Swiss Crossing (Challenging) – 11 Days
Type of tour: Guided
Level: 4
Duration: 10 Nights
Distance: 52 Miles/day average
Dates: Jun 26, 2015
Tour price: CHF4300
Start city: Geneva, Switzerland
End city: Geneva, Switzerland
Tour Description
On this magnificent tour across Switzerland, you will stay in 3 and 4-star hotels, all Swiss in character and impressive in their settings. Mornings begin with a wonderful breakfast buffet.
We go out of our way to give you a real cultural experience. Bike Switzerland is located in Carouge, Switzerland. Every day we bike the paths you will be on. Come with us and you’ll understand that biking is more than a hobby – it’s a personal statement about how you travel and what you value.
On our guided option, you’ll eat and drink very well…no worries there. Weekend cyclists or less-enthusiastic spouses will always be able to opt for a half-day. Non-riding spouses are welcome and provided free train transportation to explore the regions you’ll be biking.
Our 21-speed hybrids have 3 chain rings and slick tires: perfect for the paved, gravel and dirt paths that you’ll come across. Prefer your own bike? Our experienced mechanic will assemble it for you when you arrive and take it down again when you leave.
Highlights: Guided Daily Program: Guided Day 1: Geneva Today is a busy day, so please plan to arrive before 2 PM. Once unpacked, walk over to the shop and you’ll be fitted with your high-end, 22-lbs, Swiss-made bicycle. Afterwards, you’re on your own to explore Geneva. Be back by 6 PM. Tonight coincides with our neighborhood market, where we’ll have a few drinks at the local wine vendors and buy some cheese before going to supper in one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants. Day 2: Geneva – Chexbres (53 mi/86 km; 1837 ft/560 m elevation gained) Get back on your bike, but relax: it’s Saturday and many of the villages along the route will be hosting festivals, concerts and sporting events. Make sure to take your time and get a taste of the local color. We will also pass through the larger city of Lausanne. Consider exploring the lakefront or stop by the IOC’s Olympic Museum…we pass right in front! Later in the day we begin our climb through the vineyards to our hotel in the small town of Chexbres. Riders preferring to avoid the climb can take the train from Vevey: nothing is too complicated in Switzerland. Day 3: Chexbres – Gstaad (47 mi/76 km; 3379 ft/1030 m elevation gained) Once at our coffee spot, grab a slice of dense chocolate cake: we’ve got another 50 kilometers to work up an appetite. Lunch is in the medieval village of Gruyère. Take a tour of the castle or visit the cheese museum before getting back in the saddle to discover the magnificent valleys and giant chalets of the region beyond. Our destination is the sleepy village of Saanen. Up for a bit of Alpine nightlife? The small, but world-famous Gstaad is just a ten minute walk along the river Saane. Gstaad’s car-free streets are perfect for admiring the surrounding Bernese alps. You’ll come to understand why a long list of celebrities, from Grace Kelly to Tina Turner have made Gstaad their summer home. Day 4: Gstaad – Interlaken – Wengen (43 mi/69 km; 1181 ft/360 m elevation gained) You’ll spend the later part of the day riding the shores of Lake Thun before reaching Interlaken. Once in the town of Interlaken, we’ll leave our bikes behind and take a 45 minute cogwheel train ride 4,265 feet up to the alpine town of Wengen. As one of the most outstanding areas of beauty in the world, the Wengen area and it’s hiking trails have been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Tomorrow we’ll explore, but now it’s time to relax. We’ll be staying two nights at a charming, turn-of-the-century hotel built in an Art Nouveau style. Day 5: Hiking Tour No bikes, but you will be working your legs in different ways. You’ll dangle them from gondola lifts, run with the grazing alpine herds and your knees will bend to pick the wild edelweiss that fill the pastures. Day 6: Wengen – Lucerne (56 mi/90 km; 4593 ft/1400 m elevation gained) The afternoon’s paths are flat and picturesque and will take us through the bustling medieval village of Sarnen. Quench your thirst with a tall beer in the market square; you’ve got another 19 miles/30 km. Our hotel overlooks the lake in Lucerne’s city center. Put your bike away and get your street clothes out: you’re on your own this evening to explore the city’s possibilities. Day 7: Lucerne – Rapperswil (59 mi/95 km; 4593 ft/1400 m elevation gained) If your legs hold up, you’ll soon be high in the clouds with spectacular views on all sides. As always, narrow and well-maintained bike paths will allow you to venture where few tourists have gone before! Take a long coast into Rapperswil and settle into your hotel in the town’s center. Once showered, you’ll have some choices to make: an ancient city center, lakeside promenade, a perched chateau, a medieval convent, reputed rose gardens, a circus museum, zoo, wine bars or nap. Then meet at 8 o’clock for dinner. Day 8: Rapperswil – Sax (55 mi/89 km; 738 ft/225 m elevation gained) Afterwards it’s 12 miles/20 km of unusually flat riding before reaching the long Walensee lake and its 4921 ft/1500 m cliffs. The ride soon becomes surreal as we head into a long series of bike tunnels where giant windows give us stunning views of the lake and its high calcium cliffs. Take a swim in Switzerland ’s cleanest lake and then dry off for a picnic. Later we meet up with the Rhine and follow a perfect bike path Northward to Liechtenstein and its capital Vaduz . Take five minutes to cross the bridge into Liechtenstein, or stay on your bike until you reach our hotel in the village of Sax, but don’t blink or you’ll miss it. (Population: 65 inhabitants) Meet the other riders downstairs in the cozy pub and share your experiences over a tall glass of wheat beer. Don’t eat too many pretzels: the meal tonight is amazing. Day 9: Sax – Arbon (35 mi/56 km; 2169 ft/661 m elevation gained) This is our easiest day, so use your time and energy to explore the unique lakeside villages and shops. Or get in early and wander around the grounds of the medieval castle that is our hotel. Be sure to work up your appetite: it’s wonderful barbecue with champagne toasts. After all, you’ve just biked across Switzerland! Day 10: Arbon – Geneva You’ll be on your own for lunch, sightseeing and shopping. Your last evening in Switzerland will be spent back where it all started: on the shores of Lake Geneva. If the weather is good, we’ll catch the last of the long summer rays with a tall drink and good food at the lakefront. Day 11: Geneva Included Services: Guided Bike Rentals: Guided Bikes available for rental on this tour (reserved in advance at the time of booking): Bikes come equipped with the following at no additional cost: Pedals: Helmets:
If you’re flying into Geneva, then simply take the first train from the airport to the main station. Bike Switzerland’s hotel and shop are right next door!
Overnight in Geneva.
You will follow small country roads and vineyard paths before stopping for a picnic lunch in the lakeside town of Rolle.
Overnight in Chexbres.
Feeling adventurous? If so, take the steep back roads to our first coffee stop, otherwise join the rest of us on the more direct route. There is a lot of flexibility on our itinerary if you choose to wander a bit.
Overnight in Gstaad.
After a short but steep climb out of town and a very long descent into Zweisimmen, it’s pastures and streams on densely packed gravel paths. We’ll be stopping from time to time to pet the cows and admire the monstrous family chalets. Take plenty of pictures: these traffic-free valleys are seldom seen by tourists.
Overnight in Interlaken.
Wake up in an alpine paradise. Open the windows and listen: no cars or horns in this traffic-free town. Come downstairs and eat a hearty breakfast, you’ll soon be following the world’s most beautiful hiking trails.
Overnight in Interlaken.
This morning can be very tough or really easy. You choose! Those strong (or brave) will follow Lake Brienz to Geissbach to admire its beautiful cascades. Afterwards the riders will tackle the Brunig Pass and be climbing 1312 ft/400 m in 3 miles/5 km. Riders can choose to have a more relaxing morning with a lake cruise, 9 miles/15 k of flat riding followed by a train to lunch on the lake in Lungern.
Overnight in Lucerne.
Today we follow four lakes and go through four cantons. Our ride begins outside of Lucerne on hard dirt paths along the River Reuss until reaching Zug, Switzerland’s smallest (but richest) canton. We’ll picnic on the lake and tour Zug’s medieval old town before climbing out and into the Rothernthurm high marshlands, one of Switzerland’s best-known nature preserves. We’ll bike past peat-covered cabins and through wet rolling fields before reaching the imposing Einsiedeln monastery.
Overnight in Rapperswil.
We’re riding our bikes to breakfast this morning. No worries: just a short 3 clicks down the road to Thomas and Judith’s family farm. Enjoy the farm fresh eggs, homemade preserves and cured meats smoked on the premises. There will also be plenty of coffee brought over by the sisters next door at the Wurmsbach convent. Take your time: stroll the farm, visit the nuns, pet the goats and come back for another cup of coffee.
Overnight in Sax.
Our last day of riding follows rivers and lowlands; it’s a cinch. You’ll pedal past farms and through fields and along canals until lunchtime in Widnau. You’ve then got a choice: make your hardest climb yet to the village of Heiden overlooking Lake Constance. Or take the low road to the lake and our final stop in Romanshorn.
Overnight in Rorshach.
Say goodbye to your trusty 27-speed steed; after a late breakfast it’s all-aboard! We’ll interrupt our five-hour train trip back to Geneva with a stop-over in the Swiss capital of Berne.
Overnight in Geneva.
Your last morning. Enjoy breakfast and the spectacular views from the top of your hotel. If you’ve got a flight to catch, no worries: trains leave for the airport every 20 minutes or so starting at around 5:30 am.
Bikes available on this tour, and included in the tour cost (reserved in advance at the time of booking):
The bikes will have flat pedals. If you want to bring your own pedals, please bring your own shoes and also the necessary equipment to change the pedals.
Helmets are provided at no extra cost. We recommend that you bring or buy your own helmet for safety and hygiene purposes.
