Switzerland/France
Bern to Annecy: A Swiss & French Walking Adventure for Women
Program No. 24916RJ
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Bern to Annecy: A Swiss & French Walking Adventure for Women
Bern to Annecy: A Swiss & French Walking Adventure for Women
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Participant Reviews
Based on 11 Reviews
SHOWING
This walking and hiking adventure for women was fabulous, and our group leader Marie-Paul was superb! We also had two group leaders-in training-(Marta and Chantel) who were terrific (energetic, organized and very attentive to all the participants in our group)! I highly recommend this wonderful trip! Bobbi
— Review left June 15, 2026
This trip, a hiking vacation in the mountains of Switzerland and France for women only, was spectacular! When I first read the description, I pictured something I had seen on TV: Rick Steeves with his jacket over his shoulder, walking on gentle pathways through brilliant green pastures. "Gentle hiking," my Road Scholar program description read. That was what attracted me because I am 80. I did not want to sign up unless I was confident I could keep up. I did keep up with our excellent guides and my 15 new friends in the group. Our leader, Marie-Paule, was wonderful. Marta, our co-leader, was great as well. I cannot say enough about their enthusiasm, leadership, and support. We also had the privilege of meeting Chantal, who was training to guide this trip in the future. Many times we also had a local guide to lead us through towns or trails familiar to them. We learned so much by visiting three different areas starting in Bern and ending in Annecy, France. We had our daily walking exercise, sometimes uphill (which everyone needs to realize will be required when you are vacationing in the mountains). We had wonderful food, sometimes a picnic lunch on the trail; sometimes a dinner of several courses in a restaurant. The scenery was beautiful, as you would expect. I loved that trip, made great by the other women in our group and the excellent guides who led us daily and taught us about women's issues and local culture. Thanks, Road Scholar, for a fabulous experience!
— Review left June 10, 2026
Being in this part of the world was a completely new experience for me. I enjoyed every minute and loved that it was a nice small group of women only. Our amazing guide, Marie-Paul went above and beyond the call of duty to ensure we all got the most of every day’s outings including the educational aspect of it. She even got up in the wee hour of the morning on departure day to see us safely off to the airport on our private bus.
Also, her “guides-in-training”, Marti and Chantal were exceptional as well. With their combined knowledge and hiking experience, I felt we were very lucky to have them lead our group. Their presence enabled the group to be split into faster, more experienced walkers/hikers, followed by the medium walking group and then the slower, more careful walkers bringing up the rear. So basically each level had their own guide, all overseen by Marie-Paul.
I look forward to planning another hiking tour for 2027. Wishing good health and happiness to all!
Nicole Pitlyk
— Review left June 7, 2026
This hiking trip was amazing and fun, beautiful. I would describe it as an item on my bucket list, that I did not know was on my bucket list :)
— Review left November 4, 2025
I strongly believe your trip was misleading in the activity level. It was rated a 0 or a 1 No Sweat.
Due to scree, the time of the year - i.e. a lot of moisture, leaves, the steepness it gave me nightmares.
I was in relatively good shape but pulled a muscle in the back of my leg severely but still soldiered on. I tried to walk every other day after but particularly the steepness of Montreaux was very challenging.
Loved the flatness of Annecy and would rate the local guide, Aude as my top local guide. She was prepared and it appealed to my learning style. Some of the other local guides seemed to lack knowledge beyond a 4th grade level.
As to our general guide, she was okay but seemed to display a lack of knowledge of the areas we visited to a certain extent often adding extra steps.
I understand the program was new but it was a heck of an initiation to Roadscholar. '
Another concern was I tried to phone your Travel Advisor several times and there was a difficulty due to time delay, and being off for Columbus Day. Later towards the end of the trip there was quite a backlog I guess to the Columbus Day holiday that your general information did not suffer. Perhaps from a business support perspective this should be addressed or remediated.
Please I am writing this review only to get you to address the MAJOR fault with this trip is marking it "no sweat." No sweat - my posterior!!!!
It is seriously misrepresented as no sweat.
The trip was good but only my sister and I and our guide were warmly dressed. But my sister and I have experience hiking and camping in CANADA. We had compressed downs, toques(beanies in USA speak), gloves, long underwear, etc. Throughout the trip, 4 out of 12 travellers were absent some days due to many factors - mine to a severe pulled muscle that happened accidentally to me. The others were absent due to many factors but 4/12 is 75%.
Thank you for letting me address this and I hope you change it for next year
— Review left October 28, 2025
This was an excellent trip, good mix of walking/hiking, city tours. Liked the fact that it was mostly on public transport. Good restaurant selection and nice hotels.
The guide was also excellent! Her English was almost fluent, and she showed in many ways that she cared about the experience of each and every person on the trip.
— Review left October 8, 2025
This was an amazing experience. I was one of eleven women led by a wonderful Swiss guide. Together we walked many miles across breath-takingly beautiful places in Switzerland and France, on mountain sides, in forests, and even through cow pastures. It exceeded my expectations.
— Review left October 1, 2025
The concept of this program (gorgeous surroundings, lots of walking, reliance on public transportation) I found compelling from the outset and it did not disappoint. We were fortunate to have a group of enthusiastic, congenial women who were open to adventure and new experiences. We were also exceedingly fortunate to have an outstanding group leader in Marie-Paul. She was fun, supportive, adaptable when weather or walking conditions warranted, and never without a special treat representative of the area we were in. We also had excellent local guides throughout, who each contributed their knowledge, insights, and expertise. With Marie-Paul at the helm, our group quickly built camaraderie and an engaging dynamic that supported both individual and group interests. Whether it was discovering the delights of "double cream," the chorus of cow bells, or the tones of an Alpen horn, there was never a dull moment.
I think we all discovered that the trails, hills and city inclines made many of the walking excursions more than "gentle," but everyone pitched in to make sure we all made it. And the vistas, hidden gems, and overall learning experiences made it well worth it.
I would highly recommend this adventure to anyone who would enjoy discovering some of the less explored, lovely villages and by-ways of Switzerland (and a bit of France), all while feeling like a local on the trains and trams.
— Review left June 21, 2025
Marie- Paule was a wonderful leader. She was instrumental in making my trip a great experience. She is very bright, funny & empathetic !!
— Review left June 19, 2025
Hiking in Switzerland with other women was an awesome once-in-a-lifetime experience. All hotels were very good, as was the food. Everyone especially enjoyed the charms 200 yo hotel in Montreux. And our guide, Marie-Paul( a seasoned hiker living in the French alps) was wonderful: knowledgeable, kind, thoughtful and detail oriented. All the local guides were very good as well.
As for the hikes, whether hiking thru flower-covered fields, passing by cows and listening to the tinkling of cow bells, hiking thru charming farming villages (largely unknown to tourists), by vineyards or on mount tops, we were surrounded by stunning bucolic beauty….postcard perfect in all directions! Each day was filled with new experiences and hikes in different areas. It would be impossible to select a favorite place or hike; each was unique and wonderful. Another note about the hikes: while there wasn’t much elevation gain on our hikes and no very steep ascents or descents, there were many pretty long slow steady inclines which made me glad I started to increase my daily walks months in advance…and that I got my arthritic knee injected just prior to the trip.
My advice to anyone considering this trip (especially older folks like myself, at 77) would be to start training for it months in advance, to include hills in your walks, building up to at least 4 miles several times weekly so that you can enjoy the stunning scenery without struggling. It’ll be worth it! Such an awesome trip!
— Review left June 16, 2025
Everyone deserves to feel on top of the world sometimes and in Switzerland I felt like that literally. Road Scholar is SO refined in coordinating all the details for smooth baggage management, trains-buses connections on pointe, hotels are always top notch!, best meals in the locale', finest local experts and the fantastic suggested readings to prepare. Road Scholar has CONSISTENT qualities that always exceed my expectations.
This Swiss hiking trip had a feature that made Switzerland come alive for us. Our group had the joy of the kindest, most attentive, highly knowledgeable, and superbly organized guide: Sandra Rabar. She is a Swiss woman with Gruyere and chocolate 'in her veins'! She added the Swiss philosophy of life without teaching. She modeled the balance of history lessons and personal experience that helped us understand this unique culture.
— Review left May 26, 2025