Optional Tours:

Day 5

Treasures of Lake Orta - $125/person

Join a full-day optional tour to Lake Orta, a scenic subalpine lake surrounded by picturesque and ancient villages.

With a local guide at your side, tour one of the nine Italian Sacri Monti, churches built as pilgrimage sites, which are now UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Then enjoy a ferry ride to San Giulio Island, a rocky island in the middle of the lake that provides impressive views of the surrounding shore. Take a walk around the island with a local guide before returning to the mainland for lunch and some time at leisure in Orta.

Day 9

Bernese Oberland - $170/person

Explore this unique Swiss landscape on a full-day tour.

Tour Trummelbach Falls, glacial waterfalls that can be accessed via underground entrances. Discover the Lauterbrunnen Valley, or the "Land of 72 Waterfalls," and hear the thunder of all the waterways that crash down in this scenic valley.

Take a ride on the Jungfraubahn train to Kleine Sheidegg, a mountain pass nearly 7,000 feet up renowned for its impressive views of the surrounding landscape, where you'll enjoy an included lunch before descending the mountain to return to Interlaken.

Day 11

Austrian Afternoon - $145/person

Ride a nostalgic steam-powered narrow-gauge train built in 1888. Then, take a ferry across royal blue Achensee Lake, an oasis surrounded by the massive Karwendel and Brandenburg peaks of the Tyrolean countryside.

After exploring Scholastica, a scenic town on the lake's northern shore, you will enjoy a traditional Tyrolean supper comprised of regional specialties and local flavors.

Day 13

Bavaria - $125/person

Germany's Bavaria region has a distinct heritage, which you'll see during a visit to the Oberammergau. You'll tour its theater, where a 2,000-person Passion Play is performed every ten years to thank God for sparing residents from the Black Plague, then set off on a discovery walk of the town with Your Program Director.

After lunch on your own and free time, head to Linderhof Palace, which was inspired by the construction of Versailles.

You're sure to gain a richer understanding of this region, which in turn will deepen the rest of your Alpine discoveries.