Bernese Oberland walking holiday
| country: | Switzerland |
| location: | Swiss Alps |
| trip type: | Strenuous walking holidays |
| departures: | 2010: 4 Jul, 25 Jul, 29 Aug, 5 Sep, 12 Sep 2011: 3 Jul, 24 Jul, 28 Aug, 4 Sep, 11 Sep |
| price: | From £825 - £865 (8 days) including flights from the UK, from £675 - £715 excluding flights |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
Kandersteg and Kiental
The first part of the tour is spent exploring the pretty Alpine town of Kandersteg. Surrounded by dramatic limestone cliffs and snow-clad peaks, we walk through Alpine meadows to the glaciated lake of Oeschinensee. From Kandersteg we walk along a magnificent high path with views of Lake Thun to the little-visited valley of Kiental - an idyllic part of the Swiss Alps.
Lake Thun & Lauterbrunnen
Trekking from Kiental along a trail known as the 'Panoramaweg,' we arrive on the shores of the beautiful Lake Thun and then take a short train ride to Wilderswil where we spend 2 nights. From here there are oportunities to take boat rides from Interlaken, ride a mountain train to Shynige Platte and see fabulous mountain panormas. Grindelwald where we trek under the towering peaks of the Eiger, Jungfrau and Mönch into the magnificent Lauterbrunnen.
Lauterbrunnen Valley
The high-sided valley is justifiably a UNESCO World Heritage Site: this is the most classic example of U-shaped glaciated valley in Europe with sheer cliffs over 600m high and spectacular waterfalls. Staying at the far end of the valley, we have unrivalled views and time to ride the famous Jungfrau railway and explore the quaint traffic-free village of Murren perched high on the cliff-top.
| Day 1: | Fly London/Geneva, drive to Kandersteg |
| Day 2: | Day walk from Kandersteg |
| Day 3: | Walk along high mountain path to Kiental |
| Day 4: | Walk from Kiental to Darlingen, train to Wilderswil |
| Day 5: | Optional mountain train to Shynige Platte or visit Interlaken |
| Day 6: | Train to Grindelwald and walk to Lauterbrunnen |
| Day 7: | Optional walk to Murren above Lauterbrunnen, with views of Eiger, Monch, Jungfrau, or optional ride on Jungfrau railway |
| Day 8: | Drive to Geneva; fly London |
This tourism business won an Award in our 2008 Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards - organised by responsibletravel.com in association with The Daily Telegraph, World Travel Market, Geographical Magazine, of the Royal Geographical Society and BBC World News.Since 2004, the Awards has recognised individuals, companies and organisations in travel making a big commitment to the culture and economies of local communities and helping to conserve biodiversity.
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Our Tour Leaders are trained by us in the importance of responsible tourism with guidance given on how they can make a difference, and that our visit is of minimal impact on the environment. We stay in traditional accommodation and taste typical food and wine of the region, most of which is sourced locally. This not only provides direct employment within the hotel, but also has the effect of percolating money beyond to small businesses that supply the hotel and in this way money is spread throughout the region we visit.
Travelling on foot is definitely the best way to travel - both avoiding the potential car pollution and being able to stop and explore whenever you wish. We also travel by cable car and train which allows you to see much more of the countryside at a more relaxed pace. As well as the above, we support a variety of charities and projects worldwide which support vulnerable communities and habitats including Friends of Conservation, Hope Worldwide and Send A Cow. We are also actively engaged with UK travel industry bodies which promote best practice in responsible tourism, such as Tourism Concern, The Travel Foundation and AITO. Our commitment to responsible tourism is not limited to our overseas operation and we have measures to ensure our UK office operates according to our responsible tourism policy. Carbon offsets for all flights booked with us are included in the tour cost. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |