Arrive in Switzerland, and transfer by train to the quiet town of Meiringen. From here it is just a short bus ride up to your first inn, Schwarzwaldalp where you will meet your guide and the rest of your group to start the Bernese Oberland tour.

We’ll talk about the tour and enjoy a welcome dinner at this wonderfully remote and authentic mountain inn. Waterfalls and imposing mountains watch over us in this relaxing corner of the Alps.

Arrival: Zürich or Geneva. Plan to arrive by the day your tour starts. There is a train station in both the Zürich and Geneva airports, with hourly departures for this region. Travel time, 3:45 hrs (Zürich) or 4:30 hrs (Geneva).

The last bus to the inn departs Meiringen for Schwarzwaldalp at 16:20. Your flight should arrive by 12:00 (Zürich) or 10:30 (Geneva) to expect to make it on time.  Otherwise, plan to come a day early.

After a hearty breakfast, we’ll hike over the Grosse Scheidegg Pass and enjoy our first views of the Eiger and of the Grindelwald Valley.

With 10,000 vertical feet separating valley from peak, Grindelwald sits at the base of one of the most impressive vertical mountain walls in the world.  We’ll have options.  Perhaps we’ll detour via the postcard-perfect Bachsee Lake before winding down to the glacier village of Grindelwald and our lovely 3-star hotel.

Today we’ll explore the Grindelwald Valley and hike to the famous Kleine Scheidegg Pass under the Eiger North Face.  Mountains just don’t get more impressive than this.

The entire day is dominated by great close-up views of the Eiger North Face – perhaps the most notorious mountain wall in the Swiss Alps.  We’ll descend on favorite lesser-known trails to the quiet village of Wengen for a restful night.

One of our favorite days!  Enjoy spectacular views of the Jungfrau and surrounding mountains on the way to Obersteinberg, a remote mountain inn and working farm.

Our trail winds through flowery meadows and past countless waterfalls along the lush Lauterbrunnen Valley floor. After a break for lunch, we’ll hike to a wild and isolated corner of the Lauterbrunnen Valley for a memorable night in one of the most spectacular corners of the Bernese Oberland.

We have a couple of trail options today – the first is a panoramic climb over a high ridge with breathtaking views in every direction.  If the weather does not cooperate, a beautiful wooded hike filled with waterfalls is our second option.

Both lead through sleepy Gimmelwald to the car-free village of Mürren, with its unparalleled cliffside views of the surrounding mountains. Stay in a comfortable 3-star hotel.

There are numerous dayhike possibilities around Mürren, our home base in Switzerland. One beautiful trail leads up to the scenic Lobhorn hut, for postcard-perfect views of the entire region, and maybe a quick dip in a cold alpine lake!

Or feel free to just unwind in one of the most scenic and relaxing villages in the Alps.  The Schilthorn cable car is a big draw, with a revolving restaurant on top of Mürren’s local mountain.  Or the Winteregg restaurant is perfect for an easy walk to a relaxing restaurant terrace.

This is the first of our two big passes.  Our trail meanders on a long uphill climb into the deep recesses of the Sefinen Valley, past the Rotstock hut, through many fields of cows, and over the rocky Sefinenfurke pass.

Keep an eye out for Steinbock up here, at home in the rocky heights.  A very steep descent into the Kiental valley eventually mellows as we get lower.  This valley is filled with pretty waterfalls and rugged landscapes.   Our hard work is rewarded by a friendly welcome in Griesalp at our rustic and pretty inn.

We’ll need an early start for our most challenging day of the tour. Crossing the second major pass, Hohtürli, you’ll hike past glaciers and high mountain peaks to the Blumlisalp hut perched at the pass.  Our descent brings us past the jewel-like Oeschinen Lake – an emerald-green lake surrounded by cliffs which has to be seen to be believed.

For bad weather, or if you simply don’t feel like tackling the pass, you can take a bus around to Kandersteg and enjoy a mellow dayhike up to the lake instead. We stay in a 3-star hotel in the quiet village of Kandersteg for the night.

We’ll quickly escape town on a quiet path leading south on a special detour into a lesser known valley. The power of the Kander River is impressive as you climb through a narrow gorge into the hidden and surprising Gasterntal.

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. We’ll hike to the back of the valley and stay in a pleasant inn with great mountain and waterfall views.

For our grand finale we’ll choose from a couple great hikes. One of our favorites is a strenuous climb to the nearby Lötschen Pass.  Old Roman trails lead us through meadows and woods, with a short stretch across a glacier, to the small hut at the pass where the views to the south are superb!

If you’re feeling frisky, an even higher viewpoint sits just above the hut, a great capstone to a wonderful tour.  We’ll return to the same inn at the bottom of the valley that night and enjoy a final dinner and a restful night.

Today we say good-bye to the Bernese Oberland.  A small local bus service can take you to Kandersteg and your post-tour destination.

Departure: Zürich or Geneva. You will take a small local bus to the train station in Kandersteg.  It is a 4 hr journey to either Zürich or Geneva airports, and it is not possible to arrive before 12:00 at either. Plan for an afternoon flight, or to spend a night closer to the airport before departing the next day.