We did it! We survived the worst airport experience ever & now full-swing into our first full day back in the USA. For those that haven't read any of my posts, this June of 2025 was our (family of 5 adults) 2nd, consecutive RS My Way Alpine tour. 1st time was last June of 2024, 1 week later.
So, having pretty severe jet lag & a bad taste after a disastrous re-entry into the US w flights being delayed, canceled, & TSA (bless them!) being very cautious about the souvenir gifts we got at the Salzburg salt mines, this will only be a diminutive 1st entry for this year's trip report. I'll briefly give some highlights, warnings & a bit of complaining :)
What is my # 1 take away from my 2nd Alps MW, you ask ? It was SOO hot and far more crowded than last year!! Were my glasses completely rose-colored when I made the ressies for round 2 in 5 countries ? Was I only remembering the perfection of the summer of 2024 ? No. June of 2024, the weather was, indeed, far cooler making for a magical time in & around those snow-covered beauties! In '25, returning to the hotels (that had zero A/C) was pretty unwelcoming when it's nearly 90 outside. The cooler weather of '24 contributed greatly to the overall feel of happiness and joy of the trip. Soaking through one's clothing whilst in your beautiful room for 3 in the attic of the adorable hotel was a bit miserable.
For some bright, happy news - we had the same wonderful tour manager, Laurel, as in '24! She was a delight & just great fun to be with, again. We had all different hotels accept for 1 (Fussen) & a couple of different towns. Of course, the dynamics of our group was different as only 6 of us out of 28 were the same people.
Wonderful parts: being able to see the Dolomites in the Alpe di Suisi this year! It was completely socked in trip #1 but showed off for us this year with nearly perfectly clear skies!
Sadly, we'll probably never see the Zugspitze. It was no go for the 2nd time as it was too cloudy to go the day we were traveling.
Happiness - the Shilthorn, brunch at Piz Gloria, Aguille di Midi AND the Hellbrunner were running, breathtaking and unlike anything I've ever experienced, Castelrotto hotel and town was so very charming! Glad we stayed there in '25!. We were housed in Bolzano in '24. Staying in Murren, Switzerland was incredible! Got to walk the entire Lauterbrunnen Valley this year (and thought I would faint from heat!), 2 of my triplets paraglided in Chamonix !
Some complaining - ok, more of what I had already begun at the top - the crowds! Oh. Wow. The tour groups were out in Large numbers! Seriously - no exaggerating - in '24, I have pictures of us in Salzburg where we were the only ones in a street. Not in '25. So, there's a holiday in beginning of June that happens in Europe that I haven't heard of the US celebrating. Everything was closed down for our entire time in Fussen. sad face. We weren't able to return to any of the stores or shops we adored from '24. But, the crowds were unending. I'm going to suggest that one does a lot of research on such European holidays when planning the RS trips.
Happy Face - Hohenschwangau was AMAZING & completely underrated! Neuschwanstein gets all the attention (we toured it in '24) and it is definitely worth the hype but what doesn't get the attention it deserves is Hohen. !! We had a lovely time & we're glad we booked an early morning tour bc it was cooler & more enjoyable.
Chamonix was actually not as crowded & very enjoyable. We spent an extra 4 nights there once our tour ended. Ate at our favorite restaurant there, Le Manchu, on Father's Day. Highly recommend it!
Overall, the trip was incredible & I'm so glad we went! Overpacking- Don't do it! If "maybe I'll need this" is in your head, ditch it! On 5th floor at times. No elevator. What would have we done without my son doing all the lifting for us!
Questions ? I'm happy to answer! More later!
Posted by
San Diego, California
6538 posts
Regarding European holidays, we had a similar experience this past May, 2025, in Italy, around the May 1 holiday. I had been in Europe previously on May 1, and never ran into any issues. My SIL was in Italy a total of seven years on deployments to Italy, and he never remembered the May 1 holiday being a big deal. But since covid, holidays seem to be a huge deal. May 1 was a Thursday in 2025, and Lake Como was very crowded for the whole weekend beyond.
It does seem we need to develop skills for avoiding holidays in Europe. Maybe this would be an interesting new topic to begin.
Thanks for your Trip Report!
Posted by
Atlanta
2616 posts
I went on this marvelous tour in September 2023 and absolutely loved it! We stayed in a charming hotel in Castelrotto and loved it. Everyone was delighted with their rooms. The weather was glorious and I came away with wonderful photos of the sites and mountains! We didn’t see the Zugspitze either as that part of Germany had cloudy, grey skies with spotty rain. We weren’t overwhelmed with crowds at that time of year. The temperatures were mostly in the 70’s.
After doing that tour in 2023, I decided I had to take the Best of Switzerland tour to return to my happy place! Just returned from this tour, my 14th, and have to say it was another excellent experience! We had breakfast at the Schilthorn at Piz Gloria, hiked in the mountains in Appenzell and Mürren with temperatures varying from the 70’s to mid-80’s by the end of the tour. But we mostly had sunny skies for great photos. Crowd size was okay. The first week of June, 3rd-14th, was a good time to go. Wildflowers were in abundance! A real treat. Just sharing my experience. I wrote a trip report- Switzy Fun! A Best of Switzerland Tour report, in case you want to take a peek. I have to say, after 14 tours, I still struggle to not overpack. We took the train from Zurich airport to Lucerne and then from Bern to the Zurich airport. Difficult to handle my bags!
Glad you had a wonderful time on your tour. The Alpine tour is very special.
Posted by
4 posts
Very sorry to hear about your difficulties returning to the USA. It still sounds like you had a memorable, yet warm trip. Speaking of, can you tell me how hot it was in Switzerland? Swiss-hot or Texas summer hot? My family was in Italy last summer and suffered through Texas style 40+ degree days in Florence and Rome, while our Texas friends back home were enjoying an unseasonably cool spell, which for us means highs only 90-95 F! I figure we can take 30 degrees C in the Alps, but any warmer and it'll be miserable - at least in Italy we had gelato!
Posted by
Red Bud IL
2 posts
For anyone that has been on the My Way Alps trip...where are there opportunities to do laundry? Thanks for any feedback!
Posted by
34 posts
Yes Jen - easy laundry location in Fussen - but 5 washers and 2 driers - go figure! Then again, there was a similar laundry near hotel in Chamonix! You should be all set! Directions to accomplish laundry a little complicated!
As for heat - we had Swiss hot in Switzerland, but some parts of trip were Texas hot. We live in Arizona and are NOT used to the humidity!
Posted by
OP
94 posts
Jen,
Our first time going on this adventure, our best opportunity was in Fussen. Easy process (although you do need to get your load to the lady that will do it for you and retrieve it the next day) and affordable. Very happy with the results.
2nd trip, we also did a giant amount with the same lady in Fussen but this time we also had laundry facilities in a few of the hotels we stayed. Salzburg was one of them but our family didn't need it yet as it was so early on in the trip. Just about every location has reputable self-serve laundry options somewhere in the little towns.
Any other questions ? Happy to help :)
Posted by
Houston
13 posts
Did you buy any travel passes for the Swiss portion of the itinerary? I’m considering this trip for next year. Thanks!
Posted by
Red Bud IL
2 posts
Thank you for info on the laundry. I have followed your posts on first and second trip. I am hoping to book for 2026 in the next weeks.
We are going to fly into Munich and stay a day or two >train to Salzburg.
On the way home still trying to figure that out. I am liking the idea of: van shuttle to Geneva > train from Geneva to major city like Paris. Stay for a night or two. Nonstop flight from Paris to Chicago.
Did you enjoy your extra days in Chamonix?
Posted by
OP
94 posts
We adore the extra days in Chamonix! One of the best parts of the Alpine tour, IMO, are smaller towns. I've been to Paris. Not my cup of tea (I'm hoping people aren't throwing paper balls at their computer monitors due to my comment). I'm a small town girl. NYC, Paris, London. Been there. I prefer Castelrotto, Chamonix, Fussen... even Salzburg has a 'small town' feel, although not a small city.
The Saturday market in Chamonix is not to be missed- for me, at least. In '24, I was barely able to fit in 15 minutes of the market because we were to catch a train to the Mer de Glace and we had such a few days there to get anything done. This year, I made certain my entire Saturday was available for the market (although, it begins winding down by noon). We missed out on the mountains and the views last year so we knew that, surely, staying a few days extra would have at least 1 amazing weather day where the clouds were few and the views were plentiful. We were right! Got amazing opportunities, clear skies, and experiences of a lifetime at the Aguille di Midi and Hellbrunner being opened (not a common event, according to our tour manager). So, if you are thinking about staying extra nights in Chamonix, I love that not-so-little town and all it has to offer and highly recommend extending your stay. Now, as to whether or not you continue on in the same hotel the tour had is a different question. Moving to a different place was easy and we loved our little apartment with our 5 adults that greatly cut the costs but not the lux or quality.
I'm happy to answer any of your questions :)
ETA: One of our extra days this trip was used for a jaunt over to Annecy using Flixibus. Beautiful town! Worth it!
Posted by
OP
94 posts
Sorry I didn't get to everyone's questions....
alousierra - I don't do the math very well changing from F to C but I would guess it was nearly 90 or at least felt like it with high humidity. Same city, same day, different lodging - made a huge difference! We were in Chamonix with the RS group, a charming hotel (Lyret) but the room for 3 (my 2 daughters and I shared a triple room whilst my husband and son shared a double) was in the attic and had 1 wall with windows. It was an oven. We did all the tricks: left the windows opened at night, closed them with the curtains drawn in the day. Didn't matter. We were being baked alive. We're from the southern US so we are not strangers to heat. Chamonix was our last stop on the tour but, thankfully, our family had chosen a different place months before for our extended days (Hotel L'arve) where we got a family apartment for 5 adults. Although no A/C, it had walls of windows, allowing for the breeze to flow throughout and it was pleasant.
TRIP REPORT continued:
Salzburg - loved it last year, loved it this year, too! Such a small-town feel (although it's large), so charming, full of history, lovely people, delicious food. We were able to do things this year that we skipped last year. The Panorama Sound of Music Tour - highly recommend it! It was everything we'd hoped for and more. As mentioned above, the crowds in the city were greater this year than last and the massive tour groups (and school groups) seemed unending but I think anyone visiting Salzburg will love it and want to return!
Castelrotto (Kastelruth) Italy - First time there and I hope it's not our last! Adored this stop and the precious hotel! It was warm and our skylights in the attic (must be where the triple rooms are generally kept) gave the construction workers on the cranes a perfect view of our shower and toilet area but we just laughed and engineered a towel that covered the view. Hotel Cavallino was so wonderful! The food was yummy, the atmosphere in the town was just wonderful and the proximity to the Dolomites was sheer perfection. So easy peasy compared to last year when housed in Bolzano 40 minutes away. We had great weather for the Alpe di Suisi and the clear skies with occasional billowing clouds was a perfect backdrop to the stunning mountains! Our crew did the entire Witches trail (harder than I thought it would be) and also some of the Panorama. 3 of our family went up to Panorama the day we arrived while my daughter and I explored the town. My son rented a bike after everyone in our family was finished hiking and finished off his day doing what he loves (biking!) in beautiful Italy. We had wonderful meals, an incredible Apotheke (pharmacy) for my daughter's severe sunburn (don't let the cool winds trick you into forgetting about sunscreen!) with a kind man that stayed opened past closing in order to help us. We loved going to the ruins at the top of little town and viewing it all from that vantage point. Castelrotto is one of my favorite stops on the Alps my way tour, for sure!
Fussen: long story short, there was a holiday (Pentecost) that is celebrated throughout the country and most everything was closed, even our favorite stores and eateries that we had hoped to visit again from last year. But, I'll focus on the wonderful tour we had of Hohenschwangau and how amazing that castle is! Love them both but H is my favorite! We ate wonderful gelato in the town, visited the tower at the top of the hill in little Fussen and loved our Hotel Zum Hechten, once again.
Switzerland and Chamonix have the most highlights of the trip so they will have their own post in the near future.
I'm happy to answer questions!
~Mitzi
Posted by
Naples, FL
30 posts
Mitzi!
Welcome home! It sounds like you (once again) enjoyed a fabulous My Way Alps tour.
I enjoyed reading your recent trip report and look forward to hearing your thoughts on Switzerland and Chamonix. As you may recall, we did this tour before yours.
Salzburg: We arrived two days before the start of the tour. We really enjoyed our time exploring this beautiful city as well as a day trip from Salzburg to Hallstatt. We did the Sound of Music 1/2 day tour with Bob’s Special tours and loved it! Highly recommend! We also did the Full Day Tour of Hallstatt through Bob’s Special Tours and again LOVED it! We stayed at The Gentle Hide in Salzburg and it was phenomenal in every way. Fantastic upgraded rooms, exceptional staff and an amazing breakfast.
To me, if I HAD to pick my favorite stop on this tour—I’d pick The Dolomites. Castelrotto (Kastelruth) was such a charming village and its proximity to The Alpe di Siusi is perfect! Words cannot even begin to describe the magical Dolomites! So breathtaking-especially on a perfect weather day!
We endured the exact same misery at the same property in Chamonix. It rained our entire time in Chamonix so we didn’t battle the extreme heat as you did—but our room was so humid that it was stifling!
After our tour—we enjoyed two nights in Annecy. Spectacular and somewhere we’d love to visit again. I’ve never seen such a clean lake and its background against the mountains is stunning. We especially enjoyed getting out on the Lake.