Geography School Trips & Tours to the Swiss Alps
The Valais region of Switzerland makes a fantastic location for a geography field trip overseas. Popular Swiss Alp geography visits for school groups include the imposing peak of the Matterhorn, the Aletsch Glacier, the well-known resort of Zermatt, the proposed Winter Olympic centre of Sion and Mattmark’s hydro-electric dam all within easy reach.
A geography school trip to this stunning region of Switzerland offers pupils a great opportunity for hands on data collection and fieldwork techniques. Our most popular Swiss Alp geography tours are designed to cover a host of study themes. Your pupils will be rewarded with ample learning opportunities in a range of spectacular locations.
Our Swiss Alp based geography school trips include the services of an NST Subject Expert who will assist you throughout your stay.
Prices start from£1075pp
Price Shown includes
- 6 day trip - 3 nights' full-board accommodation
- NST Subject Expert and International Mountain Leader where required
- Executive coach transport from and to school and throughout your stay
- Visits including: Saas Grund, The Aletsch Glacier, The Mattmark Dam and Zermatt (additional cable car costs apply)
- Extensive group travel insurance
- 1 in 8 free place ratio
Price shown is based on 40 paying passengers from selected departure points and is subject to availability.
On-tour support
On-tour support includes...
- Services of an NST Subject Expert
Accommodation
Popular options in Switzerland
Swiss Alps
Top visits for geography trips in the Swiss Alps
Kreuzboden & Hohsaas
The Kreuzboden ski area is accessed by cable car from Saas Grund. A higher cable car can be taken to Hohsaas for a spectacular overview of the entire valley and the surrounding glaciers. Yet it is also heavily utilised by the skiing industry which is pushing higher up into the mountains every year. This excursion will involve additional costs for cable cars (payable locally).
Saas Grund
The Saas Valley, with Grund at its centre, is situated on the Italian border and has traditionally been an important trade route. The settlements now boast the international ski resorts of Saas Fee and Zermatt. This option provides an introduction to the surrounding landscape and the history of the area. It gives pupils an opportunity to soak up the awe and wonder of their surroundings.
The Aletsch Glacier
The longest glacier in Europe, the Aletsch forms part of the largest continuously glaciated area in the Alps. The glacier and the surrounding area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. From a number of vantage points above the village of Riederalp, the Aletsch stretches into the distance. Your Field Studies Guide will assist your students to identify the numerous landscape features and processes here. The best glacier viewpoints can be accessed by return cable car.
Evening activites
- A quiz or disco at your hotel (most hotels can provide a room for groups to use in the evenings)
- Swimming
Study themes
Human:
- Alpine settlements
- Impacts of skiing
- Hazard management
- Impacts of climate change
- Renewable energy
- Land use zonation
- Farming
Physical:
- Glacial processes & landforms
- Hydrological studies
- Changing vegetation
- Sediment analysis
- Climate change & micro-climates
- Natural hazards
- Landscape formation, including tectonics
Study levels
A-level
SQA
GCSE
Educational resources
FREE Educational Resource Pack
We understand that you want a study visit that delivers the curriculum. To help you achieve this, our free Swiss Alps Educational Resource Pack - developed by experienced geography teachers - contains a wealth of highly relevant information for you to use before, during and after your tour.
You’ll be able to use its contents as a pre-visit planning aid, print off full-colour pupil activity sheets for your group to use at each site whilst away, or even refer to its contents post-visit to assist with case study completion.
Click here to view a sample of our resources.
Transport
Available from any location in the UK, our executive coaches are fitted with seatbelts, toilet facilities, air conditioning, DVD and reclining seats.
Coach
Giving you full support throughout
Before your tour
- Your own dedicated NST contact
- Bespoke tour itineraries
- Unrivalled local knowledge & expertise
- Curriculum linked visit programmes
- Great value for money - no hidden costs
- Free group leader inspection visits
- Risk assessment guidance
- Safety assured, transport, accommodation and visits
Whilst you're away
- Free educational resources
- Group-friendly accommodation
- Exceptional standards of coaching
- On-tour support from our reps on the ground
- Support & assistance from our specialists throughout your tour
- 24/7 support just a call away
- Extensive group travel insurance
On your return
- Priority rebooking services
- Rewarding your loyalty with our reward scheme
- You say, we listen - we're committed to continuously improving our tours
- School travel company of choice since 1967
“The staff at the Rodania did everything they possibly could to welcome us and make us feel like part of the family. The service was above and beyond.”
James Lodge, The English School - Nicosia
Expert's comment
The Swiss Alps are a great destination where pupils can collect real fieldwork data on a range of topics out in the field. This data can be analysed in the evenings: looking at different hypothesis, the methodologies of collecting data and drawing conclusions. The awe inspiring geography of hanging glaciers and sharp aretes gives the pupils a chance to understand the processes that shaped the landscape both in Switzerland and much of the landscape in the UK. The human geography of the area can also be explored with case studies of Zermatt and the Mattmark dam, focusing on tourism and how people have shaped and changed the landscape.
Claire, NST Subject Expert