Exploring the Alpine Countries

The scenery, the towns, Michael our guide was the best.

Adjustments for the heat would have helped. Two hotels did not have ac which made sleeping at one very difficult. The other one had fans in the room which helped greatly. My best experience was the group photo and video at Saltzburg.

Walking great distances to a somewhat average restaurant And too much time shopping

We had a great time and highly recommended the tour. However, there is always room for improvement. For example, the local tour guide in Freiburg was terrible. Ruldoff, the local tour guide in Vienna, wasn't to our liking. We recommend more time at Mt. Pilatus. We would have like time to ride the Alpine Slide.

I visited wonderful places, some of which were very unique. Wouldn’t have seen them on my own.

It was a good tour. Not perfect but very enjoyable.

While I thought the tour had way too many people, I enjoyed our guide and all the spots we visited!!

As I understand, this was our tour manager Martin's first tour with Collette. I understand that English is not his native language. However, his speech was so halting and 'sharp,' it grated on my nerves. Martin met us at the airport. Others on the tour mentioned the email they had received from him. I did not receive the email from him. When I asked him about it he said I didn't need it - and I should get a picture of it from someone else. He insisted that we all install 'What's App' on our phones so he could communicate with us. He did not use the app at all. The welcome meeting: Usually we introduce ourselves and say where we are from. Martin did not have us do that, so I thought perhaps that would come at the welcome dinner. There was no 'welcome' at the dinner. And the restaurant was so crowded and noisy, that we would not have been able to hear anyway. He also had the habit of rapping on the microphone two to three times before he began to speak on the bus. On our first tour in Vienna, I was having ifficulty hearing the lady city guide. He commenced to be rude with me - saying, "You need to turn it on. To Channel 5." My VOX device was on and was on Channel 5. It was just some kind of a glitch at that time. I would not recommend that Collette again hire Martin as a guide. There are many other instances of his rudeness. I have much more I could say, but I am probably running out of space for this answer. I was hoping to be able to add more to my comments - because I think Collette needs to know what else was less than good on this particular tour. Because of Martin, the tour was less than what I expect on a Collette tour. And - I am not Amanda Schott. For some reason I did not receive a Collette survey for the Exploring the Alpine Countries., so Amanda forwarded her survey to me. I followed this tour immediately with Alpine Lakes and Scenic Trains. I think I do have a Collette survey for that tour. Please check my email address that you have on file. Sometimes I believe it is misspelled - hence - no email message.

He conducted and explained our tours. He saw that we were on time and everyone was present.

Organized, well-balanced itinerary. Tour guide very knowledgeable, kind; bus driver safe, also kind. Hotels excellent. Group meals not so good - long wait time. Would definitely travel again!

The beauty of the countries we visited, couple highlights was great weather to see the Matterhorn and go up Mt. Pilatus. Hotels were in really great locations making time on your own easy to get around. Enjoyed the Mozart opera in Vienna and great restaurants.

We enjoyed the entire trip.

Visiting the small towns of Zermatt, Oberammergau, and the larger city of Salzburg

A truly wonderful experience

Great tour and loved all the cities and stops. Suggestion would be to make a stop or offer an optional stop for Oktoberfest in Munich when in that area at that time and the cost of the tour is higher those weeks.

They have put a lot of thought into the whole tour. Zermatt to see the Matterhorn was my favorite. Such a beautiful place.

Switzerland and Germany where my favorite

My favourite memorable experience was the concert we saw in Vienna. It was an extra cost but I felt it was definitely worth it.

I just got done with my explanation in the statement box before this. I'm not going to type all that again.

The opera dinner ws fantastic and the performers were well matched with a small orchestra. I thought the food was great and the portions appropriate Z(not a groaning board meal of a country farm house) the tour guide made too much comment in advance that the portion sizes were small.

The train ride up to the matterhorn was great.

Having cake at the palace gift shop

We were repeatedly "let loose" in the cities along the tour and allowed to explore things that interested us. We were told the best places to eat, to shop, and given additional tips on optional sites to see. One of those experiences was a German beer hall. What a blast we had--with other tour members and the local delicious fare. Our tourguide always made sure we had fun and were advised of the best shops and restaurants and she made sure we "reported back" to her so she kept up to date with how we fared every meal, every experience. She really took care of us from even BEFORE the tour started to AFTER it ended.

It was an excellent tour, very impressive mountains Food was good different, hotels were good

Goat herding in Zermatt, all the tours were informative

The locals who conducted our walking tours had lots of info about the many places we visited. The scenery was breathtaking. I would recommend Collette to anyone who is looking for an adventure. My most memorable experience was the night of the farewell dinner and we had to say goodbye to the many friends we made on our twelve day journey.

Loved the tour! Great experience with memories that will last a lifetime.

We were able to visit interesting places. Our tour manager Ellen was excellent. She was very talented and even played the traveling Fidler for birthday celebrants and couples celebrating anniversaries. She made an excursion not included in the tour become possible to view the Matterhorn . We were given enough free time on our own to explore. We enjoyed Salzburg and had fun seeing songs from the sound of music.

We really loved Salzburg. We even enjoyed singing songs from the sound of music. We loved going up the Fortress in Salzburg. We also loved the dinner with the opera performance. It was too bad that we were not able to go to the Eagle's Nest due to the weather and the dinner cruise was cancelled without our knowledge. I'm still waiting for our refund for those 2 activities that we prepaid.

Tour Manager, Ellen Hansen, was very knowledgeable and made this tour pleasant and worthwhile. The tour was to very interesting and beautiful places. Motor Coach Driver, Joseph, was very careful and nice to us.

Would have liked less time on the bus.

so nice letting someone else make the plans.

The whole trip was amazing and I'm unable to pick any one Experience. For me it was a trip of a lifetime

The tour was excellent saw and learned a lot. There was one flaw however. Either spent more time at Neuschwanstein so you can see the castle from close up or eliminate it all together. The same thing applies to the stay in the black forest. Either have 2 nights or no nights at all. Never had a chance to explore the town we stayed at.

I loved fact that everything was planned and I didn't have to worry about any details. We visited some beautiful locations and I especially loved the group dinners at quaint, local restaurants@

As usual, Collette provided a well planned tour that included all the highlights that the area had to offer!

Great hotels, lots to see and do and good free time

Getting up, on our way to see the beautiful country, scenery, mountains and their heritage plus the churches and the friendly people who welcomed us. All 3 countries my favorite!

Great way to see countries and loved Austria

All of the cities visited were great but my favorite was Zermatt and the Matterhorn. We had an awesome view of it right from our balcony. Loved it

We loved to climb up on top of Eagle's Nest. Took train up to the top of Matterhorn area, never forgot the lively flower boxes Passion Play town Oberamergau and gondola and cable car rides to the top of Mount Pilateaus.

The Danube River boat ride and the trip in Zermatt up to Mount Gornergrat were two of our favorite trip events.

Manager was less dynamic than on our prior Collette tour, didn't seem quite as well organized. Optional excursions were somewhat disappointing for the expense, especially the Mozart dinner concert. Favorite experience was our free time in the beautiful city of Lucerne.

I loved the cultural experiences of Mozart concerts in Vienna and Salzburg as well as the magnificent scenery of driving through the Alps.

It was a truly a vacation etched in my memory. Unforgettable sites!

The tour would have been 5 stars except for the Lucerne hotel. The hotel n Zermatt at the base of the Matterhorn was wonderful and the extra tour to Mt. Pilatus was a fabulous experience.

All the hotels were amazing, especially in Oberamergau and Zermatt. the view of the Matterhorn was a wonderful surprise. The option tours to Hitler's Eagle's Nest and the Mt. Pilatus ride were also wonderful.

Good tour with interesting places but the last hotel left a bad taste

The scenery was a given, very unique and special every day! The tour guide (Toni)and driver (Pero) make it a 5!

The Alps are a must see!!

Everything was amazing, but the time spent in Zermatt was the best. Never have I seen such beautiful and breathtaking scenery.

Every stop was a wonderful adventure, guided by pros who really know their stuff! My favorite experience was going up Mt. Pilatus in Lucerne.

Itinerary. Highlights were Lake Geneva and Lake Lucerne, enjoyed the different modes of transportation, (train, river cruise)

Had a great time, lovbed many things about the trip.

The purchases, which I guess are the extra offerings were all good. but the best thing we did was the railway trip up to Gorner Grat which was not offered by Collette and without that why even go to Zermatt? Collette owes us money back because one tour be purchased did not have enough sign up. I do not want credit, as we are not sure we will take another Collette tour.

The scenery...the hotels...the group dinners were all first class. Our tour manager was very organized and knowledgeable. Have to say Mt. Pilatus was the most dramatic.

Nice tour but not worth what we paid !

Zermatt and the Alex Hotel

The tour was one of the best we've been on the tour manager was brilliant and the group of 33 were really quite exceptional.the coach driver was also a super guy and generally the group of travellers mainly Americans were more like a family for this I think you can say this by the way is our second tour with Collette we will use your services again regards **** *******

Best stop would probably have to be Zermat as it is such an amazing place.

Eagles Nest Tour and the Materhorn visit

The train to the Matterhorn, the view was incredible

I really loved the extra excursion to Bratislava. Hotel was in a great location and the visit to a Slovakian home was wonderful.

Zermatt was excellent being up in the mountains. Enjoyed 'Hitler's Hideaway' and to finish in Lucerne with the Lake and river running off was out of this world

We lucked out on the weather and everything went well. We really enjoyed Mount Pilatus

Loved the city tours and extras

The tour was everything we hoped it would be, and the didn't miss out on anything. The extra experiences, such as the few hours on the Danube and the concert in Schonbrunn Palace, a spectacular venue.

Scenery was fantastic & the tour flowed without any hiccups

We spent hours each day on a freezing cold coach and not enough time was allocated to actually visiting sites of interest when we finally arrived at our destinations - it was more like a 'tick box' without any substance. The room we were given in the Vienna hotel was unacceptable but fortunately we were able to change it but the location of this hotel and also the one in Salzburg was poor - nowhere near the centre of things. The remainder of the hotels and locations were however good. The best part of the tour was our free time when we could properly explore places in detail - a highlight being exploring the Matterhorn via the gondola rides (which our tour guide told us were not operating!!). Sadly, our one resounding memory of this tour was of the hours spent on a freezing cold coach!

Zermatt was wonderful. all quaint villages were quite an experience.

The highlight for me was traveling through the Alps, especially going through the Girmsley Pass. Quite an experience.

All of the things on the trip were exciting and memorable but I think being in Munich during Oktoberfest was the most memorable. I loved going to the music concert in Vienna as well. Oh, and the trip to the top of Mount Pilates was magical! Our tour guide was wonderful!! We would love to travel with Julie anytime! And our bus driver was wonderful as well! He maneuvered those curvy mountain roads like a champ!

It was an amazing tour!Zermatt was beautiful, Toni our guide gave us amazing information on all the history of all the places we went to!

Our tour director, Toni, went out of her way to make this trip memorable. She also found me a doctor to ease my cold symptoms.

Zermatt Switzerland... quaint, spectacular vistas!

Highly professional. Great attention to detail. Very knowledgeable tour guide. Overall, just a great trip.

Oberammergau, Titisee, Alex hotel, Neuschwanstein castle..... love the quaint villages as well as charming Vienna, Salzburg, Lucerne and Munich. Places where we stayed were just right I wouldn't have wanted to stay in Munich, but enjoyed visiting. The mechanics of it all was perfect. The restaurants with big tables were great for getting to know tour members. Rotating seating was nice too. Toni? What can you say about her? She did an amazing job, like a walking google search engine. She really made sure everyone was comfortable and cared for. The only thing I really didn't like was the hotel in Lucerne. It smelled pretty bad and the rooms were so plain. The location was nice though. It was hard going from Alex hotel in Zermatt to the Lucerne hotel. My air conditioning didn't work at all and neither did the tv. I was already having a hard time because my friends 18 yr. old son died while I was on the trip and having a room with issues was frustrating. Hotel Alex was amazing, thank you so much for having us stay there. It was so special for my son and I.

I enjoyed Zermatt the most, but Luzern was wonderful too. Lots of miles traveled in a short period of time.

Mt. Pilates in Lucerne was a fabulous experience and a must do optional excursion! Most incredible views ever!!

Oberammergau and Zermatt

Rooms were not located where advertised, not in the center of the city but isolated. These were last minute changes and we should have canceled based on the changes.

I have been to the area several times. We did see some beautiful country. I especially loved Switzerland. The day we went to Munich was too much time in the motor coach. This was the most uncomfortable coach I have ever been in. It was always freezing cold and you could not see around the seats. The rest room had no lights and was very unsafe. The driver was only friendly when tip time was getting near. We would have loved more time at Lake Tittisee.

The trip was very good from the time we were picked up at our home to go to the airport until the time we were dropped back off at home from the airport at the end of our trip. All the tours were very good but my favorite was the "Eagle's Nest". It was a great experience!

The whole tour was a great experience but my favorite place was Innsbruck, Austria.

I loved the tour and several people have asked me my favorite place - I could not name my favorite because each one had a personality all of its own. It was a wonderful trip so that is my memorable experience - the overall tour.

It is impossible to review all the "likes" of the Alpine tour, for there are so many. A few of the "concerns" could be the number of bathroom breaks during long bus rides, the many tips recommended for local guides, the distance between rooms and restaurant ( one half mile) in one part of the Germany excursion and some of the few choices of meals at some locations.

Our tour guide was amazing. She made sure every detail was taken care of so we didn't have to worry about a thing.

The tour guide, The tour manager, was fun, organized, always smiling and most helpful. Kermit was breathtaking.

the tour was a wonderful experience especially to an area we have never been to before. Tour manager was very patient and helpful during our trip. We loves Saltzburg, lucerne and Zermatt.

Our Tour guide went above and beyond the measure of "guide". She worked the issues and was very informative and careful of the details. What an exceptional employee.

Problems with transportation to first hotel from airport. The trip was wonderful, and our tour guide was exceptional. She reimbursed me in cash, for the snafau with the taxi I had to pay for after the limo was missed. She was very upbeat and took any problems encountered with grace and a smile. Her attitude was, "Nothing is a problem unless you make it a problem." A tour guide can make or break a trip regardless of the itinerary, and ours was outstanding. Switzerland was the most memorable, but probably because that part of the trip was my first time to Switzerland.

Traveling to Zermatt was an unforgettable experience. Once in a lifetime experience.

Interesting stops and views. Would have preferred more time in Switzerland, none in Munich. Hotels were OK - most bathrooms were dangerous with very high entrances to showers/tubs and no grab bars. Beds did not have option for lighter blankets nor extra pillows. However I did ask at one hotel for extra pillow as I had fallen and needed it for comfort & they provided it. Zermatt, Switzerland was my favorite place - hope to return some day to spend more time and hike.

Our trip was marvelous. We told Christine the tour manager about what we most wanted to see and do. She fulfilled all of the items on the list. I wanted to see the cow with the big bell. I got to see it. I wanted to see Matterhorn. I got to see the mountain so clearly.

I enjoyed the smallness of the group. We all enjoyed one another's company. The guide was a wealth of information and smoothed out any rough spots during our tour. This was our 5th trip with Collette and we are looking forward to number 6.

Absolutely loved our hotel in Zermatt and the town itself.

great group to travel with and skilled driver and very knowledgable tour guide

To much free time for shopping, i would like more events or offer us excursions