The Italian Lakes & Swiss Alps Explorer 2025

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1-888-597-3519

905-639-9954

dhtour@dhtour.ca

6 Days / 5 Nights
Availability : April to November
Start: Milan, Italy
End: Milan, Italy

The Italian Lakes & Swiss Alps Explorer: 2 nts Locarno, 2 nts Lausanne, 1 nt Interlaken

207,000 square kilometres of granite peaks, deep lakes, and snow: the Alps are Europe’s grandest attraction. And on this tour, you take in its views from both the glamorous lakes of Northern Italy and the green valleys of Switzerland.

At Lake Como and Maggiore, you’re spoilt with Renaissance style architecture and celebrity hang-out spots. From Lausanne, you set off to lakeside castles and the home of Gruyère cheese. And in Lauterbrunnen and Zermatt you admire the postcard-perfect alpine peaks, forests, and waterfalls.

Venture through scenes of the Alps and discover the best views Europe has to offer.

6 DAYS / 5 NIGHTS / MAX 16 GUESTS

Contact DHTour at 1-888-597-3519 or 905-639-9954 or dhtour@dhtour.ca to book this small group tour of The Italian Lakes & Swiss Alps Explorer.

DetailItineraryDates & PricesMapPhotos
Tour Details
Places you explore

Lake Como and Lake Maggiore – Prestigious villas, lush nature and charming villages. Fall in love with the beguiling beauty of the azure blue lakes

Lauterbrunnen – Stare in awe at this postcard-perfect village nestled deep in a valley of 72 waterfalls with views of the Eiger

Gruyères – This little quaint Swiss village has it all: lush green fields, charming houses coverd in flowers, a medieval castle, and legendary cheese and chocolate

Chillon Castle – Located on a little island with the Alps in the background, this iconic Medieval castle looks like it’s straight out of a fairy tale

Lausanne – Enjoy lakeside promenades, a cobblestone town centre, cool cafes, and eclectic bars in the city located on the glimmering Alpine lake

Zermatt – A glamorous resort adorned with the hypnotically-beautiful Matterhorn

Pick Up Location & TIme

Milan (Google Maps)
8:30am – Hotel AC SESTO, Via Luciano Lama, 10, 20099 Milano MI, Italy.

Drop off Location & Time

Milan (Google Maps)
6:30pm – Hotel AC SESTO, Via Luciano Lama, 10, 20099 Milano MI, Italy.

 

Price Includes

  • 5 nights 3/4 star hotel accommodation
  • Transport in a 16 seat Mercedes mini-coach
  • Air conditioning as standard
  • Daily breakfasts
  • The stories and services of an English-speaking driver-guide
  • Boat trip across Lake Como
  • Return train tickets from Täsch to Zermatt

Meals

  • 5 breakfasts
  • 0 lunches
  • 0 dinners
  • 0 teas

Price Excludes

  • Entry fees to visitor attractions/Optional Activities
  • Airfare
  • Transfers
  • Pre / Post hotel nights
  • Driver / Tour Leader gratuity is at your discretion
  • Travel Insurance
What to Expect

Explore in 16 seat mini-coaches, always taking the scenic route, you have great views through large windows, and you’re free to sample the local tipple without worrying about driving. Our driver-guides are famous for their knowledge, facts, quirky stories, history, and fairy-tales. They truly take you beyond the guidebooks and into your adventure. You make your trip your own. We provide the timetable; and you can choose where you want to eat and which attractions you pay to see. So, if you want to skip a castle and read your book by a mountain view, you can.

A good night’s sleep is often needed for a good day of travel. So we’ve hand-picked three-star to four-star hotels in remote coastal villages, bustling towns, and mountain valleys. Your accommodation is included in the tour price.

Most people can comfortably enjoy our tours, but it’s worth bearing in mind that we often include optional short walks in scenic locations. Please also be aware that many of the old European towns are built on steep hills with cobbled lanes, and you may have to carry your own luggage at times.

We’ve arranged experiences for you on your tour. The ‘included activities’ are already booked and paid for as part of your trip, whereas you can purchase ‘optional activities’ while on your tour. You also have free time in many destinations to pick and choose which attractions you visit.

Pack comfortable shoes for walks up to beautiful views. Carry swimwear and a towel for swimming spots. Your holiday’s more fun when you protect yourself from the sun.

Itinerary
The Italian Lakes & Swiss Alps Explorer

Day 1Milan - Lake Como - Lenno - Lugano - Locarno

  • Experience Lake Como from the water on an included boat trip
  • Marvel at the Mediterranean feel of Lugano

You travel directly from the metropolis of Milan to Lake Como, the most stunning lake in the region. Framed by the Rhaetian Alps, this Italian slice of heaven’s crystal-clear waters seduced the most famous writers of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Admire the mountainous vistas and colourful villas from the unique perspective of the water, as you hop on an included boat trip across to Lenno.

Once you’re on dry land, you can grab lunch in Lenno. The town boasts an 11th-century octagonal baptistry, a Romanesque-style crypt, and enough lovely lakeside views to last a lifetime.

You then cross the border into Switzerland and visit Lugano. You have a couple of hours here to explore however you please. People watch over a coffee in Piazza della Riforma, pour over the frescos at the Church of S. Maria degli Angioli, or feast your eyes on more waterside scenes on the shores of Lake Lugano.

You travel to the quaint and cultural town of Locarno for your evening and overnight stay.

Included Activities: Boat trip across Lake Como

Accommodation: Home Hotel Locarno or similar, Locarno

Day 2Locarno - Stresa - Varese - Locarno

  • Admire Lake Maggiore from the promenade in Stresa
  • Stroll through the old town of Varese

Wake up, eat a scrumptious breakfast, and get ready for more lakeside adventures.

You first travel to elegant Stresa. Here you have the option to take a boat ride to Isola Bella. This island sits in Lake Maggiore and offers visitors a chance to wander through gorgeous gardens and admire the exuberant extravagancies of a wealthy 17th-century family in Palazzo Borromeo.

In the afternoon, you venture to Varese, also known as the ‘Garden City’. Grab a snack here and enjoy a guided stroll through the old town centre to find out how this town earned such a nickname.

You travel via the lush Campo dei Fiori landscapes back to Locarno for your second night on the shores of Lake Maggiore. (B)

Optional Activities: Boat ride out to Isola Bella and admission to Palazzo Borromeo

Accommodation: Home Hotel Locarno or similar, Locarno

Day 3Locarno - Santa Maria Maggiore - Simplon Pass - Täsch - Lausanne

  • Feel like an age-old smuggler as you go over the Simplon Pass
  • Be awed by up-close views of the Matterhorn in Zermatt

Your first stop of the day is Santa Maria Maggiore. You have time to grab a coffee and snap a few pictures of this stunning town before taking the winding roads up to the Simplon Pass. 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.

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 car-free Zermatt, a “base camp” for aspiring mountaineers, to enjoy the views and grab lunch.

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. (B)

Included Activities: Return train tickets from Täsch to Zermatt

Accommodation: Hotel Des Patients or similar, Lausanne

Day 4Lausanne - Gruyères - Gstaad - Lausanne

  • Savour the quintessential flavours of Gruyères
  • Go celebrity-spotting in glamorous Gstaad
  • Admire the iconic Chillon Castle on Lake Geneva

We hope you have an appetite, because your first stop of the day is the home of Gruyère cheese, Gruyères. You have time here to go beyond the dairy delights and discover the Medieval town and its views of the Saane Valley.

You then travel alongside Alpine peaks to Gstaad. This glamourous Alpine village is a favourite hangout spot for ski-loving celebrities; see who you can spot.

Near Montreux, you have the option to visit 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. (B)

Optional Activities: Chillon Castle

Accommodation: Hotel Des Patients or similar, Lausanne

Day 5Lausanne - Lauterbrunnen - Interlaken

  • Experience Switzerland’s most inspirational views
  • Walk the trail of waterfalls in Lauterbrunnen

The valley of 72 waterfalls, an outdoor pursuits paradise, and your first stop today.

You spend time in Lauterbrunnen any way you choose today. There are lovely walks, trains to mountain peaks, and more. You’re spoilt for choice, so ask your guide for advice on what you should do.

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. (B)

Accommodation: Hotel Weisses Kreuz or similar, Interlaken

Day 6Interlaken - UNESCO Biosphere Entlebuch - Altdorf - Bellinzona - Milan

  • Meet William Tell
  • Enjoy the typical Swiss landscape of Biosphere Entlebuch
  • Be impressed by the defences of Bellinzona

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 next stop is for lunch in Altdorf. This historic town is famous for being the place where William Tell shot an apple off his son’s head.

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.

You arrive back in Milan in the evening. (B)

Optional Activities: The castles of Bellinzona

Dates and Prices - Hotel accommodation
Departure Dates and Days Double/Twin (pp) Single Rate
2025: April 21, 28 $3,200 $3,880
2025: May 19, 26 $3,200 $3,880
2025: June 16, 23 $3,200 $3,880
2025: July 7, 21 $3,200 $3,880
2025: August 11, 18 $3,200 $3,880
2025: September 8, 15 $3,200 $3,880
2025: October 6, 13 $3,200 $3,880
2025: November 3, 10 $3,200 $3,880

All guaranteed departures.

Pricing

Pricing is per person (pp) based on twin/ double occupancy.
Rates are in $ CAD.


Contact DHTour at 1-888-597-3519 or 905-639-9954 or dhtour@dhtour.ca  to book.

Ask us for the best available pricing for your dates & choice of airline.

 

Notes
Mobility: All of our tours involve walking and require our guests to board and disembark our vehicles several times a day making this tour unsuitable for those with reduced mobility.

Luggage: You’re restricted to 20kg (44lbs) of luggage per person. This should be one piece of luggage similar to an airline carry-on bag (approximately 55cm x 45cm x 25cm / 22in x 17in x 10in) and a small bag for onboard personal items.

Want to extend your stay in Milan?  Ask us for a hotel package. 

Map

Photos

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