Your typical day starts with a delicious buffet breakfast at our hotel - a feast of freshly baked bread and croissants, local meats and cheeses, cereal, fruit, eggs, coffee and freshly squeezed juice - which gives you the energy needed for the day ahead. Before setting out on your hike, visit a bakery and market for lunch supplies, or bring some money for a stop in one of the alpine restaurants along your route. Soon, you'll be out on the trail for 6-8 hours, with many hiking options to choose from.

You should finish your hike around 4 pm, giving you time to wash up, relax, perhaps settle into the pool, or just gaze upon the outside panorama from your room balcony. After that, you'll enjoy dinner at your hotel restaurant. These are multi-course feasts, often centered on local specialties like bratwurst, rösti, or cheese fondue, but may also feature chicken, fish, or other continental specialties. Our hotels all serve fabulous food, and dinners will be hearty, filling, well-earned and very delicious. Typically we leave one dinner in Kandersteg free, so you will have a chance to explore on your own.

You'll have many hikes to choose from, but here are some of our favorites:

Day 1 Arrive in Switzerland, and transfer by train to the quiet village of Kandersteg, perhaps with time for a dayhike up to a spectacular emerald-green lake surrounded by cliffs, waterfalls, and glacier-clad peaks. Or just relax in this quiet alpine village. (Kandersteg)
Day 2 Among the great dayhikes from Kandersteg is a quiet path leading south towards the Klus gorge. The power of the Kander river is impressive, as you climb through this narrow gorge into the hidden Gasterntal valley. This is a picture-perfect hideaway - a small, U-shaped valley, carpeted with wildflowers and guarded by savage cliffs. Waterfalls bursting from the sides of cliffs add to the scenery. Dinner is on your own tonight in Kandersteg. (Kandersteg)
Day 3 Leaving Kandersteg, take the train to Zermatt, the lively mountain village at the base of the Matterhorn. Take a short hike above Zermatt for views of the surrounding mountains, perhaps to the centuries-old hamlets of Zum See and Zmutt, or spend the rest of the day exploring town. Zermatt also hosts some of the best hotels in Switzerland, with luxurious pools and spas and world-class cuisine. (Zermatt)
Day 4Walking through the village takes you past 400 year-old houses and into the history of this fascinating town. From there, one trail takes you up to the Findeln glacier, hiking through larch forests and passing numerous small lakes with the Matterhorn towering in the distance. (Zermatt)
Day 5 Taking quiet trails through fields and forest, you 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. Once you gain the ridge, the jumbled mass of the Gorner glacier stretches out before you, and behind that, Dom, Monte Rosa, the Breithorn, and the Matterhorn form a spectacular backdrop. (Zermatt)
Day 6 There are many peaceful trails criss-crossing the larch forests outside of Zermatt. One favorite leads across a suspended wooden walkway through a narrow river gorge. After a harrowing (but safe) walk through the gorge, you'll emerge and continue on to the enchanting, centuries-old hamlets of Zum See and Zmutt. Perhaps you'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. (Zermatt)
Day 7 After breakfast, you'll say adieu and leave for your post-trip destinations.

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Our self-guided prices are per person, based on two people sharing a standard double room, and include:
Budget tour: 6 nights prepaid hotels in Kandersteg and Zermatt, private room with shared bathroom, 2 breakfasts, 2nd class 3-day Swiss Flexipass railpass for 3 free days of rail travel plus 50% discounts on most other trains and cablecars.
Standard tour: 6 nights prepaid 3-star hotels with private room and bathrooom, 6 breakfasts, 6 dinners (1 in Kandersteg, 4 in Zermatt), 2nd class 3-day Swiss Flexipass railpass.
Deluxe tour: 6 nights prepaid 4-star hotels, 6 breakfasts, 5 dinners (1 in Kandersteg, 4 in Zermatt), 1st class 3-day Swiss Flexipass railpass.

All self-guided tours include hiking maps, detailed route descriptions (including longer, shorter, and rainy day options), train schedules, sightseeing suggestions, and lots of useful information to help ensure a successful trip. You'll also have a local contact to call if you have any questions or problems during your trip.

Not included are lunches, drinks with dinners, extras (such as laundry, phone calls from the room, etc), or transportation not covered by your railpass. The budget tour does not include dinners at all, and does not include breakfast in Zermatt.

On our deluxe tour, other options include the superb 5-star Riffelalp Resort in the mountains above Zermatt, which would be a memorable upgrade. Ask if you're interested.

If you'd like to lengthen or shorten this tour, add destinations, or create a customized tour of Switzerland from scratch, let us know. We have extensive experience all over Switzerland, 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