Which of the following would you rather experience: 1) wind in your hair, cowbells in your ears, sun on your face, panoramic views in every direction, pushing yourself and earning every calorie of fondue you will stuff in your face that evening when you arrive to your destination, OR, 2) chatter of people and families in the seats or aisles next to you, dirty windows messing up your landscape photographs, stale air of a vehicle’s interior, on the same roads as everyone else, with limited and specific stops. Tell me, which one sounds better to you?
If you’re reading this adventure travel blog, I’m going to assume that, like me, you chose #1, hands down. Now, imagine all of that in one of the most stupid beautiful landscapes on the planet: the Swiss Alps. If you can imagine it, you’ll have just the tiniest bit of a glimpse into what my experience was like cycling through the Swiss Alps:
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I just had the privilege of riding a bike from Lake Geneva to Lake Zurich, clear across Switzerland, through the Alps, 150 miles, for 6 days, and I’m still reeling (and the cow bells are still ringing in my ears).
I didn’t want to do this trip alone (too much beauty to share), so I invited my friend Carley to go with me and make a girls’ trip out of it. She had never been on a bike tour before, but in her words, “When your friend says, ‘Come to Switzerland and bike with me,’ you go.” Those words were quickly followed by, “I didn’t know how much I would fall in love with a trip by bike!” (Read her whole review here)
Listen to my podcast episode where Carley and I recap our experience and give tips and advice for anyone wanting to do this trip!
I can entirely relate to Carley’s sentiment. In April of this year, I completed my first two bike tours ever, one in Portugal and one in Austria. The Portugal tour was guided with a small group. It was half pavement, half natural surface, some hills. Austria was self-guided, completely flat along the Danube river, gorgeous and easy to figure out for my first solo cycling trip. Looking back, it seems a logical progression for me to have started my bike tour experiences with the guided trip in Portugal, then the a solo trip in Austria, all in preparation for the biggest one of all: the majestic Swiss Alps. Switzerland took everything to the next level, including my love for cycling trips.
This tour is available on BikeTours.com and is sold as “Swiss Lakes by E-Bike.” I worked with BikeTours.com on this trip, but all opinions expressed here are my own.
A Week On a Bike in Switzerland
Our Typical Day
Each morning we enjoyed coffee and breakfast at our hotel, often while looking at the guidebook and attractions and mapping out our day. Whether we were ready to leave or not, we packed our luggage and left everything we weren’t riding with at reception by 9am. The driver would collect our bags anytime after 9am, so this timing was important. Then we would hit the road by about 10am with appropriate layers for that day’s weather, ideas of where to stop for coffee or to buy lunch, and cameras always at the ready.
We took LOTS of breaks, mostly because we took a ridiculous amount of photos. Sometimes we wouldn’t even make it 3 minutes into the day without having to stop for WOW moments, and that’s not an exaggeration. This IS Switzerland. We allowed ourselves to take as much time as we could to soak in our surroundings and enjoy every view, and we pinched ourselves repeatedly. Our teeth got cold from smiling so much!
We bought food for lunch at the Coop everyday (see “Tips” below) so we’d have a picnic ready whenever we got hungry. This was brilliant, as we learned quickly that many restaurants close around 1:30pm (think siesta timing). With picnics, we never went hungry.
We made it to each hotel well before sunset, and our bags were always there ahead of us. Since we chose spa hotels (Category A – see “Tips” below), we would enjoy the “hot” pools (Europe’s version of “hot” is definitely not the same as mine, but we enjoyed them regardless) and usually a snack or beer before choosing a place for dinner that evening. Dinner was almost always fondue.
While our days were packed full, they were also relaxing and rejuvenating, and neither of us wanted the trip to be over when we reached our final destination.
The Weather
We rode during the first week of October, so we experienced crisp fall temperatures and fortunately lots of sunshine. There was one day that was freezing and raining, Day 2, so we opted to send our bikes with the luggage transport (which cost about 12 CHF per person), and take public transportation that day. It was fabulous. We went to a chocolate factory (Cailler in Broc) and enjoyed taking the trains UP the hill to our next destination.
The Route
Day 1: Vevey (shores of Lake Geneva) to Charmey (take a bus up that last hill from Bulle to Charmey, trust me)
Day 2: Charmey to Schönried (this was the rainy day we took public transport – go to Cailler chocolate factory in Broc, eat at Hotel Kernen in Schönried for fondue!)
Day 3: Schönried to Spiez (amazing route through the mountains, definitely pack a lunch)
Day 4: Spiez to Wilen (start with the early ferry to Interlaken, also a short train included from Meiringen to Brünigpass – ticket vouchers included that must be exchanged for actual tickets – the ferry voucher can be exchanged on the ferry, the train voucher must be exchanged at the Meiringen train station ticket counter)
Day 5: Wilen to Zug (via Lucerne, this is where I’d change the itinerary – see “Tips” below)
Day 6: Zug to Rapperswil (Rapperswil is GORGEOUS and you might want to stay extra days here, recommend the Rathaus for fondue)
Why Bike Tour?
Reread Paragraph #1. More cow bell. Crisp fall air. Chimney smoke. Fresh flowers along the trail. Dirt and crunching leaves under your tires. Sunshine on your face. Picnics on a mountainside. Backcountry trails and roads. Panoramic views, always. Physical accomplishment every single day. Need I say more?
Riding a bike through an incredible landscape is like hitting the refresh button on your soul. It’s similar to a multi-day hike, only much faster. Try it. Scared to try it? Check this out.
Swiss Lakes by E-Bike Tour
- Distance biked: 150 miles (we didn’t ride Day 2 because of cold temps, wind and rain, otherwise total would be around 200 miles)
- Nights/Days: 6 days/7 nights (6 days of riding)
- Route: National Route 9, from Lake Geneva (Vevey) to Lake Zurich (Rapperswil)
- Directions: There are signs for the “9″ all along the route, and there is an app (see “Tips” below)
- Self-Guided: We opted for a self-guided tour, but you can get a guide if you don’t feel comfortable navigating it alone. In my opinion, with the right maps, and as long as you pay attention to the directional signs, you’ll be fine to go it without a guide.
- Support: Although self-guided, this is a supported tour. All logistics, including bike rental, hotel bookings, AND luggage transfer each day, are taken care of by a local bike company that works with BikeTours.com.
Choosing Your Wheels: Hybrid or E-Bike?
A hybrid is a cross-country touring bike, with tough tires that can stand natural surface as well as smooth road riding. They generally have 21-24 speeds and are powered only by your legs.
E-Bikes are similar looking, but they have small electric motors, powered by a battery, with a convenient remote screen mounted on the handle bars where you can control how much electric assist you need (low to high). Watch this video to see how an e-bike works.
In both Portugal and Austria, e-bikes were an option, but I opted to get a cross-country hybrid touring bike instead. I loved my bikes, and it turns out I’m a pretty strong cyclist, so I opted for the hybrid in Switzerland as well, even though the tour itself is titled “Swiss Lakes by E-Bike.”
It only took me about 5 minutes to understand why they so highly recommend e-bikes on this route. Two words: HILLS. GALORE.
My travel mate Carley chose an e-bike, and she buzzed right passed me up every single hill, laughing all the way as I huffed and puffed, looking for 4-leaf clovers and talking to every cow on my way up. Although I was slower on the uphills, I was happy with my choice. I would not have rather had an e-bike, but I would not recommend a hybrid touring bike to anyone who doesn’t consider themselves a strong rider. We are talking about the Swiss Alps…
Tips for Swiss Alps by E-Bike itinerary:
- Download Swiss Mobility app and maps.me, which work offline. With these two apps, you’ll have all the direction you need, even if you can’t find the right signs.
- Double check your hotels, make sure they are actually on the route. If they are far off, make adjustments or arrangements as necessary.
- Make sure the hotels and local bike company know you speak English, to ensure that all of your tour material is delivered in English.
- Buy picnic lunch items at Coop every day. Coop is a grocery store commonly found all over Switzerland. This is win-win-win: it’s an affordable lunch option, you can eat whenever you get hungry instead of working around restaurant opening times, and you can eat your picnic mountainside with the best views around. We ate gruyere, salami, baguette, and Toblerone everyday and it was fantastic.
- Add an extra day to the middle. The Swiss Alps are meant to be enjoyed, not buzzed through so fast! Take your time, we had so many miles to cover each day that we felt pressured more than once to hurry up, stop taking photos, and keep riding. We always made it to our destination well before sundown, but we would have enjoyed a bit of a slower pace to take in more of Switzerland.
- Don’t stay in Zug. I recommend staying a night in Lucerne (before Zug) if it works out, or when you get to Zug, have a transfer take you up the hill to SeminarHotel am Ägerisee. This is where you start cycling the following day anyway. (With our itinerary, a transfer picked us up in the morning in Zug, so you can move the transfer to the evening before and skip Zug and Zugertor Hotel altogether). Trust me on this one.
- Choose Hotel Category A, because they are wellness hotels! This trip is a dream with wellness (spa) hotels each night. I’m actually convinced that it’s cheaper to book this bike trip with all the lodging and cycling included than it would be to simply travel to these places and book these hotels on your own.
This itinerary with the Category A spa hotels is an incredible value, truly hits the reset button on your wellbeing, and will pretty much make you feel like a million bucks, or a badass with razor sharp calves, or both…
How to Book the Swiss Lakes by E-Bike Tour
- Visit BikeTours.com and find the Swiss Lakes by E-Bike Tour.
- Fill out the Booking Form, choosing your dates and category of hotels (A!) and paying a deposit.
- Wait for email confirmation (BikeTours.com will communicate with the local bike company to confirm your booking, so this may take a few days).
- Upon receiving confirmation, pay for the rest of your tour, any extras, etc.
- Receive hotel list and pre-tour information by email (this is where you double check and make sure you express any itinerary change requests very clearly).
- Use this bike tour packing list to prepare for your trip.
- Show up and enjoy your ride! Eat ALL the fondue and chocolate you can find. Stop at Cailler chocolate factory in Broc if it makes sense for your itinerary. Allow extra time in Interlaken if you get a wild hair and want to jump off a mountain. Bring a good camera.
Have questions about this or other bike tours? Ask me in the comments below.
