Custom Switzerland Travel
Why Switzerland? |
Getting Around |
Where to go? |
Travel tips |
Tours
Organized Tours
Self-guided tours:
Traveling to Switzerland on your own is relatively easy. The tourist industry is very mature, the trains are reliable, the country is clean, many people speak English, and there are dozens of travel guides available. It's a safe, beautiful, enjoyable destination. Furthermore, an organized tour probably will not save you money (and tours that do promise to save you money will probably end up cheapening the experience in the end). But there are an almost unbelievable number of choices for how to travel, where to stay, and what to do in Switzerland. Many of them are good choices, some are not so good. Traveling with an organized tour, self-guided or with a group, does take the hassle and uncertainty out of your trip. It takes a lot of time to set up a trip (particularly when you don't know a place), and many people are overwhelmed and a little unsure about all the choices. If this is you, you might prefer to have alpinehikers help set up your travels to Switzerland.
Alpinehikers started organizing self-guided travel to Switzerland as a special request in our second year. They were amazingly popular from the start, and nowadays self-guided hiking tours make up over 50% of the tours we organize in the Alps. Most of our clients are hikers (since Switzerland is such a premier destination for that), but we also arrange tours for people who want easy walks or none at all. We've designed self-guided tours as short as 3 days or as long as 3 weeks. We can arrange quiet, intimate tours for two or larger getaways for groups of friends, work collegues, or family reunions. You can stay in absolute luxury of 4 or 5-star hotels or take in the rustic ambiance of remote mountain inns or alpine club huts. The choice is yours! We point you in the right direction and make the arrangements.
We offer a variety of polished self-guided packages, self-guided versions of many of our guided tours that have proven to be very popular with our clients. We can also customize any of these tours to lengthen or shorten them, add inn-to-inn stretches or extended village stays, upgrade (or
downgrade) accommodations. We only arrange self-guided tours in the areas we know and love best, and you'll benefit from the experience and expertise accumulated as a former year-round resident of Switzerland and long-time hiking guide.
Our self-guided tours include prepaid hotels with breakfast and dinner, a Switzerland rail pass appropriate for your travels, local maps, detailed route descriptions (including longer, shorter, and rainy day options), instructions for independently sending luggage ahead, and lots of useful information that will help your trip run smoothly.
We do not include lunches, drinks with your meals, extras (such as laundry, phone calls from the room, etc), travel not covered by your rail pass, flights, or the cost of luggage transport.
Call Troy at (888) 509-7810, or email: alpinehikers@yahoo.com for more information on customized travel to Switzerland.
View a sample route description (pdf, 53kb).
View a sample hiking map (110kb).
Choose from these suggested self-guided hiking options:
Jungfrau + Matterhorn
Jungfrau
Matterhorn
Mürren
The Grand Tour: Chamonix, Mürren, Zermatt
Bernese Oberland
Combo tour
In addition, these tours can all be adjusted and customized at surprisingly affordable prices. If you'd like to lengthen or shorten one of our existing tours, or create a customized tour of the Swiss Alps from scratch, let us know. We have extensive expertise hiking and traveling in many different areas of the Alps, and will be happy to work with you to build the vacation that best suits your needs. Inn-to-inn tours are available in the Bernese Oberland. For village-based tours, we can help you choose among the villages of Grindelwald, Wengen, Mürren, Kandersteg, Zermatt, Riederalp, and Chamonix.
Private guided tours:
If you have your own group, and would like to arrange a private guided tour, please call or email us to discuss your plans. We are happy to arrange for private guides for your group, with an itinerary that suits your schedule, desire and abilities. Private guided tours are also possible for areas that we don't offer self-guided tours to, such as the Tour of Mont Blanc, Haute Route, Dolomites, and Engadine. Prices are based on the length and complexity of your tour, types of accommodations, and number of participants. A private group of only 6 people can expect a price comparable to our normal guided tours, while smaller groups can hire a private guide for a modest supplement.
"I just wanted to let you know we had a wonderful time in Switzerland, and that you did a magnificent job of organizing and pointing us in the right direction. We've had numerous comments on how "cool" an idea it was to hike in the Alps for our honeymoon.
One of the many things that stood out to me was the amazing view from the Hotel Europe's balcony of the Matterhorn. We both walked into the room and were like "right on Troy". We felt very safe and very much in the know as it was nice to have the trail maps and directions on were to go and how the culture works.
We ended up doing 3 days of trails. All of which kept us busy most of the day. In Kandersteg we did the entire Oschinscnee Lake hike up to and around. Amazing views of the lake and beautiful weather. In Zermatt we did the hike half way to Schwarzee, then cable car to Schwarzee, and then the amazing hike to Hornli Hut. The weather also cooperated that day. Saw the base of the Matterhorn and the statue at the beginning of the ascent. Finally we did much of the hike to Gornergrat [also a very strenuous one :)]. Through Riffelberg and Riffelalp, then cable car up to Gornergrat. Probably the most exhilerating view of all. We bought a couple Panoramas of the view and have one in my office here at work :). Good conversation piece.
At any rate, we had a blast, and would recommend your services to any friends that were interested. Hope your travels though Europe are safe and fun this summer. Sure beats sitting in front of this computer 8-9 hrs a day!" |
-Andrew and Cari Sloma, Self-guided Matterhorn, 2003
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"I'm sure you're still leading trips in Switzerland but have been meaning to thank you for all your help in planning our trip. My son, daughter, and I had an incredibly wonderful experience ... mostly because of your knowledge, patience, and experience!
We never did require the "alternative" modes of transit but it was nice to know we had options. The first 3 days were in drizzle and mist but the remaining time was perfectly cloudless! I'm sorry we barely missed you at the hotel in Murren. We felt strong on the last hiking day in Murren, so substituted a climb to Piz Gloria rather than your suggested hike. The last 400 meters was all snow ... but a great climb nonetheless!
I've given your name to a few friends looking for this type of adventure - hopefully they will seek you out. Many, many thanks!" |
-Warren Alpern, Self-guided Bernese Oberland, 200
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"I've never taken a trip arranged by someone else before. I must say, it was worth every penny! We would never have found all the places you meticulously mapped out for us. We only had trouble in Kandersteg on one walk finding our way per your directions. A couple of times we thought about doing a hike backward, but were always glad we didn't. Your instructions were well thought-out and delightful to follow!
Do you organize trips in any other areas such as South America? We would definitely use you again and recommend you to our friends. Thanks for an unforgettable trip!" |
| -Rachel Weaver, Self-guided Bernese Oberland, 2002 |
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