Excellent, Tough Trip but Very Rewarding We did this trek in July and had perfect blue sky weather every day, but rain on the last day for the walk into Zermatt. The trek for us was one of the best European treks we have done and was very challenging/tough but extremely rewarding with stunning and changeable scenery every day. We really enjoyed the camping although the mountain huts and auberge were a little close for comfort but manageable once you got use to the idea of sleeping closely with other people!! This trek had it all for us. High col passes, snow walking and bum sliding, steep ascents, steep descents, rough terrain, boulder jumping, chains, forests, gushing rivers, waterfalls and lakes and absolutely stunning snow capped mountains and scenery. However, we were a little disappointed that the itinerary was not followed on the first day of walking and we missed not starting from the teleferique at Plan Praz and also the high level contour walk with ladders and chains.
As a solo traveller in Europe for the first time, this tour was just what I was looking for. While very fast paced, it allowed me to ""taste"" many countries in a short amount of time so that I'd know where I want to spend more time in the future. The Paris+ optional excursion was a big highlight and a great value for the amount we did and saw. Our tour leader, Kriszti, was incredibly knowledgeable, friendly and organized. She really made the experience memorable and I learned so much from her. Our driver, Isti, navigated us safely and comfortably through every country. Overall it was a wonderful experience and I will certainly book with Expat Explore again.
Nothing necessary wrong with the tour but not for me. Too much time was given for activities I absolutely didn't care about (e.g. wine tasting, cassino visit) and not enough or no time too see some interesting little towns where we stopped for lunch or the night and even for sites we visited (e.g Pisa).