Hello Fellow Travelers,
First - I know you can never predict the weather.
I am doing the GAS tour in Sept 2024. For the those that have gone during this time. Did you need a winter coat or was a light jacket with mittens, scarf and umbrella as back up significant. I am one who does not mind being a little cold. I really don’t want to purchase (I am from Arizona and it won’t get any use here) or lug around a winter coat.
Thank You
We haven't done this trip yet, but six years ago, my husband and I did a September Best of Italy tour, which included a couple of days in the Dolomites. The temperatures dipped into the 40s, but we layered. I brought a nice warm fleece that I always take on trips and wore a lightweight Columbia rain jacket over it on the day that we hiked in the mountains. I was plenty warm, and then it was easy to shed layers as the day grew warmer.
Weather can certainly differ from year to year, but when we plan a tour a year ahead of time, I add some of the places we'll be visiting to my weather app. Then I watch the weather reports during the same time of year we'll visit to get at least a snapshot of what we might expect.
I went on this tour in September/October 2019. I definitely recommend dressing in layers and including a medium weight coat, gloves, knit hat, and scarf. Nothing too crazy heavy though as you won't be in the cold for long. There was also rain during the trip and snow when we got to Switzerland. It was absolutely stunning! It can also get very cold up at Schilthorn.
It's a wonderful trip, enjoy!
We did this tour last September, the back-half of the month when local weather can be much different than in early-Sep (summer). A light, 1/4-zip, long sleeve top was sufficient layering for everywhere we went, except for Mürren (3 nights), where if you plan on going out after the sun sets it can get a little chilly up on the mountain. Good to have a heavier option as 'just in case' contingency. We wore ours on the plane (immediately put up in storage upon boarding) so didn't have to pack them and lose valuable [carry-on suitcase] space for other items/clothing. Wearing them during airport runs also yielded extra pockets: zippered closures for passport, phone, tickets. You're going to have a wonderful trip, feel free to PM if you have any questions around itinerary stops, free-time options and the like.
Too unpredictable especially this far in advance. You cant go by old stereotypes, that it will be cold in the mountains and warm elsewhere. What you can do, is look at the forecasts in the days before departure and adjust packing accordingly.
When we did this tour, in September, it was cool and drizzly when we first started in Germany, then it was warm and sunny (shorts weather) during the day in Mürren, and mostly warm thereafter. So we just adjusted our layers. You can always buy more warm clothes there if necessary.
