Day trip to Swiss Villages from Zurich - Small Group Tour by Car

I think it deserves 1 star because I saw a cockroach, it was annoying, bad, etc.

No real guide just driver but he was prompt and good communicator. Do the cable car in Grindlewald and walk down from Bort ( first stop) if you have time! Beautiful scenery!

We booked this semi private (ended up being private) tour from Zurich. I’m writing this review because I have had so many great Viator experiences, and have based them on reviews so I want to caution those thinking of booking this experience. We typically do private tours so we can customize so I’m familiar with what to expect. The first issue was communication. This was a 10 hour tour which was supposed to start at 9:00am. I received no communication from the driver until 8:30am despite messaging multiple times starting the day before. I really wasn’t sure he was even going to show until he finally messaged and said he would be there at 9:30am. The car was small for 4 people (model Y) for a trip which was about 4-6 hours in the car. Furthermore, the driver had his own seat very far back and reclined very far back leaving very little room for the passenger behind him. Typically drivers ask if customers are comfortable with temperature, seating and music but this wasn’t the case. I didn’t mind the Justin Bieber station (haha) but my husband and teen boys were dying. They could have asked him to turn it off so that’s on us- but the concept of a long drive and not checking in on customers was different than our many prior experiences. I do think this driver was new and a last minute substitution so is probably learning. He took us where we asked and was quick to pick us up so no issues there at all. He didn’t add much information but to be fair he wasn’t a tour guide. He did suggest we buy tickets to Jungfraujoch railway track. Which sounded like a unique experience but I luckily did a search and saw that the altitude 12,000 is very high and I’ve gotten altitude sickness before and it can be very dangerous with quick assent. It was also 200-300 Swiss Francs per ticket so would have been an additional 1,000 to an already expensive tour. We luckily did some google searches before taking his suggestion and decided to not do it. It could be a good choice (and amazing experience) for some but I think it’s important to know to make an informed decision. Overall the experience was ok because we did get to see some amazing sites- it could be possible to take trains instead as the Swiss railway is an extremely reliable and extensive.

Tour guide was a very nice guy, but seemed a little green when it came to our itinerary. Didn’t really know much about each location, and we didn’t go to several locations that were on the itinerary given to us. The car was also a little small for an all-day tour. Still what we did see was amazing, and we enjoyed the day.

Balihar was very personable and knowledgeable. He was always up beat and had a smile on his face. He showed us beautiful spots to have coffee and lunch, where it wasn’t so touristy. Not pushy to keep moving, gave us space to do what we wanted. He was very accommodating and really went the extra mile for us!

The three of us were picked up at our hotel in Zurich and spent an amazing day driving through the incredibly scenic Alps. With the taylor-made itinerary, and a driver that was friendly, knowledgable, considerate, and attentive to our every request, we spent a perfect day without rushing or missing out on key attractions. The weather was beautiful, the scenery was breathtaking, and the small villages did not disappoint. A Swiss Alps bucket list adventure. Go!!

I recently took the Swiss Villages day trip from Zurich and unfortunately it was very expensive for what was included. The tour price did not include lunch or even water, which was disappointing considering the cost of the trip. That said, I want to highlight that our driver, Suhan, was excellent. He was a very good driver, professional, and a genuinely nice person who made the journey comfortable and safe. I also want to mention an issue I had with Viator on another booking. The weather was bad, so I tried to cancel the trip more than 25 hours in advance. I have proof showing that I cancelled before the 24-hour cancellation policy, but I still did not receive a full refund. Instead, I was repeatedly transferred from one customer service person to another, which felt like a way to waste time rather than resolve the issue. Overall, while the driver for this tour was great, the high price, lack of basic inclusions, and poor customer service experience with cancellations were very disappointing.

We had a wonderful day with Amir! He was a great guide and took us to the places we wanted to see as well as many others.

Sohan our guide was very flexible and easy to work with. He took us to see some pretty amazing sites!

Sohan was our excellent tour guide who went above and beyond to make the trip exceptional. He is very knowledgeable about the area and made sure we had an enjoyable experience, tailoring the journey to maximize our time.