Welcome to Switzerland! Arrive in Zurich by early afternoon and make your way to our first hotel, the Alma Hotel. Check in to your room and relax a little before we meet at as a group. Meet your guides and fellow participants in the lobby at 6PM for the welcome orientation and introductions. Afterwards, we will head to our first dinner together. We will use this time to get to know one another, try some local Swiss delicacies, and get excited for the wonderful week ahead of us.

Included Meals: Dinner
Accommodations: Alma Hotel, Zurich

Today, we will wake up early to make the most of our first day. After a hearty breakfast at our hotel, we will hop on a train and enjoy a scenic ride from Meiringin to Engelberg. A gondola takes us to the top of Jochpass, and to the beginning of our adventure! Once at Jochpass, we start to hike towards Engstlenalp, an idyllic area with a lake, a nostalgic hotel, and thousands of alpine roses. Here we will meet a local dairy farmer and learn about producing the local cheeses (and even sample a few—what better hiking fuel is there than Swiss cheese?). The trail continues through cow pastures in the beautiful Gental Valley. In the distance, we begin to see what is known as "The Trio" of the Bernese Alps—the Eiger, the Mönch, and the Jungfrau mountains—in all their glory. After reaching the end of our hike, we'll travel by bus to Meiringen, where you are free to enjoy a delicious dinner on your own in town.

Included Meals: Breakfast
Accommodations: Hotel Dakota, Meiringen
Travel Time: Train (2 hours), Cable Car (45 minutes), Bus (1 hour)
Daily Activities: Hiking (1.5-2.5 hours, 2.3 miles, 60 feet of elevation gain, 1,272 feet of elevation loss)

Our first morning in the heart of the Alps is a beautiful one! We start our day with a short ride on a historic, 120-year-old cog train to the thundering Reichenbach Falls. For those Sherlock Holmes fans, this is the waterfall where Holmes and Moriarty fought and soon vanished. Passing the enchanting falls, we soon fall under the spell of the mighty Wetterhorn mountain. Crossing underneath, we continue to trek up to Grosse Scheidegg on a panoramic trail, eventually encountering the perfect view of the north face of the Eiger. After soaking in the jaw-dropping presence of this majestic mountain, kick up your feet and relax as we take the bus down into Grindelwald to our hotel. Tonight, we'll indulge in a scrumptious Swiss meal together and reflect on the day's adventures.

Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Accommodations: Hotel Hirschen, Grindelwald
Travel Time: Train (20 minutes), Bus (1.5 hours)
Daily Activities: Hiking (2.5-3.5 hours, 3.5 miles, 1,769 feet of elevation gain, 100 feet of elevation loss)

After fueling up with a satisfying breakfast, we begin our day on another cog train—this time up to Alpiglen. In front of us is the mighty Eiger, but don't forget to look behind us as we climb out of the beautiful Grindelwald Valley. Climbing from Alpiglen under the north face of the Eiger is awe-inspiring. We will take a short detour to Lauberhorn, which is the starting point of one of the most impressive downhill skiing races. Athletes can reach the town of Wengen in only 2.5 minutes from this location! We will take a little longer to hike downhill to Wengen, but with good reason—our descent will treat us to views of the stunning Jungfrau mountain before we hop aboard the Jungfrau Railway to make our way to Interlaken. Our journey through the Lauterbrunnen Valley is impressive, with vertical walls and spectacular waterfalls in every direction. We'll delight in another fantastic Swiss dinner tonight and enjoy exploring this picturesque town.

Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Accommodations: Hotel Carlton Europe, Interlaken
Travel Time: Train (1 hour)
Daily Activities: Hiking (3-4 hours, 4.2 miles, 1,530 feet of elevation gain, 682 feet of elevation loss)

After a fantastic first few days on the trail, we'll give our legs a well-deserved rest today. This morning, we'll make a short trip to a small village above Interlaken, where we'll visit an alphorn manufacturer and learn how these traditional instruments are made. A tool originally used by shepherds to communicate with the herdsmen on the neighboring Alps and people down in the valleys, as well as to call the cows from the pastures and into the barn at milking time, the alphorn has become a symbol of Switzerland. Try your hand at playing it and hear its lovely sound!

In the afternoon, we will paddle on the turquoise blue waters of Lake Brienz. The name Interlaken means "between two lakes"; and these two stunning lakes are sure to take your breath away. This beginner-friendly kayak tour will allow us to get a closer look at the cliffs along the shore and the Ringenberg castle and enjoy a new perspective looking up at the mountains from the lake. Tonight, we'll dine together in Interlaken and fuel up for another exciting day on the trail tomorrow.

Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Accommodations: Hotel Carlton Europe, Interlaken
Daily Activities: Kayaking (2 hours)

We bid adieu to Interlaken this morning and begin our journey to Adelboden by train and bus. With our legs ready to go after a day of rest, we start our hike from Adelboden, ascending along the Gilsbach river and continuing through the enchanting forests and vast alpine meadows that lead us up to Hahnenmoospass. We will enjoy our trail lunch with picturesque views of Lenk, a mountain village in the Hinteren Simmental area with a perfect backdrop of the Wildstrubel massif and more spectacular waterfalls. At the end of our hike in Bühlberg, we'll take a short and scenic bus ride to our hotel, which is well-situated to explore Lenk before enjoying dinner as a group.

Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Accommodations: Sporthotel Wildstrubel, Lenk
Travel Time: Train (1.5 hours), Bus (30 minutes)
Daily Activities: Hiking (2-3 hours, 3.3 miles, 370 feet of elevation gain, 1,450 feet of elevation loss)

After a traditional Swiss breakfast, we will slowly glide from Lenk up to Betelberg on a gondola ride. The panoramic hike to the cratered landscape of the Gryden area is something to behold. The rain gradually dissolves the almost white, relatively soft gypsum rock, creating a karst landscape and underground cavities, which then collapse. This collapse is visible in the form of a sinkhole on the surface—the craters, called Stübleni ("small rooms"), that the Gryden area is known for! After taking in this fascinating landscape, we continue on our hike, eventually reaching the beautiful Trütlisberg pass. We will descend through wildflowers and fields of free-roaming cows to reach the breathtaking town of Gstaad. We will enjoy one of the most beautiful train rides in all of Switzerland, as we hop on board the Montreux-Oberland Bahn. We will spend the next two nights in our hotel in Montreux. Upon arrival, you are free to dine at a restaurant of your choosing.

Included Meals: Breakfast
Accommodations: Hotel Eden Palace au Lac, Montreux
Travel Time: Train (1.5 hours), Cable Car (30 minutes), Bus (30 minutes)
Daily Activities: Hiking (3-4 hours, 4.9 miles, 500 feet of elevation gain, 1,975 feet of elevation loss)

On the morning of our final day on the trail, we'll catch one last train up to Rochers de Naye. The view is impressive as Lake Geneva slowly makes its way into sight. On a clear day, we can see all the way to Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Western Europe, and the 13,000-foot peaks of the Valais region of Switzerland. At the start of today's hike, we will have the chance to enjoy La Rambertia, a high-altitude botanical garden and a little paradise of alpine flora where—with a bit of luck—we might be able to find some edelweiss. Edelweiss is the rare alpine flower that is the national symbol of Switzerland. The last mile of the Via Alpina leads you on a spectacular path back to Lake Geneva, where we will cross the finish line of our route. We will head back to our hotel to get ready for our final dinner, where we will share memories and laughs from the past week and toast to finishing the Via Alpina.

Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Accommodations: Hotel Eden Palace au Lac, Montreux
Travel Time: Train (1.5 hours)
Daily Activities: Hiking (2.5-3.5 hours, 4.3 miles, 45 feet of elevation gain, 2,680 feet of elevation loss)

Sadly, we must say goodbye to Switzerland today. After breakfast, you are free to depart anytime. The journey back to Zurich via train takes about 3 hours, so please plan your flight home for after 3:00 PM.

Included Meals: Breakfast