Bus2Alps Interlaken, Switzerland: Is It Worth It?
For many of us, traveling during study abroad is the first time we have ever traveled to unknown territories alone or with other friends our age. Organizing trips can be a daunting task when you realize you need to consider transportation to the location, transportation at the location, where to stay, what to do, what to see, and how to schedule it all to get the most out of your trip without blowing all your money in one place. There are many resources available to study abroad students, such as travel companies and school trips so you do not have to organize everything yourself, but deciding which route to take can be confusing.
Personally, I signed up for all my school’s trips before arriving in Italy just to know I would get to travel even if I did not make friends. I actually don’t recommend doing this. I promise, even if you came completely alone, you will make friends because most people studying abroad are also looking for friends. The school trips are great for seeing important sights and learning about history, but they are extremely structured and function basically like a high school field trip- just without the curfew and rules.
When it came to visiting Switzerland, my roommate and I knew we wanted to experience Switzerland rather than just looking at it. We wanted to be active and do things the school trip would not have offered.
But I am getting ahead of myself, let’s go back to the first few days in Italy. As we roamed the city trying to get our bearings and explore Florence, we kept getting approached by these other American’s that were asking if we were studying abroad and handing out flyers. The best way I can describe their approach was like an MLM pitching hair care and vitamins in your DM’s- but in person. They were telling us about events they were having, free coffee, sales- anything to get us to listen to the trips their companies had planned for the semester all while shoving Bus2Alps and SmartTrips flyers with their personalized codes in our faces. Most of what they were saying was going in one ear and right out the other. The approach honestly freaked us out and made us feel like we couldn’t trust the companies.
Some people were instantly sold on these trips, but my roommate and I decided to wait it out and see what we heard from others once they had gone on one of the trips. As the weeks went by, we started hearing more positive things about these companies and were speaking with representatives one on one to learn more about the trip opportunities they were offering.
After hearing nothing but good things, and trying (and failing) to plan a large trip on our own, we started to consider going to Interlaken, Switzerland with either Bus2Alps or Smart Trips. We ended up going with Bus2Alps because Interlaken is their signature trips and where part of their headquarters is located if I am remembering correctly. We knew we wanted to paraglide and go kayaking, and Bus2Alps had discount deals available so we were sold. We signed up for the trip only two days before and how it worked was we filled our cart with the hostel we wanted, the bus ride there, and the activities we had chosen. They offer skiing, paragliding, night sledding, kayaking, ice skating, snowshoeing, sky diving, and more during the winter months. After signing up, you will be prompted to pick your roommate, or if you sign up last-minute as we did, they will probably realize y’all are together and put you together anyways. Oh! And if you go by yourself, they will pair you up with other people that signed up alone so y’all can make friends with each other!
We left for Interlaken Thursday night, arrived at about 3 am on Friday. Sleeping on the bus was no issue and they played movies and had a bathroom on board available to us. They also stopped at one point for us to get snacks and use the bathroom if necessary. We stayed in Youth Hostel and roomed with two other roommates. The hostel was sort of like a dorm, but it was nice and they had continental breakfast downstairs every morning.
After riding the bus there and getting to your hostel, you are free to do whatever you’d like for the weekend. You can do activities through Bus2Alps, or wander on your own and there are always Bus2Alps workers available to answer any questions or give recommendations in the lobby of the hostel.
On Friday, we went paragliding first thing in the morning. One of the biggest benefits of doing activities through Bus2Alps was that someone came to pick us up for all our activities so we did not have to worry about getting there, even though it is pretty easy to walk in Interlaken.
You can get photos like these from your activities- just make sure to add it to your cart when checking out on Bus2Alps!
After paragliding, we roamed Interlaken and visited the lake which is by far the most beautiful lake I have ever seen in my life.
Later that day we had the famous hot chocolate at Funky Chocolate and the famous macaroni with potatoes, bacon, and applesauce at Husi Bierhaus! It sounds really odd, and I am not someone that typically likes applesauce, but it was really good!
Saturday we went kayaking, another activity that we signed up for through Bus2Alps. We were in a group of about ten people with a guide that led us and took us to a castle where we had tea and cookies! Then, without the assistance of Bus2Alps, we took the train to Gindlewald and took a cable car up to First where we went cliff walking and sat at a bar with the best view! The cable car was a little expensive, but First is a place where you can ski and do many other activities.
Sunday we hiked Harder Kulm and let me tell y’all- it was HARD. This hike is to the top of Interlaken and even though I struggled the entire time, the view was so rewarding. They have a way you can ride up to it and a restaurant as well, but this was not open while we were there and the hike honestly made the view even better. After the hike, we had to catch the bus back and we arrived back in Florence around 10 pm on Sunday! We had a little difficulty because we were unable to stop at the rest stop in Milan due to COVID-19 breaking out that weekend, but we made it back in one piece!
Overall, I would 100% recommend the Bus2Alps trips, especially the one to Interlaken. Unfortunately, this was my last trip of study abroad before having to return home due to COVID-19, but I have heard nothing but great things about Bus2Alps and Smart Trips. If I am being honest, their approach still bothers me and feels a little aggressive, but hear them out. Interlaken was definitely the best trip of study abroad and I wouldn’t change a thing about it.
