Alpine Lakes & Scenic Trains From $4,549 $4,399 pp* Featuring a cruise on Lake Maggiore and scenic trains in Switzerland & Italy

Well organized and efficiently run.

Well organized and efficiently run.

Beautiful tour, scenery was great! Tour guide was very helpful.

Beautiful tour, scenery was great! Tour guide was very helpful.

Transportation was great. Our tour guide was OK; but, not very engaging. There were no celebration of birthdays or anniversaries. I missed this very much. On our last tour with Insight Vacations, the tour guide recognized the guest's birthday, or anniversary, with a cake and a special gift. None of this occurred on our trip. It was quite disappointing! Quite a bit of dry humor. The trains were excellent--great service, beautiful scenery and wonderful food (for the longer train ride). We had some terrific drivers to and from the airport. The limousine service was an unexpected benefit, which my husband and I truly enjoyed. This service has never been provided by any other travel agency we have dealt with. We will travel, again, with Collette!

The train rides were exceptional!

The tour was well organized and went off with no problems. Local guides were very knowledgeable and provided excellent recommendations and information. Sites visited were all interesting and scenery stunning. Bus driver was very skillful especially on the narrow and twisty mountain roads. Entire experience was quite memorable. Would highly recommend it.

Loved all the cities and places visited. My favorites were Luzerne and Zermatt. Especially liked the stop at Mt. Pilatus just outside Luzerne. Train travel was comfortable and quite scenic.

This was my first tour with Collette and it was a great experience. Our tour guide was fantastic and the variety of options available at each location allowed choices rather than feeling tied to a set schedule.

Great trip with lots of things to do. Enjoyed the ability to get out and tour on my own pace.

The tour guide was exceptional; her personality made the experience! The pace of the tour was perfect; plenty of free time to explore. I never felt rushed or that I may have missed something. And the trains, what can be said that hasn't been said...spectacular.

The trains were spectacular; the views breathtaking. The tour's pace was the best mix of group and free time; I never felt rushed. See you next time!

Yesyesyesyes

Trainstrainstrainstrainstr

Well organized prior to the trip and during the trip. Marta was a wonderful guide. We enjoyed the amount of free time to explore on our own.

Hotel room in Lucerne was a little small and the bus seating a little cramped.

Well organized.

Disappointed in the room size in Lucerne and the tight conditions on the bus.

The group leader was extremely knowledgeable. Very personable. Kept the tour running on time

Really enjoyed the tour. Best part was the cruise of Lake Como.

The guide we had was unkept,,,not knowledgeable, in general the worst ever

Wonderful trip inspire of the guide

at 3 hotels my room was 1-the only one of the rooms not ready 2- at the hotel in Zermatt separated from my group put into a different hotel building and the room was hideous with a big glass window next to the bed looking into the bathroom that had no door-no privacy it was disgusting-3- Hotel Simplon in Baveno separated from group again put on other side of hotel in a room that reeked of cigaret smoke-I had to make the arrangements myself to switch rooms-no help at all . Very disappointing made my trip uncomfortable.

The tour was good . Trip via cable car up the mountain was beautiful

Every person I spoke to by phone was helpful, courteous and professional. All written communications were complete, timely and accurate. Our tour guide, Pedro, was very organized and helped us quickly when my husband had a medical issue.

Our first room overlooked a construction sight. The next 2 hotels were5 stars. The optional train ride to the Matterhorn was awesome. The Glacier Express though a little too long was relaxing and the scenery was non stop

Courteous and professional service from booking the tour to its completion. Pedro was an excellent guide, well-informed, kind, and engaging. He made our tour both an educational and enjoyable experience. Our hotels were beautiful. In fact, the entire tour exceeded our expectations.

All aspects of or tour were well-planned and well-managed, our guide was excellent as were the hotels we stayed in.

They were very informative. Very helpful with excursion choices. The upgrades were very welcomed.

I enjoyed the trip very much. The Matterhorn was incredibly beautiful! Will definitely recommend Collette.

Everything was more than I expected. Very good experience.

The tour guide was excellent and made the trip a great experience.

Your tour guide was great.

Seeing the matterhorn and great weather

Excellent tour and tourguide

Trains to all locations plus Italy tour in small village

It was wonderful

The top of the Matterhorn

The tour was great. We did not like the tour guide. We were instructed to wait at the information booth at the terminal in Zurich. We were not told that there were two information booths. Therefore, the guide left without us (and left early). She must have known that were were from Canada and should have checked Terminal 1 where we flew in. This was extremely stressful for us although it worked out in the end. We were instructed to take a cab to the hotel and Collette would pay for. Thank goodness we had the hotel list and phone numbers for Collette in the small binder provided by Collette

The train tours were excellent. The Matterhorn was unforgettable. The Swiss countryside was beautiful If you would like more details on the tour guide, please let me know

Tour guide and bus driver were excellent. Accommodations excellent. The places we toured were beautiful.. Private cars on the train very helpful for a group.

Seeing the Mattahorn from your hotel balcony was breath-taking. The train rides were scenic and each day top with the last with the Bernina Train ride the best of all. Could not sit with so many views to photograph.

The tour was well organized and kept us busy, but not overwhelming. Tour guide, Marian Roy is excellent. A wealth of knowledge, very helpful suggestions and a sense of humor. Hotels all nice and convenient to areas of interest.

The train rides can be long, but what beautiful scenery- mountains, valleys, glaciers, quaint villages. Loved Zermott. Fun walking street and what views of the Matterhorn. Unbelievably clean, safe and friendly.

To get 5 stars everything was super including the weather

Mt. Pilatus Gornergrat - Zermatt

Great trip! Out tour guide was very knowledgeable and always made sure our group members were there. Marian Roy is a gem!!

The tour surpassed my expectations! Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and made it an enjoyable experience for all. I can’t think of one time when we were not impressed by the beauty of the country side.

Iwould definitely use Collette again. The trip itinerary and scheduling were spot on and our tour guide Marian Roy was outstanding.

I loved the free time to explore and the excursions each day.

They exceeded our expectations. Great tour manager and bus driver, nice hotels in great locations and awesome train rides throughout Switzerland.

The tour exceeded our expectations. Lovely hotels, great food, stunning scenery, and wonderful memories

Very nice hotels, good meals, excellent tour manager in Marian, great coach driver in Daniele, and a brilliant itinerary. Collette is our favorite land tour company.

We enjoyed both the optional excursions, and the included events. I really enjoyed all the train trips that were part of this package, and the group with which we traveled was very friendly and prompt. The side trip to Oira to meet Mario was a definite highlight.

The entire tour was amazing . The tour director was excellent, organized informative. The driver was excellent and so was the food. We loved traveling the trains and seeing all the beauty of Switzerland and Italy.

I enjoyed the itinerary the scenery and the food Plus the companionship of my fellow travelers . Our Tour guide and Driver were the best ever.

Outstanding

The Matterhorn! Such an amazing day!

This is our second tour with Collette and we'll definitely return again. Beautiful scenery throughout Switzerland and the Italian lakes region. Enjoyed the mix of transportation -- trains, boats, cable cars and coach. Good to have 2 nights in each location so you can settle in a bit before moving to your next location.

Lucerne and Zermatt were beautiful. We did the optional excursions to the top of Mt. Pilatus in Lucerne and Gornergrat in Zermatt and we'd highly recommend both.

The service was great! Well planned, well orchestrated by the Tour Director and the excellent driver of the coach kept us safe on the road. Both leaders were very pleasant to work with and they made themselves available at all the necessary times.

It is worth every star given.

Our tour guide, Cinthya Pavan, was both knowledgeable and personable. She created a friendly environment while maintaining schedule and plans. Hotels were very good and transportation arrangements were excellent.

Riding the trains through the Alps was memorable. The stay in Stressa was fantastic and was a dream-come-true to express the Italian Lakes.

Everything on the tour went very well. It exceeded our expectations. Our tour guide, Marian Roy was fantastic. She was very knowledgeable about both countries, Switzerland and Italy.

There was a good mixture of travel on the bus, train, and boat rides. We especially liked the train ride through the mountain past the glacier.

Everything was awesome. Marion, our tour guide was very informative. Felt safe with bus driver. Scenery outstanding. Want to go again.

No favorites. Began in Lucerne, which was awesome, and every day kept getting better and better. Really enjoyed Zermatt, and Glacier Express, and glacier.

Very good tour. Little disappointed in our hotel room in Lucerne. Extremely small. Breakfasts were not as good as we had experienced in the past. Tour guide was very good

Switzerland was amazing. Como was disappointing

Our tour guide Cynthia Pavon was amazing. She was professional, patient, knowledgeable, pleasant and very respectful of our varied dietary needs. The driver Andreas was friendly, punctual and navigated those hair pin twists and turns in the Alpine mountains with precision. The hotels were perfectly selected with clean and comfortable rooms and on those occasions when we either had breakfast or ate dinner at the hotel, the food was excellent. The tours offered us breathtaking views of the Alps and an insight into the clean and healthy lifestyle of its people. Everything was executed to perfection . I had a wonderful time with wonderful people and would consider Collette tours for my travel needs again.

Beautiful people, amazing views!

Tour was amazing, our tour guide made sure all of our needs were met and always made sure we were aware of trip options, places to eat etc. Loved the fact that we were able to experience the tour on many different levels, train, boats and gondolas.

All of it was, can't say there was one bad thing about it

Company should be aware of towns that close down and revise itinerary accordingly. Although the trip stated we were visiting Como we only had 1 hour there. It should have said a stop over on Como.They need to screen complementary airport service driver going there put us in an unsafe situation by tailgating and talking on his phone. Our bus in Italy had bald tires this should be checked prior to any trip. Another misrepresentation was we were staying at the Zacchara hotel which was beautiful but they failed to tell us we would be in the older outdates section, we lost electricity for awhile newer section did not. Again misrepresentation.Instead of taking us two hours to a town that was closed we should have spent more time in Como and lake Geneva. Meals were on our own a lot should have had in documents places to eat. I travel all around the world and have never been so appalled by their lack of integrity and professionalism.This is the first time I have ever wrote a negative review for any company. Being able to write this review did not come easy. I had to be persistent. The only way you can leave feedback if they send you a link to do so. I had to go to their professional organization and pursue this. So be ware their reviews are probably not accurate as they are probably sending the link to only people they know will give good reviews.

Scenery and people. matterhorn.

Great tour guide

optional train ride to top of mountain in Lucern

Great service all was as expected everything on time the rep was brilliant she was so knowledgable even about anything random that People asked her

Zermatt and the glacier paradise

Fabulous trip! The hotels were great. Rooms were nice (most of the time. One had awful beds). Locations were great because we could walk into the cities. Enough free time to explore or do side trips. Collette does a great job of putting trips together.

Loved the trips up the mountain. Train rides were fun and scenic. The all day train trip was too long. Lake Como ferry was fun but we had to turn in our earphones in Switzerland and couldn't hear any narrative from our guide. Overall we loved it and would do it again!

The only glitch was lack of early communication and double charge for shuttle service. Other than that I would give a full five stars. I will definitely try and use Collette tours again. The tour was the right length and gave people adequate time for independent exploring.

There were so many memorable experiences that it's difficult to choose. No doubt, The Mount Pilatus tour was one of the highlights.

Very professional staff. Clear and reasonable travel itinerary. Clean, modern buses.

The train excursions through Switzerland were unforgettable.

planning to travel wth Collette again in the spring. This will be my 4th trip with Collette. Loved every one. Why would I go with anyone else?

Hard to pick one thing. All was so good

Door to door service, excellent hotels, good food and great tour guide and driver.

wonderful scenery, European trains are clean, quiet and on time. Loved the gondola rides and getting so close to the glaciers.

Our Alpine Train trip was fantastic. Great stops and our guide Mojica ("Mo Mama") was wonderful and very personable. OUr driver Pio was skilled and had a great sense of humor.

Each stop was well planned and very well coordinated.

Trip was wonderful. Both the tour director Mo and the driver Pio were excellent. Would highly reccommend this trip

Definitely worth the money

Good Hotels

Good hotels and itinerary

we enjoyed the tour and the tour director and bus driver. The hotels were wonderful

Everything on the tour was great

Excellent hotels, guides, and driver. Enjoyed having some free time each day.

Loved Lucerne best, Lakes Como and Maggiore a close second. Unfortunate rain in Zermatt and could barely see the Matterhorn, but Hotel Alex was my favorite hotel/resort of the trip.

Great tour manager - well-informed about sites, activities and history

Traveling through Alps on trains

Very nice hotels, loved the scheduled tours plus the free time. The tour director, Marta, was fabulous.

Great tour guide. Loved Zermatt.

Guide( Marta) and Driver were great. We liked the hotels. We appreciated the free time between activities. We loved the pick up and return to home. All the pick ups were there on time except in Switzerland where there were late night issues related to our luggage claim ((our fault). Very responsible and pleasant group to travel with. Good choice of activities. We experienced a lot in a short time. We appreciated the planning of our added-on trip to Venice. That hotel gave us an upgrade which we loved after we had late luggage for the second time. Francisco at the desk was so so good to us and so helpful. My only suggestion would be more help with obtaining money for the two countries before leaving. We were sort of left on our own with the exchanges and not everywhere took credit cards.

Shopping and tour at Zermatt. We liked the village.

Already gave feedback to tour guide at end of trip. However, my husband and I were pleased with our trip from beginning to end. Booking, Tour Guide, itinerary, bus driver and accommodations.

Zermatt was a favorite place.

Would have liked rooms with better views.

Really liked the glacier!

We had a wonderful time on the tour of Switzerland and Italy! I will highly recommend it to my valued clients. Cinthya Pavan as the tour director is excellent!

Overall, a wonderful tour. Great manager and group. Only request would be to have a nicer hotel in Lucerne. And maybe a nicer get together for the group in the beginning of the tour. The restaurant at the hotel was just ok. Something a little more special to start off the tour on a good note!

Our guide, Cinthya Pavan was truly exceptional. As wonderful as the geography was, Cinthya made it unforgettable!

Our guide, Cinthya ! She was fantastic.

I liked the start to finish, no detail spared service.

The tour was beautiful and just as stated - lakes and trains. My favorite city was Zermatt although Lucerne was a close second. Everyone we encountered was friendly. Aside from getting close to the Matterhorn, the food is really something to rave about.

The itinerary and time spent at each location was ideal. Our tour guide was excellent! She went out of her way to make our trip most memorable and we enjoyed the experience immensely! I most certainly recommend Collette sponsored trips.

The trip up Mt. Pilatus was most enjoyable!

Outstanding tour manager

Great tour of the Swiss and Italian Alps

Great tour, Great Hotels and best of all a great tour Guide Maria is the best.

All of it. it was a beautiful tour,

They delivered exactly what we expected. They did it in a highly professional manner. We thoroughly enjoyed the tour.

We got what we paid for and more. Truly a great experience.

Great locations, super accommodations and life time experiences

great hotels, perfect itinery

The tour was great /// tour guide wasn't so great.

Tour guide could have made this trip excellent, but because he was not very informative, unless you asked a question, most times it was a quite bus ride. He did get a little better towards then end....BUT

One of the reasons I travel with Collette is their hotel choices are usually very good. Centrally located hotels are important and they do this really well.

When looking for a tour of Switzerland, the Glacier Express and Zermatt had to be on the itinerary. Seeing the Matterhorn on a clear day in Zermatt was truly a highlight.

We had many booking issues prior to the tour. When we landed in Zurich, there was no sign or person greeting us...luckily I had added an intl calling plan to my cell phone. Our tour guide said someone would pick us up in an hour...no apology, just that this is what she was told to do by the company. Three of us were traveling and we all had single rooms...we never got balconies, or larger bathrooms due to being single. That was unfortunate. You should also include Mt pilatus as part of the tour and not an add on. We met some nice people but do not feel the service level and hotel reflected the 4 stars it was billed as.

See first response. Final dinner was amazing...all other group dinners were a disappointment.

What a wonderful trip! Our tour guide was outstanding--maybe the best we have ever had! Train rides were fantastic and included meals were very good. Everything was perfectly organized and we would recommend this trip to anyone!

Seeing the Matterhorn and also one day it snowed while we were on the train. Also Isle Bella--don't miss it! Zermatt--well perfection.

Well organized. Wonderful accommodations. Great tour manager.spectacular scenery.

Great scenery. My favorite was a special trip up to Gornergrat. The Bernini Pass by train on a SNOWY day was also wonderful.

The guide *personal details removed by Feefo* was truly exceptional, very attentive to details and to each person.

Very good mix of free and organized time

The tour guide was fantastic with lots of info and antidotes about the area. We really enjoyed the trip although I was hampered a bit with mobility concerns (recent surgery). Beautiful scenery and really nice hotels based on location. The trip ended too soon.

Tour guide was fantastic. She kept us moving and on time providing lots of info and many great comments about the area and sights. The Alps were beautiful and the weather was great. The tour ended too soon.

Great trip - wonderful tour director

Loved Lake Lucerne and Lake Maggiero - scenery was spectacular and tour director was extremely knowledgeable about everything. I think she made the trip the success it was *Personal details removed by Feefo*. Would love to travel with her again.

Absolutely - such a wonderful time and *personal details removed by Feefo* made this trip great for us all.

Just had a very pleasant vacation

Thorough and knowledgeable

Skiing in zermatt was very memorable

Overall, our experience was average to good. Hotel accommodations were satisfactory but the included tour dinners were below average. Two of the four resembled TV dinners and the other two were average at best. Tour guide was attentive to everyone's needs but his knowledge of the area was often limited to his IPad.

Beautiful scenery and interesting tour. Average hotel accommodations but below average dinner meals.

Hotels,I had to up date in the hotel in Lucerne. Hotel rooms booked by Collette weren't available but for 100 franks we were able to get in 5 hours before the rest of the group. Unfair to us and the rest of the group. Other hotels I would rate ok.

Train ride to St Moritz too many hours, beautiful scenery. Matterhorn is a must see, best part of the trip.

Four dinners were included - One was very good, 2 were fair to poor and one was horrible (Ricardo's). Please include an optional dinner/music/entertainment with local entertainers.

There is room for improvement in the quality of food.

It was a very nice tour however I think the food was not that great for the price we paid and spending the night in St Moritz is was not my favorite especially that everything was closed and we went to Italy and then returned to switzerland???? why??? we should have spent two nights in Italy not just one. By the way that was the best hotel out of all of them. I did like Zermot at the Alexis Hotel.

The trip itself was excellent but was disappointed with the tour director. She appeared to be indifferent, and at times, rather sarcastic, especially at the beginning of the trip. Was rather abrupt at times, and seemed annoyed to answer questions asked. Her behavior improved somewhat toward the end of the tour, but was still not up to the standards that I would expect from a tour director. I have taken several Collette tours, and they have all been excellent. Glad this was not my first trip with your company.

Going to the top of the Matterhorn, and then at Lake Maggiiore, Isola Bella gardens, and Bottromeo castle. This definitely should be included in the trip.

great experience

well organized tour and interesting sights

easy to navigate and chose tour desired. Very easy to book and tracked tour status with timely updates

Most of the tour was enjoyable.. Travel train to Italy from St. Moritz was too long. Could have used more free time in St. Moritz. Disappointed in hotel in Zermatt ( back room without flowered balcony as most rooms had ). Guide and driver were excellent. Wine sampling in Italy was great as well. Disappointed with very limited wine at dinner in Switzerland ( compared to Spanish trip we took last year with Collette ). Included dinners were ok but nothing special.

Great tour and fantastic guide

Wonderful itinerary. Great guide. Countries were beautiful.

This was a wonderful trip, with beautiful scenery. The hotels that were chosen were perfect, in location, service and amenities. Our tour guide was great! My only suggestion would be to cancel the day trip to Turano. We spent very little time there (actually had to rush to fit in lunch). I'd have preferred to spend the extra time in Saint Moritz.

This was a very nice trip and service was always good. At times the people reached by telephone didn't seem to be very well versed about the trip. I do have a suggestion since it happened with both trips we've had with Collette. The arrival is early morning and everyone is exhausted. The rooms aren't ready since it is early so you're at loose ends trying to figure out what to do. Luckily this time we only had to wait an hour or so for our room. Our room in Zermatt was ok but we had to go up three full size steps to the bathroom.

Not enough time to shop for souvenirs; Gondola ride to glacier (an add on for this trip our guide said) was great and the old city of Oira (spelling?) was fabulous. Mount Pilatus was good as was the Matterhorn. I can't say enough positive about our tour guide Jan. His command of languages was awe inspiring and he was affable all the while. The best tour manager we have ever had by far! We've been on at least six tours.

ok

Got all the info we required before going on our holiday. Friendly staff. Some administration errors, such as incorrect telephone numbers.

Lots of extra's popped into the tour, so we kept busy most of the time. Lucerne was a peaceful and beautiful start for a tour with majestic views. Vast views on train journeys, and opportunities to get up close to the scenery. Lots of Kodak moments!

The pick-up service from home is good but the pick-ups from airports are not. There was no-one to meet me at Zurich, I had to phone the hotel at Lucerne to speak to the tour manager. A taxi arrived an hour later but didn't leave the airport until two other passengers arrived. Similarly, there was no-one to meet me at Heathrow, a driver turned up after an hour or more, then we were stuck in commuter traffic, arriving at my home four hours later.

An excellent Italian coach driver. There was a round of applause when he reached the bottom of a steep pass. The mountains, lakes and glaciers were stunning. The tour manager took two group photos but I didn't receive them.

I would not only recommend them, I would buy from them again, which I have already done.

This was our third trip with Collette and we will always look at them first for any land based trip. They do an outstanding job.

The overall trip was great and we really enjoyed the trains and Zermatt.

Excellent except for the tour guide who was very disorganized and confusing.

Tour was great except for tour guide who confused a lot of people and thought she was funny when on the mike. I will say she was very knowledgeable about the Switzerland.

When you send out tipping suggestions, please make sure that the info is accurate. When my husband and I travel, we put aside in envelopes the tipping amounts before we even leave our house. On this trip, you recommended using dollars for tips, but when we got to Switzerland, we found out that all people except for the tour director wanted francs, not dollars. This was disconcerting, and we wound up trying to fix the u.ss money at a bank in Lucern. We felt like we had lost a half day of enjoying Lucern.

I loved the stop at the glacier outside of St. Moritz. It reminded me of how much I love snow.

Everything was most enjoyable. Accommodations were great! Enjoyed all the different forms of transportation on this trip. Our bus driver was fabulous!!!!

Traveling high up into Alps on cog railway and descending via the gondola!! Magnificent scenery!!

The format of the trip was great. I really enjoyed St Moritz, Tisch, and the Glacier Express. The winery was outstanding.

The reps who helped us book the tour were well informed and responded in a timely manner to our questions. The communications via email were very good.

Lucerne stay was definitely a highlight. Lago Maggiore dinner on Isola dei Pescatori was delightful. The village of Oira was also unforgettable.

Pre-trip registration - Asked for both 1st class and coach travel and received NO response, Requested pre-night and post night hotel assistance which could not be given. Arrival in Lucerne: 1)no attendee intro's and no follow through by guide (Personal details removed by Feefo) in way of written instructions of common language phrases, meeting times or daily schedules. 2) no one knew where to have breakfast. 3)the walking tour of town was held to a minimum with little information about culture, politics or history - this was the only time the headsets were used. There was more information in your booklette about Lucerne than was talked about on the town tour. Tram and Gondola - Should have included an optional Bobsled ride...we had to ask if we could stop to do the bobsled and only 4 that were close by said yes....it was a REAL Hi-Light of the day! Gstaad - Lake Geneva 1) Marvelous train ride- trains should have an observation area for photography that is not through a window 2) Montreaux - an option should have been given for either shopping or a tour on your own of Chateau deChillion....I feel I missed a great piece of history and would have taken deChillion over shopping any day. Zermott ) what a wonderful village and nice arrival dinner. With no posted written daily agenda it was always difficult to know what the daily options were OR times to meet. Most didn't know that we had a paid admission to the Matterhorn museum and it was only by accident that those that did stop by were told by museum staff that we had an afternoon tour time. Because of a lack of posted events I missed the guided tour and could have had time for both the tour and the train up the Matterhorn......Each day was filled with confusion and questions about what was happening. Glacier Express Train - again a marvelous trip BUT 7 hours on a train with no provided food or beverage is too much to ask. We were told to purchase our own snacks but were not told that a full meal would be available or the cost so we could have made a decision about what we wanted. Collette Tours should have at least provided us with available water/beverage for the 7 hours. Again a viewing platform or available open windows would have been nice for those wishing to take photographs. St Morritz - NOTHING WAS OPEN! We could not take advantage of any of the shops as most were closed! Yes they were all too expensive but it would have been nice to have that option. The included arrival dinner was at a most horrible restaurant. The meal was not eatable, the meat was shoe leather, the chicken was tough...those having fish were the only OK comments AND the NOISE level was SOO LOUD it hurt my ears. No one could hear anyone. Bernina Pass Train - This was a most enjoyable train ride for me ONLY because we escaped from the group and 7 of us found a car with windows that opened. The fresh air and open viewing windows made for the BEST ride to Lago Maggiore. Local farm Oiro was most delightful! So much could have been improved upon - a daily printed schedule tops my list as to improvements. The provided dinners could have been much less a hassle if everyone had a card with their pre-selected dinners listed - would have been less trouble to restaurants and the guide who always seemed to be unorganized. Guide - If it were not for her wonderful smile and overall attitude she would have been a flop. Rating her organization skills from 1-10 I would place her at a 3. Rating her on personality she gets a 9. Rating her on her knowledge of a country outside of Italy a 3. She was a concierge not a tour guide and in being a concierge she was no where to be found.....At breakfast you would have expected a pass through to advise everyone of the days schedule or if we needed anything or if we had what we needed for breakfast. She claims that Collette changed so many things from the original schedule that it was a challenge to her. My comment to her was that I didn't need to know that and it should have all been seamless to us travelers. No, I would not recommend Collette to others. It was the most expensive tour and I know that Switzerland is expensive and I expected more from our guide. The head sets should have been used more often...any time we did take a walk! People stray and if you do not stay with the core group than you lose out on what is being said. USE the HEAD SETS! Print a Daily Schedule - temperature and what is happening for the day.

Seeing the Matterhorn from my hotel room window!

Overall a good expience but tour director did not provide any educational information