Monday, April 29, 2019

Why Swisstravelguide uses public transportation


Switzerland is a small country and depending on statistics, we are the number 2 in the world in terms of using public transportation (especially travelling by train). Getting around in Switzerland by train or bus has no appreciation of status - all sections of the population travel by public of transport. 

The network of trains, buses, light rails in combination with the timetable is an ingenious system that transports you on most routes within a very short time between cities, villages and regions. 1.25 million passengers travel alone on the Swiss Federal Railways network - per day!

If you travel by car from Zurich to Bern, you need at least 1 hour 30 minutes to travel on the motorway. By train, you arrive at the destination within 58 minutes. Without traffic jam. Without waiting time. 

For this reason, we have decided that all private tours at SwissTravelGuide will be executed with public transport. This allows us to accompany guests in one day from Zurich to Zermatt to the Mount Matterhorn, to be back in Zurich the same evening. By car, the arrival and return journey alone would take 8 hours. 

Whenever we arrive by train - we are right in the center. For the city tours we use the local system of transport such as tram (light rail) and bus, because many cities in Switzerland have traffic-free zones and most attractions can not be reached by car.

On the train our guests have more space than in a car. The changing landscape is easier to observe from the train than from a concrete motorway. With the intercity trains we often have the opportunity to drink something in the restaurant coach and there are clean toilettes available at all times. The tour guide can discuss with you without distraction during the train ride. In addition, with the choice of public transport, we can keep the schedule to the minute. That's why we can calculate the duration of a private tour, like from Basel to Jungfraujoch or to Lucerne, at any time.


Friday, April 5, 2019

private tours vs. group tours

If you travel to an unknown destination, it is not easy to keep track of local offers for tours and excursions. The Internet facilitates the search, but not our personal selection. From my own experience, I know that the search is time-consuming and you are never really sure if you have selected the offer that you imagine personally.

That's why we at Swisstravelguide offer two different products. The private tour and the group tour. I would like to point out the question where the differences are:

As an example we travel to the Jungfraujoch in Switzerland - Top of Europe. It is an incredibly fascinating destination in the the glacier world, a pioneering achievement of high-alpine railway construction and the destination is very popular. We offer daily a private tour as well as a group tour to the Jungfraujoch. The private tour can start in Zurich, Lucerne, Basel or Bern. Our guests are picked up by the tour guide at the hotel and accompanied to Interlaken. During the group tour our tour guide awaits the guests centrally in Interlaken at the meeting place. The guests travel individually to the tour.

Both types of tours have the same travel route: We travel from Interlaken via Grindelwald, Kleine Scheidegg to the Jungfraujoch. For both tours, we offer a guided tour of the sights at 11000ft altitude. The tour takes about 45 minutes on a private tour and offers plenty of scope for individual photos. In the group tour, however, we need about 1 hour. After the tour, the guests spend free time and can do something themselves. On the other hand, during the private tour, we accompany the guests to lunch and then return to the starting point, depending on the personal wishes of the guests. During the group tour, guests are required to arrive at the scheduled time for the return journey.

The difference between the private tour and the group tour is that on a private tour only guests travel together, who know each other and do not have to share the tour guide with other guests. This allows a lot of individuality and we can respond better to the wishes and questions of our customers.
The group tour size is max. 12 guests, they share the tour guide and spend the tour together. Here the possibilities are limited, to meet all individual wishes. On the group tour, we guide the guests, but we do not accompany them permanently.

No matter what preference you have, a local and experienced tour guide will accompany you to the Jungfraujoch. We look forward to traveling with you.