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My Way Alpine Europe

Hi, I was wondering about the bus time on this trip. My son wants to go to Germany & Switzerland for his high school graduation. He wants action & adventure...I found something in each of the stops that would suit his wants. My husband is prone to motion sickness. I see there are times listed on the bus, looks like 4 days. I'm worried about mountain routes, that they'll make him more likely to be sick.

I could plan something else myself, but I like that this will give my son a taste of 5 countries and he'll be less likely to get bored. He doesn't like museums or things like that. I like to keep it simple and travel slow with minimal stops when doing it on my own so I think he'd end up bored with 3 or 4 nights in a single place.

I like that this tour will provide the transportation and hotels and we can just plan our days. And the fact that there might be other teens his age that he might get along with instead of just having his parents for company for 2 weeks.

Posted by
16893 posts

Driving on this trip sticks to the main highways for as long as practical. A guide reports that the most winding drives are on final approaches to the Zugspitz and to Chamonix. Certainly some people can try sitting further forward in the bus. As well, if your husband can take medication like Dramamine for his issue, it would be a good idea to bring it.

Posted by
25 posts

Regarding motion sickness: I am the type that gets motion sickness as well. I've been on 2 RS trips, some of the time there were windy roads but I have never been motion sick on the bus either time. I did not take meds for it either. Maybe because the bus is so big and rides very smoothly? I'm not sure. Also, since there is usually only 26 people max, you get your own row which helps to not feel over crowded.
Sitting in the front with a view out of the huge windshield can help as well.

Posted by
8439 posts

make sure you talk to the tour leader about the motion sickness before the touring starts. Otherwise they like to encourage rotating seats so that everyone has an opportunity for the prime seating.

Posted by
36 posts

I second the recommendation for Dramamine. I wouldn’t be able to travel via plane or train (any length of time) or a bus ride of more than a couple hours without it. Never been sick if I take it. He should look for the nom drowsy formula though frankly neither version makes me sleepy.

Posted by
36 posts

I also just noticied you’re from MA so tip- buy Dramamine at Market Basket, its half the cost as CVS

Posted by
771 posts

We did the Alpine My Way tour last June and there was a young lady traveling with her dad as a high school graduation present. She was the only teenager but fit in nicely with the group. She and her dad went off and did adventurous things and we lived vicariously through her when she went paragliding in the Lauterbrunnen Valley. Do your research ahead of time so you know what you want to do. Also, the tour manager will have suggestions.

Posted by
3207 posts

I get motion sickness. On the Greece tour, the first road day was hilly and curvy and I felt it. After that and with other's recommendations, I used dramamine only once, because...ginger tea, ginger gum, ginger cookies were much nicer to consume. I also used motion sickness wrist bands. I also figured out, and from reading, to sit in the middle of the bus. The middle has less motion to it, which was clear once I moved from toward the front to the middle. What really worked, I don't know, but I was fine from then on it.

Posted by
15582 posts

I took this tour 4 years ago in early June. There was a family with 3 kids who were 8-9 years old, 2 of them suffered with motion sickness, and two young adult sisters, about 19 and 22, one of them was also prone to it, as am I. We pretty much commandeered the front rows of the bus and the rest of the group was very understanding. I took a lot of pills - a drug known here as domperidone that requires a prescription which does not cause drowsiness, but doesn't mix with alcohol. Even with that, I had a few bad hours. The 22 year old took dramamine and spent most of her bus time sleeping. The kids did well, spent their time on their iPads without any meds. I guess it depends on how prone your husband is to motion sickness. I'm very prone to it. Note that you are never on the bus for more than 2.5 hours at a stretch. There's a mandatory (for the driver) 15 minute rest stop every couple of hours and a 1/2 hour lunch stop.

One thing I noticed is that the tour has dropped Hallstatt, which makes for less mountain driving - and less bus time overall.