Bern's Charms & Alpine Cheese: Small-Group Zurich Day Trip

The guide was great. The cookie company and cheese company products were not what anyone should eat. On the list of killer, habit forming things that should not be eaten. Full of sugar, carbohydrates, highly processed grain, saturated fat and cholesterol. The views from the bus were great. Bern was great except for the bear habitat. Would have been nice if there was time for lunch in Bern. Great photo opportunities in Bern.

Honestly, I was a little disappointed in this trip. I think it was not suited to my interests. If you are extremely interested in Switzerland history & facts, prefer cars over trains, or have mobility issues I would recommend it. However, my sister and I are very active and did not like how much time we spent in the car. We would’ve preferred taking public transport and walking more at each of the stops. Additionally, our guide was a BIG talker. Which can be great if you are super interested in all things Switzerland. However, when he rambled for the entire trip it was hard to retain anything. I feel like he was filibustering on the topic of Switzerland. I prefer tour guides that tell you the highlights and try to make it entertaining. Unfortunately we both kept falling asleep. Despite this, the things we did were super fun! The highlights being the Kambly biscuit factory, Bern walking tour, and the Emmental cheese factory. However, we had extremely limited time at each stop. Kambly had 60 different items to sample, a cafe, and a shop but we only had 45 minutes. With Bern we had a tight 2 hours, mind you this was without any lunch time allotted. I think I would’ve preferred to spend an entire day in Bern! It was beautiful! We did a few photo stops which were pretty but my sister and I had just done an amazing hike with views, we had already gotten a look into the classic Swiss landscape. But like I said, if you have limited mobility or endurance, it would work for you. Overall it was an okay experience, but I would consider the points I made above to make your decision. Maybe it will be right for you! But it was not for us.

Having read great reviews of this tour I booked in and was very happy to find out they were all correct! Our tour guide Gallus was extremely friendly and had great knowledge to share during our journey to Bern. Our first main stop at the Kambly factory was like heaven for anyone that likes biscuits (thankfully I do), and the unlimited tastings and free drink went down a treat as we got our day started. After our next coach ride via a "Bio"/organic zone of farming land (with very interesting info on its creation), we arrived in Bern where we got to see the famous Bear Park and had a quick tour through the old town before having some free time for lunch. After this we made a beeline to Emmental where we enjoyed a very fun tour of the Emmentaler factory (with plenty of cheese to taste), got a few magnificent photos of the surrounds, and got to see a family run farm complete with cows etc. Although the tour takes up an entire day, it was worth it to get a crash course on Bern and Switzerland's most famous cheese. This was the second of two tours with Best of Switzerland Tours, and based on both I will be back next time I'm in the country to see more of the amazing Swiss landscape and enjoy the delicious food on offer.

It was an amazing day, made even better because Patrick was wonderful and added so much to the tour. Bern was lovely and the drive through the rolling hills was nice as well.

Bear pits - big Healthy bears. Great driver and tour guide. Small Group tour is a plus. Kambly stop was fun and sampling of treats generous. Tasty.

Best of Switzerland Tours is very well organized. I wish we had seen the cheese making happening instead of a cute animated experience. We went in the PM, maybe be at the farm/factory in the AM? Bern was a beautiful city to visit and the cookie factory was fun!

Going to the Kambly cookie factory and cookie shop…a “do-it-yourself” try before you buy…was a lot of fun. The only problem was having the willpower to resist sampling more than a few cookies! 🍪 The cheese tasting at Emmentaler Farm, not so much fun. As a former teacher of young children, I can tell you that the program was geared for an 8 year old and was less than entertaining to me, my husband, and the couple with us. Emmentaler needs to revamp their program and consider who their target audience is. Perhaps if the cheese was being made early in the day, Taste of Switzerland could change the order of the contents of the trip by visiting the farm early and watching the process of the cheese being made. As far as the visit to Bern went, it is a nice town, but not the picturesque-ness of Lucerne. If you choose to go, skip the tour with the guide and meander around on your own. I honestly have to say that I would not recommend this trip. Viator Switzerland has many more trip selections that are unbelievably wonderful.

We enjoyed going through Bern, cheese factory, biscuits tasting. Very interesting story about life of Albert Einstein in Bern, etc.

Very much enjoyed the day trip to Bern. We enjoyed the views of the countryside, & the farmhouse visit Gallvus was an excellent tour guide. Bern is a must visit place.

We enjoyed the cookie factory and cheese factory. The countryside was lovely and tour guide was very knowledgeable.