Our typical day starts with a continental buffet breakfast at our hotel - delicious fresh baked bread and croissants, local meats and cheeses, cereal, fruit, coffee and juice - which gives us the energy needed for the upcoming tours. Soon we'll be out on the trail, where you'll get to choose between an easier walk or more strenuous hike for the day. Each morning, you'll be handed a lunch to carry, and at a mid-point along the way we'll choose a beautiful spot to stop and enjoy our picnic. We get a lot of compliments on our imaginative lunches - making them something to look forward to as well!

We should finish our hike around 4 pm, giving you time to wash up, relax, perhaps do a bit of shopping in town or relax in our fun hotel pool and spa. After that, we'll enjoy dinner together at our hotel or another local restaurant. These are usually multi-course feasts, featuring both local and international specialties like chicken, fish, or cheese fondue. Our hotels enjoy excellent reputations for their fine cuisine.

While hiking in Zermatt and Zinal, we have literally dozens of hikes to choose from each day. We've described some of our favorite hikes here, but expect your own tour to vary slightly.

Day 1 Arrive in Switzerland, and transfer by train to our meeting point in Zermatt. There is a train station in both the Zurich and Geneva airports, and transferring to Zermatt (4 hours) will be as easy as it is scenic. You'll have a chance to check out the town, take a short walk around Zermatt, or enjoy the wonderful pool and spa before settling in for our welcome dinner at the very friendly Hotel Europe. (Hotel Europe)
Day 2 It's nice to start with a walking tour of the village that takes you past 400 year-old houses and into the history of this fascinating town. Then perhaps up to the Findeln glacier, hiking through larch forests and passing numerous small lakes with the Matterhorn towering in the distance. Afterwards, we'll enjoy exquisite food and great Matterhorn views from our hotel on the outskirts of Zermatt. (Hotel Europe)
Day 3 Taking quiet trails through fields and forest, we have a range of choices up to the wide ridge of Gornergrat, past marmots and small glacial lakes, to what has to be one of the finest viewpoints in Europe. The jumbled mass of the Gorner glacier stretches out before us, and behind that, Dom, Monte Rosa, the Breithorn, and the Matterhorn form a spectacular backdrop. (Hotel Europe)
Day 4 There are many peaceful trails criss-crossing the larch forests outside of Zermatt. We'll take one that leads us to a suspended wooden walkway through a narrow river gorge. After a harrowing walk through the gorge, we emerge and continue on to the enchanting, centuries-old hamlets of Zum See and Zmutt. Perhaps we'll make the strenuous climb to the Schwarzsee lake, or even up to the Hornli hut (a sort of Matterhorn base camp) to enjoy fabulous, close-up views of the Matterhorn and and a sweeping look back at the valley below. (Hotel Europe)
Day 5 A scenic train and bus ride in the morning brings us to the end of the neighboring valley of Anniviers and the quiet village of Zinal. Here we'll enjoy the slower pace of this tiny village to go with our gorgeous mountain scenery. One hike takes us to a grassy ridge high above the valley for views of the Weisshorn, Zinal Rothorn, and other surrounding mountains.
Day 6 A long and dramatic hike leads us to the end of the valley and up to a mountain hut set amid a sea of mountains and glaciers.
Day 7 After breakfast at our hotel, we'll say our good-byes and leave for our post-trip destinations.

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Arrive:	Plan to arrive the day your tour starts at the latest (flights from the US usually depart the day before). The closest airports to Zermatt are Geneva and Zurich. There are train stations in each airport that will take you to Zermatt.
Depart:	Plan departure for the day after your tour ends at the earliest. The closest airports to Zinal are Geneva and Zurich. Plan on one night at a hotel in your departure city if you have a morning flight (we can help with this if you like). We recommend that you get the Swiss Card rail pass for this tour.

Dates don't work? Check out our similar Great Alpine Classics, Zermatt Highlights, and Haute Route Highlights tours.

If you're an independent hiker and prefer to go at your own pace, or have travel dates that don't match up with our guided tours, you may prefer to do the Matterhorn tour as a self-guided hiking tour. This is a 7-day tour at a price of $1490 per person based on two people sharing a double room. This tour can easily be lengthened or shortened to fit your schedule.

Our self-guided tours include prepaid hotels with breakfast and dinner, a Swiss Card railpass for 2 days of free train travel plus 50% discounts on other trains, busses and cablecars, hiking maps, detailed route descriptions (including longer, shorter, and rainy day options), and lots of useful information that will help your trip run smoothly.

Not included are lunches, drinks with your meals, extras (such as laundry, phone calls from the room, etc), transportation not covered by your rail pass, or the cost of luggage transport.

In addition, customized guided and self-guided hiking tours are available at surprisingly affordable prices. If you'd like to lengthen or shorten an existing tour, upgrade hotels (or go rustic), or create a customized tour of the Swiss Alps from scratch, let us know. We have extensive experience in many parts of the Alps, and will be happy to work with you to build the hiking vacation that best suits your needs.

Learn more about custom and self-guided tours