Switzerland Crown Jewel vs Patagonia
We are going to Switzerland in September and are thinking about Patagonia for March. Has anyone done both tours?Is the scenery, mountains and lakes, similar or different enough to make both worthwhile? I’d appreciate any input
Thank you
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Took the Switzerland tour last year and wrote a lengthy review. Haven't done Patagonia so I can't comment on the scenery though I suspect the other aspects of the tour like food, culture, etc are different enough to make for unique experiences. We might have to put Patagonia on our bucket list.
We loved Patagonia and will go again when we can fit it in after still not catching up on other tours we have had canceled. I’ve only been through Switzerland on a train before getting on a river boat in Basel and visited Zurich. My husband has seen lots of Switzerland, it’s not on my immediate radar. Sorry not to help further.
While both have snow capped peaks and glaciers, from everything I've read in the itineraries and on the forums, they are two totally different experiences. Patagonia is more rustic, you are more exposed to the elements (sometimes harsh) on the hikes and excursions, and, except for the cities at the beginning (Santiago, Chile) and the end (Buenos Aires, Argentina) of Patagonia, the other cities/towns are much much smaller and rustic. Switzerland (Crown Jewel) appears to visit popular Alpine sites Jungfraujoch, Zermatt/Matterhorn, etc. and stays in hotels in mostly major, modern, cosmopolitan, (tourist) cities. You'll probably see more ski runs and gondolas/chair lifts in just one town on the Switzerland tour than you will on the entire Patagonia tour. What are you hoping to see in each?
I've been on both of these Tauck tours, Switzerland about 10 years ago under a different name, would never have thought to compare the two, the cultures are so different. Patagonia was fascinating and presents quite a variety of scenery; note that typical of Tauck I found the schedule quite rigorous. A cold spread through our group near the end of the tour, from exhaustion and too many early starts no doubt; glad I was not there during the height of covid. Some in the group said Patagonia reminded them of Alaska. I've also seen glaciers in Hokkaido, so while I hope to return to BA, I'm glaciered out for now. Switzerland is a very affluent country, quite urbanized, quite a contrast with both gritty Santiago and the "villa miseria," the slums of BA, which you will see from your tourist bus window.