Ends June 30th: Save up to $300 per person on Escorted & up to $200 per person on Independent vacations in 2025.
2025 Tour code: WE-GTSS-25
About the tour
Discover the diverse regions of Switzerland on this 11-day vacation. This trip, which takes you on a variety of Swiss rail lines, is a train lover's dream. Filled with twists and turns along rivers and mountainsides, you can relax and enjoy stunning views only available via rail.
You'll view stunning landscapes such as the Bernese Oberland, Simmen Valley, Lake Geneva, the Rhine Gorge and, of course, the Matterhorn. As you travel from city to city, there is plenty of free time to explore each area and immerse yourself in Swiss culture.
Highlights
What’s included
Itinerary
Arrive in Zurich and settle into your hotel. Your day is free to discover the world-famous shopping mile Bahnhofstrasse or stroll along the banks of Lake Zurich. Overnight Zurich.
Additional information
Trains
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Reviews
4.6 / 5 · 70 reviews
Ski Bum
Submitted 10/Jun
Your team was great to work with assisting us put our independent travel plans together. Itinerary details were spot on and easy with the exception of an excursion to Gruyer. A few more words explaining what type of tour was involved would have helped, I probably made it harder than it was. Minor detail. Overall another great experience.
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GEORGE CANNELOS
Submitted 2/Jun
We had a wonderful experience traveling independently by rail through Switzerland! We did not feel rushed with an itinerary of one-night, two-nights, etc. in each place. Do use the Swiss Rail app on your phone, always carry your 1/2 off ticket voucher, pack light & you’ll have a great time.
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MARY ANN KIRCH
Submitted 25/May
The trip itself was fabulous. The service from vacation by rail was unacceptable and poor it best. I’ve done this review twice so I’ll try to be brief –They sent me three sets of tickets – the second set was canceled while we were in the beginnings of our trip. We are advised by the train conductor that our tickets had been canceled. She checked all of them and everyone of the 32 that we still had to go had been canceled. I called the company andVacation by Rail fixed it and sent us a third set of tickets with new ticket numbers, but never could figure out what happened and they kept doubling down and telling me that our tickets had not been canceled. They knew very well they had been canceled. Otherwise they wouldn’t have sent me new tickets with new numbers They also didn’t give us a choice on seats on the segments where we were able to reserve seats. We would prefer to have not faced backwards, but they didn’t give us that option. I know that Ford facing seats were available seven months in advance because people on the trains with us were able to secure forward facing seats a month before the trip When I asked them towards the end of our trip to change the last leg that had reserve seats, two people who have been communicating with me directly through their individual emails ghosted me. Never responded. Three days after I got home, somebody responded that my trip was already over. I’m not sure why they didn’t think I knew that and I’m not sure why they didn’t look at the date on my email. Also, the person that helped us for seven months, left their company around one month before our departure but no one told usand when we sent emails to him requesting our final documents which we still did not have, apparently they just shut down his email box. They didn’t forward it to anyone and nobody was monitoring it. I later found in my junk mail emails to our agent that had been rejected because the mailbox is no longer valid. No company should ever just shut down somebody’s mailbox with active clients. Nobody picked up our account. I would never use this company again
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GLENN ANDIS
Submitted 16 Oct 2024
We had a great time on our Grand Train Tour of Switzerland. Excellent selection of train routes, hotels (all with friendly and helpful staff), cities/locations to visit and fun excursions. We were able to go at our own pace and tailor visits to what we wanted to see. The itinerary was easy to follow and the Swiss rail system is easy to use. The Glacier, Bernina, and Gotthard Panoramic Expresses were all very scenic and memorable experiences. The cog wheel train trips up the steep mountain tops of Gornergrat and Jungfraujoch were highlights of the trip. As were the boat cruise excursions on Lake Lugano and Lake Lucerne. This is a “can’t miss” train tour.
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Linda Keehfuss
Submitted 14 Oct 2024
Trip was great except for funicular in Lugano and hidden hotel. Couldn't find funicular at train station . Bus driver only spoke Italian and was no help. We had to roll our suitcases down wet, slick street. Then google maps said " you have arrived " and we didn't see hotel hidden behind what turned out to be bottom of funicular. Directions from VBR should state that funicular is down the escalator in the train station and to the right.
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DEBORAH ANN SIEGFRIED
Submitted 07 Oct 2024
The scenery of the country thru train was beautiful. We enjoyed the cities on the tour and the hotels/staff were very friendly and helpful.
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