My Way Alpine Tour - better in May or June?

I took the tour in early June 2015. We had a downpour in Salzburg, a very rainy afternoon in the Alpi di Suissi and never saw the mountains in Lauterbrunen because of total cloud cover. I looked at reviews of the tours just before and just after mine and they both had great weather. I'd expect that RS makes sure there are lifts operating at all the sites when they plan the tours.

Forum people suggested I take the Switzerland tour in June rather than May because snow would probably still have some trails at higher elevations inaccessible. I took their advice and was happy with the tour.

Thank you both. That is what I was thinking, too, about the June option. We've traveled in April and May in Europe and had pretty good weather with some rainy days, and lower crowds...but that was not at any higher elevation. We can pack for rain - but I didn't want to be disappointed to find we couldn't get to some of the places we'd planned to see if it was too early in the season.

Chani, how did that rain impact your experiences in Italy? We were in the Jungfrau region in early September, and in one week in Murren, we went from sunny in the mid 70's to rain and falling temps, and 5 inches of snow at the end of the week. We still used our travel pass and explored as best we could - but there were several places we simply couldn't see well because of the clouds. It was a different kind of thrill to sail through clouds and snow on the cable cars! Our walk through the Lauterbrunnen Valley was a rainy one with low clouds. It was a little eerie. We took a photo of me in an edelweiss decorated wooden picture frame in Schynige Platte where you can't see anything behind me - just white. It was amusing to me - and we had to look online to see someone else's photo to see what we were missing! Perhaps we can see those missed sights better on this tour? That's our hope, anyway.

I appreciate your replies - thanks!

Laurie

June will definitely be better for Switzerland. Mid or late June would give you the best chance for open trails. Beginning of June is questionable. I have been when most things were open, early June 2022, and when many things were still closed, early June 2024.

One of my favorites is often closed early June: Männlichen - Kleine Scheidegg.

That is one of the hikes on my dream list, Carrie! I'll just hope for the best, and make a different plan if the weather doesn't cooperate.

Some of the treats we enjoyed on those rainy days were desserts and coffee breaks in several different cafes in the region. We especially liked Cafe Liv in Murren, which had wonderful baked goods. The Intersport Cafe there made coffee drinks with elegant latte art of the Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau drawn on top of the foam. So good! The Flavours Cafe in Lauterbrunnen has excellent cakes, cozy couches, and a large Book Swapping library. And in Allmendhubel, above Murren, we enjoyed fruit tarts with a view of cows and the Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau. I'd go back to all of those places!

Laurie

The downpour in Salzburg came near the end of our guide's intro walking tour. The dozen or so of us took shelter together. When it started to let up the others headed quickly to their planned dinners nearby. I stayed with the guide and we waited it out for another 15-20 minutes and chatted with other folks till it ended. The next day was sunny.

In the Alpi di Suisi, the day started out magnificently, with nearly full sunshine. I was on a lift by 9 am and had lots of time to hike, look at wildflowers and stop for a hot drink at an inn. I was on my way down to the lifts about 4 hours later when the downpour came and lasted well over an hour. I managed to take refuge in a hotel and warm up/dry out with some hot chocolate. About half the group ended their visit when the rains came. The rest, serious hikers, took shelter as best they could, waited it out, and had dry somewhat sunny conditions to finish their planned hikes. Most of us had dinner that evening at outdoor seating to enjoy the view and sunset.

We had only 2N in Lauterbrunnen. A year later RS changed the itinerary and added 1N. Because there was no point in going to the peaks, we all hiked in the valley and/or in Murren and Gimmelwald. At least there was no rain.

Chamonix was off and on sunny. There were hours with great visibility on Aiguille de Midi, though it was clouded in some of the time.

You just never know what the Alpine weather will bring.

I am old enough to remember the time - say till twenty years ago - when Salzburg climate was (in)famous for very frequent rain, in all seasons. The first time we visited Salzburg (August 1989) we had to check with a mechanic because pouring rain had entered the car distributor. There should even be a Mozart letter to a relative, complaining the in Salzburg had rained all days of the month, including 30th, 31st and 32nd.