Moderate-to-challenging walking on more rugged terrain with significant ascents / descents on most days. Compass skills may be required (check the individual holiday).
The season for this holiday is:
13 June 2020 - 07 October 2020
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| °C | 0 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 19 | 18 | 15 | 10 | 4 | 1 |
| mm | 84 | 80 | 80 | 99 | 119 | 142 | 130 | 153 | 108 | 85 | 100 | 86 |
We can only accept payment in GBP, but you can use this converter to find out how much the holiday equates to in your own currency.
7 nights: 13 June 2020 - 07 October 2020
Start any day | End by latest date(s) shown above
| Starting | Price | Single room |
|---|---|---|
| 13 - 28 Jun 2020 | £1045 | £70 |
| 29 Jun - 4 Jul 2020 | £1120 | £70 |
| 5 Jul - 17 Aug 2020 | £1180 | £70 |
| 18 - 23 Aug 2020 | £1120 | £70 |
| 24 - 31 Aug 2020 | £1045 | £70 |
| 1 - 8 Sep 2020 | £1020 | £70 |
| 9 - 13 Sep 2020 | £990 | £70 |
| 14 - 30 Sep 2020 | £945 | £70 |
| 3rd & 4th person discount | £0 | |
| Single traveller supplement | £0 |
Includes accommodation, meals and services integral to the holiday as described, plus walking notes and maps, but no travel from the UK, nor any connecting travel from the airport unless stated below.
Included travel: A Swiss Half-Fare Card is included providing you with half price tickets for trains, bus and boat journeys and up to 50% reduction on private railways and cable cars.
Book your flights through us and we'll find the best route and times to suit you. Please contact us to find out more about our flight booking service. We can also book connecting travel - see below.
7 nights: 13 June 2020 - 07 October 2020
Start any day | End by latest date(s) shown above
| Starting | Price | Single room |
|---|---|---|
| 13 - 28 Jun 2020 | £1415 | £70 |
| 29 Jun - 4 Jul 2020 | £1480 | £70 |
| 5 Jul - 17 Aug 2020 | £1545 | £70 |
| 18 - 23 Aug 2020 | £1480 | £70 |
| 24 - 31 Aug 2020 | £1415 | £70 |
| 1 - 8 Sep 2020 | £1375 | £70 |
| 9 - 13 Sep 2020 | £1340 | £70 |
| 14 - 30 Sep 2020 | £1315 | £70 |
| 3rd & 4th person discount | £0 | |
| Single traveller supplement | £0 |
Includes all elements in the 'walk price', plus standard-class travel by Eurostar from London St Pancras or Ebbsfleet International to Lille or Paris, with onward travel as described below.
Included travel from the UK: UK-Paris (Eurostar), Paris–Kandersteg (TGV/regional rail), approx. duration 10h30 plus 0h04 walk to the hotel. Home, Kandersteg–Paris (TGV/regional rail), Paris–UK (Eurostar), approx duration 10h30 plus 0h04 walk from the hotel.
> More about 'by rail' prices
> The 'rail experience': what to expect
A Swiss Card is included providing you with half price tickets for trains, bus and boat journeys and up to 50% reduction on private railways and cable cars.
If you book your holiday less than 6 months in advance of your travel date, seats may no longer be available at the tariffs on which our prices are based, but we may be able to offer you seats on the same services at a supplement.
7 nights: 13 June 2020 - 07 October 2020
Start any day | End by latest date(s) shown above
| Starting | Price | Single room |
|---|---|---|
| 13 - 28 Jun 2020 | £1115 | £70 |
| 29 Jun - 4 Jul 2020 | £1180 | £70 |
| 5 Jul - 17 Aug 2020 | £1250 | £70 |
| 18 - 23 Aug 2020 | £1180 | £70 |
| 24 - 31 Aug 2020 | £1115 | £70 |
| 1 - 8 Sep 2020 | £1085 | £70 |
| 9 - 13 Sep 2020 | £1045 | £70 |
| 14 - 30 Sep 2020 | £1025 | £70 |
| 3rd & 4th person discount | -£60 | |
| Single traveller supplement | £60 |
Includes all elements in the 'walk price', plus a return ferry crossing between Dover and Calais with P&O Ferries for your party and one car.
Included travel: A Swiss Half-Fare Card is included providing you with half price tickets for trains, bus and boat journeys and up to 50% reduction on private railways and cable cars.
> More information about travelling self-drive
A supplement of £35 per car per single journey applies for outward travel on 3-5 & 10-12 April 2020, and for homeward travel on 12-13 April 2020. A supplement of £47 per car per single journey applies outward on Fridays & Saturdays 22-23 May & 10 July-15 August 2020 and homeward on Saturdays & Sundays 30-31 May & 18 July-30 August 2020.
Room upgrades (£ per person per night)
| Belle Epoque Hotel Victoria, Kandersteg | ||
|---|---|---|
| Mini-suite: 13 Jun - 07 Oct 2020 | £38 |
Extra nights (£ per person per night) in a double or single room
| Belle Epoque Hotel Victoria, Kandersteg (with dinner) | Double room | Single room |
|---|---|---|
| 13 Jun - 04 Jul 2020 | £115 | £125 |
| 05 Jul - 23 Aug 2020 | £132 | £142 |
| 24 Aug - 13 Sep 2020 | £115 | £125 |
| 14 Sep - 07 Oct 2020 | £106 | £116 |
Travelling from the UK
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Aberdeen - Zurich (via Frankfurt) | Lufthansa |
| Aberdeen - Zurich (via Paris) | Air France |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Birmingham - Zurich | Swiss |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Bournemouth - Geneva | easyJet |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Bristol - Basel | easyJet |
| Bristol - Geneva | easyJet |
| Bristol - Zurich (via Amsterdam Schiphol) | KLM |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Glasgow - Geneva | easyJet |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Leeds Bradford - Zurich (via Amsterdam Schiphol) | KLM |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Liverpool - Geneva | easyJet |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| London City - Geneva | British Airways, Swiss |
| London City - Zurich | British Airways, Swiss |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Gatwick - Basel | easyJet |
| Gatwick - Geneva | British Airways, easyJet, Swiss |
| Gatwick - Zurich | easyJet, Swiss |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Heathrow - Basel | British Airways |
| Heathrow - Geneva | British Airways, Swiss |
| Heathrow - Zurich | British Airways, Swiss |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Manchester - Basel | easyJet |
| Manchester - Geneva | easyJet |
| Manchester - Zurich | Swiss |
| Manchester - Zurich (via Frankfurt) | Lufthansa |
| Manchester - Zurich (via Munich) | Lufthansa |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Newcastle - Geneva | easyJet |
| Newcastle - Zurich (via Amsterdam Schiphol) | KLM |
| Newcastle - Zurich (via Paris CDG) | Air France |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Norwich - Zurich (via Amsterdam Schiphol) | KLM |
This list of flight options should be used as a guide only, and you should check each airline’s website for current routes, frequency and schedules. Not all flights operate daily, and may not run for the entire season. You should also heed the latest flight arrival time and earliest flight departure time stated in the connecting travel section, as it may not be possible to arrange connecting travel outside these times. Please do not book your flights until we have confirmed your accommodation to you. Alternatively, our expert reservations team will be happy to offer advice and to make flight bookings for you. We charge £35 per person for our flight booking service (£60 for India and Nepal). Your flights are then covered by our package-booking conditions, which give you greater protection in the event of delay or cancellation, as well as providing ATOL cover.
Connecting travel options - flying via Zürich
| Outward route | Price per person |
Latest flight arrival time |
|---|---|---|
| rail Zürich airport to Kandersteg (2h25), walk to hotel (0h05) | £16 | 1730 |
| Homeward route | Price per person |
Earliest flight departure time |
|---|---|---|
| walk to station (0h05), rail Kandersteg to Zürich airport (2h25) | £0 | 1300 |
Connecting travel options - flying via Bern
| Outward route | Price per person |
Latest flight arrival time |
|---|---|---|
| coach Bern airport to Bern SBB (0h30), rail Bern SBB to Kandersteg (1h), walk to hotel (0h05) | £16 | 1700 |
| Homeward route | Price per person |
Earliest flight departure time |
|---|---|---|
| walk to station (0h05), rail Kandersteg to Bern SBB (1h), coach Bern SBB to Bern airport (0h30) | £0 | 1100 |
Connecting travel options - flying via Geneva
| Outward route | Price per person |
Latest flight arrival time |
|---|---|---|
| rail Geneva airport to Kandersteg (3h15), walk to hotel (0h05) | £16 | 1730 |
| Homeward route | Price per person |
Earliest flight departure time |
|---|---|---|
| walk to station (0h05), rail Kandersteg to Geneva airport (3h15) | £0 | 1300 |
Connecting travel options - flying via Basel
| Outward route | Price per person |
Latest flight arrival time |
|---|---|---|
| coach Basel airport to Basel SBB (0h20), rail Basel SBB to Kandersteg (2h10), walk to hotel (0h05) | £16 | 1530 |
| Homeward route | Price per person |
Earliest flight departure time |
|---|---|---|
| walk to station (0h05), rail Kandersteg to Basel SBB (2h10), coach Basel SBB to Basel airport (0h20) | £0 | 1330 |
If you've experienced this holiday first hand, why not write a review?
We are keen for as many customers as possible to review their holiday. To make it easier to do so, we include a specific review section on our post-holiday questionnaire, and this is what we publish here, unedited. Read our full review policy >
What a great holiday - Kandersteg and the surrounding area is just so beautiful. The Belle Epoque Hotel Victoria was most welcoming and a very relaxing place to stay.
I did the walk up to Lake Oeschinensee on the 1st day, thinking that it would be a great way to start the holiday, but did find it extremely busy especially around the Lake - even on the high route round to Oberbargli there were a lot of walkers about and did hope that all the walks weren't going to be like that. I was so pleased to find that the rest of the walks that I did were absolutely amazing and not nearly as busy. I so enjoyed the walk up and down the Gasterntal Valley - I took the mini bus half way up, which gave me time to go almost as far as the Kanderfirn Glacier. What a lovely walk especially coming home through the trees and along the river. I also really enjoyed the walk up to the Gemmi Pass, it was so completely different to the Gasterntal Valley but I think my favourite was walking in the Lötschental Valley. I took a bus as far as Blatten then walked up to Schwarzsee and round to Kummenalp before coming down to catch a bus at Ferden. Coming from the Galloway area of Scotland I was so surprised to find on going round a corner about 12 Belted Galloway cows complete with cow bells on - not a Breed of cattle that I expected to see!! What gave me as much pleasure on this holiday was the fact that I could and did challenge myself on the walks - the amazing scenery just made me want to go further and see more. The icing on the cake was the fact that when I was there the weather was amazing - blue cloudless skies for most of the time and temperatures into the mid twenties - not what I expected.
To round of my holiday I spent a lovely night in Bern - a beautiful city and not too big. To celebrate an amazing holiday I had a fantastic meal in a lovely restaurant in the Old part of Bern called Metzgerstuebli in Muenstergasse.Thank you Inntravel, yet again for an amazing holiday, and so well arranged - I think it was holiday No 7 with you.
The setting of the Kandersteg hotel was superb, and we had a large comfortable room with balconies and added sitting space, which was most welcome. The walks were wonderful, though we could take only three because of poor weather (but we were advised to take a train to Bern on a rainy day, which was a great success). Switzerland is very expensive and this part of the Alps - surprisingly, given its tourism focus - not signed well. Furthermore, English is rarely included on signposts and information boards. English is spoken, but often we communicated in French. Inntravel's arrangements were perfect, and we felt we were in safe hands throughout. Many thanks for a lovely trip.
This holiday exceeded our expectations and was both restful and stimulating in equal measure. For us, Kandersteg and Zürich [Lake Oeschinensee & Beyond plus city add-on] made a wonderful combination.
What a great holiday - Kandersteg and the surrounding area is just so beautiful. The Belle Epoque Hotel Victoria was most welcoming and a very relaxing place to stay.
I did the walk up to Lake Oeschinensee on the 1st day, thinking that it would be a great way to start the holiday, but did find it extremely busy especially around the Lake - even on the high route round to Oberbargli there were a lot of walkers about and did hope that all the walks weren't going to be like that. I was so pleased to find that the rest of the walks that I did were absolutely amazing and not nearly as busy. I so enjoyed the walk up and down the Gasterntal Valley - I took the mini bus half way up, which gave me time to go almost as far as the Kanderfirn Glacier. What a lovely walk especially coming home through the trees and along the river. I also really enjoyed the walk up to the Gemmi Pass, it was so completely different to the Gasterntal Valley but I think my favourite was walking in the Lötschental Valley. I took a bus as far as Blatten then walked up to Schwarzsee and round to Kummenalp before coming down to catch a bus at Ferden. Coming from the Galloway area of Scotland I was so surprised to find on going round a corner about 12 Belted Galloway cows complete with cow bells on - not a Breed of cattle that I expected to see!! What gave me as much pleasure on this holiday was the fact that I could and did challenge myself on the walks - the amazing scenery just made me want to go further and see more. The icing on the cake was the fact that when I was there the weather was amazing - blue cloudless skies for most of the time and temperatures into the mid twenties - not what I expected.
To round of my holiday I spent a lovely night in Bern - a beautiful city and not too big. To celebrate an amazing holiday I had a fantastic meal in a lovely restaurant in the Old part of Bern called Metzgerstuebli in Muenstergasse.Thank you Inntravel, yet again for an amazing holiday, and so well arranged - I think it was holiday No 7 with you.
The setting of the Kandersteg hotel was superb, and we had a large comfortable room with balconies and added sitting space, which was most welcome. The walks were wonderful, though we could take only three because of poor weather (but we were advised to take a train to Bern on a rainy day, which was a great success). Switzerland is very expensive and this part of the Alps - surprisingly, given its tourism focus - not signed well. Furthermore, English is rarely included on signposts and information boards. English is spoken, but often we communicated in French. Inntravel's arrangements were perfect, and we felt we were in safe hands throughout. Many thanks for a lovely trip.
This holiday exceeded our expectations and was both restful and stimulating in equal measure. For us, Kandersteg and Zürich [Lake Oeschinensee & Beyond plus city add-on] made a wonderful combination.
What a beautiful place Kandersteg is - we had permanent cricks in our necks from admiring the mountains which surround the village, and we ran out of superlatives to describe the mountain scenery and the wildflowers. The walking was fantastic - we took most of the easier options as it was graded 2-3 level walking and with the lovely weather walked every day. Some of the descents are tricky but nothing that was unmanageable. The walk up to the Gemmi Pass was memorable, the flowers at Sunnbuel were spectacular and walking on the snow line in shorts and T-shirt was amazing. The Gasterntal valley, Almenalp and the Lotschental valley were also incredible walks. NB if you decide to do Lotschental from Fafleralp go half left out of the car park, cross the footbridge turn right onto the road then follow the road round to the left to the next yellow SP. Don't follow the steep wide path straight up! One thing we would highly recommend is to hire E-bikes from the hotel. We used the E-mountain bikes (but you could do it with the hybrids as well) to go up into the Ucshinen valley as far as you can go - a fantastic experience, and the Rosti at the mountain restaurant on the way back was excellent. Hotel Victoria was a lovely hotel, our room was enormous, the food was very good, particularly the 4 course served meals and the breakfasts. The staff were extremely helpful and friendly. We ate in the Ritter restaurant for our anniversary and they went to the trouble of decorating our table with flowers and streamers which was a lovely touch. A fantastic holiday all round.
We wanted an introduction to Switzerland, and we got it. The two trips back to back - Kandersteg [Lake Oeschinensee & Beyond] and Engadine [Villages of the Engadine] were fabulous. In many ways above expectations. My wife and I shout in unison "Well done, Inntravel!" We'll be back. We've already booked two trips in Portugal for next Spring.
We thoroughly enjoyed our week in Kandersteg. Kandersteg is a perfect base for a week's walking with a wide variety of walks of all kinds within easy reach many starting directly from the village. And the station and bus stops were 200m from the hotel for longer trips. A quick stop at the Coop after breakfast and we were set for the day - apart from the coffee stop at one of the gasthofs in the alps. The Belle Epoque Hotel Victoria was very comfortable with good facilties and friendly helpful staff. Given that our trip was at the height of the summer season in August the hotel was quieter than we had expected. The meals - half-board - were excellent. My gluten-free diet was easily accommodated. Highly recommended.
Every day had a highlight. We thought Gasterntal unmissable (we bussed in and walked back, having feasted on wild strawberries which we found growing near our chosen picnic site); also the panoramic walks on the north side of Lake Oeschinensee and between Allmenalp and the Uschene Valley. Blausee was too touristy for us, though the variety of the walk there (forest route) and back (track route) was excellent. The flora stopped us in our tracks on several occasions -- a small meadow of wild astrantia, another of wild delphiniums, another of something that looked like a white gaura but probably wasn't.
This was our first Inntravel holiday, and we have thoroughly enjoyed it. There were challenging moments on the walks, but in every other respect everything went to plan and we had all the information we needed or could reasonably expect. We chatted with another couple who had already done about ten Inntravel holidays (they couldn't quite remember how many!), which in itself seemed to be good reason for us to consider another in due course, fitness and opportunity permitting.
This was our first time undertaking a self-guided hiking holiday, our only prior experience having been with guided group camping trips. We harboured a certain amount of apprehension re. relying on walk-notes and the quality of the accomodation and food but this proved completely unfounded in all cases. The trip Inntravel organised exceeded our expectations across the board.
We were very pleased with the 'centered' based style of walking holiday in Switzerland. It gave us the flexibility to adapt our walks to the weather which varied from a couple of sunny 90 degree F days to a couple of days in the 30F range (including rain and snow). And from Kandersteg there were a number of walk alternatives.
I couldn't have asked for a better trip and would absolutely book another vacation with Inntravel. The walking notes were excellent and gave a HUGE additional value that would be lacking if I had planned the trip on my own. It was helpful for both the sake of directions and also feeling confident that the walks I was choosing were worthwhile and selected by people with experience travelling in the area.
This is a great area for walking. Pretty strenuous at times but we enjoyed the challenge. Flowers amazing and Lake Oeschinensee every bit as magnificent as the photos. Belle Époque Hotel a bit tired. People very friendly wherever we went.
Very good with excellent weather if a little too hot. The Platzers run an excellent hotel and employ good staff - they have been doing it for 28 years and I have returned for that time annually. Swiss transport, quality of scenery and life complete the picture.