Swiss Alpine Glories and the GoldenPass Train

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To book or for more information please call: 0330 341 1117 and quote RTA

Swiss Alpine Glories and the GoldenPass Train

Immerse yourself in the natural glories and historic towns of the world’s most beautiful Alpine paradise, with a train journey you won’t forget. Join this wonderful – and excellent value – holiday to the beautiful, breathtaking land of lakes and mountains scenery, clean air and enchanting settlements that is Switzerland. You’ll be based in a welcoming, internationally celebrated resort in an idyllic setting between Lake Geneva and the glorious Bernese Oberland. With a host of marvellous included and optional excursions to savour and enjoy, including a ride on the panoramic GoldenPass Train to Montreux, this tour is a perfect introduction to a place that is on almost everybody’s wish-list of destinations.

Holiday Highlights

Discover medieval gem and cheese-making village Gruyères
Ride the spectacular GoldenPass Train to and from Montreux, with free time to explore the city, located on the shores of Lake Geneva
Set off on the GoldenPass Express Train to Interlaken, take a coach to Grindlelwald and return to Chateau d'Oex
Join an optional excursion to visit picture-perfect Swiss capital Bern
Spend seven nights in the wonderful alpine village resort of Chateau d'Oex, once home to David Niven
Enjoy an optional Glacier 3000 excursion plus a visit to Gstaad
Rest and relax in the idyllic surroundings of the Pays d’Enhaut (Upper Country)

What's Included

Seven nights’ carefully chosen bed and breakfast accommodation at the three-star Roc et Neige Hotel, Chateau d’Oex
Five evening meals
Visit to Gruyères
GoldenPass train journey to Montreux and Interlaken
Visit to Grindlelwald
Return flights to Geneva
Coach travel and transfers throughout
Fully escorted by a friendly, experienced tour manager

Itinerary

Day 1

Fly to Geneva - Upon arrival, meet your tour manager and make the scenic transfer by coach to Chateau d’Oex and your hotel. Settle in and get to know your surroundings, and depending upon your time of arrival, take a stroll through the village before dinner is served.

Day 2

Included visit to cheese-making Gruyères - This wonderful week-long tour commences with an included full-day excursion to nearby Gruyères, the famous cheese-producing village that is also a medieval gem with an exquisite flower-decked, cobbled main square. Small enough to explore under your own steam, perhaps enjoy a demonstration of the cheese-making process (entrance to the factory and museum payable locally), which combines ultra-modern technology with centuries’-old traditions and soak up the atmosphere of this most typically Swiss of villages, before returning to Chateau d’Oex.

Day 3

Day at leisure - Today is free for you to explore Chateau d’Oex and its surroundings a little further. In the heart of the Pays d’Enhaut (Upper Country) region, the village has been a favourite of Newmarket guests for over 30 years and offers everything to ensure a memorable stay. For the energetic, there’s a fine outdoor pool (open mid-May until early Sept), a super sports complex, riding stables, mini-golf, ten pin bowling, tennis courts and miles of walking trails. A trio of fascinating museums chronicle life in this corner of Switzerland, the history of cheese-making, and, thanks to the village’s world renown as a hot-air-balloon centre, the magnificent men (and women) and their flying baskets!

Day 4

Optional Glacier 3000 excursion plus a visit to Gstaad - If you’re eager to travel up into the mountains again, you can join your tour manager for an exhilarating excursion to Glacier 3000, a mountain area east of Montreux. You’ll start by travelling in a cable car to the top of the snow-capped peaks, taking in the spectacular views as you go. Once you’ve arrived at the mountain station, you’ll set off on the Peak Walk across the only suspension bridge in the world that connects two mountain peaks. This bridge looks out over the Alps and Matterhorn, Mont Blanc, Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau are visible. If you choose, you can take the Glacier Walk across to the restaurant (lunch not included) then descend via the cable car to take the coach to visit Gstaad for coffee and cake (payable locally) before returning to your hotel.

Day 5

Included GoldenPass Train to Interlaken then coach to Grindelwald then coach return to Chateau d'Oex - Set off on today’s excursion aboard the GoldenPass Express train to Interlaken. Travelling through stunning countryside, you’ll take in scenic Lake Thun and the famous resort town of Interlaken, overlooked by the snow-capped peaks of the Jungfrau range, and one of Switzerland’s most popular places to shop. From here, you’ll journey by coach to the truly spectacular resort of Grindelwald, famously set at the foot of the mighty Eiger, before making the scenic coach journey back to Chateau d’Oex at the end of a memorable day.

Day 6

Optional excursion to Bern - Today you can discover and explore Switzerland’s historic capital city, Bern, on an optional self-guided tour. With its medieval houses, great churches and wonderful covered shopping arcades all huddled together above a sweeping meander in the River Aare, Bern is one of the world’s most picturesque capitals. One of its most unusual features is the fascinating mechanical clock, be sure to hear – and see – it strikes the hour. We return to Chateau d’Oex in the late afternoon, time-permitting making a call in the charming town of Fribourg, an ancient university seat boasting an especially attractive Old Town, with haphazardly arranged houses on cobbled streets sloping steeply away from the river Sarine.

Day 7

Included GoldenPass Train to Montreux - Today’s included excursion heads to the sun-kissed shores of Lake Geneva, travelling on the spectacular GoldenPass Train through the heart of the Swiss wine-producing Valais region to the fashionable resort of Montreux. You’ll enjoy a fantastic panoramic view as the train rolls gently down the mountains and through a picturesque patchwork of vineyards, framed by a dramatic mountain backdrop and the shores of Lake Geneva. Basking in a microclimate, sheltered from the north wind by the Alps, Montreux is home to the famous Jazz Festival, has a delightful lakefront promenade and a host of shops and stores. Close by, brooding Chateau Chillon, Switzerland’s most famous landmark, guards the dark secrets of the past, and makes for a fascinating visit. Enjoy some free time to explore before your return train later.

Day 8

Fly back to the UK - Bid farewell to your Alpine idyll, returning to Geneva Airport for the return flight, after a memorable few days.

Hotel Roc Et Neige, Chateau-d'Oex

This welcoming hotel stands in the heart of the mountain village of Ch^ateau-d'Oex.

Hotel Facilities & Amenities

The hotel has a comfortable lounge area with a bar, as well as a restaurant that serves food made mainly from local produce. There is also a large terrace with stunning views of the surrounding mountains.

Disabled access

The majority of our tours involve a certain amount of walking, including a short walk from the coach stop to the town, attraction or venue you're visiting. If you are bringing a wheelchair, please let us know at the time of booking so that appropriate arrangements can be made.

Hotel Transfer Times

The transfer time from the airport to your hotel is approximately two hours.

Visas & Passports

Rules may have changed since you last travelled to European Union countries as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The following are useful guidelines which will help you prepare for your next adventure. You do require government issued passport to travel.

Names - It is very important that all passenger names are exactly as per your passport although we do not require middle names.

Passport - Your passport must meet two requirements to travel to an EU country and to Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. It must be: Less than 10 years old on the day you return home (please check the "date of issue") and valid for at least 3 months after the day you return home (please check the "expiry date").

Visa - You do not need a visa for short trips to most EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. You’ll be able to stay for up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period.

European Entry/Exit Scheme (EES)

EES is a new digital border management system for registering non-EU nationals travelling for a short stay, each time they cross the external borders of most European countries. Once introduced, when you go through passport control on arrival, as well as producing your passport for checking, you will also have your photograph taken and fingerprints scanned. The system will register your entry on arrival and your exit when departing. You will only need to do this on your first entry into Europe after the scheme starts.

The EES scheme is not live yet - the latest information can be found at https://travel-europe.europa.eu/ees_en. We recommend keeping yourself updated on the planned commencement date and, once live, ensure you are familiar with the process.

For those travelling via Eurostar, there is a dual British and French/Belgian border in operational at St Pancras International. Therefore the EES system will be in place at the station, you will not need to be checked again on arrival at the other side. For further information please visit the ABTA website here.

Please note: Irish passport holders or British Passport holders with an EU residency are currently excluded.

European Travel Information & Authorisation System (ETIAS)

Following the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, changes have been planned which affect the eligibility of citizens of the United Kingdom to have visa free travel to the EU. ETIAS travel authorisation is a new entry requirement for visa-exempt nationals travelling to any of the European Union and Schengen counties.

The ETIAS system is not live yet - the latest information can be found at www.etias.com. We recommend keeping yourself updated on the planned commencement date and, once live (and if applicable to you), apply for your ETIAS in good time prior to travel.

Newmarket Holidays will not be able to undertake ETIAS applications on your behalf, so have instead instructed the services of the Travel Visa Company to provide help, should you need it. You can find more information about this service here.

Please note: ETIAS will not be required for UK citizens travelling on our UK and Ireland tours.

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