The Italian Lakes & Swiss Alps Explorer 2025/2026

Wake up, eat a scrumptious breakfast, and get ready for more lakeside adventures. You first travel to elegant Stresa, a resort town on Italy’s Lake Maggiore.

You arrive in the beautiful town of Stresa, back over the Italian border. Here you have the option to take a boat ride to Isola Bella as an enhanced experience. This island sits in Lake Maggiore and offers visitors a chance to wander through gorgeous gardens and admire the exuberant extravagances of a wealthy 17th-century family in Palazzo Borromeo. If you don’t fancy a trip over the water then not to worry! You can spend your free time here as you wish and enjoy wandering among the art deco hotel promenade before finding the perfect spot for lunch on the shoreline.

In the afternoon, you embark on a journey to Sacro Monte of Ghiffa, a breathtaking sanctuary nestled in the hills overlooking Lake Maggiore. This evocative UNESCO World Heritage site comprises of a trinity of stunning chapels set in a luscious nature reserve with views across Lake Maggiore. Enjoy a stroll through the gardens as you ponder its history and soak in the tranquillity of nature.

After a day full of beautiful vistas you travel to Locarno for your second night on the shores of Lake Maggiore, ready for another brilliant evening of food with a view.

Your overnight accommodation will be in Home Hotel Locarno, Locarno (or similar). (B)

We set off early this morning and for good reason! We drive straight into the Alps and your first stop of the day, the alpine town of Santa Maria Maggiore. You have time to grab a coffee and snap a few pictures before taking the winding roads up to the Simplon Pass.

The Simplon Pass is a high mountain pass between the Pennine Alps and the Lepontine Alps in Switzerland. This is a historic location that’s been used as a key route through the Alps by Stone Age dwellers, Romans, and smugglers of the Middle Ages. You make a brief stop here but it’s worthwhile for the views and the incredible photos you will capture. You will also have time to grab a snack and comfort break if required.

Now, it’s time to discover one of the most admired peaks in all of Europe, the Matterhorn. You arrive in Täsch and take a round trip on a train to Zermatt where the views on this journey alone will astound you. Zermatt is the perfect “base camp” for your afternoon. Not just for aspiring mountaineers, you will enjoy the views, the relaxed pace of this car-free ski resort and grab lunch in one of its lively restaurants, all under the watchful gaze of the mountain beyond.

Back on our coach, you travel to Lausanne. Overlooking Lake Geneva, this town is home to the Olympic Museum, grand mountain views, and your bed for the next two nights.

Your overnight accommodation will be in 4* Carlton Hotel Lausanne, Lausanne (or similar). (B)

We set off for the day and wee hope you have an appetite, because your first stop of the day is the home of Gruyère cheese, Gruyères.

You arrive in the town of Gruyères and you may know it from its reputation of course as a mecca for cheese lovers the world over. Those who consider themselves a connoisseur and want to learn more about the centuries old production methods found in the town can opt to visit the cheese museum and maybe partake of a fondue lunch.? But those who might not have the palate for it, do not worry! There is plenty to enjoy about this charming town from the 13th-century hilltop fortress Château de Gruyères to the chocolate factory and the Disneyesque town square and castle. We can’t promise a fairytale but it will be pretty darn close! Opt to enjoy an early lunch here or save your appetite for the next stop on our tour.

You then travel alongside Alpine peaks to Gstaad. This glamourous Alpine village is a favourite hangout spot for ski-loving celebrities. Wander among the glamour and luxury of the village, find a spot to take in a late lunch and see who you can spot! This place is a people watchers dream destination, but we can’t help just take in the views of the surrounding mountains.

On our way to Lausanne, there will be many photo stops on the way. You’ll understand why with such a picturesque drive. Near Montreux, you have the option to visit inside Chillon Castle, an unbelievably idyllic stronghold that deserves its claim as Switzerland’s most visited castle. You arrive back in Lausanne in time for dinner.

Your overnight accommodation will be in 4* Carlton Hotel Lausanne, Lausanne (or similar). (B)

You head out this morning after enjoying your final night in Lausanne but ready for more. The valley of 72 waterfalls, an outdoor pursuits paradise, and your first stop today.

Lauterbrunnen is a village that packs a punch. Set in a valley with a backdrop of the 300m-­high Staubbach Falls, such a setting is something to be seen to be believed. In fact this is the place that in 1911, inspired the fantastical landscape of JRR Tolkien’s Elvish city of Rivendell in his Lord of the Rings novels. You have the day to enjoy as you wish and your driver should be able to help you plan your day ahead.

Those that wish to journey on your driver can help you plan rail tickets to further villages and even Jungfraujoch, Europe’s highest altitude rail station considered the ‘Top of Europe’ where you will struggle to find such impactful vistas anywhere else on earth.

Once you’ve gratified your senses with Lauterbrunnen’s imposing mountain views and pastoral Swiss splendours, you travel to Interlaken. This small resort town, nestled snug between the mountains, is your home for the evening.

Your overnight accommodation will be in Hotel Weisses Kreuz, Interlaken (or similar). (B)

You leave Interlaken and head through the bucolic landscape of the UNESCO Biosphere Entlebuch. Stroll through typical sound-of-music style scenes of cows chomping through fields of green grass and admire sublime views.

Nature may rejuvenate the senses, but it doesn’t fill your belly; so your guide will find you a great place for a lunch break today and we will head there mid morning. We’ll continue to explore this wonderful area, making little stops here and there depending on the group and day, perhaps the historic town of Altdorf – we like to stay flexible!

You then descend from the heights of the Alps to Bellinzona. Since Roman times, grand castles, now UNESCO heritage sites, have stoically guarded the access to northern Italy. You have the choice here to visit the castles or relax in the town for a free afternoon.

After an impressive 6 days you will be returning back to Milan this evening with stories to share and memories that will stay with you forever, of majestic mountains, roaring waterfalls, of lakes and villages lunches and all the people you have met along the way. (B)