The Best Active Vacation: Hiking 60 Miles in the Swiss Alps

Aug 29

My friend Misty declared she wanted to hike across Switzerland for her 50th birthday. I immediately said yes, knowing it would be the trip of a lifetime.

Fast forward nine months later: we're bruised, beat up, and occasionally bloody, descending an incredibly steep mountain pass with our knees shaking. Someone is talking, and I want to scream, shut the fuck up, because I need every brain cell focused on my foot placement. One wrong step and I'm sliding down the side of a mountain with no reprieve in sight.

And yet, every few minutes, despite clinging to the mountain, knees shaking, I have to stop and look around. The views are insane. Every turn reveals another glacier, another impossibly steep valley, another snow-covered peak that looks fake. You spend hours climbing a mountain, get to the top, and somehow the view on the other side is even better. We literally crossed mountains in a day. A few hours after that descent, you're at the bottom, drinking an Aperol Spritz in a tiny Swiss town, laughing at yourself and gearing up to do it all again tomorrow. The best moments in life are when you bite off more than you can chew and live through it.

The Via Alpina Bear Trek was hard. But it was also one of the most incredible things I've ever done. After a year of training, we spent seven days hiking 65 miles through the Bernese Oberland and climbing more than 24,000 feet. We booked through Traventuria as a self-guided tour. They handled the hotels and moved our luggage from place to place, so we only carried a day pack.

It was hard. The views were absolutely unreal. And I would do it again tomorrow.

Planning the Trip

We flew into Geneva and spent a few days making our way into the mountains before the hiking began. I would absolutely recommend doing this. Don't land in Switzerland and immediately start hiking. Give yourself a few days to recover from the flight, adjust to the time change, and enjoy the train travel. Switzerland is beautiful before you even get to the trail.

We upgraded our hotels to Category A, which cost about $200 more per person, and I'm glad we did. The tour itself was around $1,400 per person, including accommodations, breakfast, luggage transfers, and the trip logistics—very reasonable. Each hotel includes a massive buffet breakfast, which set us up for success.

The luggage service was necessary. You leave your larger bag at the hotel in the morning, hike all day with a small pack, and your luggage is waiting at the next hotel. It's the perfect middle ground between a serious hiking trip and a vacation.

Training for the Hike

You should train for this hike. I spent about 9 months getting ready for this trip, training like I would a half marathon. During the week, I’d do shorter (1-3mi) hikes after work and try to do a longer hike (4-8mi) on the weekend.

This isn't a casual stroll through the Alps. The days are long, steep, and exposed. We climbed more than 24,000 feet over the course of the route, and there are several big mountain passes. If you're preparing for it, focus on hiking uphill, downhill, and spending long periods on your feet. Hiking poles were incredibly helpful, especially on descents. I would also practice using them before the trip so you're comfortable with them.

The good news? You don't have to train with a giant backpack. Because your luggage is transferred every day, you're only carrying water, snacks, a layer, and the basics.

A Few Switzerland Travel Tips

Gear: Hiking poles, day pack, good hat, sun shirt, and of course, good shoes. I brough trail runners and hiking boots. Switching off saved my feet and prevented blisters.
Snacks: Bring a few snacks from home. We had plenty of opportunities to stop for lunch and coffee along the trail, but having favorite bars, electrolytes, and snacks in our bags was nice. We usually ate breakfast at the hotel and brought something small—a hard-boiled egg, fruit, or a cheese sandwich—for the trail.
Water was easy to find and refill along the route.
Navigation: I used AllTrails, and there's also a Swiss hiking app you can download while you're there. But honestly, the trails are incredibly well marked. We didn't need to obsessively check GPS.
Sun protection: The biggest thing to prepare for is the sun. There is very little shade on many sections of the trail. A sun shirt, good sunscreen, chapstick, and a cooling towel were all essentials for me.

The Hike

We started in Meiringen and finished in Lenk, crossing six mountain passes along the way. The first few days were a great introduction to the area. We hiked through green pastures, past cows with bells, and into views of the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau. The scenery constantly changed, which was one of my favorite things about the route. Then came the bigger mountain days.

The hike over Sefinenfurgge Pass was steep enough to include ropes, stairs, and loose scree. The following day, we climbed toward Hohtürli Pass—the highest pass on the Bear Trek—and finished the ascent with 567 stairs. The views at the top were ridiculous. You could see the glaciers and surrounding peaks, and the descent eventually brought us toward Oeschinensee, one of the most beautiful alpine lakes I've ever seen. Some days were physically challenging enough that I was very happy Switzerland has gondolas, trains, buses, trotti bikes and cable cars everywhere. And I fully support taking advantage of them.

Don't Be a Hiking Purist

One of the best things about hiking in Switzerland is that you have options. If you're tired, injured, dealing with bad weather or broken gear, or just don't feel like descending another 3,000 feet, there are often gondolas or scooters that can help. Take them. There are also Trotti bikes—basically giant mountain scooters—that you can ride downhill in some of the ski areas. We did it once, and it was so fun. I highly recommend it, whether you're tired or not.

The Food

There are mountain restaurants and chalets along many sections of the route, which makes the hiking experience even better. We stopped for coffee and lunch when we could. One place had the best pumpkin soup and fermented vegetables I've ever had. There was plenty of rösti, cheese, and traditional Swiss food along the way. You have to bring cash to these places.

Dinner was the one thing we struggled with a little. The hotel meals were delicious, but many were formal, multi-course dinners that lasted two hours. After hiking all day, we often wanted something quick and easy so we could shower, relax, walk around town, or just go to bed. It's not a complaint. Just something to know going in—and budget for.

Take a Rest Day

We took one day off from hiking, and I think it made the trip better. Some people still explored, but it gave everyone a chance to recover. We spent time at a lake and went swimming in the cold water, which felt incredible after several days of hiking. The rest day also helped keep everyone relatively injury-free. When you're planning a trip like this, don't feel like you have to maximize every single day. Sometimes the best part of a hiking trip is sitting by a lake with nowhere you need to be.

Last piece of advice: DO IT

The Bear Trek is challenging, but it's also one of the most accessible multi-day hiking trips I've ever experienced. You get the adventure of hiking through the Swiss Alps without carrying everything you own on your back. You sleep in real hotels. You have breakfast every morning. Your luggage magically appears at your next destination. And if your knees decide they've had enough, there's probably a gondola (or Trotti bike) nearby.

I would recommend this trip to anyone who loves hiking and wants to experience the Swiss Alps in a way that feels adventurous without being miserable. It was absolutely the trip of a lifetime.

Lindsey Chronert