Swisstainable Switzerland

Firecrest Travel were lucky enough to be invited on a sustainable short-tour through Switzerland in early October - and of course we jumped at the chance to check out this beautiful country, so we sent Nathan as our intrepid traveller. Arriving into Zurich on our Swiss Air flight we met our guide, Claudia - along with the other members of our small group - and the larger group members, as we were going to be split into 4 groups of 5 to explore different areas of the country, and then reconvene on the final day to share our experiences.

Stepping off the plane and onto a train (the station is located about a 5 min walk form the terminal) we boarded and settled in to the super comfortable trains - we had the added benefit of using one of the Swiss Travel passes which offers inclusive travel on trains, buses and boats around the country.

After a couple of train journeys and quick bus ride we arrived in Adelboden - a small village in the Bernese Oberland. Perfect for sports enthusiasts and ideal for both summer and winter exploration, the picture-perfect village is a perfect starting point for our tour

A delicious meal at our hotel restaurant, The Adler, lead to a great nights sleep ready for our second day! We were up early to get the cable car up Engstligenalp to glide past the Engstligenalp Falls and then a short morning hike around the plateau.

After a quick descent and a bus trip, we arrived at Blausee; a 20-hectare nature park, whose magical landscape was modelled 15,000 years ago by a huge rockfall from the Fisistock. The crystal clear waters of the lake are really something to be seen - we enjoyed lunch at the peaceful park with serene views and stunning scenery.

Back on the bus, and a train ride to Interlaken before hopping onboard a Lake Brienz cruise to arrive at our next location Giessbach. As mentioned the Swiss Travel Pass includes travel on all three modes of transport used this afternoon, so making the travel easy to navigate.

Arriving at Giessbach we then grabbed Europes oldest funicular to our hotel for the next two nights, the Grand Hotel, Giessbach. This historic hotel residence in its unique setting high above Lake Brienz and right next to the Giessbach waterfalls is a small exquisite world of its own.

• 

• 

• 

The next morning we departed to the Ballenberg Open Air Museum to discover Switzerlands customs and traditions whilst exploring this massive site. Explore different areas of the park and learn about this fascinating country. There are plenty of interactive activities, restaurants and picnic areas to enjoy as your day progresses.

• 

• 

• 

After our visit we walked five minutes down the road to the Trauffer centre, the home of the famous Swiss Trauffer cows. We had a delicious lunch on the terrace and then made our way through the exhibition to join in the fun and paint our own versions of these wooden souvenirs.

The next day we started to make our way back to Zurich - we began on the Interlaken Express - a beautifully scenic train journey that climbs through the Alpine panorama before then descending again and arriving into Lucerne. A quick detour to the Stanserhorn for what should've been a beautiful panoramic view from the top but the cloudy weather (the only time we'd experienced it all week) had other ideas!

• 

• 

• 

On to Winterthur - where we reconvened with the rest of the groups to discover what they had been up to for the past few days.

A last day exploring the Rhein Falls before making our way back to Zurich Airport for our journeys home.

The weeks tour had the intention of highlighting just how easy it is to navigate Switzerland using its extensive public transport network and it certainly achieved that! With bus, train and boat timetables synchronised so you can walk off one and straight on to a connecting journey, it makes the whole process so much easier.

Super comfortable, clean and efficient the public transport network really is something that Switzerland should be super proud of! If you're looking to explore Switzerland then drop us an email and don't forget to mention the Swiss Travel Pass!