Three and Four Pass Tours

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Permalink Reply by Vance Roy on April 16, 2009 at 9:50am

I have done the 3 pass tour several times. For me, it is enough travel for one day, but I am sure the 4 pass tour would be OK too. In June, with all this winter's snow, check after your arrival to see when the passes open. Even then, I would go later in June or early July. Riding along with snow banks 2-3 stories high on each side is not conducive to good sightseeing.

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Permalink Reply by Barbara Linsert on April 16, 2009 at 10:08am

Thank you for the information - since we're from the Pacific Northwest, we might have thought about the possibility of snow in the passes, but it never occurred to me that it might be that high! If we do one of these trips, I was thinking we'd probably do the three pass trip, since the four pass trip sounds pretty long, especially including time to get to Meiringen. Thanks again!

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Permalink Reply by GinnyinFlorida on April 16, 2009 at 10:22am

We have been on two of the mountain pass trips, in September. They were great and worth the long ride. I have never been to the Oberland in June, so I cannot comment on what you might find a long the way. However, since Vance Roy lives in the Heartland of Switzerland, I think I would consider his advice on snow in the passes.

Notheless, there are so many wonderful things to see in Switzerland, that you should not be disapointed if you cannot go up high in the mountains. All of the lake trips are outstanding.

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Permalink Reply by Barbara Linsert on April 16, 2009 at 1:17pm

Thanks, Ginny - do you have any recommendations for the one most important thing to see? This is our first time in Switzerland and/or the Alps.

Barbara

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Permalink Reply by Jean and Fred Agneta on April 16, 2009 at 12:20pm

Yes we have done the 3 pass bus tour, we were in Meiringen at that time, and it was very convenient to take the tour bus.
We loved watching the awesome bus driver maneuver the high switch back curves. He sounded his musical horn as he approached the curves--- Watch out here we come!!! It was a great experience, go for it!!!

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Permalink Reply by Barbara Linsert on April 16, 2009 at 1:21pm

Sounds intriguing! I guess when we get there we'll determine how deep the snow is, and decide from there. Thanks for the encouragement.

Barbara

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Permalink Reply by jerrysandy on April 21, 2009 at 6:15am

Sorry to be a while responding to this question. We have been out of town. I note someone reported finding the three pass tour too much bus riding. I disagree. We have done the four pass tour twice: once in the old days when the driver spoke only German (Swiss-German at that) and we went on a poor visibility day. Bad choice. Then we gave it another shot a year of so ago: huge improvement. The buses now have earphones with a viariety of language choices. You have to bite the bullet and devote a good mountain day to the trip. It is possible to reserve seats ahead of time at the train station but if the day turns out poor, you don't have to pay for the bus. I think you might lose the deposit, though. Anyway we found the experierience very rewarding. Terrific views, amazing road engineering, a little peek into the Italian part of Switzerland, and generally nifty. We packed a picnic lunch to have at the break, but there are places to eat and time to do it also. Recommend the four pass tour. Jerry Nolan

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Permalink Reply by Barbara Linsert on April 21, 2009 at 9:52am

Jerry - thanks for your perspective - you've included a lot of information i didn't have previously. I'm interested to know that we can reserve seats ahead of time, and to know that there are earphones with a choice of languages. I guess we'll wait to see how much snow there is in the passes in late June before we decide, but I'm glad I used this forum to gather information about the tours.

Barbara

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