Hello,

I've searched and can't seem to find exactly what I'm looking for. If someone could point me in the right direction, I would be most appreciative!

Situation: I'll be in Geneva in mid-May for work and have the follwing week (the 24th) off. I would like to join a hiking group and wind down after the business trip and see the beauty of the Alps.

I'm a decent hiker (have done some in the Rockies and Andes) and wouldn't mind camping or roughing it a bit.

I also don't mind taking cogs and staying in tiny villages either.

I guess what I'm looking for is to get some references on some outfitters/tour companies with pre-made itineraries that I can pick from.

Thank you very much!

Hey, that's when I'll be there too!

I just picked up "Walking in Switzerland" by Marcia & Philip Lieberman. It has lots of details on hiking trails, trail rating, etc for everywhere in the country.

Interlaken is the sporting center of the country apparently. If you root around their web page at interlaken.ch you may find some companies that do organized excursions.

For a less formal excursion, I once stayed at the Mountain Hostel in Gimmelwald, which is at the foot of the Schilthorn. I'll be there again this year. You can always put together or join an ad hoc hiking team from the folks staying there.

Thanks, Edward!

There is excellent walking and hiking right in the Geneva area, on both the Swiss and French sides. The Alp areas of Mt Blanc are about an hour by car from Geneva, which offers some very challenging hikes and walks. In lower elevations, the gorgeous Lavaux vineyards at the northeast end of Lake Geneva are an hour or even less away train, and the Jura mountains, esp the Neuchatel area, is about an hour.

Late May is just about the start of the summer season, but you may find more mud in the higher elevations than you might want, as snow will still be melting (and we have had a ton of it this year). In lower elevations like around the northeast end of Lake Geneva you will find better walking conditions. In the higher elevations it will depend on weather as to how far you can get on a given day.

Switzerland’s walking and hiking trail system is extensive and well marked. You can do many walks by yourself, esp in the lower elevations and in good weather. There is an excellent walking guide published by Lonely Planet called Walking in Switzerland which I would suggest you get. It rates hikes by difficulty, length/time and also gives directions for getting to and from walks by public transport.

There are two main Swiss walking clubs which also offer guided walks, you might try their websites (may be only in German, Italian or French, but you could tray babbelfish translations):

Swiss Hiking Federation at http://www.swisshiking.ch/
Swiss Alpine Club at http://www.alpen-journal.de/links.html

The local tourist offices in each town and village often have information on guided walks or solo walks as well. Try the one in Geneva, and many towns and villages have their own websites, you can find links to them at myswitzerland.com

There is a very good group that some of my friends and colleague have used called Alpine Hikers, go to http://www.alpinehikers.com; I see from their website that they don’t have any organized walks for May (too early) but they will custom design something for you.

There is an excellent organization called ATG Oxford which I have used in Asia that does wonderful walking tours, however, they don’t do Switzerland. You might look at the website to see if they have links to tour groups for Switzerland. http://www.atg-oxford.co.uk

I took a fantastic hiking tour last year with Guerba. It was called Swiss Alpine Trails. It's only about $700/week and that includes lodging, all meals except one day, hiking tours with guides, a day at a spa, and a transfer from Geneva to Morgins, where the tours are based. There's much more, but please take a look at this site for the full scoop. The dossier will tell you in detail what all you will do.

http://www.guerba.com/Tour-Details-T...8473_A_Id_E_21

oh good (above)... i was just going to say "you need to talk to P_M about this"

beautiful! enjoy! you will likely find mud or snow though in some places. I've been twice, in June, and hiked through a bit at higher elevations. nothing too bad though and they keep track of how much to expect fairly well so just ask around when you get there - you could also contact the hotel ahead of time too, or even when you are there, for advice. In Zermatt for instance the hoteliers hiked on their days off.