Tuesday - Sunday

March 30 - November 30

As a sole proprietor with a capacity of one tour per day, I can be fully booked far in advance.

Mount Saentis and Appenzell tour from Zurich

We depart from the Zurich main station and travel to the eastern part of Switzerland. After a scenic journey through the Canton of Appenzell, and a short ride on a traditional PostBus over the Schwägalp mountain pass, we reach the base station of the Säntis cableway. A spectacular ride on the Säntis cableway awaits us. We reach the top, located at 2472 meters above sea level (8110 ft.) around noon.

As this is a private tour, it's your choice how long you want to stay on the mountain peak. We can stay up to 3 PM.

Mt. Säntis is part of the Appenzeller Alps and the highest peak of the Alpstein region. You have a breathtaking view of the Alpstein massif. On a clear day, you can see from the peak six countries: Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, France, Italy, and Switzerland.

If you like, you can have a relaxed lunch at the panorama restaurant (not included in the tour price).

After the visit to Mt. Säntis, we visit the village Appenzell. Gorgeous architecture awaits you at this quaint village.

We will walk through the village. There are many little stores, which offer opportunities to get some unique souvenirs.

The famous Swiss cheese ‘Appenzeller’ is produced here. If you like you can visit a company store, where you can try the cheese. At the Chocolate Manufacture Appenzell, you can try artisan Swiss Chocolate.

Inclusions

- All required train tickets in first class for you and the guide

- Mt. Säntis aerial cableway tickets for you and the guide (price includes entry fees)

- Tasting of Appenzeller cheese and artisan Swiss Chocolate

- meeting at any centrally located Hotels, Apartment, or Airbnb

- return to any centrally located Hotel, Apartment, or Airbnb after the tour

- fee for the private guide, which will stay at your disposal throughout the tour

- Car-free tour by train, mountain railway, and aerial cable car as per the tour description

- Photography by the guide (with your own camera or smartphone)

- A booklet with comprehensive information about Switzerland (one per party, for groups of four persons or larger are two printed copies included)

- Use of a mobile hotspot with unlimited data (Speed: 4G)

What is not included in the tour price?

- your meals and drinks

- any personal expenses

- optional activities

- travel insurance (participation at your own risk)

Please regard that your lunch is not included in the tour price

Lunch at the peak

A la carte restaurant Säntisgipfel

This restaurant serves various local dishes.

A few vegetarian and vegan dishes are available.

Click here to download the menu (only available in German)

Click here to read the restaurants' reviews on TripAdvisor

Lunch in Appenzell

There are various restaurants in Appenzell, where we can have lunch.

Quick lunch:

There are bakeries, convenience shops, sandwich outlets along our travel route, where you can grab a bite.

Disclaimer

Restaurant menus, prices, and options are subject to change.

The restaurant menu is hosted as a PDF file on the restaurants' websites.

The activity level is moderate: multiple changes of trains (the changes are easy but require some walking and steps to get in and out of the trains), aerial cableway ride (only standing places), walking at the Mt. Säntis peak at your discretion, walking in Appenzell at your discretion

I can meet you at any centrally located hotel in Zurich.

Click here to see a map of the pick-up area

If you're staying outside of the pick-up area, I can meet you at the central train station of Zurich.

Weather forecast

Once a reliable weather forecast is available (usually one to three days before departure), I will send you a link to the forecast.

If there is bad weather forecasted, I will include my recommendations for our tour day.

I use the weather forecasts provided by the Federal Office of Meteorology and SRF (Swiss Radio and Television).

With the links below, you can check the weather forecast at any time by yourself. The forecasts are available for the next five days.

Operability

This tour can run in any weather condition except during a storm. During a storm, aerial cableways have to halt operations for safety reasons. If there is a storm with gale-force winds in the forecast, I need to cancel the tour. On rare occasions, there may be a cancellation due to landslides, avalanches, and other natural forces or the risk thereof. I will fully refund the deposit in this case.

Your options in case of bad weather (tour specific)

early bird or standard rates

If you booked an early bird or standard rate, then a free cancelation is not possible anymore once a reliable weather forecast is published, as I need to purchase train tickets in advance for these rates.

- You can choose a different tour/mountain peak in an area with better weather (if available, the price of the newly selected tour will apply).

- We can do the tour as planned despite the weather.

- I also have a few full-day train tours. For example, the Glacier Express route on local trains tour. These tours are ideal on rainy days as we are for most of the day inside and not exposed to the weather, and as on rainy days the views are usually better at lower altitudes. Further, this tour has a lower tour price as it doesn't require any expensive mountain railway tickets.

- If not having perfect weather is a dealbreaker, you can cancel by forfeiting the deposit.

Swiss Travel Pass rates

- If you have booked a Swiss Travel Pass rate you can cancel the booking up to 12 hours before departure for a full refund of the deposit. Hence if the weather forecast looks bad you are free to cancel the tour free of charge if you desire.

All other options which are published under the early bird and standard rate section are also available to you.

This itinerary is only an example. The schedule can vary due to various factors such as the season, the day of the week, construction work, service, and schedule changes.

The exact departure and return time depends on the pick-up/drop-off location.

7:20 a.m. - 7:40 a.m. at any centrally located Hotel or Apartment

8:09 a.m. - 9:14 a.m. Zurich - Gossau

9:21 a.m. - 9:43 a.m. Gossau - Urnäsch

9:47 a.m. - 10:10 a.m. Urnäsch - Schwägalp

10:30 a.m. - 10:40 a.m. Schwägalp - Mt. Säntis

10:40 a.m - 12:00 p.m. Enjoy Mt. Säntis

12:00 p.m. - 12:10 p.m. Mt. Säntis - Schwägalp

12:30 p.m. - 12:51 p.m. Schwägalp - Nesslau-Neu St. Johann

1:12 p.m. - 1:54 p.m Nesslau-Neu St. Johann - Herisau

1:58 p.m. - 2:30 p.m Herisau - Appenzell

2:30 p.m. - 5:14 p.m. Enjoy Appenzell

5:14 p.m. - 5:56 p.m. Appenzell - St. Gallen

6:07 p.m. - 7:21 p.m. St. Gallen - Zurich

7:40 p.m. - 8:10 p.m. at any centrally located Hotel or Apartment

Customization possibilities:

We can depart one hour later (must be booked in advance)

You can spontaneously shorten, or extend the visit to Mt. Säntis by one hour.

You can spontaneously shorten, or extend the visit to Appenzell. The latest possible departure time from Appenzell is at 8 p.m.

This itinerary is only an example. The schedule can vary due to various factors such as the season, the day of the week, construction work, service, and schedule changes.

The exact departure and return time depends on the pick-up/drop-off location.

8:20 a.m. - 8:40 a.m. at any centrally located Hotel or Apartment

9:09 a.m. - 10:14 a.m. Zurich - Gossau

10:21 a.m. - 10:43 a.m. Gossau - Urnäsch

10:47 a.m. - 11:10 a.m. Urnäsch - Schwägalp

11:30 a.m. - 11:40 a.m. Schwägalp - Mt. Säntis

11:40 a.m - 1:30 p.m. Enjoy Mt. Säntis

1:30 p.m. - 1:40 p.m. Mt. Säntis - Schwägalp

2:17 p.m. - 2:41 p.m. Schwägalp - Urnäsch

2:43 p.m. - 3:00 p.m Urnäsch - Appenzell

3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Enjoy Appenzell

5:00 p.m. - 5:38 p.m. Appenzell - Gossau

5:44 p.m. - 6:51 p.m. Gossau - Zurich

7:10 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. at any centrally located Hotel or Apartment

Customization possibilities:

We can depart one hour later (must be booked in advance)

You can spontaneously shorten, or extend the visit to Mt. Säntis by one hour.

You can spontaneously shorten, or extend the visit to Appenzell. The latest possible departure time from Appenzell is at 8 p.m.