My Way Alpine Tour Tips

I'll be following along! Going on this tour mid-August. Have a great trip!

I keep hearing Heathrow is a real stinker about liquids, creams etc. I hope to avoid that airport in the future!

We are leaving on July 7th, I hope our connection through Schiphol airport goes well.

Thanks! We're on this trip in August. Happy to follow along. Flying into Munich two night before our tour.

Appreciate you providing real time info!

I’m on the July 11th My Way Alpine Europe. Who is your tour guide? Do you have hotels located in Bolzano and Lauterbrunnen too? (This seems to vary on the Alpine tours.)

I’m curious how you find the weather. The forecast frequently looks like heat, rain, and thunder showers.

Looking forward to your tips and observations.

@ Carla: We are currently on the June 20 My Way Alpine tour. We stayed in Castelrotto and Lauterbrunnen. Our tour manager is Kathleen Cavalier.

Day 1: I learned that a >50% rain prediction in Salzburg is easily managed. Just drizzle. Umbrellas up; umbrellas down; repeat.

Hotel Hofwirt is well located. Groceries and pharmacies are within a block. Many shops and food choices are a little farther down the street. It’s less than a mile to Old Town.

The streets in Old Town were populated, but not crowded, except in front of Mozart’s birthplace—a nexus for student groups. We followed Rick’s audio guide and paused it often to explore, window shop, eat, and tour Mozart’s birthplace. We kept a leisurely pace. We encountered no lines. Our Old Town tour, including lunch, ran from 8:30 AM until 2:30 PM.

We loved the giant pretzels in Universitatsplatz. So many choices! We found decent vegan options at Nordsee and Spicey Spice.

This evening everyone in the Rick Steves group passed their Covid tests and we met from 5-6:30 PM with Don. Afterwards my wife and I enjoyed a Mozart concert at 8:30 PM in the fortress. We paid extra for assigned seats up front, but didn’t really need to. The concert area is small (six rows of seats tonight) and the musicians are on a raised platform. As the music plays, the evening sky changes colors in the ancient concert hall windows.

Everyone passed their Covid test! That is a joy to read.

I’ve booked a concert at Mirabell, the dinner concert at the fortress, and (weather permitting) am hoping to catch a free brass band concert at the Mirabell palace gardens. Our Salzburg pre-stay is in old town, 3 doors down from Mozart’s birthplace. I understand no air-conditioning and noisy with people, so I anticipate using ear plugs for the first time.

Which Don is your tour guide? I think there’s a couple of them.

You reminded me of my first night on the tour, at the end of the orientation walk it started to drizzle. We lingered chatting and the drizzle turned to a real downpour. We huddled together under an archway to wait it out - no rain forecasted, so no umbrellas.

Continue to enjoy!

Enjoying this report. Looking forward to reading more.

Day 02: The main event was our Eagles Nest Historical Tour (the one recommended by Rick).

Here are details on taking the bus. Go to the bus stop at Mirabell Platz. You will see the big church on one side of the street, and on the other side of the street is the Mirabell palace (Schloss Mirabell). You want the bus stop that’s on the same side of the street as the palace—not the church.

Once you’re in front of the palace, look for a bus sign with the letter H. That’s where bus 840 stops (NOT under the covered bus stop nearby). Take bus 840, which departs fifteen minutes or so after the hour. Pay in cash for a round trip ticket as you get on the bus. The price today was 11.60 euro per person. Try to have close to the correct amount. They will make change. Keep your ticket. You will need it again. Bus 840 will take you to Berchtesgaden, about a 45 minute trip. It’s the end of the line, and they will announce it. (FYI, today was the last day for the German mandate for masks on public transport. I don’t know about Austria.)

The 840 bus will drop you off at a nice convenience store in Berchtesgaden, where your next bus (#838) will pick you up in a few minutes and take you to Obersalzberg, a few miles away. Use your original bus ticket for this trip. The 838 bus drops you off right across the street from the tour office and a restaurant. The office doesn’t open until Noon, so you may want to go straight to lunch if you arrive before then. They have salads, sausages, burgers, deer goulash, fries, and drinks. Choose your own table and politely flag down a waiter to order.

After the Eagles Nest tour, you will reverse the sequence with the buses, using your original bus ticket all the way back to Mirabell Platz. While I was waiting for bus 840, I dashed into the convenience store and bought a big map of the alps (Alpen) for my wife, who enjoys tracking the details of the trip.

I hope this will help you enjoy stress free bus travel, if you take the Eagles Nest History tour. By the way, even though the bunkers aren’t open right now, the substitution of the site of Hitler’s former home at Berghoff was evocative and scenic.

One more thing, I learned too late there is a laundry near the hotel where you can drop off clothes for cleaning. The hotel desk has the information.

Someone asked who’s in charge of our trip. Our trip manager is Don Chmura from Canada.

Day 03: This was a travel day, going by bus from Salzburg to Hotel Cavallino d’ Oro in Castelrotto, Italy. The views out the window were spectacular. After arriving, we had time to hike the Marinzen on trail 4A. The chair lift is a short distance from the hotel. It takes you up and you can either hike down or take the lift back down. We took the hike down at a slow pace to enjoy the scenery, even sitting on a bench at one point to take in the view. From the time we got off the lift and started the hike until we returned to the hotel, it was about an hour and twenty minutes. All downhill. That left us enough time to get a load into the hotel’s little washing machine and take an early dinner. Our tour manager did an excellent job explaining our options for today and tomorrow in the Dolomites, and I’m sure yours will, too. The only other info I have today is to report that my little two pronged adapter has worked in both Salzburg and Castelrotto. It’s nice not to need a different adapter in each country.

Wow, Don was my tour leader for VFR many number of years ago. As I recall, he published some walking/hiking guides for the Lauterbrunnen area back in the day. I think you are in good hands. Thanks for the detailed bus info re Berchtesgaden.

Day 04: After hiking the Trail of the Witches, we went directly to the South Tirol Museum of Archaeology to see Ötzi the Iceman. Here is the bus information.

Catch the 170 bus to Bolzano. Your tour manager will show you where the bus picks up and will give you an all-day bus pass. You will ride this bus to the end of the line (~45 minutes), which is a big open-air bus stop called the Balzano Autostazione. Masks were required on buses on 7/2, when we were there.

From the bus station it is a 10 minute walk to the museum. Google Maps will show you the way. The walk takes you down a nice retail street. If you’re hungry, be warned many restaurants close mid-afternoon and the museum lacks a cafe.

We encountered no line at the museum at 2:15 PM. We bought tickets and rented audio guides, which were not necessary because the exhibits have detailed explanations in English. You will need some form of ID if you want to rent the audio guides.

The museum takes a deep dive into the mummy and everything found with him. Don’t miss the window on the first floor where you can peer at the mummy in his dark, icy chamber. It’s in a side room (station 14, I think) on the first floor. We walked right by and missed it, until we backtracked and searched at the end and of the tour. FYI, the museum closes at 6:00 PM.

After the museum, retrace your steps to the bus station. The electronic board posts the departure times for bus 170, which will take you back to Castelrotto. Our bus left at 4:10 PM. It was not the last 170 bus of the the day.

We had a little heart burn when the 170 bus pulled up for our return trip, refused to let anyone board, drove down the street, and parked. Not to worry; I guess it was break time. The bus returned at the posted time, and we boarded.

I downloaded the Moovit app, which allowed me to trace the bus route in real time as we travelled.

Bolzano was hot. I’m glad I wore shorts and short sleeves. The buses and museum were air conditioned.

Thank you for this report! So, it is easy to get back and forth to Bolzano?

Our MyWay Alpine tour hotel on July 13th is in Bolzano. I have read that the temperatures & bus distances are better in Castelrotto I was dismayed to read dismal reviews on TripAdvisor for our upcoming Bolzano hotel (Stadt Hotel Citta), noted that the temperatures in Bolzano reach the 90s frequently, and understand the Bolzano is roughly a 45 minute bus ride from the hiking area. My son and I have been eagerly anticipating the Panorama to Zallingerhutte hike in the Rick Steves guidebook on page 121, which recommends allowing 5-6 hours. I have been concerned about the additional time & distance the Bolzano hotel location requires — since I’ve also read it is important not to get stranded before the last lift, and last bus, of the day.

@Carla

My advice is to look at the bus 170 schedule on the Moovit app and see if the math works for your hiking plans.

You also could consider taking a taxi from Bolzano to the base of the hiking area. It will get you there a lot faster than the bus. I know they have taxis in Bolzano. Also, while Uber and Lyft aren’t available in Bolzano, there might be a European equivalent that you can find before your trip. In any case, I’m pretty sure the only reliable way back to Bolzano will be bus 170.

If you end up deciding you only have time for the Trail of the Witches, I assure you it is a beautiful hike. It won’t be as challenging as the one you are planning, but I thought it was spectacular.

jsc, thanks for including bus information in your trip report. It’s very helpful even though I’m not doing your tour any time soon.

@Phoenix

If you live in Phoenix, as I do, you should be on this trip right now! The weather is very nice here.

jsc: That is exactly the day we are planning for our day in the area. Thank you so much for the detailed information! I won't have our hotel list for a few more weeks, but I'm hoping we stay in Castelrotto rather than Bolzano.

Day 05: Today was a beautiful bus trip to Füssen with a visit to the Zugspitze along the way. Our tour manager was with us the whole time, so there was nothing complicated that merits my elaboration.

It was a clear, warm day at the Zugspitze. The temperature at the base was in the low 80’s F and about 50 F at the top. We all took a sweater or other covering, but hardly needed it. They have bathrooms below and above.

One more thing. I’m very glad I brought shorts, sandals, and a hat on this trip. They are essential on clear, sunny days. I see the locals wearing them, too.

Thank you so much for the details on getting the buses. That is one thing that has been stressing me out. Would you be able to elaborate on the train from Munich to Salzburg after your trip is through? We are headed on the alpine tour end of August. Enjoy!

@DeeKa

In the Munich airport, you find the train by following the signs, which are a green circle with a white “S” in it (subway?) alongside a drawing of the front of a train (looks kind of like a trolley).

As I recall, the signs eventually led us down an escalator where we found a large train information desk with English speaking agents. We already had online tickets, so they just printed our train itinerary, which had the platform number, train number, and departure times for both of our trains. I believe you could buy tickets there, too. Then we followed those signs again (right across from the information desk) down another escalator.

The signs at the bottom directed us to our platform. There was another information desk at the platform, and so we talked to the agent to be sure we were waiting for the right train.

The first train took us from the airport to the main train station in Munich. They showed the stops on a display and announced stops, so it was easy to know when to get off. We exited the train, which put us on a platform at ground level. We then followed the crowds down the nearest escalator or stairs (I can’t remember which), which took us to a long underground corridor. The entrances to all the platforms were located along this corridor, clearly marked.

By the time we found our platform number and hurried to the platform (back up to the ground level), our train to Salzburg was already waiting. As we approached, the train doors closed, even though it was still five minutes to departure! The guy in front of me pushed on the closed doors and they opened. I was sufficiently stressed that we just followed him into the train, even though it was a second class train car and we had purchased first class tickets.

The train was crowded. We had to stand with our luggage scrunched up next to us until half-way through the trip, when some seats opened up. Even then, we had to keep our luggage scrunched up next to us because the overhead bins were not made for normal sized suitcases. The line ended at Salzburg, where we got off and took one of the taxis waiting outside. Our driver was a friendly guy from Afghanistan, who spoke English.

I hope this helps!

@jsc

I don't know if it helped Deeka, but I found it very informative. We are also flying into Munich and taking the train to Salzburg. All your posts have been very helpful. Thank you!

@jsc. Why didn't you just move through the train to the first class car? Wasn't there a way to move from train car to train car?

We dragged our bags through one crowded car after another and finally gave up because the aisles were so congested. Also, we were on a later train than the one we reserved (due to changes from our cancelled flights) and I wasn’t sure we would have seats even if we stepped on enough toes to get there.

Day 06: We had online tickets for the 9:00 AM tour at Neuschwanstein Castle. We caught the #78 bus at the bus stop located next to the park, where our tour manager had showed us yesterday. It left at 7:26 AM. We used the bus pass our tour manager gave us, so there was no need to pay the driver. We were required to wear masks on all buses today.

The #78 bus bus took us directly to the information center at the castles complex. With our backs to the information center, we then faced right and proceeded down the sidewalk (away from the Neuschwanstein castle, which could be seen high above us).

Shortly, we passed the Ticket Center. By now, it was about 7:40 AM. The Ticket Center opened at 8:00 AM, but we had tickets, so we kept on walking. A block or so further down the street we came to the shuttle bus parking lot, located on our right, and slightly below the street level. The first shuttle bus of the day left at 8:15 AM. We paid the driver in cash: 2 euro per person one way. (Or you can pay 7 euro for round trip tickets for 2 people.)

The shuttle bus labored up the hill and dropped us off at a bus stop next to a path in the woods. Facing left, we walked downhill toward Neuschwanstein castle. A few scenic minutes later, we reached the side of the castle. We continued to follow the path as it wound its way around the castle, until bringing us to the big wooden doors in front. By this time, it was about 8:30 AM. They didn’t open the doors until almost 9:00 AM (remember, this was the first tour of the day).

The man at the door looked at our tickets and then waived us in. After a quick trip to the WC just inside the doors, we dashed across the courtyard to the display panel showing our tour number (as found on our tickets), where we scanned the code on our tickets and passed the turnstile.

Then we followed the flow of people to the door where we were allowed to enter the castle. We had to shift our backpacks to the front (like you’re carrying a baby) and wear masks.

Then we walked up several flights of stairs, until we reached the booth where they were briskly handing out audio guides as you walked by, with no instructions or chit chat. Then we continued walking forward and then up more stairs, all the time wondering why our audio guides weren’t working. (Turns out the recording doesn’t start until you are in the throne room.)

In the throne room, the recording starts. If your audio guide starts speaking Russian, like mine did, there is a well dressed employee in the throne room who can switch it to your preferred language. That employee/guide follows you from room to room.

(Our tour was on the Fourth of July and, unfortunately, we had one man who felt compelled to bend the ear of our young German guide, extolling the holiday and the American system as clearly superior to German kings like Ludwig II who would run amuck spending vast sums on questionable projects.)

The tour was over by 9:30 AM. We enjoyed a snack in the cafe before heading out and back down the trail to the shuttle bus stop.

JSC — I am following your posts closely. Do you have any suggestions/observations for activities for Fussen tour days that do not include the castles or shopping? This is the one stop on the tour that has my son & I stumped for what to do.

Thanks so much for the details on Munich to Salzburg trains. I am really enjoying your posts and am getting more excited by the day to start my Alpine Tour. It was cancelled in 2020. Fingers crossed for 2022!

@Carla in Sequim

Other Füssen options: Those in our group who did the luge said it was was very exciting and worthwhile. The town walk in Rick’s book was scenic and interesting in a low key way. There were rave reviews for two restaurants: Zum Hechten (at the hotel by the same name, which happened to be our hotel) and Restaurant Aquila. A spa day or massage might be nice at this point in the trip, but I don’t know anyone who did that. I asked the lady at the hotel desk for ideas, and she didn’t have any not in Rick’s book.

Day 07: Today was a travel day from Füssen, Germany to Wengen, Switzerland. As a result, there was no opportunity for me to learn any practical tips to share. The tour manager spent a goodly time on the bus talking about hiking options and reviewing maps with us. There are a dizzying number of options, and most involve multiple modes of transportation (trains, lifts, buses, trails). Rest assured, all will become reasonably clear and seem less intimidating once you are here. At least that’s how I feel tonight. Check back tomorrow. We are fortunate to have clear weather, so it should be a spectacular day.

I’m so glad to hear your forecast is beautiful. I look forward to hearing how your first day of hiking goes.

Did you say… spa and massage in Fussen? Is it part of the hotel? Do you know who recommended it? The restaurant recommendations are appreciated. My son is in culinary school, and we are indeed looking to enjoy local cuisine,

We are waiting to board, SeaTac - Frankfurt, then Frankfurt to Salzburg, right now!

@Carla in Sequim

Actually, no one recommended the spa or massage. I just saw the spa in Rick’s book and some massage signs around town (which you can find via Google), and I thought it might be nice to relax after a week of go, go, go on the trip. Good luck with your trip!

Day 08: We hiked the North Face Trail today from Mürren to Grimmelwald. The sky was bright blue and enhanced with dramatic white clouds that only briefly shaded into stormy grays. The temperature topped at around 70 F. The views and flowers were stunning.

My only tips today pertain to the North Face Trail signs:

1. The trail signs now are green (instead of the blue color indicated in Rick’s book). Not a big deal, since they say, “North Face Trail.”
2. We didn’t see the first one until we walked past the playground, through a gate or two, and down the hill after the small chairlift. At that point there was a crossroad with poles and many yellow trail signs AND a green North Face Trail sign. We followed the sign and made the hairpin turn to the left.
3. While the frequency of green signs was petty good, there was one point that needed a green sign and didn’t have one. Instead there was only a white sign that said “Suppenalp Pensione.” Follow that sign. The trail takes you right across the food patio at Suppenalp.
4. After Suppenalp the trail goes up for awhile. Hang in there. It levels off and goes down again at Schiltalp.

…or you could use the AllTrails app like others in my group.

More hiking tomorrow!

Jcs. I can’t thank you enough for all the posting you are doing.. I look forward to it everyday..we are doing the same tour in August.. I have copied and pasted your recommendations per country along with what we had planned.. This has been fun reading and planning..
Thanks again..
Sue

Day 09: Another amazing weather and hiking day in the Berner Oberland! We opted for more hiking rather than going up to Jugfraujoch. It’s just a personal preference to enjoy hours of fresh air and amazing views virtually alone hiking on the ground rather hours of amazing views on the train and on the peak with lots of people. We started the day with the Männlichen-Kleine Scheidegg hike, had a picnic on a bench near the end of the hike, took the train to Lauterbrunnen, and the bus to Trümmelbach Falls, and walked back to Lauterbrunnen.

Today’s tips:

1. I regret not going through, down, and out the giant cow slide at Männlichen! True, it’s for kids. But my family back home is dying to know what it looks like inside.
2. I’m so glad we visited Trümmelbach Falls and then walked back (40 minutes) on the footpath (not the highway) to Lauterbrunnen. See pages 219 and 247 of Rick’s book. He gives the falls one triangle; I give two triangles to the combination of the jaw-dropping falls inside caverns and the absolutely gorgeous walk back to Lauterbrunnen. Mind you, it was 73 F with cloud cover. I don’t want to give details, so you can enjoy discovering it yourself. Your tour manager will tell you how to do it.
3. I’m glad my wife saw the Horner Bar and Restaurant as we walked back on the outskirts of Lauterbrunnen. It’s right after the donut food truck. The veggie Thai Curry and the lentil vegetable soup were very good and less expensive than food in Lauterbrunnen and Wengen.
4. If you have the good fortune to stay at the Belvedere Hotel in Wengen, be advised the room doors don’t lock automatically when they close. You must turn the key counterclockwise a couple of rotations. Seems obvious now.

Day 10: We arrived on in Chamonix-Mt Blanc at 2:00 PM. Out tour manager checked us into our hotel, walked us down the main street, and showed us where to buy a two-day pass. The location he chose for this was the Aguille du Midi lift station—the number one most popular tourist destination in Chamonix. It was a little after 3:00 PM. The weather was clear and pleasant (~70 F. on the ground and ~50 F. on the mountain top). There was NO line. We found ourselves riding in the first gondola within minutes. We completed both gondola rides, had an hour on top, and were back on the ground by 5:30 PM. I understand this is rare, but it did make me happy I hadn’t bought tickets in advance, because I would have bought them for Day 11. I’m not saying you should rely on this, but it worked out for us.

I’m glad Don, our tour manager, got us in and out of the hotel quickly, which is what made that outcome possible. In fact our group’s rooms weren’t ready when we arrived at 2:00 PM, so we just stowed our luggage in a side room and shot out the door following Don. If we’d all taken time to go to our rooms, our visit to Aguille du Midi today probably would not have happened, because the last lift back down leaves at 5:00 PM. Now we won’t have to squeeze so much into our day tomorrow.

Previously, we had tried and failed to buy our two-day passes on the website in advance. The website is en.chamonix.com. The process broke down when we tried to enter our credit card information. That was a blessing, too. It turns out you need a magnetic card in order to take the lifts to Aguille du Midi (and the other lifts, for that matter). Of course, an online ticket on my phone is not the same thing as a magnetic card that I can touch to the designated spot before passing through a turnstile when entering a lift. I assume people with online tickets still must stop at the ticket window to get a magnetic card, so I don’t see an advantage to buying an online ticket other than maybe it makes you eligible to reserve a lift time in advance. That might be important in your case. It wasn’t in ours.

The two-day pass (or more days if you’re in town longer) covers all of the major lifts in town. Our tour manager said it’s more economical than individual tickets if you’re going to at least two destinations via lifts.

Day 11: Hike 5 might not jump off the page when you read Rick’s book. Actually, it was a refreshing contrast to our other hikes.

We started the day by taking a gondola half way up Le Brevent (to Planpaz). We then hiked uphill and watched the paragliders unfurl, run, rise, and soar into the green void. As the gliders walked up the road toward the launching zone, some of their faces showed confidence, while others (their novice customers) showed forced cheerfulness as they contemplated what they were about to do. We then completed the trip to Le Brevent on a second gondola, enjoyed the view, and reversed the process to return to the ground.

Next, we had a relaxing lunch at a restaurant near the hotel.

Then we walked on Hike No. 5 to the Flégère gondola. It was a 40 minute stroll down deep green, lushly shaded lanes. Alongside the path, the jade-green river rushed by, imparting cool moisture and water music.

We took the gondola up, rested in the hammock chairs facing the snowy peaks, and then rode the gondola down.

We had enjoyed Hike #5 so much, we chose to walk the same path back to the hotel, rather than take a bus.

It was a cool, green, refreshing way to end our trip, before flying home tomorrow. Happy travels to you all!

Thank you so much for all the details! Hoping to do this trip next year and really enjoyed following along! This will be really helpful for our trip. Which hotel did you stay at in Chamonix?

@Peg

Hotel Le Faucigny

The location he chose for this was the Aguille du Midi lift station—the number one most popular tourist destination in Chamonix. It was a little after 3:00 PM. The weather was clear and pleasant (~70 F. on the ground and ~50 F. on the mountain top). There was NO line. We found ourselves riding in the first gondola within minutes. We completed both gondola rides, had an hour on top, and were back on the ground by 5:30 PM. I understand this is rare, but it did make me happy I hadn’t bought tickets in advance, because I would have bought them for Day 11. I’m not saying you should rely on this, but it worked out for us.

When our tour got to Chamonix in May the weather was great, but it also looked good for the next day, so I don't think anyone went up on the arrival day. The next day ended up being overcast:( We have previously been on the Alpine Tour, so we had already been up, but it was disappointing to any of our tour members that had never been there. Seize the day!

Thanks for all of the detailed trail tips & thoughts. I will put these to good use next month. I won't have the final hotel list for a few more days, but we are staying at the same 1st & last hotel that you did. I was surprised to read the Hotel Hofwirt doesn't supply shampoo or conditioner. I'm glad it seems to be in a great location though. This is our first RS tour, but I imagined that the hotels would have basic toiletries. What did you think of your Chamonix hotel?

Thanks!

Fabulous detail....thank you very much for taking the time to put this together.

Our tour starts out of Salzburg on 8/22. Can't wait!

@TinaC

Hotel Le Faucigny in Chamonix was a typical RS hotel--historic building, located near the interesting stuff; twisty staircase and no elevator; small, clean and quaint rooms; and no air conditioning. Some rooms had big double windows that opened to let in the cool air. Our room was an attic-type room with only a hatch window in the slanted ceiling. Although not as cooling as a big double window, it was sufficient for the temperatures we experienced in early July. If it were raining, you would have to close it to keep the rain out. The breakfast bar was similar to those in the other hotels on this trip--eggs, meat, breads, cheeses, cereal, fruit, yoghurt, etc.

This hotel provided shampoo/body wash in the bathroom, as did all of the other hotels on this trip, except for the one in Salzburg, which provided body wash, but nothing for your hair. All hotels provided blow dryers. My two-pronged European adapter allowed me to keep my phone charged in all hotels, regardless of the country.

Apologies if I missed it above, but what hotel did you stay at in Salzburg?

Hotel Hofwirt

Thanks jsc for the additional hotel info! I guess I will just take a travel bottle of shampoo to tide us over in the Salzburg hotel. This is good info to know. Got our hotel list the other day & we are staying in Bolzano instead of Castelrotto. I was hoping for the opposite.

Thank you so much for your post! I have a friend considering this trip, and your info will be very helpful for her.

By the way, I think your tour director was the same one we had for our RS Best of Italy several years ago. We ran into him again when we were back in Italy staying in a different hotel, and it happened to be the one his current group was based.

Was the Trail of the Witches a nice hike? Thoughts?

It was an extremely beautiful and easy hike. One of the tour highlights for us.

That was great information. My I ask how much cash to you use every day? I'm also wonder if you are anyone sent souvenirs home in the mail?

Credit cards were accepted for 99% of our needs. So, our use of cash was minimal. I had about 500 euros with me and brought half of it back home. We did not send home souvenirs.

Thanks for all of the excellent information. One question: How did you get from Chamonix to Geneva Airport (assuming that is what you did). We are on the September 19 tour and plan to stay an extra night in Chamonix leaving there on October 1 for Geneva Airport.

Our tour information suggests Ouibus(BlaBlaCar) and Mountaindropoff. The Ouibus seems to only have one bus per day leaving late afternoon which is too late for us. Mountaindropoff says they have no other clients for shared service that day. I wrote back to RS Tours and they suggested Swiss tours which I have not yet checked out.

Any information would be appreciated.

Thank you. Jill

We used Mountain Dropoffs. Our early morning shuttle van was full of other passengers, so we didn’t face your dilemma.

Thanks for information - I think maybe because we are later in the year some of the shuttles and such not running as often. Since we staying an extra day I even wrote to them thinking they might have a shuttle the previous day (when I guess most people would be leaving) but they did not indicate that was a possibility. So far though looks like Swiss Tours is still running shared shuttles - hopefully that is the case.

Jill

Jsc we are leave soon for the My Way alpine tour. Did you need winter clothes.. weather looks so warm we might just bring 1. light fleece and wind/rain jacket.. it’s a ll bean jacket has been on 4 RS tours.

My wind/rain jacket was all I needed. I also brought a fleece, but never used it. And it’s probably warmer now then when we went.

Hi, We are doing our first RS tour and will be doing this one in July 2023. Could you comment on the hotels you stayed in? They mention that it may be necessary to share a bathroom with others for one or two nights. Did you have to do that? And how were the rooms, bed comfort, etc? I know every hotel is different and we may stay in different hotels than you did. We won't get the list of where we're staying until just before the trip is my understanding and I can do more research then but just wanted your overall opinion. Thanks for any info you can provide. It sounds like a fantastic trip and itinerary.

No one shared bathrooms on our tour. I’ve been on 5 RS tours and shared a bathroom in only one hotel.

Great info. I'm booked on this tour next July. My most important question......how many hotels did NOT have A/C? 😩

To the best of my recollection:

Salzburg—A/C
Castelrotto—Big window, no A/C
Füssen—Big window and fan, no A/C
Vengen—Big window, no A/C
Chamonix—Small window and fan, no A/C

In Chamonix we had the potential to be uncomfortable in our attic room with only a small hatch window in the sloped ceiling above the bed. However, the lack of rain allowed us to keep the window wide open at night (once the couple across the way retired from their balcony with a direct line of sight into our window) and it was OK. Most other rooms in that hotel had big windows with more air flow.

My husband and I just got back from My Way Alpine yesterday. What a great time--so much to do, I would absolutely do this tour again in the future. One thing to comment on--it was a tough trip to pack for. I see many questions about that issue so I thought I'd weigh in. When you are doing sightseeing in the cities/towns ( such as Salzburg) then nice tee shirts/capris are appropriate and cool enough. Having dinner in towns such as Salzburg/Bolzano/Fussen, I brought along very light weight nylon dress pants and a silky top with strappy sandals. The Europeans don't go out in the evening for dinner looking like slobs. On days that you are doing serious hiking, such as Lauterbrunnen and Alpi di Suisi, then again capri length nylon pants with a tee shirt and perhaps a windbreaker were all that was needed. Some places had gravelly paths to walk, other times it was paved. I had rugged sneakers that were broken in and perfect for either. A big unfortunate issue for our group was rain. We tried to hike the Witches Trail but got caught in a bad thunderstorm and got soaked. We knew that rain was a possibility so we had rain jackets but what a mess--our shoes were out of commission for a few days to allow them to dry. So I would not skimp in packing shoes!

Lastly--if you want to go to the top of some of these big peaks, such as the Schilthorn and Aguille di Midi, it's very cold up there. But keep in mind that this is the only time you will be cold if you are going on this tour in the summer. I brought one pair of heavier jogging pants and two nylon long sleeved pullover shirts. That was fine.
I brought a hat but didn't use it. Several people got sunburned so remember some sunscreen--you're going to be outdoors a lot.
I didn't pack chap stick but wish I had.
Can't end this post without mentioning that we had a surprise visitor on our tour--the big man himself, Mr Rick Steves!! He was staying in Lauterbrunnen the same time we were there with his girlfriend. We had a group dinner one night and the stopped by to say hello--took pictures with everyone. Just as nice and fun as you'd expect!

Since this is a My Way tour, it's not that big of a deal since we're not with the group 24/7, but......any one under 50 on your tour? I'll be with my kids, ages 16 & 20.

Yes. This was the “youngest” RS tour I’ve been on. There were 2 families with kids in the age range of yours. And some couples under 50, too.

Great, thanks

@jsc: thanks so much for the amazing details in your report. It’s so helpful to hear this first-hand, so we can plan a bit better for our short time at each stop.

I’m going on the June 2023 tour, and am vegan. I see you mentioned vegan/veggie food in your comments. Was there any stop where you had trouble finding vegan options? Were the breakfasts vegan friendly? On the Best of Italy tour I usually started with muesli w/soy milk and fresh fruit. But a few hotels went above and beyond for vegans! Any vegan food standouts that you didn’t mention? The pretzels are calling my name in Salzburg!

Happy future travels!

The hotel breakfasts all had options for vegans. With the help of the Happy Cow app and local grocery stores, we found vegan food at every destination. The only time we were challenged was at a couple of the roadside convenience store cafes where the bus driver stopped between destinations. Most of those at least had salads and bread, but a couple had only meat or cheese sandwiches. On our way to Chamonix, our guide said we would have two stops at roadside convenience store cafes. The first had only meat and cheese options. The second had a buffet with several vegan options and an embedded McDonalds with veggie burgers we don’t have in the U.S. In Chamonix itself we enjoyed Annapurna and Sesame.

jsc - thanks again! Super helpful to have these specifics. It helps so much with preparation.
Sounds like an amazing adventure :)

Great information on this forum. I am booked for the May 31, 2023 trip. Any pre-trip hotel recommendations in Salzburg? Also, if we fly into Munich, is this a worthwhile city to visit pre-trip?

We didn’t spend time in Munich. Maybe others will reply. In Salzburg, our Rick Steves hotel was Hotel Hofwirt. It was a modern hotel centrally located to major sights.