Insight - Country Roads of Switzerland

Pre tour Day 3 - Mt Titlis

I was up early and had breakfast, ready for my 2nd day tour this time to Mt Titlis which was a full day tour. Before making my way to the pick up point I bought a ticket to the Polybahn, a funicular railway that travels up to to the ETH Zurich and from the terrace it has really nice views of Zurich and the surrounding Uetliberg mountain. I then made my way to the bus terminal opposite the main train station to join the tour. The tour was combined with the Mt Pilatus excursion so the people doing Mt Pilatus were dropped off with their guide before we continued to Engelberg for Mt Titlis. The journey up Mt Titlis was great and I loved being amongst the snow. There was sufficient time to enjoy the activities on top, I didn’t do the snow tubing but I did do the Ice Flyer and the Cliff Walk on what is the highest suspension bridge in Europe. Unfortunately, it was very cloudy so I couldn’t see all that much. We had until 4:30pm before we had to make our way down and the guide was there for those who wanted otherwise you could come back down earlier on your own if you wanted. I decided to come down earlier so I could have a quick look around at the base before returning to Zurich.

Tour Day 1 - Lucerne

Today the tour began so after breakfast I made my own way to the tour hotel in Lucerne, as I didn’t require the arrival transfer from Zurich airport. I looked up the hotel address so I knew where to go and I found it without a problem except for when it came to finding the actual entrance. I was too early to check in but I came across 2 ladies in the lobby who were on my tour and they informed me that the Welcome Reception will be at 5:30pm.

With most of the day free I decided to do something I hadn’t done before and visit the Swiss Transport Museum (Verkehrshaus). I have a passion aviation and had read many good reviews about the museum, but for some reason I wasn’t as thrilled as what I thought I would be and didn’t spend all that long there. After exploring the museum and having lunch I caught the boat back to Lucerne which took 10 minutes. I then looked around Lucerne seeing the Chapel and Spreuer Bridges, Jesuit Church, and the old town before returning to the hotel.

When I got back to the hotel I was already checked in and the receptionist told me that my Tour Director had my keycards and handed me the phone so I could phone his room. The TD didn’t want to come down so I got another keycard so I was able to access the lifts to get to my room.

At 5:30pm we left for our Welcome Reception, we stopped at the Lion Monument first before driving to ‘Restaurant 1871’ for dinner. As this was the first time the whole group was together I was expecting the guide to give an introduction or a general overview of the tour, instead he talked of only the optionals and was clearly pushy. He was wanting everyone to sign up and pay straightaway. He also discussed how much to tip him at the end of the tour.

Dinner was simple but nice - salad, roast chicken and roast potatoes (hash browns) and beans with Apple Strudel for dessert. After dinner we drove straight back to the hotel and we were back by 8pm.

Tour Day 3 - Berne, Lake Geneva and Montreux

Today was the day that it rained for most of the day, fortunately it wasn’t heavy. We had one last optional in Lucerne before we left for Berne and that was Secret Switzerland (CHF45). We had a one hour guided tour with a Local Guide of the Sonnenberg Nuclear bunker. It was able to accommodate 20,000 people over 7 floors and contained a hospital, command centre, radio studio and detention cells. Today it has been downsized to accommodate only 2000 people and a section of it is now used as a police holding cell. It was very interesting and most people did this optional.

At 9:30 we left for Berne and when we arrived we had a restroom break at the Bear pits. I had been to Berne before but not to the Bear pits and as I didn’t need the restrooms I spent that time waiting around for everybody when I should have spent that time looking at the bears as we only spent a minute looking at them before getting back on the coach to Berne.

In Berne we were meant to have a included tour of the old town seeing the main sights and watch the mechanical procession of the clock tower. Unfortunately that didn’t happened, I assumed because it was raining the TD didn’t want to do it. Nevertheless we had 1 ½ hrs to see the sights in our free time and have lunch.

We left Berne at 1:45pm and arrived at our hotel in Montreux at 3pm where we had free time but according to the itinerary we were meant to visit Chillon Castle. Someone asked the TD about the castle visit and he told us we will visit the castle tomorrow and apologized for forgetting to tell us.

This was probably the biggest criticism of the TD, even though visiting the castle tomorrow instead was a non issue. He hardly had much to say, he didn’t tell us anything in advance, or give us a rough plan each day. We passed some amazing scenery but he gave little or no information on what we were seeing, the history or just general information. We often waited on the coach once we had arrived at a stop or the hotel as he either had to get himself organised or discuss things instead of doing it on the drive there.

Our hotel was the apparent 5 star Royal Plaza & Spa it was located right on Lake Geneva and had all the luxuries that money can buy. Typically though our rooms were just the standard type and my room faced the street.

After getting my room key a few of us decided to go for a lakeside walk, the views were beautiful with the lake looking over to France and the mountains. We passed the Freddie Mercury statue and watched the old paddle steamers cruise the lake.

While the lakeside setting was nice I though Montreux itself was nothing special. We spent 3 nights there which I couldn’t understand why, it was too long and there was very little to see and do. I think there are better places to spend 3 nights in that offer more to do and see.

Tonight was the Meat Fondue optional dinner (CHF 94) at 7pm which I didn’t do as I knew I would’t eat it, but I heard good reviews from the people who went.

Tour Day 5 - Geneva and Lake Cruise


Today we had an excursion to Geneva and we left at 8am, when we arrived we first had orientation drive through the International City seeing the Palais des Nations (UN), Red Cross, and Cern. We then visited the Reformation Wall before being dropped off at the Flower Clock where we only had 2 ½ hours of free time. I had only briefly visited Geneva previously and it didn’t leave a lasting impression but I really enjoyed Geneva this time. Most of us walked up to the cathedral and explored the Old Town. I then bought lunch at ate it down at the lake near the Jet d’Eau before leaving Geneva at 12:45pm. I wish we had more time in Geneva and less in Montreux.

From Geneva we drove around 1½ hours to Lausanne to take the included 1½ hour cruise back to Montreux. The cruise was lovely and a good way to spend an afternoon, however it meant less time in Geneva and the scenery while beautiful wasn’t any different to what we had seen from the coach.

We arrived back in Montreux for more free time and another lakeside walk. With 3 nights spent in Montreux I thought an included dinner should have been included here, as well as offer the cruise from Montreux itself on another day like yesterday, so we could have more time in Geneva.

Tour Day 7 - Zermatt and Leisure


Today we had no wake up call and because we did the Klein Matterhorn yesterday we had the whole day free, which I loved. I woke up quite late when housekeeping was vacuuming outside my room, I was thinking it was far too early and was still dark but I decided to get up and open the curtains. To my surprise it was light and was nearly 9am. Breakfast was until 9am so I knew I wouldn’t be having breakfast at the hotel this morning.
After getting myself organised I went for a morning walk, stopping off at a bakery to have some breakfast. I then looked around Zermatt and then shopped and shopped again. I decided to return to the hotel to drop off my shopping only to shop again and make another trip back to the hotel.

I also went to the shop to have a look at the photo of myself with the St Bernard but I looked really terrible and I was a bit surprised that the photos were on display for the general public to see. I considered buying it but didn’t want to waste my money so I decided to hide it amongst all the others and thought I’ll play dumb if I ever get asked where the photo is, knowing it would turn up eventually.

After all that it was now lunchtime and I meet a few others for lunch and enjoy the sunshing sitting outside the Matterhorn museum. I then set off for another walk, I love walking and being amongst nature, but I wasn’t able to capture the Matterhorn in its entirely without it being surrounded by one cloud that lingered all day. On my way back to the hotel I saw a group praticising the Alphorn, it was a perfect setting with the Matterhorn in the background and I watched it for 30 minutes before walking back to my hotel to have a shower and a rest before dinner.

Tour Day 9 - Lugano to St Moritz

This morning we had our next optional - Castles of Bellinzona (CHF 51) and we left Lugano at 8:45am.

Our first stop was to Alprose chocolate factory, where we watched a video, had a short walk around then did some shopping at the gift shop. Fortunately, I didn’t buy up large as the chocolate wasn’t at all nice and I ended up throwing out the 2 small chocolate bars I bought.

We then drove to the city of Bellinzona for our optional and like the Isola Bella optional we had no local guide, as we should have, but fortunately the TD did a much better job on this one. Despite the optional being called Castles of Bellinzona we only visited 1 of the 3 castles in Bellinzona, the ‘Castelgrande’. I enjoyed walking through the castle grounds which offered beautiful views over the town. We then had 1½ hours free time to look around Bellinzona and have lunch. We visited the Town Hall and the picturesque old town and the church before having lunch at the self service Coop restaurant. I thought Bellinzona was more Italian and more picturesque that Lugano.

I really enjoyed this optional and Bellinzona but I couldn’t understand why this was an optional and not simply included into itinerary. The castle grounds were free to visit and as we had no local guide it ended up being a rather expensive optional for what it was. The driver had to return to Lugano to pick up the few people who didn’t do this optional before driving back to Bellinzona to pick us up so I thought it could have been included with Bellinzona being a regular lunch stop.

This was the day that 2 sisters left the tour to return to the Philippines when their mother became seriously ill. Coincidentally 2 friends also momentarily left the tour as well when one of them fell ill. This was a great shame as although they later rejoined the tour they ended up missing the most scenic highlights of the whole tour. I also missed not having them on the tour as I got on well with them and we always had a laugh.

From Bellinzona we drove towards St Moritz via the St Bernardino pass (2,066m) and the Julier Pass (2,284 m) both of which were simply stunning, and were another highlight of the tour. We arrived in St Moritz at 4:45pm, and our hotel - Crystal was nice and although my room was small it was traditionally furnished, which I liked.

Tonight was our first included dinner since our Welcome Reception, so it felt a bit strange to be all together for a group dinner as it was a long gap between dinners and we were more than half way through the tour.
Dinner was at 7pm at the hotel, we had a spinach and cheese entree, trout or turkey for main and a Engadine nut cake for dessert. The spinach and cheese entree didn’t look at all appetising and it wasn’t all that popular but some said it was nice. I had the turkey for main which was cut into small pieces and looked like it was a kids meal, it didn’t look all very appetizing either bur was actually quite tasty. The Engadine Nut cake was popular.

Tour Day 11 - Glacier Express and Interlaken

Today we left St Moritz at 8:30am on the Glacier Express train. I had done the complete Glacier Express journey from St Moritz to Zermatt in winter so I was looking forward to doing it in summer, but I have to say it wasn’t as good in summer nor as good as the Bernina Express train, although we only travelled as far as Andermatt which took around 5 hours.

The Glacier Express travels through mountain ranges, gorges, valleys, many tunnels and over many bridges and we traveled up to the highest point of the journey, the Oberalppass at 2033m before descending to Andermatt at 1435m, where we disembarked.

The coach and our luggage met us at Andermatt, where we then travelled over the Susten Pass (2262m) on our way to Interlaken, this was probably the most spectacular alpine pass. The scenery was out of this world and we stopped along the way to take photos and have a coffee stop.

Along with Zermatt, I was looking forward to Interlaken the most on the tour. Although I’m not a big fan of Interlaken itself, I love the mountainous Jungfrau region that surrounds it. Its my favourite region in all of Switzerland and a place I find myself returning again and again.

The TD decided to include tomorrow’s inclusion to Lauterbrunnen today so we would have more free time tomorrow. The drive to Lauterbrunnen was only 20 minutes from Interlaken and we had about 15 minutes to take photos of the Staubbach Falls.

We then arrived at our hotel in Interlaken the Royal St Georges just before 5:30pm. This was another nice hotel and was Art Nouveau in style. My room was quite nice and I had 2 balconies but it was the only time I had a single bed.

Dinner was at 6.45 and I managed to go for a walk around the town beforehand. The included dinner was again simple but nice, salad, braised pork in wine sauce with veggies and cherries and ice cream for dessert. Fortunately the two friends rejoined the tour this evening and it was good to catch up. After dinner I went for another look around the town before it got too dark.

Tour Day 13 Brienz and Zurich

We departed at 8:30am and our first stop was Brienz, the home of woodcarving. It had rained overnight in Brienz but fortunately it was clearing up when we arrived. We stopped to take photos of a picturesque street with traditional wooden framed houses decked out in Geranium flowers. We then did some shopping at Kirchhoffer. I bought some wooden christmas decorations which were 70% off.

We then had a guided tour of the Schweizer Holzbildhauerei Museum where the owner showed us around his factory, giving the history and importance of wood carving in Switzerland. We left at 10:30am via the Brunig Pass, which was nowhere as spectacular as the other passes before reaching Zurich at 12:30pm. The TD took us to visit the Grossmunster and the Frauenkirchen before we had free time and lunch. We left Zurich for our hotel at 2:30pm, and people who hadn’t been to Zurich before felt it wasn’t enough time, especially as the tour begins in Lucerne.

On the way to the hotel the TD handed out what he said was Insight’s token of appreciation, an Insight postcard of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. I thought it was an odd thing to give.
We arrived at our hotel the Movenpick Zurich Airport at 3pm and had free time until our farewell dinner at 5:30pm at a local restaurant. This was the only included dinner I didn’t enjoy. We had either tomato soup or salad for entree. I choose the salad which was only a very large bowl of lettuce leaves and nothing else. The main dish was either fish or lamb. I choose the lamb but it was undercooked and was completely raw so I left it, dessert was Panna cotta, which was nice.

We arrived back at the hotel at 8:30pm and said our goodbyes. I then went to my room, quickly finished packing and then straight to bed as I had to get up early for my flight.

Ah...sweet. This is the tour of Switzerland I want to do.

 

Bet, I too am usually one of the youngest people on tour, and also usually enjoy the company of the more senior people. I find they tend to like the company of a third person more than the younger couples do, and they are usually more well travelled, and have a lot of great travelling stories to share.

Hi Tiffany - Work is keeping me busy but I hope to post some photos this weekend and eventually my other tour as well.
I knew I would probably be the youngest on Insight, it didn't bother me as I too enjoy the company of older people. What did surprise me a bit was the group was quite divided and people kept to their husband/wife etc. I thought there would be more group interaction, especially as we were a small group, but each to their own..

I've recently returned from Insight's Best of Spain and Portugal. Will you be posting a tour tale of this tour? It would be interesting to compare notes. Sounds like you had a big holiday doing the 2 tours and extra days in Switzerland. You mentioned that previously you've travelled independently in Switzerland. Now that you've done a tour what is your recommendation - do it yourself or tour for this part of the world?

Bet, this sounds like a great tour, despite the tour director. I’m surprised that he lectured your group twice regarding “spreading rumors”, and I’m surprised no one spoke up at the time. I know I would have said something after the first lecture, letting him know that people are not spreading rumor, just comparing notes on how bad he is as a tour director. I had issues my tour director, but at least she was organized and kept us well informed on what was going on. Sometimes she gave us too much information!

It sounds like there were not a lot of included meals with your tour, which I have to say I don’t like. I like the included dinners, especially at the beginning of the tour, because that’s when people really get to sit and talk and get to know each other. Maybe the reason the couples on your tour stuck together is because you didn’t have a lot of included meals at the beginning of the tour, giving you time to get acquainted. This is also one of the reasons I always do all of the optional dinners. It’s a great way to get to know the people on your tour.

We had 4 people on our tour skip both the Matterhorn and Bernina Express optionals, and I couldn’t figure out why either. For the Matterhorn, I just figured that they were afraid of heights, but I couldn’t figure out why someone would skip the Bernina Express optional. Maybe they didn’t want to spend the money.

I’m looking forward to seeing your pics and reading about your other tour.

I will post a tour tale of my other tour soon, it was a costsaver but it still should be good to compare notes and I still need to read your tale.
I would definitely do Switzerland on my own in the future. Ive always just bought a Swiss Pass (train pass) and enjoyed having my own itinerary. Switzerland is very efficient and very easy to travel around and some of the best bits are never on any tour itinerary. But I dont regret doing the tour as I still saw things I hadn't seen before.