Your guide will greet you inside the main hall underneath the clock tower of the central train station of Zurich HB before catching the train to the Glacier Express
Begin your journey in true Swiss style with a scenic train ride to Switzerland’s oldest city, Chur, with over 5,000 years of history. Along the way, hear stories about the landscapes, cultural heritage, and traditions of the cantons you pass. In Chur, board the legendary Glacier Express and settle into your modern panoramic carriage. Learn fascinating insights about the train’s rich history and how it became one of the world’s most iconic rail journeys. **In high season when the GE fills up quickly, you may be placed on the other tour once the main tour reaches capacity. It follows the exact same route but boards a different scenic train and includes first-class tickets from Chur to Andermatt, a private Sprinter mini-coach, a fondue lunch, and the same itinerary you were expecting. * Between October 11 and December 6, the Glacier Express does not operate. During this period, we offer the same scenic route with an additional stop in a Swiss Alpine Village.
Begin your memorable ride aboard the Glacier Express, an ultra-sleek train boasting an end-to-end experience connecting a total of 291km (181 miles) inland. Settle into your dedicated seats to enjoy the train's steady pace, allowing ample opportunities to absorb the ever-changing panoramic views of southern Switzerland on your way to Andermatt. Receive insightful commentary unraveling rich Swiss traditions and the Express's operational history. Anticipation builds as you approach the Oberalp section, surrounded by snow-capped mountains and fresh alpine scenery. Capture the perfect picture of architecturally pleasing bridges, where you'll reach the highest altitude of the tour. Before your next discovery, indulge in a gourmet lunch (depending on the option booked) served at your seat so you don't miss a moment of the incoming views.
At your next stop, depart the Glacier Express at Andermatt, a traditional Swiss village in the heart of the Ursen Valley, and board another cozy train. Your voyage proceeds towards the world-famous city of Lucerne, where you'll make an exciting stop. Our guide will embellish the next leg of your journey with shared secrets about forming the Swiss Confederation. Gain significant insights into the admirable endurance displayed by the Swiss guards, enabling you to connect with the discoveries made later on the tour. Next, reach the lake of four cantons, commonly recognized as Lake Lucerne. The vast expanse encapsulates iconic Swiss beauty with a backdrop of pure sparkling water and deep mountain ranges. It's a sight you're sure to remember.
Arriving at the blissful city of Lucerne, the final discovery of the tour, the guide will lead you through the medieval Old Town while providing an engaging context of the region's historical and cultural heritage. Enriched with perfectly preserved gothic architecture surrounded by snow-capped mountains, the tour through Lucerne’s Old Town will instantly transport you to the Middle Ages, giving a taste of what life was like all those years ago! This segment of the tour additionally offers the chance to encounter famed heritage sites, including the Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge) — the world’s oldest surviving bridge, and the Lion Monument — an intricate 19th-century rock carving commemorating the Swiss Guards that lost their lives during the French Revolution in 1792.
After a full day of adventure, you will return you safely to Zurich
The other couples in our group were delayed which meant the guide elected to wait two hours. Because of this, our visit/tour of Lucerne did NOT happen. Our ten hour tour turned into 12 hours without seeing Lucerne. Very disappointed and angry at these developments.
We booked a Bernini Express rail experience with Viatour months in advance. While waiting at the tour meeting point on the day and the guide not showing up, we found an email sent 3 hours prior at 6:38am advising that our trip was cancelled and had been re-booked for the next day. This was unsuitable for us. We immediately advised Viator that we did not want to re-schedule the tour and we cancelled it. We did not ask them to re-book. Viator made a unilateral decision to do so and now we find ourselves substantially out of pocket. We will be making a complaint to the Swiss tourism Ombudsman. Dont deal with these people - they gave us no reason as to why our initial booking was cancelled just a few hours prior to departure and re-booked without consulting us. They made their problem our problem and left us out of pocket. They are in my opinion both dishonest and disorganised.
Joanna was an amazing tour guide and made the tour so fun! We met a lot of nice people and Joanna was very knowledgeable, friendly and extremely helpful.
It was the best part of our trip. Jacob was very knowledgeable and very helpful with all our needs. 10/10
Jovan is the best. Her attention to our experience was the very best we loved the Glacier Express. And the town of church along with the church was wonderful!
Joann was great person to conduct the tour easy to work with and talk too quick to answer questions. She is top tier. Thank you!
Jovanna was a great guide. Full of energy and knowledge. Would highly recommend Tours of Switzerland.
The best way to see Switzerland is traveling by train. Part of our trip was on the Glaicer Express. Outstanding experience and great opportunities to get beautiful pictures.
Out of this world experience. Koto our guide waa excellent. Very polite, knowledgeable and was very accomadating to make us comfortable. Highly recommend
Koko our tour guide was amazing with lots of information and very knowledgeable flexible and friendly. We were impressed with his manners and his willingness to listen and answer questions. Made our experience memorable.
This was an amazing day, starting with Joanna, our guide meeting us in Lucerne, we give her 11 out of 10 . The whole day was worth the money. Unfortunately we did not have a guide to meet us in Basel SBB as advertised only an email which was hard as the train system and wifi are not easy for overseas visitors. Would recommend this trip to anyone.
It is a beautiful ride to see the Alps up close was magical.our guide made it extra special. I would recommend it for anyone who wants a lovely experience. Wish more of the shops were open but, I resist it was Sunday and everyone needs time off.
Awesome guide! Knowledge and so fun to be around. Easy transition between cities and trains.
The views were amazing. It was a very long day. The listing described it as a 10 hour day. It was more like 12 hours. We rode 7 different trains and spent a combined 3 hours just waiting on trains. Our guide was lovely and made the experience pleasant. But in the end, we cut our time in Lucerne to almost nothing and still got home roughly 12 hours after we left in the morning. It’s a good trip. But know what you are getting in to. Be prepared for a long day, wear comfortable shoes and bring a power bank to keep your phone charged.
We had a great trip. There was a little snafu with the meet up, but it was remedied before we knew it. We saw beautiful scenery. We did not actually stop in Lucerne (our choice) because the day was getting too long.
Jovana was our guide and did a fantastic job Could not have done the tour with out her guidance. Took the time to see and experience the tour.
The tour guide Jovana was very knowledgeable, energetic and most of all very enthusiastic. She made a special effort to accommodate a disabled passenger and was very flexible in dynamically adjusting the schedule to accommodate the situation on the ground. We had an enjoyable day witnessing the amazing Swiss countryside.
The tour guide Jovana was very knowledgeable, energetic and most of all very enthusiastic. She made a special effort to accommodate a disabled passenger and was very flexible in dynamically adjusting the schedule to accommodate the situation on the ground. We had an enjoyable day witnessing the amazing Swiss countryside.
Very nice guide, when we finally met up. Tour was advertised as starting in Basel. Once I arrived at Basel train station I received an email directing me to take a train to Zurich to meet the group. Couldn’t find group in Zurich and was told to take train to Chur but was directed to wrong train which I discovered after departure. Got off at next stop and called North American office which finally directed me to correct train to Chur. Guide met me there no problem. Rest of tour was quite good, enjoyed the small group (7 of us) , weather perfect, alps were awesome. Did not expect to need to navigate on my own for an expensive tour and very thankful I had some experience with train travel.
This is a horrible tour. It’s a long day of riding trains. Other than a short walk in Lucerne there is nothing else. We were shuttled onto the Glacier Express train and were split up. The views were ok but you can’t really appreciate the Alps without the snow…. For the money spent we could have done other things that were more worthwhile.
A scenic trip, nothing to see when you get down. However CoCo was a fund guide.
As advertised it is a long day with a lot of train time. The trains were comfortable and had AC with plenty of countryside to watch. Our guide was weak in historical knowledge and in general was quiet. I had expected more information. The glacier express was nice but the views did not impress to the level of expectation. Perhaps my expectations were too high. Service and personal were all good.
A life time bucket list experience exceeded expectations . Coco, our Guide was friendly and very knowledgable. He was very patient also and catered to all our needs . He is a young man who will go far and an asset to your company. Highly recommend your company .
Thank you Salma! Appreciated the commentary, the timing, and the variety. You were very welcoming and friendly. You took great care of your guests.
Be sure to request Salma as your tour guide if you book this trip. She was absolutely fantastic. Very professional, friendly, enthusiastic, very patient with the slower passengers, and could answer every question you had along the way. She is fabulous representative of Switzerland and for this travel company. She made the trip even better than we thought possible.
We had an absolute blast on our trip from Andermatt to Chur and Lucerne. Salma was an extraordinary guide—super friendly, highly knowledgeable, and attentive to every detail. The train journey was smooth, stress-free, and packed with breathtaking Alpine views. Huge thanks to Tours of Switzerland and Salma for making this memory last a lifetime. Highly recommended!
Great chill day to escape the heat and see something new.
Salma did a fantastic job in guiding us through both Lucerne and the experience of the glacier express. Overall this trip was an unforgettable experience for my wife and I on our honeymoon and it was surreal to be able to roll through the alps in Switzerland. Would highly recommend.
First off, the mountains of the Swiss Alps are absolutely gorgeous. We were fortunate to have a clear sunny day which provided great views and resulting pictures. Be mindful that Switzerland is expensive, a bottle of water on the train was over $8US. Now the bad stuff. At 8:23am I received an email from the tour company that the meeting time at the Basel train station was 8:45am. The time we were given was 9:15am and so there was a rush and panic to get to the train station on time. The guide seemed a bit perturbed that we were “late”. The train left four minutes after we met up with the group at 9:04am. We barely made it. Tour information was slow in being communicated and at times the guide was very anxious trying to get us to the right place at the right time. Her heavy accent made comprehension difficult and at times incomprehensible. I’d go this trip again but with a different company and different guide.
Tour guide rushed the group the entire time. Guide had a poor attitude. She acted like my group worked for her and not the other way around. Group felt she was harsh, abrupt, unacommadateing, and kept reminding us she had a headache, had a 2hr commute home and didn't want to 'waste words'. No one had a good experience with her. MD assigned her to my group to get back at me because I had an exchange of words with him for his unprofessionalism.
The adventure was rushed because of the distance. I’d prefer to have taken my time to shop in the cities we stopped in, instead of having to get back on the train to return to our starting point. The Glacier Express was just that an express train ride.
Laura was an amazing tour guide!! We got so lucky it was only the two of us with Laura, basically a private VIP tour. Thank you for such an amazing experience!
It was an excellent trip. The views were amazing! Our only issue was the length of the tour. We thought it would be about 8 hours and it was over 12 hours.
It was an adventure! We waited at the meet-up point but the guide didn’t come! Only when everyone in our group began to call and message Tripadvisor, we received a note back that another guide was coming. Laura (the back-up guide) saved the day! We were thankful (and relieved!). We had a fun time, enjoyed the scenic views and Laura’s valuable insights along the way.
Lucern is beautiful and The Glacier Express was amazing. Large open windows for the gorgeous views.
This trip is amazing! 100% worth a full day. It’s long, and you’ll take a number of trains (like a real European), but the visuals are unlike anything you’ll ever see in your life. Salma was a fantastic guide, very knowledgeable, and made the trip interesting and fun while keeping us on time! I would recommend her 10 times out of 10, and suggest you request her when booking. Don’t miss out, this one’s legit!
We saw a lot of wonderful scenery and met new people.
It was a lot of trains. I wish there could have been more time to explore the cities, but that is no fault of the guide. The train was delayed. Overall the views were great and we loved chatting with Salma while on our trip.
very disorganized company. cusomer service is helpful, but difficult to understand. we were supposed to go to St. Moritz, bu ended up in Lucern. The panoromic train ride was nice. Overall, it was ok, we did not sig not sign up for it. Our Zermat trip was cancelled. weeaited 2 hours at Zurich central station. No guide showed up. Carlos was terrific guide. Hope you can improve - come all the way from USA and no tour..
Our tour guide Carlos was excellent! He made the day fun and he was very knowledgeable! If you just have a short time in Switzerland this tour is the way to go!
It was a long day but worthwhile.
We had a wonderful trip. Selma was very knowledgeable and professional. I highly recommend Glacier Express, Swiss Alps, and Lucerne trip.
The trip was great. The Glacier Express was great. Beautiful scenery. The tour guide was very knowledgeable.
Salma was an excellent tour guide! She was friendly, cheerful and very knowledgeable. I would happily take another tour with her.
Excellent, smart, kind tour guide
I traveled with my friend from the USA and our friend from Germany joined as well. This was to be one of the high (pun intended) points of our European vacation. We were not disappointed with the service. The guides Carlos and Selma were terrific. The only glitch (and it was a big one) was that on the very early am (12:45 to be precise) of our tour my friend happened to check her e-mail and we were notified by the booking agency that the start time for the tour was to be 9:00 am rather than 10 am. All of our travel documents and communications showed the time as 10 am. This created my cu anxiety for our party and required rapid fire phone calls and changes in plans to be made as we were traveling by train from about 35 km away. We were thankfully able to make the train and arrive on time to be met by Carlos ho got us all the way to Lucerne (sp?) in a timely manner. He was very friendly and helpful in assisting us. We were met by Selma who took us then on our tour of Lucerne and kept us together and on time for the several connections that we needed to make in order to reach our Glacier Express Train. By any estimation the views of the Alos and the glacial waters were amazing and met our every hope. I would recommmend the experience to anyone who loves mountains, tranquility and is still able to soar with their sense of wonder. A few words about Selma. She was a top notch tour guide. A perfect blend of knowledge, time management and passion for the tour. She spent time with each of the guests, was very friendly and showed interest in each guest. There was a misunderstanding which occurred which occurred with ordering meals based on the Glacier Express position surrounding the ordering of meals by groups. One tout participant became very upset by having to wait to order food because of this inane rule. Selma systematically and with the highest degree of professionalism negotiated with a higher level of management and resolved the conflict successfully and quickly. You truly have a superstar in Selma. I cannot think of enough good things to say about her and feel so fortunate to have had her as our guide on this highly anticipated “tour of a lifetime” trip for us.
Excellent day. Carlos was a great guide and accommodated everyone's needs. Very informative, highly recommended for a great tour guide. Very memorable day out with lots of laughs
Sights were stunning and it was great to have a tour guide to lead us around. There was not any time in the schedule for browsing or shopping anywhere. Also, bring snacks and water. There is lunch available on the Glacier Express, but that wasn't until about 2 pm for us. And no time in the schedule for dinner on the way back to Basel.
Taking the Glacier Express to the Swiss Alps is an amazing experience. The mountain views are breathtaking. Beautiful scenic views. Our tour guide Salma was great and friendly. She took care of us.
It was a great experience! Lots of knowledge and wonderful service.
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