October 10, 2003 -- While raking through the piles of bargain tours to Europe this autumn, fallen like so many leaves upon the fertile ground of the American desire for travel, I noticed practically none were for Switzerland, long a citadel of high prices. But now comes a cluster of brightly-colored leaves called Swiss Made Tours, which is selling a four-night package to that country from as little as $499.
That's what you'd pay for a deal starting from Boston, New York (JFK) or Philadelphia, flying you to the Alps on Lufthansa, and letting you stay in Lausanne on gorgeous Lake Geneva at the four-star Alpha Palmiers Hotel. In addition to the roundtrip flights across the Atlantic and the lodging, you get a free daily breakfast. If you choose the other three Swiss cities available in the program (Geneva, Lucerne or Zurich), you'll stay in three-star hotels. In Lausanne and Lucerne, in addition, you get free airport/city transfer on the train.
The prices for the package vary depending on the US departure city (any of Lufthansa's gateways). You can buy a single supplement charge or stay additional nights, as well as purchase optional tours. The deadline for purchase (with payment in full) is November 15, 2003, for travel from November 1, 2003 through March 31, 2004.
Here is the cost of packages from other Lufthansa gateways:
- $574 from Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Miami and Washington, D.C.
- $599 from Denver, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Houston and Phoenix
- $624 from Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland OR and Seattle
Package prices are nonrefundable and do not include airport taxes. Between December 12, 2003 and January 11, 2004, holiday surcharges may be applied.
Swiss Made Tours is a new division of Picasso Travel, a company whose deals we report on occasionally.
For more details about this Switzerland Getaway Package, call Swiss Made Tours at 800/995-7997 (we tried several times and were put on hold for far too long) or visit its website, www.swissmadetours.com. (The details we report here are based on information published on their website, since we were unable to confirm them by telephone.)
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