12 Day Best of Swiss tour

Yes, arrive several days early and stay several days afterwards. Make the most of that airfare you bought.

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I took this tour last year.

Switzerland is expensive. You can save money by having meals in the restaurant that’s part of their department stores. I thought the ones in Manora (store name) were pretty good. This works better for lunch as the selection dwindled as the day wears on and they tend to close early. Another option is to buy groceries for a picnic lunch or dinner. I stayed in London prior to the trip and bought some sliced jamon while there. Got some bread and cheese from the little shop in Murren and had a nice lunch on the balcony of our hotel room.

We stayed at hotel alpenruh Murren. It’s owned by the same firm that runs the lift up to the Schilthorn and the restaurant up there. Our guide offered to take us up our first morning in Murren. Since they are owned by the same firm, we were offered the option to have breakfast up top instead of in the hotel. Well worth it for the experience. But only on a clear day. Since there were a bunch of us going, the guide got us the group rate for the lift ticket to the Schilthorn.

You only have one full day in Murren so do research your options. I had taken a tandem paraglide ride on a previous trip. Super fun but expensive. A number of hiking options available too.

It was warm during my trip so I decided to wait until the end of the trip to buy chocolates to take home. Fortunately there was a Laderach store in Bern.

Weather can be fickle so take advantage of good weather. If it’s nice in Luzern that consider heading up to the mountains.

We did the tour last year. It was wonderful. If you don’t have the tour book already buy the RS tour book. We arrived three days early and stayed in the same hotel the tour starts. It was well worth the it. So much to see and do in Lucerne. We requested a room overlooking the river. Again worth the price tag...
food was very expensive in Switzerland. We loved every minute of the trip. Just wait until you see Murren. Go on the Northface hike... it is the picture of Switzerland.
Enjoy

I Agree with Tim, arrive a day early and stay another day in Bern at the end of the trip. I have taken 10 RS tours and will take more but this tour (my ninth out of ten) was my least favorite. I took the tour in its inaugural year, 2016 (I think my tour was number 4) and there were definite learning adjustments going on then. My overall impression at the time was that the tour leaders were struggling to entertain us. I came away from the tour convinced that touring Switzerland was better done on one’s own and in a shorter time. I still have the same opinion.

This year’s itinerary looks better. On my tour, day 5 highlighted taking a trip up some remote valley. The trip was one way in and one way out and the destination was disappointing...think Appalachia. We didn’t get to our hotel in Lugano until 830 pm. Lugano was fantastic! And a great free day there.

We were fortunate to have a clear day at the Matterhorn but the downside was we didn’t get to Murren until 830 pm. But a nice clear day on the next day, our free day. After leaving Mürren we stopped at a cheese farm and at Gruyeres. Both were pretty lame and that’s when I decided we were just being entertained. I think the tour could have ended after Mürren.

Lausanne was boring and we had fondue on a hot evening, the servers were grumpy, the guide said that fondue is unusual in the summer except for tourists. The trip from Lausanne to Bern stopped in Mürten which was a great 3 hour stop. Bern was impressive and I wished I would have had another day.

The tour meals food on the tour were mostly sausage and salmon. If
I had to do it over I would do the vegetarian option. I like sausage and I like salmon on my own schedule, I’m not a vegetarian but the vegetarian meals looked better than what the rest of the group received.

The 2018 itinerary looks better than the inaugural year, I hope you enjoy.

Other than the insufficient time spent in Berner Oberland, this is a great tour. As another poster said, you arrive in Murren in the evening and then have one full day day to experience one of the most beautiful places in the world. If the weather doesn't cooperate on the one day in Murren (as it didn't on mine last year), you are screwed.

Add a day in Murren, Rick!