Switzerland: Europe's Crown Jewel, September 10-20, 2023 Trip Report
We just returned from the Tauck Switzerland tour. I blogged our trip which you can see at https://www.mikeandjudytravel.com/2023-2Switzerland-01.htm
It was a good trip with a couple of issues but I enjoyed seeing that part of Europe.
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Great blog! I enjoyed the pics and seeing the places that I visited in early Sept 2021.
MikeHenderson … on my bucket list. I think your blog will convince my husband. Thx for sharing.
Mike - We really enjoyed this trip and we had the same TD. We absolutely love reading your blogs.i
Noreen - Yes, Carrie Myers did a great job as Tour Director. Thanks for your kind words about my blog.
Loved your blog! We did the trip in June - your photos really jogged my memory of the hotels and restaurants. We tend to take shots of the scenery and sightseeing areas, but I loved seeing all the beautiful places we stayed.
For me, travel is all about the planning and anticipation, the actual trip, and the memories. I feel anxious when I don't have at least one trip planned for the future. FOMO? (🤣) it's what sustains me - gets me jazzed up (well, that and Broadway shows). Since we don't have another Tauck tour scheduled until May 2024, I'm so happy that I got to enjoy your blog! Thank you, Mike!
Mike- I loved your blog and can’t wait for the next trip!!!!!
Thank you so much for blogging this tour, Mike. Actually, I had been thinking about signing up for this in the near future, but now realize there is too much overlap with places we traveled to independently about 5 years ago. Seeing Switzerland on your own is very easy and the trains are a dream. We had even used their luggage service, where you can send your luggage separately. It got picked up at our hotel in Lucerne and arrived in Montreux and was placed in our room before we arrived, all for a reasonable fee.
Thanks for your kind words. Our next Tauck trip is Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand early in 2024. I'll blog that, of course. It'll be a return trip for me.
I blog all of our trips. You can see the list at https://www.mikeandjudytravel.com/
Wonderful blog! Looking to go in September 2025. Noticed the group choices are Small 24 guests or Smaller 15 guests!
Please share how many were in your group and how it effected the itinerary.
I add my thanks and appreciation for your photos and blog.
@Ellen Shamrell For the Switzerland tour, there were 26 guests. I never felt that there were too many people, and I don't think it had any effect on the itinerary.
In case you were referring to the Vietnam trip, there were 22 guests on that tour.
Mike, thanks for the blog and great pictures. We are scheduled to go next summer (still waiting for pricing!). We just got back from a Brussels to Amsterdam river cruise which I will compose a short review, Carrie was one of our tour directors on the MS Grace and we spoke about Switzerland!
Did Tauck give you umbrellas or did you bring your own?
Tauck always says bring umbrellas on your packing list
Hotels always seem to have some umbrellas to loan out, but I recommend bringing your own if you feel you must have one. I find them to be cumbersome and potentially dangerous when traveling in large groups. A light rain jacket with fitted hood works well for us.
Kfnknfzk, I agree with you about the umbrella danger, I always bring one but usually wear my rain jacket with hood as a preference. I dispensed with my black rain jacket and bought a colorful one so my husband can spot me between all the people in black. The only time I we used an hotel umbrella, I think it was Budapest. It was pouring, we went to a cafe and when we came ot leave, it was gone from the umbrella stand. We had to run back to the hotel, getting drenched but laughing all the way..Even so, I would not want to repeat that.
British - My knee length rain jacket is lime green--hideous to look at but it has a removable lining for added warmth. Now, if people would just be mindful of those "ski poles."
when we were in Amsterdam on one of the Tauck tours they gave us umbrellas for the walk around and visit to a native's home for tea - those poor people had 10 wet wet visitors but they took it in stride. I think we will bring rain jackets - I have one that is hot pink, easy to spot.
I love the packable rain jackets by RainKiss.
I'm on team rain jacket with hood for the reasons cited plus umbrellas are worse then useless if its windy.
Hello Mike
We just got home from our Switzerland Crown Jewel trip last night. We loved it ! We were very fortunate with the rain. Didn’t have much.
We enjoyed Zermatt and Luzern a lot. We stayed 3 extra days in Luzern. Our favorite city ! We did stay in Grindelwald instead of Interlaken. The Schweizerhof Grindelwald. We loved it. So charming. Unfortunately we didn’t get to go on the Glacier Express. We went on a two hour local train. Made for a very long day on the bus. All in all it was a great trip ! So glad we did it.
Hi Naturally Unique - we are on the July 15 tour and it also subs Grindelwald instead of Interlaken. I would love any tips on your 2 nights there and recommendations in what looks like a charming town. Was there any time spent in Interlaken to walk around; or just to take the funicular up for dinner? We also received advance notice from Tauck that they were unable to secure Glacier Express tickets and have altered the itinerary. How much time did you spend on the bus that day (per your reference that it was long); also, how was the added cheese tour? Thanks so much for your insight and thanks to all who have shared their valuable recaps and advice.
Tauck has eliminated the Glacier Express for the 2025 tour as reported here and other threads they couldn't get tickets. Next year they are using a "rail journey to Chur". Thank you all for your reports/reviews as many of us will be going in the near future!