Friday, June 27, 2025 - Sunday, July 6, 2025
Switzerland,
International,
Switzerland
Join us for a unique adventure to the most storied area of the Swiss Alps! Our adventure will base us in two areas of southwest Switzerland. We'll take up residence four nights each in world-famous Zermatt, and the Saastal Valley, home of the highest peaks in Switzerland, as we head out on amazing hikes among the flowers and glaciers each day. This is a unique itinerary. Your leaders decided to manage lodging and meals a bit differently than on many other trips offered by the club. We'll take up residence in comfortable, spacious condos or a chalet rather than hotels. Our abodes will have full kitchen facilities, so most meals will be prepared in-house with help from participants. Your leaders have experience in providing good, hearty, simple meal plans to suit a variety of dietary preferences. Participants will serve as prep crew for a couple of meals each. We'll, indeed, still take the pleasure of dining out and sampling the local fare on a couple of occasions. We've decided on this approach for several reasons based on personal experience. First, dining out in Switzerland is very expensive. Next, the local cuisine there is not often particularly spectacular anyway. And last, Americans often do not care for the local restaurant etiquette, which tends toward an entire evening spent at your table with food coming out very leisurely. You may also notice that this approach makes this trip very affordable compared to other options. A hiking experience second to none! The Swiss Alps have it all but make it all accessible to the hearty hiker. Trails are very well maintained and often make use of lifts to cut out some major climbing. There are often high-mountain cafés to stop and rest along the way. We'll be there at the height of the wildflower season, and the blooms are truly amazing. Our home in Zermatt will have us at the base of the Matterhorn and the famous Gornergrat. The valley by Saas Grund is surrounded by towering peaks with trails leading in every direction. Also, our trip begins with a bit of a side adventure in Italy, to explore the historic and lovely shore of Lago Maggiore, and get a fine Italian dinner before heading into the Swiss Alps.
