The Great Tour of Zurich by Bus and Boat

Beautiful Zurich

This tour provided a wonderful overview of the city of Zurich and some of the surrounding areas. Our guide Hans was both informative and comedic as well.

Highly recommended!

The most impressing experience besides all of the fabulous sights of Zuerich were the professional and courteous attitude of the staff and the driver. Great job!

The Great Tour of Zurich-skip it

In September 2023 we went on the "Great Tour of Zurich" ("Cityrama Tour") with the Gray Line tour company ("Hans Meier Tourist Ltd") along with the longer "Heidiland" tour group . Our tour was 4/4.5 hours duration starting late after 11am and entailed seeing (from the coach) the limited sights of Zurich enroute to the lakeside village of Rapperswil. Very little information was provided about Zurich in general on the tour and there seemed to be more interest in the Heidiland group than ours! When we reached the Rapperswil village, which was lovely, we were briefly walked to the village ramparts and then left to our own devises including finding our own way to the boat to return to Zurich. This "boat cruise" is basically the local mode of transport which stops at about 10 piers for any passengers embarking and disembarking and takes about 2 hours. This boat lands at "Burkliplaz" pier in Zurich which entails a tram ride (no 11, I think) at your own expense or a 20 minute walk back to the starting point near the bus station-despite the Tripadvisor advising that was "round trip transfer from central Zurich". To be honest you could easily walk or take the tram to "Burkliplaz" pier and then take the "cruise boat" yourself to and from Rapperswil or else take the "Goldcoast train" there without paying the expensive CHF 62 per person for this tour. Rapperswil was the only highlight of the tour. For more information about Zurich's transport system visit the tourist office in the central train station.

Not quite as expected

Was a little surprised to suddenly having to leave the tour and take a two hour ferry back. Maybe not quite what I expected. Thought I’d see more of Zurich. Not an unpleasant trip but found we were only two on the itinerary. Everyone else in the coach - we didn’t see again.

Awesome tour around Zurich

Well, as a big fan of this country and city, my review can be a bit biased! Beautiful places, a well guided tour and the boat cruise on the way back is the final touch for this very pleasant and relaxing tour. Highly, always recommended!

Long Tour for little that was different

Less than an hour in Zurich. Hour plus bus drive to Rapperswil. 1.5 hours in town. Ended with a 2 hour ferry boat ride back. Basically a half day driving and possible shopping to end with just sitting on a boat taking pictures of the shore. Guide gave us ticket for ferry and led other part of group to the castle. We went to the rose garden and grabbed drinks near Ferry boat back to Zurich.

Amazing guides and nice little get away from the busy city.

The guides were great! The bus ride wasn't anything special, the town Rapperswil where you are dropped of for thr boat ride was very neat to see. Boat ride was good but about a 2 hour ride back to Lucern.

The great tour of Zurich was a great ripoff

The great tour of Zurich was a great rip off. The guide was not knowledgeable and almost seemed bothered to be there. The bus route basically skirted the city. I've been to Zurich several times and there were major areas missed and or described incorrectly. The instructions for the return boat were brushed over with no specific instructions so we got on the wrong boat wasting an additional 2 hours Gray Line's competitors in Zurich are much better as we experienced during the remainder of our stay

Very good

Good trip, bus tour in Zurich about 20 minutes, our guide was nice and informative. On edge lake great scenery Drive to Rappersville . One hour rainy day at Rappersville . Then 2 hours back on ferry . Overall was what we expected.

Average Tour Package

The overall tour package was average, at best. The boat cruise was simply a two-hour ferry trip that enabled my wife and I to see the area from the water. As for the bus tour, even though the weather did not cooperate (it rained during the bus tour), my wife and I did not fault the tour for that. What we did fault them on was that there was a children's parade planned for the day our tour took place. Because of the children's parade, the bus tour was detoured away from the sights and areas we wanted to see. Obviously this children's parade was on the calendar schedule for some time. This was not a surprise to the tour company. Inside of informing us the regular bus tour would greatly be altered and giving us the option to pass on this tour package . . . OR . . . at least provide a discount on the tour price, my wife and I paid full price for something that we did not receive. We should have been discounted the cost of the tour, but we weren't.

Scenic trip

Great trip but it needs to state that the boat ride is two hours. But the castle and the church were nice and Christmas markets.

The not quite great tour of Zurich

Three of us signed up for this tour in September. We were lumped in with the Heidi tour. The actual Zurich part was minimal as we drove out of town. The tour guide was not quite as informative as we expected, for example he kept referring to the city of Rapperswil as the City of Roses but did not tell us why or how that name came about. He did not go easy on the facts and admiration for the tennis player Roger Federer, however. The kicker for this tour was that the boat ride back from Rapperswil was not a quick ferry ride but an actual two hour ride. No tour guiding on it as the tour guide split up from us as we arrived in Rapperswil so that he could conntinue with the Heidi group. We accidentally stumbled upon the beautiful rose garden that we presume is the namesake for the city, but no thanks to the guide. Would sorta not recommend, it´s good we like boat trips, but more info during would have been more appreciated.

City tour and lake cruise

Nice trip, cleaver guide, everything worked perfectly. Short but beautiful trip, by bus and boat. The weather was amazing..

not quite what expected

tour didn't follow what described on line. we were expecting to go on cable car at Fassenegg that didnt occur. instead we were brought to Raperswill where we got a tour of a castle. that was good but took so long that we had no time to wander the town before we had to get the boat back. had to grab a bite at McDonald's instead of a nice lunch to get to the boat. the boat ride was very nice.

Perfect. Also many languages at the bus tour.

Great tour through the most important places of Zürich city by touringcar with airco and ship on the lake. The bus driver (mr Heiblom?) is very friendy, a good driver in the narrow streets and a gentlemen for the other traffic. We felt very safe and comfortable.

Nice way to see Zurich

We didnt have much time in Zurich, so doing the 4 1/2 hr. tour was the perfect way to see a lot of different sites. It started driving around the city with our guide pointing out points of interest. then the bus took us to a very quaint town. walked the grounds of the castle with the deer park. the remainder of the guests choose to go on to the entire day tour and we opted to take the boat back into town. it was a beautiful ride on zurich lake with a few stops along the way. dropped us off near Bahnhofstrasse, which is one of the most expensive streets in the world. wear good walking shoes and take lots of $$ as zurich is not inexpensive.

A relaxing tour (eventually)

The tour started on a low note when the tour operator lied to us and dismissed our request for special seating due to motion sickness. But, the bus tour through Zurich, followed by the boat ride back was beautiful and relaxing. It’s a very nice way of seeing Zurich and the surrounding areas.

Disappointed

This started out quite informative, we exited the bus & just stood there listening when we could have walked across the water & see the church etc... we boarded the bus & drove to the rose garden area & we walked in the square & were brought to a restaurant to eat (our expense) I had a salad & the manager said I had to leave because they needed the table for another reservation. A $50.00 lunch & I was practically thrown out. I chose to return to Zurich by boat but the tour guide whom left several people behind failed to tell us we had to wait there 3 hours for the boat. So we were stranded. Not worth the money under these circumstances.

Great tour. Guide has a wealth of...

<p>Great tour. Guide has a wealth of knowledge and was interested with his job.</p>

The Great Tour of Zurich

The tour comprises of three groups - the 'Great Tour of Zurich' group disembarks at Rapperswill for lunch and rejoins the coach on the way back to Zurich. There is only one stop within Zurich which is at the waterfront (10 mins max). The tour is not very well defined in terms of site visits and what is on offer. Rapperswill is lovely and relaxing. The tour guide was excellent.

A bit disappointed

The half day tour of Zurich and boat cruise was just okay. The city tour itself was very short, I was expecting to see more sites of the city instead we zigzagged back and forth across the 2 banks then headed out to Rapperswil for the cruise. The lake cruise was enjoyable but the tour was for 2nd class which was very full and not terribly comfortable. Next time I would pay the upcharge on the boat to sit upstairs in first class.

Enjoyable tour

I think it would be nice by walking around the city I started from ban hoff up to Zürich university taking the tour around the whole city

We decided once on the tour to...

<p>We decided once on the tour to upgrade to Heidiland tour. We found we would be 6 1/2 hours and dropped off at an entire location on the great tour. The brochure said it was a four hour tour. The Heideland tour was 1/2 hour longer and dropped us off about where we started.<br/> The tour was very good just we were on a time frame that got messed up because the information was not correct.</p>

Pretty poor to be honest, very short...

<p>Pretty poor to be honest, very short drive around Zurich, visit to a Lindt factory and then a restaurant. Not sure anything a taxi driver could not have done.</p>

Not much of a tour. Drove around...

<p>Not much of a tour. Drove around Zurich then drove out to some small town and had to wait for train to get back to Zurich. Not worth the money.</p>

Nice bus ride through Zurich seeing...

<p>Nice bus ride through Zurich seeing the highlights of the city. Really enjoyed the return boat ride on the lake.</p>

Unfortunately the day of our tour...

<p>Unfortunately the day of our tour was misty with little visibility. We were unable to really view Lake Zurich and the Cable Ride was fun and the top of the mountain was beautiful with a wonderful little restaurant. The views would have been spectacular on a clear day. Our tour guide was knowledgeable but seemed too much emphasis on shopping, insurance and banking. Would have liked more history. The weather is completely out of your control, however someone suggested and I agreed, that on a day like that, the guide should have photos, postcard or some visual one could take with them of what we would have seen. I have no idea what it would be like on a clear day. With that little take away I would have rated this at least another star. On a clear day I'm sure it would have been a 5 star.</p>

No, this tour was NOT amazing!!! The...

<p>No, this tour was NOT amazing!!! The tour guide was in a constant hurry to drop us off and end the tour. He would not go over one minute of the alloted time scheduled for the tour. I had to take my mother to the bathroom and we were left behind because "Walter" could not wait fo us.</p>

Tour was very forgettable. Tour...

<p>Tour was very forgettable. Tour quide was not very very entertaining. Did not keep my interest. Also walked very fast and did not look back as we had to climb 100 steps! River cruise on Zurick lake was not narrated. Tour guide was not with us. Would not recommend this tour</p>

Mediocre. </p> <p>The bus was clean...

<p>Mediocre. </p> <p>The bus was clean and we did see the countryside and lake however...</p> <p>I have been on good tours to help me learn about a city after I've explored a bit myself but this one was slow considering how expensive it was. The tour guide seemed quite bored with his job. If I could do it over I would skip this one.</p>

At the meeting point it was...

<p>At the meeting point it was confusing what bus to take. It was not made clear that two tours are combined on the bus for the drive through Zurich. After boarding the bus the two tours make the Zurich stop together and then when you get to the castle the two groups split, one does the boat tour and the other continues on the bus. The guide did not speak very good English and was hard to understand at times.</p>

This was too much of a rush and...

<p>This was too much of a rush and unplanned trip. Please factor in tourist comfort and expectation to make the experience entertaining and not mundane.</p>

The great tour of Zurich is very...

<p>The great tour of Zurich is very comprehensive tour, I have been to major part of the city and had 2 hours cruise on the lake Zurich, it is Si beautiful and by the end of the trip, I also had a bit time to walk to train station through the centre of the Zurich, and discovered a bit more of it.</p>

I had only one day in Zurich, so I...

<p>I had only one day in Zurich, so I wanted to take a quick tour to acquaint me with the highlights of the city, a tour that would leave me with a little more free time to explore afterwards. This tour did just that. I appreciated that the tour moved pretty quickly through different spots, and was pleasantly surprised at the amount of scenery we ended up being to take in. The boat ride back was absolutely beautiful. For the price this was definitely worth booking, but I'd only recommend it if you have a full day, so that you can also do some more wandering and exploring afterwards.</p>

Tour was awful. Bus ride around...

<p>Tour was awful. Bus ride around Zurich simply named buildings we passed by, did not provide any history or interesting facts about the city there's the museum, there's the college, there's the chocolate factory. Ride to Rapperswil was not scenic as advertised, but on a grimy walled off interstate. Once we arrived at the castle in Rapperswil, it began to storm with lightening and thunder and torrential rain. Instead of using common sense to the lead us back to the restaurant at which we were supposed to have lunch, the tour guide Thomas instead caroled us into looping the long away around to still try and view the rose gardens! In a storm! The worst by far was the guides behavior at the restaurant with which he or his company was clearly partnered. You have exactly one hour in Rapperswil if you are leaving on the recommended boat tour back to Zurich. In this hour, you are supposed to visit the castle, visit the rose gardens, and eat lunch. This is obviously impossible, especially in a thunderstorm. However, our guide was adamant that we would have time in the ten minutes before our boat left to eat lunch in his partnered restaurant so we dubiously entered. Not only did the guide not have a single table reserved for his group of 15-20 forcing us to sit with strangers, soaking wet but when we then finally told him that there was no way we had time to eat before our boat left, he demanded that we order something or stand outside to wait for our boat in the middle of a storm. Shocked and appalled at his shady and greedy business practices. Would NEVER recommend.</p>

Nice tour around town and then going...

<p>Nice tour around town and then going to the small town outside of Zurich was very nice. Good guide who made the trip interesting and educational. Loved the slow boat trip back. Time to just relax and enjoy the Swiss countryside.</p>

Tour was too rushed both the walk...

<p>Tour was too rushed both the walk through Zurich and to the church and castle in Raspirill, barely time to even turn your head to look around</p>

This was a great way to see Zurich...

<p>This was a great way to see Zurich on day one of our trip. it gave us great ideas on where to return for the following days. The boat ride was very nice as well. Well worth it!!</p>

If you have just a morning or just...

<p>If you have just a morning or just one afternoon, this tour will only give you highlights of Zurich.</p>

Did not take this tour because our...

<p>Did not take this tour because our plane was late. Took Black Forest tour instead. If given a chance will rate the Black Forest at a later date.</p>

I thought the walking tour of the...

<p>I thought the walking tour of the old town Zurich would be longer. We basically got off the bus to see the Chagall Windows which are very worth seeing and then back on for a long bus ride up the lake. Too much time in the little town at the top. Then a 2 hour boat ride back. Definitely take a boat ride on the lake - it's beautiful - but two hours is too long. And the guide , while nice, spent too much time telling bad jokes and little to no time telling us about the sights.</p>

Short version: The guide made...

<p>Short version: The guide made derogatory comments about Jewish people, and the boat tour is a ferry ride with no commentary. Save your money and do not book this tour! </p> <p>Longer version: The city tour is only one stop, at the very beautiful Fraumunster. While we were there, the guide said that we are rich because the Jews taught us how to use money. I was disgusted, but he seemed to think that it was an entirely appropriate comment. Certainly, the Chagall windows are beautiful, but I was expecting a tour of multiple sites and some background information about the city. On the bus ride to Rapperswil, the guide pointed out a boat one of many at the dock and told me that I had to catch it. He then told me that I could join the other tour, if I paid immediately. I didn't like the hard sell, and said no. We then drove down some winding streets away from it, and walked up to a church, where no information was given. Then the guide left without another word, and I was left alone to find the boat. Luckily I did get to it in time, only to learn that it was the local ferry, and it would take 2 hours with no commentary or guided portion. The tour guide had also failed to tell me where the boat would dock in Zurich. As I was travelling alone, I spent the next two hours wondering anxiously where I was going and what would happen when the boat docked. </p> <p>The price for this tour is outrageous for the quality of the product. Save your money and buy a guidebook!</p>

Very boring tour!!! I am very...

<p>Very boring tour!!! I am very desapointed! I will never book whit you again! I can't write my comment in french in your web site!!! I will tell all my friend about it!!!!</p>

We were only a small group, only 5...

<p>We were only a small group, only 5 people, and Walter the tour guide was able to give us personal attention.</p>

really enjoyed this trip particularly...

<p>really enjoyed this trip particularly boat trip on lake zurich</p>

Wonderful tour for those who have short...

<p>Wonderful tour for those who have short time stay in Zurich</p>

I loved the tour guide! He was so...

<p>I loved the tour guide! He was so nice and knowledgeable! That is the only reason why I gave this tour 3 stars.</p> <p>I was disappointed in what the tour offered however, I thought I was going on a 3 hr tour to see Zurich, learn more things about the city itself, instead I was only shown Zurich for an hour then taken on an hour ride to the Rosengarden which was nice, but then because I wasn't part of the extended tour I was sent back to Zurich on a boat which was a pretty ride, but it was 2hrs long! I got tired of being on the boat and felt like I wasted my day on a boat when I wanted to see more of Zurich cause I was only there the day</p>

Guide was knowledgeable. It is...

<p>Guide was knowledgeable. It is mainly a trip around the lake where the guide points out different places to go to see later during your trip to Zurich. Good to do on first day of time in Zurich. Beautiful cenery from bus.</p>

Visited 12th century church in...

<p>Visited 12th century church in Zurich with beautiful stained glass windows by Marc Chagall. It encapsulated a part of the religious history of Switzerland as well as being beautiful. Trip to Rapperswill was also very interesting. Guide was very knowledgeable and helpful. Boat ride back to Zurich was the icing on the cake!</p>

Unfortunately there was a festival...

<p>Unfortunately there was a festival on in Zurich and we couldn't tour the city area. The rest of the sightseeing tour was good.</p>