One of our guides will meet us at the Geneva airport 12:00 Noon and take us collectively to the hotel in

Chamonix (France) which is just over one hour from Geneva airport (Switzerland). 

Upon arrival at the hotel in Chamonix, we will attend a briefing about the week ahead check-in to our rooms. We will have a short, orientation walk around Chamonix town center and then rest of the afternoon is at your leisure to settle into our hotel. 

Each and every room at the Hotel Le Morgane has a balcony and a mountain view! Their beautiful breakfast buffet, award winning spa, al fresco dining at Le Comptoir Nordique and the high standard of service will make our stay at this Boutique Hotel Le Morgane a delight. 

We will gather for a Group dinner this evening to get to know your other adventurers.

Overnight: Hotel Le Morgane in the Center of Chamonix. (Dinner)

We meet for breakfast, all excited about our first adventure: a cable car from the center of Chamonix. The cable car takes us to the dizzying altitude of 6500ft, saving us a long walk. From the top of the cable car, we traverse high above the Chamonix valley and below the majestic peaks of the Mont Blanc massif known as the ‘Chamonix Aiguilles’ (the ’Chamonix Needles’). 

We arrive at a viewpoint pitched above the massive glacier known as the ‘Mer de Glace’ (‘the Sea of Ice’) where we enjoy our picnic lunch. The views here are simply astonishing so it is not surprising that a grand hotel was built here for the early tourists in the Victorian era. 

A small cable car allows us to descend to the glacier and visit an ice cave that has been dug into the glacier. We descend to Chamonix on the more-than-100- years-old mountain train.

Hiking details: approximately 4 miles with 1200ft ascent. 

Hiking time: 3-4 hours (not including stops and transportation). 

Remainder of the afternoon/evening is at your leisure. Explore the charming city, it’s pubs and restaurants. Microbrews abound! Get a massage or spa treatment. Sit on your balcony with a glass of wine gazing at the amazing view. So many choices and plenty of time to do what makes you happy.

Dinner on own. 

Overnight: Hotel Le Morgane in the Center of Chamonix. (Breakfast & Lunch)

After our breakfast buffet, we take a short transfer to the village of Les Praz located on the outskirts of Chamonix to a different cable car that whizzes us up to nearly 6500ft. 

Our hike is over interesting and rocky alpine terrain on the sunny side of the Chamonix valley with spectacular views across the valley towards Mont Blanc. It is not uncommon to spot Ibex here, as we’re hiking in a nature reserve. 

We arrive at the beautiful Lac Blanc (the white lake), which is actually a magical green/ blue color due to the minerals from the rock. The views from this alpine oasis are simply amongst the best in the world. 

We enjoy our picnic lunch by the shore of the lake, and it is possible to have coffee and home-made pie at the mountain hut next to the lake. After lunch, we hike back to the cable car. It is important to take care on the descend to the cable car as the views will make us forget to look where we are walking!

Hiking details: approximately 6 miles with 1300ft ascent and descent. 

Hiking time: approximately 5 hours (not including stops and transportation). 

The rest of the afternoon is free in the beautiful village of Chamonix. Stop by the Maison de la Presse, a cozy bookstore near the town center, wander through the collection of chic Alpine-meets-Nordic furniture at the popular Cocktail Skandinave or, if we are lucky, La Maison des Artistes may have a live music event. Soak up the French culture on our last evening in France.

Dinner on own

Overnight: Hotel Le Morgane in the center of Chamonix. (Breakfast & Lunch) 

We are gifted with a leisurely morning for a last-minute spa appointment, take a yoga class or just sleep-in! But not too late, don’t want to miss our fabulous breakfast buffet.

Around midday, we board the Mont Blanc Express train, which takes us over two mountain passes into Switzerland. Our 3-4 hour journey will take us through the scenic Rhone Valley, renowned for orchards and vineyards. Next, we start the climb up the Mattertal Valley before arriving in the car free mountain town of Zermatt. Once we drop our bags at the hotel, we will have time this afternoon to explore the old streets of Zermatt with its timber buildings dating back to the 16th century. 

The food in Zermatt is some of the best, with 17 restaurants listed in the Gault & Millau guide Switzerland which showcases excellence in food and service. If you’re looking for Michelin quality restaurants, Zermatt boasts two restaurants with Michelin stars, and several with Michelin “plates”.

One of the best ways to immerse in Swiss culture is by indulging in some Swiss specialty cuisine. Some of the must-try foods are obviously cheese fondue, meat and oil fondue, raclette, and Gluihwein.

Dinner on Own.

Overnight: Hotel Bristol in the center of Zermatt, Switzerland. (Breakfast)

Waking up in the Swiss Alps is a magical feel. Get up early to try and hear the cow bells or see the beautiful sunrise as it wakes up this majestic landscape. 

After breakfast at the hotel, we walk to the center of Zermatt and take an old cogwheel mountain train up the mountain to a viewpoint. From here we pause in amazement as we see spectacular views of the Gorner glacier and the many 13,100 ft peaks surrounding Zermatt. Can you say photo op?

With super selfies saved, we hike down to the Riffelsee lake, which, on a clear day, offers the most beautiful reflections of the Matterhorn mountain. It is the location for the most well-known photographs of the iconic Matterhorn. 

We continue our hike down through mountain pastures among the local farms and catch the old cogwheel train back to Zermatt. 

Hiking details: approximately 4.5 miles with 0 meters ascent and 2500ft descent. 

Hiking time: 3-4 hours (not including stops and transportation). 

Rest of afternoon and evening at leisure. Since we are oh-so-close to Italy, maybe Italian food is on your mind? Well Zermatt accommodates: Grampi’s (open until 1am) pizza made on the spot in a wood-fired oven, and a decent vegetarian menu to boot. It is the kind of unpretentious, welcoming Italian restaurant where you can sit and chat with friends for hours. A highlight of the menu is the “Raclettissima” pizza, which is, as the name suggests, a raclette (cheese with silver skin onions and gherkins) in pizza form. 

Dinner on Own.

Overnight: Hotel Bristol in the center of Zermatt. (Breakfast & Lunch)

After another gorgeous morning in Zermatt, we enjoy a lovely hiking loop straight out of our hotel. We climb gently to join a balcony trail above Zermatt. 

The climb takes us past charming old farming hamlets before we embark on a scenic traverse through the hillside above Zermatt, with views towards the Matterhorn, the Breithorn, and many of the other peaks surrounding Zermatt. 

We arrive at the 500-year-old hamlet of Zmutt, where old barns and farmhouses remain unchanged from the day they were built. The surrounding meadows provide a perfect picnic spot, but there is also a cafe where we can enjoy coffee and local apple pie. 

We return to Zermatt on a lower trail to complete the loop. 

Hiking details: approximately 6 miles with 1300ft ascent and descent

Hiking time: approximately 4 hours (not including stops and transportation). 

The rest of the afternoon and evening is free in Zermatt. There are spas at almost every hotel.

Maybe try the oldest business in Zermatt for dinner tonight? Café DuPont is a great value, cozy eatery with no-frills authentic comfort food – you must try the apple strudel!

Dinner on own.

Overnight: Hotel Bristol in the center of Zermatt. (Breakfast & Lunch) 

 Enjoy your breakfast buffet and get in your last-minute shopping this morning. Approximately midday we head back to Zermatt train station for our second train journey through the Swiss countryside. 

We travel North via Visp and, thanks to the 35-kilometer-long Lötschberg Tunnel, we travel straight under the mountains of the Berner Oberland region and pop out on the other side, saving us a very long journey around the mountains. The train continues to climb the mountain resort area of Grindelwald. The total journey takes around 3 hours of jaw dropping scenery and exquisite photo ops!

Only 3 minutes from Grindelwald’s center, station and sport center, we check into our hotel. Our quaint, cozy family-run Hotel Alpenhof. The rooms have either a balcony or terrace, are accessible with elevator, and feature free Wi-Fi access. To quote a previous guest “The topping on the cake was the cowbells we would hear while sitting on the balcony enjoying a glass of wine. A truly Swiss experience in every sense of the word.”

The rest of the afternoon and evening is free to explore Grindelwald. For a local beer, decently priced food and lots of nice people to hang out with try Avocado or Onkel Tom’s Hutte. Meet locals and travelers to swap stories with in these festive, vibrant pubs.

Dinner on Own. 

Overnight: Hotel Alpenhof in the center of Grindelwald. (Breakfast)

The day begins with a journey on a historic mountain train from the center of Grindelwald, which takes us through beautiful mountain pastures to the mountain hamlet of Kleine Scheidegg. Here, we can visit the old Hotel des Alps, which dates back to the early Victorian era and has been featured in several movies such as "The Eiger Sanction" starring Clint Eastwood. 

Our hiking trail leads us right below the steep North Face of the notorious Eiger mountain, where numerous climbers have battled to climb the treacherous rock wall, many losing their lives in the process. Fortunately, our hike will be a lot ‘mellower’ and we return to our hotel either by foot or by train for another afternoon and evening in Grindelwald. 

Hiking details: Approx. 5 miles with 1000ft ascent and 2500ft descent. 

Hiking time: Approx. 4 hours (not including stops and transportation). 

Dinner on Own.

Overnight: Hotel Alpenhof in the center of Grindelwald. (Breakfast & Lunch)