2023 Majestic Switzerland By Rail

      Switzerland

      SI
      Special Interest Tours
      • Email address verified
      45 reviews
      Sep 14 - 25, 2023
      Group size: 20 - 30
      2023 Majestic Switzerland By Rail
      Switzerland

      Special Interest Tours
      • Email address verified
      45 reviews

      Sep 14 - 25, 2023
      Group size: 20 - 30

      About this trip

      Experience the magic and wonder of Switzerland's mountains and railways on this 11 night, 12 day Trains Magazine adventure.

      What’s included

      • 11 Nights Hotel Stay
        2 Nights Hotel Baur au Lac, 1 Night Hotel De La Paix, 1 Night Hotel Stern, 2 nights Hotel Schweizerhof, 2 nights Hotel Suisse Majestic, 1 night Hotel Lindner, 2 Nights Hotel Radisson Blu
      • 11 Breakfasts
      • 10 Dinners
      • 2nd class rail
        15-day Swiss Travel Pass within Switzerland
      • Luggage Transfer
        1 piece per person, between hotels
      • Realp train depot visit
      • Rigi train depot visit
      • Rail Excursion
        Bernina Express train and bus reservation 2nd class
      • Rail Excursion
        Gotthard Panorama Express train reservation 1st class
      • Rail Excursion
        Furka steam train Oberwald-Realp 2nd class
      • Rail Excursion
        Gornergrat excursion by rail
      • Rail Excursion
        Excursion to Rochers-de-Naye by rail
      • Rail Excursion
        Chocolate train excursion by train and coach
      • Rail Excursion
        Jungfraujoch excursion by rail
      • Rail Excursion
        Brienzer Rothorn excursion by rail
      • Rail Excursion
        Pilatus excursion by rail
      • Rail Excursion
        Rigi excursion by rail

      What’s not included

      • Meals Not Mentioned
      • Drinks Unless Specified
      • International Flights
        Flight/Travel to Zurich, Switzerland
      • Travel Insurance
        Available for Purchase

      Available Packages

      Double Occupancy (Per Person)

      Priced per person based on two people sharing hotel rooms.

      $8,700
      Deposit: $500
      Single Occupancy (Per Person)

      Priced per person based on one person in the hotel rooms

      $9,800
      Deposit: $500

      Available options



      Itinerary

      Day 1 - Sept 14th
      Arrive in Zurich

      Arrive in Zurich and transfer to the hotel by train with your Swiss Rail Pass, provided by SIT. 

      Enjoy a leisurely afternoon in the heart of Zurich. Hotel Baur au Lac is located just a few minutes away from the Lake for nice walks, near the 19th century Bridge, cruises departure point, the FIFA museum and  botanical gardens. 

      In the evening we  will gather for dinner at the hotel where you will  meet your fellow travelers and be greeted by our Trains Magazine special guest. 

      Your Organizer


      SI
      Special Interest Tours
      45 reviews
      Joined in June 2021
      See profile

      Reviews

      Well done! We had a great trip. Thank you!
      By James P for Group 2 - 2024 Total Solar Eclipse in Texas, w/ Astronomer Bob Berman on Apr 19, 2024
      Thank you Anjali, Sam, Julia and Andres for all your hard work. The private tours of the space center, River walk boat, and the Alamo were great venues, and even though we all would have enjoyed a longer totality, the entire package with a nice group of people made for a very enjoyable trip. See you on the next one!
      By Paul Z for Group 1 -2024 Total Solar Eclipse in Texas, with Astronomer Bob Berman on Apr 19, 2024
      The overall structure of the trip was excellent. We enjoyed the venues, special tours and various stops. Having said that, the actual organization of the trip was poor and chaotic and times. We recognize weather and other unforeseen events always happen, but that is not an excuse for keeping the folks in Group 2 informed which was not the case. The guide on our bus is a nice person but he had little useful information - he was more of a "babysitter" than anything else. He had to wait for somebody from the first bus to come on board and inform us of the up to date schedule and then that was not always clear. Cell phone communication usually works even in Texas. Having to deal with our own luggage to and from buses was a pain. I don't usually go on tours, but the ones I do always have folks from the hotel load and unload luggage from the buses. I know there was complexity related to having two buses that is easy to deal with. Give everybody tags attached to their bags where they write Group 1 or Group 2 to make sure that the right bags get into the right bus. And, then folks can take a look and confirm their bags are loaded if they want to double check. This is just one example on how to improve the. operational/detail aspects of the tour. The venue at the eclipse site (we did not stay there) was poorly run, disorganized and did not seem to know how to handle a medium size group such as ours. Again, the various guides on the trip were slow to step in and make sure things worked as promised. You know there is a problem when you can't even get a cup of coffee. You need additional professional help to better run your tours. Sometimes the small details can make the difference between a good trip and a bad trip. Having said all that, I will again note we enjoyed the trip and thought that having Bob Berman and the Hubbell's as part of the tour was a real positive., and we are considering the 2025 Chile trip. My last word is that if you want sophisticated clients you need to be operationally more sophisticated and professional which seemed not to be the case for this trip.
      By Michael D for Group 2 - 2024 Total Solar Eclipse in Texas, w/ Astronomer Bob Berman on Apr 19, 2024
      Amazing trip! Hotel rooms, transportation, activities were top notch ... great organizers and traveling companions. Mother Nature was pretty fickle, but the organizers were prepared for all with well-executed back up plans. Bravo!
      By Cecilia M for Group 2 - 2024 Total Solar Eclipse in Texas, w/ Astronomer Bob Berman on Apr 19, 2024
      It was a great trip. Accommodations, food, transportation, activities, and all other facilities were great. Very friendly group. The organizers were very professional, friendly, and helpful. Any changes in the itinerary were managed well with good alternate plans made. I would not hesitate to recommend Special Interest Tours or go with them again.
      By John J for Group 1 -2024 Total Solar Eclipse in Texas, with Astronomer Bob Berman on Apr 18, 2024
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