Switzerland
We are booked in April 2026 for La Belle Vie which ends in Geneva Switzerland. I was hoping to book a Week in Switzerland following this trip, but Tauck is not offering dates until later in May in 2026( so disappointed). I have yet to find another luxury tour company that offers a similar itinerary and am looking for recommendations on what we should do and the transportation to arrange to do this own our own. We are adverse to having to deal with luggage, etc with numerous modes of transportation and are not comfortable driving ourselves. Any suggestions? We have been to Zurich and do not need to repeat it, but it seems like to logical airport to depart from if we want to see Lucerne. 6-8 days is plenty. Can we center around Geneva and still experience Switzerland? I would appreciate any of your input. The only travel forums I have found focus on economy travel and we prefer the Tauck style of accommodations and small groups. Thanks in advance.
Comments
The Switzerland rail system has a luggage delivery service between many cities. While on tour, I chatted with a couple on the train who used this service, and were quite pleased with it.
We were supposed to go on the longer Switzerland Crown Jewels tour in 2020 which of course got canceled. When I wasn't sure if our 2021 tour would happen I did a lot of reading especially of Rick Steves guide book. If the Tauck tour hadn't happened we were going to go on our own using the train system and spending a fair amount of time in the Interlaken area where there is lots to do. Yes, Rick Steves tends to focus on bargain travel but you can book a hotel and eat at restaurants that are more what you want. What his guide books provide is lots of information on transportation, local guides, etc that are worth knowing for independent travel.
Others have used Abercrombie and Kent. Geneva would not be the best base. Locations like Interlaken or Bern may be better choices. If luggage is an issue a private transfer may be something to consider.
I forgot to mention that Tauck will sometimes add dates as the next year approaches.
kbregman - Would it be an option for you to change the date of your La Belle Vie trip to coincide with the Week in Switzerland? By the way, when I was in Switzerland in May 2023, I learned that Swiss law did not allow hotels to turn on air conditioning until June 1. We could have used it in Zermatt, but the hotel provided fans to people who asked for them.