Paul and Linda Walton

My husband and I are planning a trip to Switzerland some time in June of 1999. We were wondering, should we go on our own or should we plan a trip with an escorted tour? <BR>We are not sure what language is spoken there, we need to do some research, can anyone offer any help. We did see a tour package with a company called Cosmos. Is there anyone who has had a good or bad experience with this company? <BR>Thanks

Karen

We were on a 12 day Tauck Tour to Switzerland, ending Sept.1st. I think Switzerland would be very easy to travel on your own, if you do your research well, before you leave home and have everything mapped out well so you don't miss the highlights. Our tour was superb and we enjoy having all the details taken care of for us. French, German, Italian and Romanesque are the languages spoken. along with English...don't think you'd have a problem on your own. Why don't you get a bunch of tour company brochures and see all the places they go and where they stay and get your ideas from that and then, either decide to join a tour or go on your own.

Donna

First of all, June is a perfect time to go to Switzerland - all the flowers will be in bloom everywhere and the weather will be pleasant for being out and about and enjoying the outdoor cafes and open air boat excursions, among other things. Whether or not to go on your own or with a tour is a HUGE decision. Booking a tour eliminates most of the planning (other than what to pack), but is extremely confining, and cannot be defined as "leisurely". What you save in headaches of planning on your own and finding your way around, you loose in lack of flexibility. If this is your first trip to Europe, however, a tour may be your best bet. In the East, the language is a dialect of German, in the south Italian, and in the west French, as is, generally speaking, the cuisine. The Swiss are very accomodating to tourists and will do their best to communicate with you in English or find someone who can, no matter where you happen to be. When visiting only one European country, and with this much lead time, you may want to plan to go on your own. But, you will need a tentative itinerary and you'll have to decide whether you wish to get around once there by rental car or train (and, if so, what type of "pass" to acquire for maximum savings). Each has its advantages and disadvantages and the cost could be significant to you. There are many excellent tour companies. Cosmos is in the "economy" class. When selecting a package tour, keep in mind that you really do get what you pay for. Although there are disadvantages to booking a tour, you do know ahead of time what the entire trip will cost. Public transportation and dining are VERY expensive in Switzerland. And, to get around on your own requires considerable "homework". My recommendation would be to go to your local bookstore and buy one or two tour guides specifically for Switzerland and determine with areas you find most appealing. Then, select a town where the lodging is most reasonable and make that your basepoint. Once there, you can take day trips by train or rental car all over. One of the really nice things about visiting Switzerland is that the public transportation (although expensive) is exellent. The train stations are centrally located in every town (within walking distance of most sights and attractions) and nearly all have wonderful and reasonably priced (for Switzerland) restaurants.

jd

Hello Paul and Linda, <BR>Your message brings to mind the travels my wife and I have taken all over the world and 5 or 6 times to Switzerland. We don't always agree, but we are definitely in agreement that going on your own is vastly more rewarding, more fun, and more memorable. <BR>Switzerland is a very good place for inexperienced travelers to begin this practice because everyone (just about) speaks English as a 2nd or 3rd language and because the transportation systems there are very easy to learn and timely. <BR>Many is the time that we would see tour groups crammed into their buses, jumping out for a pre-planned meal at a restaurant that serves thousands a day (rather than a cozy nook that looks good to you). After awhile, because you had no part in the planning, all you remember is a whirlwind of stops and gos, one cathedral after another, a process in which you played no part except to open your eyes and snap a photo on cue. <BR>Obviously, I feel strongly about tours! But consider this, that you want to be able to stop and smell the roses, to take 20 minutes more to see the glaciers of Grindelwald or you decide you want to take a lake cruise while at Interlaken. <BR>I recommend that you do the following for your trip to Switzerland: 1) Don't try to see it all; if you're their for a week, let's say, then plan 2 or at most 3 principal destinations in Switzerland as places you will operate out of. I see Switzerland as a land of lakes and mountains, therefore, I would choose Lucerne as a lake destination and Grindelwald as a mountain destination. Book a not-too-big hotel and see the sights working out of your hotel. The hotel will very likely have info on tours you can take for a half day and such, to the principal local sights. That way you decide what you do every day: to hike the Jungfrau, to crash due to jet lag, or to take a day tour of the Bernese Oberland. We have always found the local tour companies to be very good. They always have tours in English. Thomas Cook is a good source of this type tour, but you will find that most of the time you will want to go on your own. <BR>I would like to make one further recommendation: don't miss Grindelwald! Imagine being surrounded by glaciers and mountains that rise vertically right in front of you. The best advice I can give you is to book the Hotel Gletschergarten for at least a night. It's a big chalet with astonishing views. You can do a search on the Internet and find their website. <BR> If I can provide other info to help you on your trip please contact me direct at my email address.

Brian in Atlanta

I would also vote for a self-directed tour for many of the reasons listed above. <BR>A good book for the first-time visitor is Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door. It does a good job of describing all the differences you will find in Europe vs. the US. Even if it sometimes reads like a "Europe for Dummies", it's a good source of information if you are at all nervous about your first trip. It also has info on destinations, though it's hotels/restaurant recomendations are more applicable for the budget traveler. <BR>

wes fowler

Linda, <BR>Some years ago, I sat at a sidewalk café late at night in St. Wolfgang, Austria enjoying a pastry and coffee and gazing across the street at the White Horse Hotel, a hotel made famous by a Viennese operetta of the same name. Just before eleven PM a tour bus pulled up and unloaded a group of tourists, predominantly American I thought because of the high incidence of shorts and gaudy tee shirts. The next morning I strolled through the village just before seven AM to see the sun rise over the mountains. There again was the tour bus, with its gaggle of tourists preparing to embark to who knows where. I thought, then, that their most lasting memories of European travel would revolve around packing and unpacking every day. Plan your own itinerary and travel on your own, my motto then and ever since! Switzerland is an ideal country for independent travel; its country inns are delightful with immaculate accommodations and charming informal restaurants (stublis) where locals gather in the evening. Plan your own itinerary and leave plenty of leisure time to relax, enjoy the scenery and wallow in the charm of a country with such varied cultures and languages. Being multi-lingual has resulted in most Swiss having an ample knowledge of English. In planning, expand your horizons beyond one or two guide books, Fodor's, Frommer's, yes, but also look for and into Karen Brown's "Switzerland, Charming Inns and Itineraries" as well as the "Insight Guide to Switzerland" published by APA Publications and probably available in your library or bookstore. Pick up a copy of the "Blue Guide to Switzerland" for more than you'll ever want to know about the history, architecture and art of the country. The notes you take will make your trip more meaningful. Scour the websites devoted to Switzerland and scan this forum for the comments of Richard from Hickory Hills who has an apparently endless list of pertinent web pages. Email me directly if you feel I can be of assistance.

Cheryl Z.

<BR>As already mentioned, Switzerland is very easy to do on your own. You'll find English spoken at many touristy places, but try to learn some basic German, Italian and French phrases for each part that you're in. (there is no "Swiss" language). If you're renting a car, be prepared, for example, driving from the German part and reading German autobahn signs to all of a sudden coming across the same signs in French in the French section! Try to visit Interlaken, Zermatt, St. Moritz - incredible beauty. Also loved the village of Guyere, and Lucerne and....I love everything about Switzerland!

Bob Brown

My wife and I spent two full weeks in Switzerland in September. We enjoyed it fully. Rather than staying in hotels, we rented apartments for a week in two locations. Shopping for food was easy and fun. The bread and pastries are wonderful; the meat was good, but a little more expensive than we experience at home. Train travel is easy and efficient. (In Interlaken, I remember the arrival announcements being made in 4 languages, including English; most SBB and BOB agents spoke English well enough to be helpful.) Driving around by car was easy except in Zurich. <BR> <BR>I recommend studying the guide books and selecting your own list of tourist objectives. Then strike out on your own. That way, it is your schedule and your objectives. To me, Switzerland equals the Alps and all of their grandeur and that is what we focused on. <BR> <BR>You can easily preplan your travel by train by consulting the SBB (Swiss National Railway) website. It gives both times and prices on the national routes and departure/arrival times for the private routes. (Switzerland has a mix of the federal rail systems and private systems like the Bernese Oberlandbahn (BOB) that serves the Jungfrau region.) We bought Swiss half fare cards that entitled us to one trip at no extra charge to and from our landing place (Zurich) and then half off the cost all federal system train travel and the BOB. Also, we received discounts of 25% on most gondolas and cable lifts and the mountain train in Zermatt. <BR> <BR>I could find enough to go and see for two weeks in the Kandersteg - Interlaken - Lauterbrunnen - Grindelwald - Luzern area with little trouble. (And Zermatt could use up a few more days.) <BR> <BR>If you want a real adventure without undue risk, I can suggest two destinations: <BR> <BR>(1)The the Jungfraujoch and (2)the Faulhorn Hotel above Grindelwald. To reach the the Faulhorn, take the gondola from Grindelwald to First. Then walk up the mountain side to the Faulhorn Hotel. You will never forget the views. The trail is easy and clear. Suffice it to say we enjoyed the trip and hope to return in the near future. <BR> <BR>Don't hesitate to email me directly with questions. I will be happy to respond. <BR>The more you know the better you will be prepared and the more you will enjoy your trip.

Bob

Do it on your own! Rent a car and explore. We just returned from Switzerland with another couple. Had no problems with language. We all thought that a great place to set up would be Interlaken and explore from there. That way you are not always packing and unpacking. The tour bus crowd can get a little old. My wife and I still laugh about the two ladies we ran into on a Gondola ride up a mountain. They were on a group tour. We asked them where they had been and they got into a disagreement on where they had been the day before! They were moving too fast to remember. Do it on your own! Take tours when you get there, when you want to. The fun of some of our trips is the unexpected. Like entering Switzerland in the truck lane at the border while all the cars were in another lane. The guard just looked at us like we were stupid and flagged us on. You won't get the unexpected on a tour. Everything is planned to the minute. Have fun! <BR> <BR>

Lynda

By all means, rent a car and explore. You will more fun finding your way through a new country on your own. We have met more helpful, friendly people in our travels through Europe. In Appensell, Switzerland, we got off the train and ask a local if they would recommend a small hotel. She proceeded to send her husband home and she walked through the rain with us to a local backeri that also had rooms to rent. She introduced us to the owner and off she went! It was 800 years old and we had the most perfect room overlooking the river that ran through the town. I will never forget that night. <BR>

Harald Hansen

Message: forget Swizterland!!!! <BR>Scandinavia is just as english friendly. actually more, since the ordinary people you will meet can ALL speak english. Being understood by the locals is the key to a vacation better than the average tourist. Make friends, see life from the inside. During the scandinavian summer it is easy. <BR> Me, i live in california, it is friendly here, but there is adifference. <BR>

Don

If you decide to put together your own trip and could leave from Newark, the best airfare to Switzerland is on new Swiss World Airways to Geneva. It's about $431 round trip--one of the cheapest fares you'll find to Europe from North America in the Summer. Their website is http://altern.org/swa/index2.htm for more info. or call them 00 11 800 767 767. I saw this fare and thought it is amazing to be so inexspensive. The airline has plans to add service between Montreal-Geneva and Miami-Geneva. <BR>

Karie

Picture this...the lovely Cotswolds, rolling hills, incredible views, wonderful little villages...and me on a diesel bus, with 50 people...or was it 500?...carreening around those round-a-bouts, seeing lovely views disappear from the back window...getting more car-sick by the minute...I wound up sitting on the exit steps of the bus just to get over the car-sickness..."Look...There's a lovely site...maybe a photo...ohhh, guess not...goodbye..." as we carreened around a curve in the mad dash to make it to Bourton-on-Water with the 150 other diesel busses idling and spewing those fumes and 10,000 people wandering the streets. My photos were from a bus window. No, this is not the way to see a place...even though it was a very low price. I can't imagine having my entire experience in a country confined to this. My only consolation was that it was only a day-trip...and a good learning experience. But trust me, this is not the way to go. Better to be able to stop at whim on one of those lay-bys and be able to walk and breathe and enjoy those views! I suppose this holds for Switzerland as well. Do you want to be sitting at a cafe table at will, just enjoying, and deciding to stay an extra day just because you love this city so much, or hurrying to make it to the lobby with 50 other Americans in order to make it to the bus by 7:30 a.m. to dash to yet another site? All you have to do is take a look at the itinerary of many of the tour brochures to get an idea...One day in Rome? "See the Colleseum, Vatican, Sistine Chapel, Roman Forum and etc., then we're off to beautiful Florence!" I don't think so!

Linda Freedman

We have three Switzerland travelogues posted on our non-commercial web site, TheTravelzine.com - Ideas for Independent Travelers. Reading the one from our 1996 trip especially, you'll get some fabulous ideas for your trip. Do yourself a favor and do not go on a tour. You'll be missing the most enjoyable part of traveling. Linda&Don <BR>&lt;http://thetravelzine.com&gt;