B = Breakfast included L = Lunch included D = Dinner included
Journey Overview
We have created a wonderful journey through history, culture, and cuisine in Switzerland and Munich, Germany.
You may depart this journey wondering what impressed you more: the majestic peaks of this beautiful country or the exquisite taste of chocolate and cheese. You will experience both the beauty of Switzerland and the delight of Swiss contributions to the culinary world.
Your Host for the Journey
Your current host for A Taste of Switzerland is Purposeful Journeys by MCE Founder and CEO, Mike Malone. While Mike would be very happy to host this journey, this and most other journeys are open to prospective, interested hosts.
There are many benefits to serving as a journey host for your cohort of fellow travelers. We will do everything we can to empower you to serve as host for your cohort of fellow travelers at a level you choose. You may want to engage the experience at a more social level while relying on the expertise of in country tour directors and guides. You may want to become more engaged intellectually or spiritually by teaching, leading devotions, or offering your expertise through one or more talks or conversation sessions. Whatever your interest in your level of engagement as a journey host, we will do all we can to support you so that yours becomes a journey of a lifetime.
Become a Host for this Journey
If you are interested in hosting this journey or would like to consider hosting a journey customized just for you and your group, click the button below to learn what it means to Become a Host. We also invite your inquiry. If you want to learn more about hosting this or another journey, please get in touch. We would love to share the benefits of what hosting a journey could mean for you and your cohort of fellow travelers.
A Taste of Switzerland fellow travelers depart from Chicago (or other major airport) on an overnight flight to Zurich, Switzerland.
Following our arrival in Zurich, we will meet our tour manager and transfer to the beautiful Hotel Astoria in Lucerne. After some rest and time to settle in, we will gather for a spectacular welcome dinner. D
Our local guide will escort us through the spectacular city of Lucerne. We will enjoy a one-hour boat cruise on Lake Lucerne followed by time to explore, to shop, or to rest. B,D
We will meet our local guide for a culinary sightseeing tour with an emphasis on Swiss chocolate. This excursion will conclude in time to allow time to shop on your own, explore or relax before dinner. B,D
Today, we venture to the top of the world. At least it will surely feel that way. We will ride a gondola from Kriens to Pilatus Top and take a cogwheel train from Pilatus top to Alpnachstad. All of this, and there will still be time to relax or explore on your own before dinner. B,D
Today we travel to Engelberg where we will enjoy a visit the Engelberg Abbey. We will participate in a cheese making session and a visit of the cheese factory. This excursion will conclude in time to allow time to explore or relax before dinner. B,D
Our visit to the Swiss Transport Museum is sure to delight and fascinate. Our tour manager will guide us through Switzerland’s most visited museum which showcases the past, present and future of mobility with interactive and varied exhibits. Surely no one will mind if you pop into the Lindt Boutique within this museum for another taste of Swiss Chocolate. B,D
We say Auf Wiedersehen to Switzerland today, but any feelings of sadness are sure to be swept away by the sights before we gather in the evening for dinner together. B,D
We will enjoy breakfast at our hotel B,D
Following breakfast at our wonderful hotel we will depart on our comfortable ride to magnificent Munich with a stop in Ettal to visit the Abbey. We will have time to explore a bit or relax as needed before gathering for dinner. B,D
Today we visit Nymphenburg Palace as part of our sightseeing tour of Munich. Enjoy the rest of your day in Munich before we gather for dinner. B,D
The memories will indeed last a lifetime. We hope your conversation, and therefore your journey, will continue with your new friends. Our journey concludes, formally, with the departure of our flight home.
Purpose
A Taste of Switzerland features numerous opportunities to explore the making of iconic foods and the rich cuisine of Switzerland, as well as the county’s majestic Alps. The journey further includes a tour in the remarkable city of Munich, Germany where travelers will visit sights that include a castle used by royals as well as opportunities to explore Munich’s parks, museums and shops.
Our Philosophy
We hope you will measure the quality of your journey, not by the quantity of sights you see, but by the invaluable experiences you absorb.
Balance of stimulating experience, serious reflection… …and just plain fun.
One word describes our intention for your journey: balance. We believe each place we visit should relate to whole story, the arc of a narrative. We believe in creating journeys formed and shaped as narratives; journeys that are serious, purposeful, and fulfilling with time to reflect with fellow travelers or alone while providing opportunity for experiences that are just plain fun.
Expert interaction and rich personal encounters
Rather than a trip led by a tour guide trained to disseminate information from a script, we endeavor to seek experts to lead you on a journey who are available as a resource for as much depth as you desire or to leave you to your own reflection.
One beautiful base location
Too often, group travel can leave you feeling like you are part of a herd of a large group of strangers hustled from sight to sight, packing and unpacking everyday of your trip. With us you will stay in one beautiful base location that serves as a base for our excursions. Changing hotels as few times as possible during a journey allows greater opportunity to experience people and culture.
Meticulously planned; yet flexible journey
How does a trip become a journey? Carefully selected excursions that form a narrative, staying in one beautiful base location, with time and flexibility for reflection, and activities that are just plain fun.
Cuisine as a delectable complement to culture and conversation
Cuisine, and the wonderful dining experiences we share in an eclectic array of venues, provide a delectable complement to your rich encounters with the culture and the delightful conversation you enjoy with fellow travelers.
Arrangements
Arrangements for this journey will appear in this section as those arrangements are confirmed. The information provided here will tend to be of a more general nature. More detailed information, such as group flight times, will appear on the password protected Fellow Travelers page. Once you become part of this journey, you will be sent a password to access specific arrangements for this journey:
Flight Information
As a fellow traveler, you will have the flexibility to choose how you will join your cohort to formally begin your journey. Purposeful Journeys marks the formal beginning of your journey with the welcome reception and dinner at our destination hotel. On most journeys, you will have three options to join your cohort. Below are the options for joining your cohort with the primary advantage for each option:
- Join Your Cohort on Our Group Flight: On most journeys, Purposeful Journeys will arrange a group flight from a major airport in closest proximity and convenience for the majority of the cohort. The group flight will include a transfer from the destination airport to the hotel.
Advantage: This is often the most cost effective and certainly the most convenient option. - Meet Your Cohort at the Destination Airport: For a number of reasons, you may want to choose a flight other than the group flight and still meet your cohort in time to transfer from the destination airport to the hotel. Fellow travelers who choose this option will incur an additional cost for the transfer from the destination airport to the destination hotel.
Advantage: Fellow travelers may find a balance between the convenience of choosing their own flight from an origination airport other than the airport where the group flight will depart while still taking advantage of the group transfer to the destination hotel. - Meet Your Cohort at the Destination Hotel: As a fellow traveler, you may want to choose to meet your cohort at the destination hotel in time for the formal beginning of your journey with the welcome reception and dinner.
Advantage: This option offers fellow travelers the most flexibility. Fellow travelers will need to weigh the flexibility of this option with what will likely be additional costs.
Group flights will usually be announced between 90 and 180 days prior to departure of your purposeful journey. Fellow travelers will be kindly requested to choose the option for meeting their cohort to formally begin their journey soon after group flight arrangements are announced.
Hotel Accommodations
Arrangements have been made for fellow travelers at the following hotels: The Hotel Astoria in Lucerne and the Hotel Hilton Park in Munich.
Ground Transportation
Transfers to and from the arrival flight into and departing flight from Europe will be provided. Other ground transportation will be provided throughout the journey.
Meals
Most meals are included in this purposeful journey. Dining in Europe tends to be as much of a leisurely event as a means of taking sustenance. Meals provide time for us to relax, taken in the culture, and discuss all that we have seen and experienced as fellow travelers that day. See the current, tentative itinerary for details.
Land Only Cost—$4,350 (Please be sure to check for current incentives!)
Current Incentives:
- Deposits through December 31, 2023 are just $150 (usually $300). Your deposit will only become non-refundable with your first payment. Until then, you can cancel at any time.
- NO PAYMENTS UNTIL 2024: Your first payment will not be due until January 2024.
- Make payments by check instead of credit card and receive a discount of $150.
Your journey includes:
- Taxes and airline surcharges
- Deluxe coach transportation throughout your itinerary
- Double occupancy hotel room ($750 single supplement)
- Meals as specified in the final itinerary
- Admission fees as specified in the final itinerary
- Only goods, services, or activities as explicitly included in the General Terms and Conditions.
Your journey does not include:
- Round trip airfare
- Gratuities for service staff, coach driver(s) and guides
- Alcoholic beverages, bottled water, after dinner drinks
- Travel insurance
- Any goods, services, or activities expressly excluded in the General Terms and Conditions.
Remittance Schedule:
- Deposit of $150 is due with your application.
- You may cancel any time until your first payment is due.
- Your deposit is fully refundable until your first payment is due.
- Your first payment will be due in January 2024.
- Payments due as specified in your remittance schedule.
- Final payment must be received no later than the date specified on your invoice and remittance schedule.
When approved as a fellow traveler…
…you will receive an invoice and a remittance schedule from Malone Clan Expeditions, LLC along with a link to a password protected page on our website that will offer details and updates about your journey.
General Terms and Conditions
Malone Clan Expeditions, LLC will administer your journey. You must accept the General Terms and Conditions at the time you submit your application. Please refer to the General Terms and Conditions for any applicable additional fees that may apply in certain situations and circumstances such as any deviation from the group flight itinerary or your requirement of a single room.
We cordially invite you to apply to join us as a fellow traveler
Please complete the application form. You will be prompted to submit a payment deposit of $150 (regularly $300) with your application once your form is complete with all required fields. We are delighted you are taking the step of submitting your application to become a member of a journey with us. We look forward to notifying you of your acceptance as a fellow traveler.