Switzerland exceeded our idealized image of this amazing, beautiful country! That said, Alpenwild…read moreand its locally sourced guides exceeded our expectations! This should be #1 at the top of your bucket list! Alpenwild actually specializes in hiking and climbing tours, and we expect that all of those tours are equally amazing. We took the Scenic Alps by Rail tour and the rest of this review is focused on that one.
This is a fast-paced 9 days using the extensive and marvelous Swiss train system to crisscross the country from north to south and east to west, hitting all the major destinations away from the urban cities of Zurich and Geneva. You'll be travelling in a small group of 7 couples, who will quickly become good friends.
The price includes everything except lunch, souvenirs, and a departing tip for your guides. Ours were a husband-wife team of Swiss citizens from Lucerne. Their English was perfect, as was their love and knowledge of Switzerland.
All nights are in first class hotels, not on a train, and all travel is on a first class rail pass. With one minor exception, you bags are portered between hotels for you. Fitting all you need in the single suitcase allowed per person, you'll want to wear small backpack for some overflow and a few souvenirs.
While not all that demanding, there is also a lot of walking in towns, to/from/between trains, and on level, prepared surfaces at 3 high altitude, sometimes snow covered, sites. Constrained by the trains' schedules, some of this walking is at quite a brisk pace. So, be honest with yourself about being up to Alpenwild's advice on one's level of health and fitness needed before booking this trip.
When booking your flights, take into consideration jetlag and that you will not tour Lucerne itself. We had an overnight redeye to Zurich with a 9 hour time difference. Arriving in the afternoon the next day, we crashed at the Radisson on the airport. After sleeping in the next day, we took the train to Lucerne and checked in at Alpenwild's chosen hotel a day early. We did a self-guided tour of the city in the afternoon, went to bed early, and awoke late on the day the tour started, finally fully rested with our body clocks reset.
Starting after noon, the 1st day is only a gondola ride to a mountain above the city followed by dinner in the old part of the city. The next morning is an early boat cruise of the entire length of Lake Lucerne to reach a train to Lugano. Lucerne itself is well worth touring, so we're glad we followed the personal itinerary described above and not just to recover from jetlag.
You MUST see Switzerland and we can't imagine a better way than with Alpenwild.
