Zurich – Interlaken – Zermatt – Grindelwald – Lauternbrunnen
Were going to Switzerland!
Land of some of the most iconic mountains, chocolate and cheese and home to the iconic Toblerone Mountain! We’ll start in Zurich and quickly move to Interlaken then Zermatt. Everyday will be a new adventure in a new part of Switzerland. We’re taking the train everywhere!
– The first 8 spots that are booked save $140 –
- 8 Days/7 Nights
- 8-20 Spots
- Double occupancy in 3 and 4-star hotels
- 8 breakfasts, 2 dinners included
- Arrive in Zurich International Airport (ZRH)
- Depart from Zurich International Airport (ZRH)
- Optional: Upgrade your train ticket from 2nd class to 1st class for a bit more comfort on all the train rides
- Optional: Add 3 Nights Lucerne – includes 3 day train ticket (2nd class), 3 nights in Lucerne, Golden Circle Tour Day, 3 Breakfasts
Have Questions about this trip – luggage, covid, travel insurance, activity level? Read the FAQ! Still have questions? Message Rachel @RachelLikesTraveling on Instagram!
Only a 25% Downpayment is required to book this trip – full payment is due on May 2nd, 2023. All pricing is in USD.
Overview
Lets go to Switzerland! Get ready for an amazing & fun trip in the land of Fondue! We’re going hiking, down toboggans, across suspension bridges, walk over cliff walks and more! This itinerary is jam packed full of fun. Pack your camera and get ready for some amazing jaw dropping scenery and photos along the way!
Highlights
- 8-20 Spot
- Double occupancy hotel rooms (2 beds per room)
- 7 breakfasts & 2 dinners included
- Fly into Zurich International AIrport (ZRH)
- Fly out of Zurich International Airport (ZRH)
- We're visiting 5 different cities in Switzerland on this trip!
Itinerary
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You’ve made it to the land of Fondue & Chocolate – welcome to Zurich Switzerland! Upon arrival you’ll hop on the train to and head into the city of Zurich. Rachel will meet you at the train station and take you to the hotel to drop off your luggage and go explore the city. Make the most of today – we’re only here for the day!
After getting settled into your hotel feel free to explore some more on your own until a big welcome dinner to celebrate the start of an amazing week in Switzerland with the girls!
PS: Don’t stress about the train, its the easiest thing to maneuver and we’ll do this in small groups so no ones left behind. 🙂
Note: For this entire itinerary, we will constantly monitor the weather & visibility to make the best use of our time & money. Some of these train rides are a waste if the sky is very cloudy & visibility is low so we’ll remain as flexible as possible throughout the week to maximize our time in Switzerland!
Overnight in Zurich
Arrival: Fly into Zurich International Airport (ZRH), 3-4 small groups will be arranged for the train ride to the city center
Includes: Welcome Dinner, Train to Zurich City Center
Pack your bags! We’re off this morning after breakfast to our next city – Interlaken!
Once we drop our bags we can hop on the train and take a short ride past some extremely fairytale-esque landscapes to Lauternbrunnen. We’ll of course see the largest free falling waterfall in Europe – Staubbach Falls, explore the town and take the Jungfraucjoch to the “Top of Europe”!
We’ll have some free time in the afternoon to visit a museum, explore the town or if you’re feeling extra adventurous & adjust to elevation easily – there are several side hikes you can take from the top of Europe as well. We can discuss this in the group chat! Alternatively we can set up a paragliding trip for those interested while in Lauternbrunnen today too!
Lunch & Dinner at your own leisure today.
Overnight in Interlaken
Includes: Breakfast, Train to/from Interlaken, Trip to the top of the world via Jungfraujoch
After breakfast we’re off on another day trip. Today were headed to Grindlewald!
After a short train ride we’ll take a cable car up to the first cliff walk to take in the amazing views over Interlaken. Then we’ll walk along the First Cliff Walk!
While in Interlaken we’ll be on the look out for all the cute Switzerland goats to take a selfie or two then in the afternoon we’re going on a tobbogan run! We’ll take the Grindelwald – Pfingstegg cable car up to the private mountain and go an adrenaline pumping scenic ride down the mountain!
If you want to go on the First Flyer or Fly Line today, we can arrange that into the schedule too! (optional)
Note: We’ll watch the weather and be sure we make the most use out of our time. If its too cloudy we can re-arrange our day trips and try this on Day 4 instead!
Overnight in Interlaken
Includes: Breakfast, Train to/from Interlaken, First Cliff Walk, Cable Car Fees, Tobbogan run down Pfingstegg
Today we’re headed to the Gelmberbahn! Pack some good walking shoes, we’ll go a few different short but beautiful hikes today.
We’ll cross the Handeckfallbrucke Suspension Bridge along our way to – so be sure to pack a camera or your fully charged phone for some amazing photos!
We’ll finish the day by hiking the Aare Gorge to the gorgeous Reichenbach Falls! We’ll hike through the Aare Gorge then take the funicular up to Reichenbach Falls – which, fun fact is the supposed death place of Sherlock Holmes!
Overnight in Interlaken
Includes: Breakfast, Train to/from Interlaken, trip to Aare gorge & reichenbach falls, Gelmberbahn funicular
We’re off to our 3rd destination today! Breakfast at the hotel then we’re leaving early to go explore Brig & do the Schilthorn thrill walk!*
Once we’re back from Brig we’ll hop on the train and headed to Zermatt!
Zermatt is a beautiful town to walk around and you’ll have some free time to explore all the shops& have a nice swiss lunch with a view of the matterhorn.
*We may have time for this on Day 2 & if so we’ll head straight to Zermatt instead.
Includes: Breakfast, Brig day trip, Thrillwalk, Train to Zermatt
Today is a free day! There are lots of things you could do from Zermatt.
If the sky is clear you can take the cable car up to the top of the matterhorn and visit the glacier paradise.
If you’re into train travel and want to experience a portion of the 8-hour glacier express without doing the full very long & slow 8 hours then I highly recommend hopping on the train to Visp, visit Visp for the morning then take the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn from Visp to Zermatt. This train ride is bound to blow you away.
Includes: Breakfast
Today is our last full day so lets make the most of it. We’ll start by riding the funicular to Sunnega and then the gondola to Blauherd then going on a hike to Stellisee. Afterwards we’ll head up to the Rothorn summit.
Then in the afternoon we’ll end our day by taking the cog railway up to the Gornegrat! At 3,100 m elevation, Gornergrat offers a viewpoint that is out of this world. From here not only can we view the Materhorn but also the second largest glacier in the Alps – Gorner Glacier! Then after taking in the view we can hike down from Gornegrat to Riffelburg to finish out our day before dinner!
Tonight we’ll meet up for one last farewell dinner together as a full group to toast to a great week exploring Switzerland Together!
Included: Breakfast, Dinner, Funicular to Sunnega, Gondola to Blauherd, Hike to Stellisee, Cog Railway to Gornegrat
Today is our last day – its not good bye, its cya next time!
Everyone leaving today will hop on a train back to Zurich International Airport. The train ride is approximately 3 hours so I highly suggest not leaving until after 1pm to avoid waking up extremely early to leave Zermatt.
Optional: Join Rachel on an extra 3 days in Switzerland!
Today we’ll move to Lucerne Switzerland and spend the afternoon exploring the city. From the iconic truss bridge to old town. We can spend all day exploring the city.
Optional Included: Train to Lucerne
Optional Day 2: Today we’re doing the golden circle!
The boat from Lucerne to Alpnachstad might be one of the best kept secrets of the golden circle. We’ll take the boat from Lucerne to Alpnachstad then change to the cogwheel train to the Pilatus! Once we’re at the top we can go on a short but stunning hike to Oberhaupt Peak. We’ll take our time due to the high elevation we’re hiking at. To go down we’ll then take the cable car down to Fräkmüntegg and change to the gondola to Kriens. If theres enough time we can even stop in Fräkmüntegg and go down another toboggans! It’ll be an incredible scenic trip with LOTS of stops for photos along the way.
Overnight in Lucerne
Includes: Breakfast, Cogwheel trains, boat ride to Alpnachstad, Cable car to Frakmuntegg
Today is our last full day in Switzerland as a group – consider it a free/flexible day, depending on weather! We can discuss a few different options and see what the group what everyone wants to do.
We can take a 2-hour lunch cruise on Lake Lucerne and stay in town or we could venture out on another day trip, this time to Mt Rigi.
Overnight in Lucerne
Includes: Breakfast
Its finally time to say cya later! We’ll hop on the train and head back to Zurich International Airport today. Its about a 2 hour train ride from Lucerne to Zurich so I suggest trying to book a flight home after 12noon today to avoid waking up extremely early and heading to the airport solo.
Optional Includes: Breakfast, Train to Zurich International Airport
Activities Included
Inclusions
- Train Ticket for entire week in 2nd Class (upgrade available)
- 1 Spot in Double Occupancy hotels (2 twin beds per room)
- 7 Breakfasts, 2 Dinners
- Trip to Top of Europe via Jungfraujoch
- Day Trip to Lauternbrunnen
- First Cliff Walk & Cable Car
- Pfingstegg Cable Car & Tobbogan Run
- Gelmberbahn Funicular Ride
- Handeckfallbrucke Suspension Bridge Visit
- Aare Gorge & Reichenbach Falls Hike
- Schilthorn Thrillwalk
Exclusions
- International Fights
- Tips for housekeeping or meals not included
- Food & Alcohol (except as noted)
- Visas (if required)
- Travel Insurance
- Airport Transfers outside of designated train route
- Any transportation not listed in inclusions
- Optional Activities and/or Activity suggestions not listed as "included" on itinerary
- Optional extra days in Lucerne
FAQ
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International flights to and from the trip destination are not included. Only flights that are included are listed in inclusions. Looking for cheap flights? Check out Kayak.com or Google Flights!
Each trip is different, at least 2 dinners plus breakfast every day is included. but it varies trip to trip. Dietary & allergy information will also be collected leading up to the trip to ensure you’re taken care of.
A minimum of 25% down payment is due at the time of booking. The down payment is refundable until your spot is confirmed at which time it becomes non-refundable. Your spot is confirmed after the first 8 bookings are made. The remaining balance is due 60 days prior to the trip. If you book within 59 days from trip start, the full amount will be due at booking.
Once the trip is confirmed with 8 spots booked, the 25% deposit is non-refundable. Additional payments over the 25% are refundable until we are 60 days out from the trip.
At the 60 day mark all payments are due and the trip is 100% non-refundable.
If you need to cancel your spot prior to 60 days before the trip starts, there is a $100 cancelation fee and the remainder can be used on a future Adventuring for Life trip.
If you cancel 1-59 days prior to the trip, it is 100% non-refundable.
Travel Insurance is highly recommended, especially for ALL International Trips, to protect you in case you do have to cancel at any point.
Yes. Especially in the current climate of the world, Travel Insurance is highly recommended for all International Trips.
Travel Insurance Quotes can be gotten here: https://bit.ly/3wANvi0
All Adventuring for Life trips require vaccination against Covid-19. This policy protects all guests and locals of the cities were visiting. You may be asked to provide proof of vaccination(card, letter, etc)
As of September 2023, Covid tests are not required to return to the USA or Canada.
As much as YOU can personally carry. Expect to carry your luggage on & off each train by yourself. Rachel highly recommends packing as light as possible. If you’ve ever been backpacking before, this is a great time to dig out that backpack again. If you only have a roller suitcase, opt for the smallest one possible so you aren’t lugging 60 lbs through each train station! Again – you can pack as much as you can personally carry. You’re responsible for your luggage the entire trip.
We are doing LOTS of walking. Expect to clock 15,000 steps per day – if not more. There are numerous hikes and shorter walks. I would label this a moderate level trip, you should come prepared to be very active pretty much everyday. There are also many different areas where we’ll be very high up (suspension bridges, cliff walks, etc) so if you are super afraid of heights, this trip is probably not for you.
The majority of the people that sign up for the trips with adventuring for life are coming solo! We do an extensive Roommate matching survey before each trip to help match people up that have the same vibe. You are welcome to bring a friend or request a certain roommate after you’ve met the girls on the group chat or let us pick somebody for you.
We offer solo rooms on certain trips for people that want their own space but you are 100% welcome to sign up by yourself and we will get you a great roommate.
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