace in the fields.  There will be stops for irresistible pictures along the way.  Our destination is Laax where we’ll stay in a charming country hotel.  Dinner will be at our hotel.

Wednesday
Today we’ll raft the Inn River in the Engadine Valley.  This three-hour river rafting experience begins in mild waters and runs through 6 km of great rapids. Then we enter the Giarsun Gorge located between Susch and Ardez. Again, it has a gentle start but soon it morphs into a crashing mountain.  Our guide expertly steers the boats into the waves and safely get everyone to the end of the 4 km run.  Later that day we drive to Lucern, the most beautiful city in Switzerland. This is a free evening to wander the streets, explore the old town and the famous lion statues, cross the covered bridges and to eat when and where you choose. Our hotel is centrally located.

Thursday
Our adventure to 8000’ Mt Pilatus, offering panoramic views of Lucern, involves five different forms of transport.  We’ll take a two-hour ride on a steamer across Lake Lucern to Alpnachstad.  This is so relaxing and affords great photographic opportunities.  Next we’ll board the cog-railway with an impossibly steep track all the way to the top of Mt Pliatus.  Likely there will be locals entertaining up there with the famous alphorns.  This is a perfect place to lunch outside.  Sometimes the cloud swirls in and minutes later, poof, its gone!  Later, we’ll take the cable car down to Frakmuntegg.  Here we’ll ride Switzerland’s longest toboggan (luge) track.  It takes us through tunnels and we can go as fast or as slow as we like.  It’s great to be a 10 year old again!  An ingenious pulley system hauls us slowly back up to the start and its fun to pass only feet away from cows clanging their bells as they munch grass.  Then we cable car down to Kriens and catch a bus back to Lucern.  It’s a two-hour ride back to Zurich where we check in at our hotel near the airport.  Farewell dinner at our hotel.  Tour ends.

Friday
Use the hotel shuttle to transfer to the airport.  Board flights back to USA.

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