Contrasts of Switzerland

This was a very good trip and the travel guide was outstanding in every way. was very knowledgeable and she went out of her way to make the trip enjoyable for everyone. The best parts of the trip were Zermatt and going to the top of the Kleine Matterhorn, the boat trip dinner on Lake Geneva and the Folk Music show in Lucerne. Going to St. Moritz was less enjoyable; however, a visit to the spa and sauna would have improved this part of the trip considerably. Probably the biggest problem with the trip was jet lag and exhaustion throughout the journey. A good "sleep day" on day one in Zurich would have vastly improved my enjoyment of the entire experience.

This was a comprehensive tour of Switzerland. The activities were exciting, the views were spectacular. Our guide, Colette, is the best I ever had. She was confident and a great problem solver. I highly recommend this tour. It is an active tour with a significant amount of walking, climbing train station stairs going to and from stations and occasionally restaurants.

We enjoyed the Switzerland train trip very much. However, we did not inquire or realize the amount of walking required on this tour. It seamed to us to entail more walking than a bus tour. We walked to many of the stations from our hotels, not a great distance but still walking, where a bus tour picks you up in front of the hotel. We changed trains which required walking to different platforms. So just be advised that there is more walking than anticipated.

Loved everything about the trip, but it was more walking than we thought

The scenery is brilliant, the tour director did an excellent job, given that there 45 people on the tour. Thr hotels were also excellent ,except for the Zurich Airport Movnpick, which was the worst hotel i have ever stayed at.

This was our first outing with Trafalgar and it was the perfect way to see so much of Switzerland. Our tour guide, P***, did an exceptional job of keeping all 44 guests informed of each day’s happenings, he was very organized, professional yet still personable, and gave lots of insights into the history of the places we were seeing. The biggest disappointment of the trip was the hotel that was chosen as our first meeting place, therefore, also the place many of us chose to spend an extra night or two depending upon our travel arrangements. The Movenpik @ Zurich Airport location was horrible. The staff was very nice but clearly not capable of handling the number of complaints they were receiving, not only from our group, but from others as well. The hotel itself was in a bad location as far as being able to walk to any place for a quick bite or shops for anything. You needed to walk a bit to get to the train to even get to the city of Zurich itself. The hotel was not very clean and I spent our 2 nights there practically without sleep as their only choice for pillows were down (I’m allergic to feathers). We’ve visited many places in Europe and I’ve never been in a hotel that didn’t have at least 2 choices for bed pillows. The cities we visited on the tour were wonderful. Zürich, St. Moritz, Zermatt, Interlaken Ost, Geneva and Lucerne were beautiful places with lots of highlights. Standing at the top of the Matterhorn will be a cherished memory for both of us! I would highly recommend the Contrasts of Switzerland tour to anyone who’s longing to see a lot of Switzerland in 8 days. I will add that it would have been even better had we had more time in Geneva and just a bit more free time to explore on our own.

It is very you said it was really good but very rushed. Would have been better to have extended it a few more days.

The scenery and weather were spectacular. Every region that we visited was unique in its own way and all were beautiful.

All hotels except the Movenpick hotel in Zurich are 4 star. The Movenpick would be my last choice of hotels. Photos provided upon request for the mold in the shower. All of us in our group should gets refunds. The tour should be extended by 1-3 days to allow for some free time, especially in Geneva, Zermatt and Lucerne. Our tour guide, Paul was fantastic. The optional excursions were excellent and reasonably priced.

Saw a lot in a short amount of time. EXCELLENT Tour Director - Did all but one add on to the tour. Would highly recommend this tour. Especially loved the stops with the bee keeper and the lunch she prepared and the discussion about the wine she makes. We also made a beehive candle! Also enjoyed the appetizers at another home which was a stop. Got to meet local people. Train travel was wonderful. Scenery breathtaking. Went to the top of the Matterhorn and the top of another mountain in Lucerne. FANTASTIC TRIP!!!!!

On this trip, you will see some of the most spectacular things of your life... but be advised that you will spend a LOT of time on trains. The Glacier Express is a journey of 8 1/2 hours one day, and just a couple of days later there are three separate rail journeys totaling 6 hours. The vistas are absolutely amazing, but they come at the expense of any time touring cities. We were barely a day in Zurich and less than a full day in Geneva.

Great scenery! Lots of train rides thru the beautiful mountains and country side.

This tour was outstanding. Beautiful scenery, breathtaking! Our Tour Director was the best (). She was extremely knowledgeable and organised. AAA+++

Great itinerary and beautiful places

Train ride was uncomfortable. Several travelers were stretched out on the floor and under the luggage area.

Tour was great with a fab tour leader. I found the tour a bit rushed and possibly could have been a couple of days longer to get more free time.

Beautiful scenery, nice side-trips, lots of nice meals, excellent tour guide.

1. The detailed daily schedule should be given at least 24 hours in advance. Not at the last moment. 2. ALL verbal instructions should be ALSO be put in writing in the WhatsApp group. Some tour participants could be asleep when verbal instructions are given on a train or coach or hotel lobby. They could also miss the detailed instructions due to a noisy environment. 3. The tour director did not wait for all the tour participants when walking along the street in Lucerne. Some were left behind at the pedestrian crossing because the light turned red (red man). The tour director was unaware of this and kept walking on.

A week was a bit too short. The one night stops got tiring as we often had to get up early to leave cases out. Perhaps a ten day trip would have been best.

The trip is fast paced when you’re not on the trains but you see a lot of Switzerland. We had time on the trains to meet interesting people and learn about other Trafalgar trips they been on. I especially loved the Swiss folklore experience night out! We could have skipped the Lake Geneva lake cruise (it just did a loop in the middle of the lake). Mt Stanserhorn was worth it too. Our tour director, *personal info removed by Feefo* kept everyone on time and was very prepared and informed about every part of our tour!

Too many people, 45 is very unmanageable and crowded. Our Travel Guide knew little to nothing about the country we visited. Talked about our schedule and times to meet with no input about the tour itself.

Well planned itinerary with interesting locations and good attention to details involving rail and bus transportation and transfer of luggage.

Excellent.

Travelling by train was such a relaxing way to travel - with gob-smacking scenery at every turn. With options to soar to the alpine peaks and to wander at leisure through cobbled streets, this tour offered an experience of all the beauty, history and culture that only Switzerland can deliver. .

A wide ranging itinerary of Switzerland. Specifically, regarding assistance, I had the misfortune of losing my wallet in Zermatt. Our Tour Director, was relentless in tracking down her sources to help recover it.

Excellent itinerary. The right amount of time in each stopover to enjoy the local sights. The accommodations we very good and comfortable. The train journeys were a very interesting way to travel and enjoy the scenery along the way.

We had an excellent Trafalgar guide for this Best of Switzerland train tour. It included multiple journeys by train and some portions by bus. We enjoyed the beautiful scenery and the fellow travelers from the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand!

We loved the train rides however we hoped there would be more lengthy stops in some locations to explore the towns. Our travel director, was excellent. The weather was cooperative and we saw some great views.

Loved seeing switzerland by train. It's nice not being on highways. Having our suitcases waiting for us in the next hotel was great

This itinerary is very non-active with lots of sitting on trains. It was more trains than I thought. If you prefer a more active vacation, you should choose a different itinerary. The scenery is beautiful and stunning.

Overall the trip was really good. We did not enjoy our stay in Geneva. It's a big bustling city and I am not a city person. Instead we should have had a night in Interlaken which we thought was one of the most beautiful places in Switzerland. We did not like the Royal Manotel hotel in Geneva either. The Movenpick hotel at Zurich airport is so so. The receptionists were rude and overworked. It would've been better if the tour started in a downtown Zurich airport because most travelers arrive one day in advance and there is nothing to do at the airport hotel. The airconditioning was also not working properly and the room was stuffy. But I have to say that Switzerland exceeded our expectations with its natural beauty.

The accomodation was of high standard and the tour director done amazing job. The hold tour fell into place.

Itinerary was well chosen well planned and well executed The process from planning to arrival and tour director introduction went smoothly Tour director was well organised courteous and informative

Excellent trip. Welcome dinner and farewell dinner could have been in a more authentic Swiss restaurant.

Great itinerary, most people in the group were very nice & friendly. Some just stared at me like i was from another planet!!! Everything was great!! The first hotel “Movenpick” was terrible!!!! But all after that one was great! The tour director could be very nice “at times” but also very “harsh” & “Abrupt”!!! This was my 2nd trip with Trafalgar both had excellent content, great tours, great people but i would make sure to pick a next trip with a different TD.

I was very dissatisfied and extremely disappointed because the tour in the city of Geneva lasted only 1.5 hours while sitting in the bus. Prior to the city tour time spent on a farm and a conference on bees, which I did not enjoy at all. and consider irrelevant, time should had been for Geneva. My main interest in going to Switzerland was to visit Zermatt and Geneva.

St Morit’z and Geneva was JUST a STOPOVER , it would’ve been great if it included a 1 full day city tour in the morning by a local tour guide and free time in the afternoon . The reserved Glacier Express Train carriage was hot inside meanwhile , the carriage behind us was cool enough . The coach bus from Geneva that drove us to Be My Guest lunch did not have a well functioning AC - I asked the driver to turn it up and he reasoned out that it is ON ( he got arrogant ) he said : Can you imagine if it’s not on ? I said : No , I don’t want to imagine that ! meanwhile there’s a small fan running attached next to his window blowing on his face . Geneva hotel lobby AC and our room AC was insufficient basing on the weather temp that day . Central AC needs an OVERHAUL to accommodate Climate Change Our tour director is Outstanding however he did all the narration during city tour instead of a local tour guide that would walk us around in St Morit’z , Geneva and Lucerne . 15 minutes picture taking stop at the Flower Clock - WHAT ? It was rushed that only 5 out of 32 got a picture taken . Coach Bus had no parking spot hence No picture taken by Red Cross , United Nations , Broken chair - this was all important to me ! Bernina Train Optional was COMPRESSED IN - who can tolerate an additional Train ride after an 8 hour Glacier Express ? That’s all that I can think of for now .

Tony our guide was professional, caring, informative and well versed in our recent tour of Switzerland. I would love to do a tour again with him. A excellent representative of your company.

Everything was excellent!! From the beginning we felt extremely comfortable The tour director was awesome!!! The hotels were fantastic and the excursions were amazing Thank you for offering this tour!!! Can't wait to schedule our next trip!!!

The tour director made the tour thoroughly enjoyable.. The itinerary was just what we wanted. Although travelling on trains started to feel monotonous towards the end that is also what made the tour appealing. All in all, we covered all the scenic attractions in just the right amount of time.

I need to place on record that I experienced considerable difficulty with my booking at the local Trafalgar Offices in Johannesburg. Emails were never answered by the same agent and the contents were not being read and understood as the replies I received from various employees were inadequate and erroneous :(. It was clear that the people I was dealing with were incompetent / inexperienced / and / or had not received adequate training. It made me very nervous and stressed about the booking and I actually considered cancelling. My concerns were eventually escalated to and at that office and thankfully was amazing in assisting me from there on :). However, this was my 5th Trafalgar Tour over many years and, once again, it was expertly planned and executed by Trafalgar. , our Tour Director, was extremely patient, professional, informative, organized and helpful. The logistics of moving so many people (and their luggage) around safely and securely must be a nightmare. A Tour Director's job can't be easy but is clearly passionate about her work and she does it with a smile, a spring in her step and a lovely sense of humour. She is simply amazing. We saw and experienced so much in such a short space of time and could never have done this on our own. I can only describe the scenery as spectacular, indescribable and unforgettable. Trafalgar really take the stress out of travel. Thank you to and Trafalgar! :)

It was brilliant, the natural beauty each day was amazing. Our tour guide was superb and my fellow travellers enjoyable. I loved trip.

The itinerary gave us the best coverage of Switzerland. All of the different aspects and traditions. Unbelievable beauty. We decided on the train journey for the ease of travel and we were very happy.

The sights were beautiful and awesome. Our tour guide was friendly and very knowledgeable.

was an excellent guide with lots of local knowledge. The train rides were different than bus rides (one reason we tried it!) and the Glacier Express was the best one. Views were fantastic and hotels good all around. Group was a good size as well. Totally recommend this tour for the guide and trip! P.S. Our 4th trip with Trafalgar.

Great itinerary however may be include Bern instead of Geneva.

Contrasts of Switzerland was a wonderful trip. We really enjoyed our guide Ellen Potters, she made it a long fun as well. I would recommend this trip to anyone.

The itinerary was very well planned out and organised. It was exactly what I wanted. I wanted to see some of Switzerland by rail and that is exactly what I experienced..I thoroughly enjoyed the entire trip, with the journey up the Matterhorn by cable car the highlight of the trip, It was breathtaking. All the Hotels we stayed in were conveniently located, and the rooms very comfortable. An amazing trip overall.

Tour of Switzerland by train was amazing - very expensive but overall terrific! Quite tiring for older people with very early morning starts and very busy schedule, but definitely the way to see Switzerland. The optional extras are expensive but need to be taken to get the full experience. Budget for these as they add considerably to the cost.

It was very busy-I wouldn’t have minded a little less moving and a little more free time to explore. But we saw a ton of amazing stuff and had a great time.

Much more suitable for older adult population. Train tour can easily be accomplished on your own as the travel systems in Europe run extremely efficiently - which would allow you to customize your experience to fit your interests/pace.

All the places we visited were great. The views were beautiful and the hotels good.

Too much emphasis on selling extra tour packages and not giving enough information on things that could be done in the local area. For example we took the bernina express which gave us an extra 2 hrs of travelling during the day and we didn’t see anything different to the train the next day and we didn’t have time to explore st Moritz it made 2 8 hr days in a row on trains which wasn’t great. We took 3 extra tours of which only 1 of them was good value.

The 'Contrasts of Switzerland' tour was a great way to see Switzerland, however more 2 night stays instead of the couple of 1 night stays would have made it a little more relaxing. Getting on and off trains was good for us but may be a little taxing for elderly or more infirm travelers and should be made clear. The Movenpick Hotel at the airport in Zurich was a little 'out of the way' especially if arriving a day or two early and it was extremely busy with airline crews.

Very weather dependent on how enjoyable. Bedding arrangements not always consistent with booking. Optional extras need to be booked and paid for at start. More personal time would've been appreciated. Better guidance as to length of each train journey would've been helpful.

perfect itinerary with an excellent tour director made our trip most memorable. Most important was, a group of friendly international travellers, good stay and tasting local food was a great experience. Overall, a great trip...!!!.

Great tour of the Swiss Alps by multiple trains. Stunning scenery. Great itinerary and amazing guide who gave us so much interesting information about the Swiss people, the history of Switzerland -- all delivered with enthusiasm, patience and real joy of what he was doing. I had never heard of Trafalgar tours. My AAA travel agent told me about this tour and recommended it. We will certainly consider other Trafalgar tours. We had a wonderful group of people -- many from Australia, some from the U.S. and one couple from Canada. We had a young single woman from Australia on our tour, too, and she had a great time with all of us, felt safe and enjoyed interacting with all the different people.

Very informative

It was my first experience with Trafalgar and hoping not the last. I felt safe and it was worth every dollar. Our guide was the best. He was always about keeping us on time and making sure we enjoy .

I think they should know if the optional excursions are taken, you will not have the time to experience so of the towns on your own. I think this trip should have been maybe 10 - 11 days giving maybe a day in Zurmatt and a day in Lucerne for personal time to explore.

My daughter and I loved this trip. We love to travel by train in Europe. While we did not have any problems switching trains and negotiating train platforms, some of our older and less mobile fellow passengers did. Perhaps, in your description of the trip you could give a bit more detail about the number of train transfers that are involved. Emmo, our tour director, was perfect. He was organized, caring and informative; he made the trip so much fun. From the minute I stepped off the plane in the U.S., I've been recommending this trip to my friends.

It would be a little less stressful if it was a few days longer giving people opportunity to take some time off or time to explore each city on their own. Also, need to inform or denote for senior citizens that the trip requires ALOT of walking.

More details about train trips - for instance time of the train journey and connection of trains. One day we travelled on 4 trains during the course of the day. More details of options available and specifically if particular options are not available on a particular tour.

It was a pretty full on itinerary with some early starts and long days. The transfer between trains was a challenge for some on the tour but well handled by Tour Director . Lots of fantastic scenery. Disappointed to miss the Matterhorn due to weather conditions.

Loved the trip! Tour guide did a great job getting us from place to place on the trains. The scenery in Switzerland is absolutely beautiful. Just thought the trip was a little rushed and exhausting. Would have been better over 9/10 days to give travellers a chance to enjoy it without being so tired.

I found the food bland and unappealing. The size of the group was 42. This is too large, in my opinion. Scenery was spectacular.

If there had been a couple of relaxing mornings it would have been a more perfect vacation!

The pace was grueling. I could only sleep in one day since we only had one day in most cities, and we had to get up by 6:00 am to have time to get our luggage out and have breakfast before traveling to the next city. I would have liked two or three days in each city. Of course, I knew the itinerary when I signed up for the trip, but there don't seem to be many options with multiple-day stays in each city in the European tours. Zermatt was my favorite stop. The town is scenic and walkable, and the optional excursion to the Klein Matterhorn was exciting. The Bernina Pass optional excursion was ok, but the scenery was no better than what we saw later in the trip. After hours of train travel from Zurich, it probably would have been better to leisurely explore St. Moritz. The optional excursion to Stanserhorn was also worthwhile.

Enjoyed the trip but 45 people very hard to manage on train travel. Suggest maximum of 24. Poor travel director keep herding us around and constantly repeating herself at nauseaum. Could recommend extra fee to transport carry on luggage. People had trouble taking their carry on luggage in the trains.

1) We thought the group was too big. Keeping track of 45 people (some elderly, some with canes) was not relaxing. Our tour guide did a great job of keeping track of us. 2) we felt that the itinerary should be 1 or 2 days longer. We crammed in too many miles in too few days.

The itinerary is very full and covers a lot of ground, including all of the areas that we wanted to visit.

The train tour was second to none for scenery and of course punctuality. Our tour guide was able to keep us all together so we could enjoy the surroundings

The itinerary was great and the tour Director, was excellent and looked after us so very well. He was so knowledgeable and made everything so easy. Very impressed with Trafalgar.

Just Perfect 😄 our tour guide was just fabulous, made whole trip so much fun and so informative. The most beautiful scenery, thanks Switzerland for sharing you beautiful country. Thanks & Trafalgar😄😄 Cheers Ruth & Glenn😄😄

The best thing about the trip was the tour director. A tour director can either make or break a trip and Carolyn what is the best one that I have ever had she tended to everyone’s needs and was always upbeat and helpful. The one place I think should be off the itinerary is Geneva. No one on our trip enjoyed it and thought it should be substituted for maybe Montreaux.. They Movempick hotel we didn’t feel was up to standard for this trip and should be substituted with a different one.

Spectacular scenery around every corner. Smooth and comfortable train rides to enjoy the scenery as we traveled from town to town. The pace was fast and some of the hotels had older bathrooms which may be hard for anyone with limited mobility.

Loved seeing Switzerland via train! Such beauty - mountains and lakes, all over overlapping beauty.

Absolutely a five star trip. The weather was perfect, which is so important for any trip and is something which we have no control. I can’t over state how good our tour guide was. She handled every part of the tour professionally, prepared and with extreme knowledgeable of everything Switzerland. I strongly recommend the Contrasts of Switzerland.

The tour was very good and the TD was excellent. The airport hotel was a disappointment as we were not allowed to register before 4pm and the night receptionist was rude when assistance was needed. One star for the hotel.

The itinerary was varied and interesting. Riding on the trains was a great/ different way to travel. We really didn't see Zurich, so I'm wondering if you should make this trip 1 day longer.

Well organized, luggage, inclusions, optional tours. Ulf was great at keeping us informed, helping out and keeping us on time. The rounds of chocolates didn’t hurt either.

Switzerland is indeed very scenic. However, it was train ride almost everyday. Some journeys were in public carriages which was a bit difficult to manage a group of 40 pax. However, credit must be given to the tour guide, who did a marvellous job to keep all together in the group. Hotels were good except the first night in Movenpick Zurich - very outdated and not very clean. Lunch at La Ferme Enchantee was interesting and the beekeeper was very informative. Of all the optional experiences, the Lake Geneva cruise was a waste of time ... no commentary nor drinks served on board. However, the scenic cruise across Lake Lucerne to Stans was enjoyable and worthwhile. On the whole, the trip was not over tiring as the itinerary was well paced.

Well-organized and covers a lot of ground. People considering this tour should be prepared to spend a large fraction of their time on trains.

Well organized Great host Amazing country side Great train network Great to be on top of the mountains Wonderful experience

Nice array of locations, scenery, accommodations, food and drink

Beautiful trip, and the train rides go past gorgeous countryside, however what they don't tell you is how early the mornings are every day and the train rides can get very long. The itinerary could use a re-working, for shorter train rides each day and longer says in smaller towns. This would probably make the trip longer than a week, but would be more worthwhile to get a chance to experience the towns. Also, at least our tour guide didn't use the voice boxes much, and never on the trains. So we missed a lot of information about where we were and the history of Switzerland that you would normally get on a Trafalgar tour - that was disappointing. I don't feel as if I learned much about Switzerland than I have on previous Trafalgar trips.

The tour was very busy. There was lots of walking which some people found difficult and was not expecting

Tour guide was not very informative with history of area or helpful to us as we were a day late to join the tour due to flight cancellation. we had to navigate on our own trains (3) with luggage from Zurich to St Moritz. The last dinner provided by tour was awful. Tiny glasses of wine, followed by dried out pork. The boat ride in Geneva was awful, wasted of money - no commentary of area, never left the harbor.

Great train rides, tours, and scenery, particularly the Bernini Pass and Matterhorn. With a good personality, and great organizational and communication skills, tour director got 34 people to all the right places at the right times to insure highly successful outcomes. We were glad to be with her. A real fun trip.

Scenery is the hallmark of the trip, ranging from awesome amazing to spectacular. Excursion to Kleinhorn Glacier Paradise in Zermatt is THE best highlight not to be missed. The folklore show is very enjoyable with traditional Swiss food served- cheese and chocolate fondue, veal stew with rosti. The excursions are well-curated and recommendable. We didn’t join the Lucerne ones though as we preferred to walk about town. The included Be My Guest lunch at farm/winery was so warm and charming with strings of light around and billowing ceiling cloth canopy and great hosts. Our tour director was fab, very competent and organized, knowledgeable, lively and funny. The group was great too. All handled themselves perfectly we did not miss a single train and there were lots taken, always departing early in the morning. The accommodations were excellent and beautiful other than unexpected broken AC in Geneva on a warm day, and the Zurich Movenpick. Zurich Movenpick, though used just as a springboard stay, is quite in need of bathroom maintenance (sleep area is good), but their breakfast buffet is excellent. The welcome dinner main courses were both delicious. The farewell dinner main courses can be prepared better though the ingredients were good. Overall these were big improvements over some welcome and farewell dinners before. The lunch on long train ride to .zermatt can also be improved. The dinner buffet in St Moritz was excellent. This was a busy on-the-go trip but well worth it for what you see and experience.

Non stop scenic views. A lot of rail time but probably the best way to cover the distance and the best views. The one night stays feel a little rushed but unless you have a specific sight to visit the itinerary covers a lot. Be prepared to be on time in the mornings, trains won't wait. Zermatt excursion is a must for most spectacular view. Switzerland is expensive, but, our guide did a superb job of directing us to water refills, best snack purchase locations and free toilets.

Great trip