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Switzerland:the Crown Jewel of Europe vs Ultimate Alps and Dolomites
My wife and I are trying to decide between the Alps and Dolomites vs the Switzerland trip July 2019. We were on the Warsaw to Prague trip last summer which was our first Tauck trip and we loved it. We were planning to do the Switzerland trip when I read a few reviews from prior travellers who felt there was too much bus/train time and that it was too rushed with two night maximim stays per hotel and one night in St. Moritz. One reviewer said he did back to back Alps/Dolomites followed by the Switzerland trip. He greatly enjoyed the Alps but was disappointed with the Switzerland trip. I understand there is great variability in what people are looking for and how they percieve trips. The Switzerland trip is classified as activity level 2 and pace 3 while the Alps is activity 3 and pace 2. We are interested in being able to get out and walk more but would love the swiss scenery. I am sure we would have a great time on either of these trips but would like to hear from those who have experienced these trips personally or know of those that have. I would especially like to know whether you feel that this trip should be avoided by people who want to be fairly activepeople who want to be have at least an hour a day to be out and active would be disappointed by this trip. Thank you in advance.
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I gave my take on this question some time ago- check out this thread: https://www.tauck.com/yaf/default.aspx?g=posts&m=47316#post47316 Read my other comments and see photos in my posts and the posts of others in the UA&D and Switzerland, Crown Jewel forum archives.
We haven't taken the Crown Jewel tour, but overall I liked every other place we visited on UA&D more than Davos/Monstein, Switzerland (our 2014 tour went to Davos but not Lucerne). Most land tours can seem rushed at times and no doubt there are some relatively long bus rides, but they are broken up into manageable segments with rest stops and photo ops. The views even from the bus are fantastic! On our UA&D tour, except for Salzburg where we spent three nights, we spent, at most, only two nights at each location. We arrived in the late afternoon and only spent one night in Cortina d'Ampezzo (in the Italian Dolomites). That stop has now been expanded to two nights and includes a trip up into the mountains- a BIG improvement! The Dolomites were far more impressive than the Bavarian, Austrian, and what little we saw of the Swiss Alps! There are plenty of opportunities to stretch your legs on UA&D during free time and guided walking tours in Munich, Salzburg, Cortina, Davos, and Lucerne. I believe an optional hike to a refugio in the Dolomites is offered during the Cortina stop on the current tour.
After a stop for lunch in Balzano and a visit to the museum to see Ötzi, the famous, relatively well preserved, glacier mummy from the Copper Age, we had a long rest stop in Ortisei, Italy where we had the choice of walking around and exploring town or riding a cable car up to a mountaintop ski chalet- the views of the Dolomites from up there were fantastic- they could have been a painting!
Short rest stop at the top of Grossglockner Pass on the high alpine road from Austria to Italy:
The next two photos of the Dolomites were taken from the (moving) bus window. I didn't see it until we got home, but can you find the cable car in the first photo? hint: it is yellow.