Via Alpina - Bear Trek

The price is based upon two people sharing. It is also possible travel alone in a single room. Simply choose "1 person" in the booking form and it will automatically add the single room surcharge.

On this tour you will be on your own supplied with maps, route descriptions and luggage transfers. That means that your time is your own and you have plenty of time to enjoy the stages in your own pace.

Check the price quickly
You can quickly check the price of your desired trip without having to fill in anything. Here's how:

1. Choose your desired start date
2. Click on the green button "See price and reserve your holiday" and go to the booking form
3. Select number of people, add any optional extras and see the price at the bottom of the page (you don't have to fill in anything on the form).

Get a quote
For example, if you want a flight included or changes to the trip, you can order a quote for this using the "Get a quote" button. Remember to describe in detail what, if anything, you want changed.

The process of your booking
When you book, we will start booking hotels and arranging all the practical details of the trip. This process typically takes 2-5 working days, but some bookings may take longer. If you are arranging your own transport, we recommend that you wait until we have confirmed your booking before arranging this.

Dates
If you can select the date in the tour calendar at the top of this page, this is a possible start date. We continually update the tours with sold-out dates, after which those dates will turn red and cannot be selected.

Please note that transportation to and from the destination is not included in the package, and that you have to make sure to book your own flight that matches the holiday start- and end date. This is easily done online or by contacting us for an offer.

Important: We recommend that you book the trip with us before you buy your plane tickets.

Plane and train
The easiest way to get to Meiringen is to fly to Zurich. From here you take the train to Meiringen. The trip from Zurich to Meiringen takes about 3½ hours by train.
It is also possible to add a transfer from Zurich or Geneva airports to Meiringen - see prices on the booking form.

To get the full overview of the train journey from Zurich to Meiringen, visit Rome2Rio

To get the full overview of the train journey from Lenk to Zurich, visit Rome2Rio

Driving on your own
This may also be a convenient solution. You simply drive all the way to Meiringen and pay approximately 20 euros to leave the car at the first hotel. There is no need to reserve the parking spot in advance.

When you return from Lenk to Meiringen you can take the train, which takes about 3 hours, or you can purchase a private transfer back to the first hotel (costs about €100 per person).  

The accommodation on this tour includes 7 nights in family-run guesthouses with shared facilities.

If you prefer staying in hotels with private facilities, you can upgrade the accommodation on the booking form.

Hotel Upgrade
When you book the trip, you can choose, whether you want to upgrade to especially good hotels on the trip. This costs a little extra, but if you choose this, you'll be accommodated at these types of hotels:

Category A: 6 nights in double rooms at tourist class hotels and 1 night in a traditional mountain hut with a shared bathroom / WC
Charme-hotels: 7 nights in carefully selected hotels (see the list below):

• Meiringen: Hotel Victoria ***
• Grindelwald: Private Selection Hotel Kirchbühl
• Wengen: Hotel Silberhorn
• Griesalp: Griesalp Hotels
• Candlestick: Victoria Belle Epoque
• Adelboden: Private Selection Bellevue Parkhotel & Spa ****
• Lenk: Hotel Kreuz ***

On this trip we have included breakfast every day. It is generally easy to find places to eat at, as well as shops to buy lunch or a lunch pack at. 

Luggage transfer is included on this tour. Upon arrival at the first hotel you will be given luggage tags along with the rest of the welcome package. You fill out the luggage tags and put them on your bags where they will remain for the duration of the tour.

Your luggage is picked up from the hotel lobby around 9am every morning and will arrive at your next hotel at 6pm at the latest (often long before that). If there are any special exceptions to the luggage transfer you will be notified upon arrival.

Luggage transfer includes one bag per guest and the bags can weigh 20kg each.

This trip has a difficulty level of 3-4, which means that most hiking days on the tour are level 3 and a few are level 4.

Grade 3
Hiking in mountainous terrain with longer ascents and descents. You will hike 5-7 hours a day. Requires generally good fitness and health, but no special technical skills or prior experience. Requires good shoes, such as trekking or mountain boots.

Grade 4
Demanding hiking with daily marches of 6-8 hours, often in difficult terrain at higher altitudes. There can be longer ascents of up to 1,000 meters. Requires good physical condition, endurance, and knees and ankles capable of enduring prolonged descents. You need to be in good health and preferably have hiking experience. Requires good hiking boots and regular outdoor clothing. There can be significant temperature differences.

Read more about our grading system here.

Here you can get an overview of the entire route and the elevation profile for each day. The data shows the data from the GPX-files related to the tour. Notice that the routes are sometimes updated, which means that there might be small variations.

See a map of the whole route

See the elevation profile

Colors
Blue routes: The route as normal
Red routes: Variations/options (such as shortened or extended routes)

On this tour, you will receive the following documents:

Upon booking
Immediately after booking this trip, you'll recieve a pre-booking-email where you can get a complete overview of your booking. Once the tour is confirmed you get a confirmation email from us along with practical information about the tour.

One month before departure
You will receive a hotel list and final travel documents.

Upon arrival at the first hotel
You'll receive the welcome pack, which contains everything you need for the trip. There will be route descriptions, maps, luggage tags and specific local vouchers. The documents are in English.
Notice: On some tours it is necessary to either print the documents yourself or to bring them electronically.

We recommend taking out travel insurance that covers at least illness, accident, repatriation, lost holiday, luggage and liability. As a customer, you are responsible for taking out the necessary travel insurance to cover these costs.

Before taking out insurance, you should check whether you are already covered by travel or cancellation insurance through your home insurance company, credit card or similar - please note that there may be differences in insurance coverage.

After booking this trip, you get access to various discount schemes.

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