The Tour Guide project began on January 26, 2007, [1] with the intent of helping newcomers find their way around Club Penguin. Take a morning train from Lucerne to the Swiss capital of Bern, about a 60-90 minute ride. From Vitznau, climb aboard the historic cogwheel train to Rigi Kulm at the top of Mt. The chart below shows how much time it takes to gain competency as a tour guide based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real tour guide resumes. A private guide and a tour program for your group only. See Also: Everything Your Tour Guide Wants You to Know Before You Travel. Fully Guided Tours & Trips in Switzerland. Its a competitive field, and youll have to work hard to keep your coveted role. Great communication/public speaking skills. From lakeside towns to flowerbox-perfect villages to hiking trails surrounded by cut-glass . Geneva: A city full of history, diplomacy, and natural beauty. The highest passes are only open from June to October and, depending on the weather, you may need to use a tunnel instead. If you'd like to apply for this job, please send us an email with your cover letter, your resume, a letter of reference and a scanned copy of your driver's license, all of those items assembled into one single file. It's time to convince them that you can put your money where your mouth is. The best hotels of Switzerland Wellness & Spa hotels. Here is a list of the main duties that define the role: Finally, when you already have checked the skills and responsibilities for this role, you can start creating your resume. Your time will be split between both French and German-speaking Switzerland, so you'll also get a feel for how these two cultures blend and co-exist. Ask us in the comments below! Before you begin your application, do a solid check on the work permit requirements. Guiding a group of 20 knowledge-hungry people or even just an easy-going couple around Mont St Michel or Notre Dame will require all your energy and a good deal of . Of course, your contact details will appear in the National Database and relevant provincial tourist guide association websites (many of which you will have to join and pay annual membership . #2. Skirting lakes and vineyards and twisting up and over passes in the high Alps, Switzerland's roads are beautiful on a cinematic scale, and the country has plenty of drives that are too darned scenic to rush. It'll be a good idea to develop tour guide skills before applying for a job. Certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for this position. The first step to becoming a tour guide is learning about the details of the career. True marvels of engineering, the mountain gondolas graze treetops, rail-bound funiculars shimmy precariously close to rock faces, and cable cars wobble across valleys (dont worry they are safe and subject to regular checks), before all emerge at a spectacularly snowy summit or glacier. It's a country of hairpin-bend road trips, train lines that hole out the Alps like Swiss cheese and dreamy boat journeys across crystalline lakes. My later journeys often took me in the vicinity of water I feel really at home there. 60ff fo the Swiss civil right book (ZGB). "Always have a backup plan in case it . Tour Guide. I am Cynthia and I have been guiding tours for many years and it would be my pleasure to assist you in your discovery of Switzerland. I would be delighted to show you the beauties of the region in my Old Timer, a Citroen DS dating from 1974. (166) Languages: English (fluent), German (conversational), Italian (conversational) Biography: Greetings! We would be delighted to take you on our discovery tours and show you the superb insider locations of Switzerland. Being a tour guide involves taking groups of tourists into certain areas as part of their vacation. ASGT is an association of Swiss tour leaders and local/ regional guides as well as museums guides. And here are 10 ways to make your money last longer in Switzerland. Some common responsibilities are a part of most tour guide jobs. Youll live out of a suitcase, answer hundreds of questions every day, and work with many different personalities and cultures from all over the world. , Geneva is only nominally within Switzerland's borders. A guided tour takes everything off your hands. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. How to effectively deal with illness " your Tour Guide Guests OR yours. You will never know all the answers, but youll learn smooth ways to own up to that, or find out and provide a helpful response shortly after (hello Google), or direct the passenger to where they might find out. Planning your trip is much easier with a free MySwissAlps account. You always need a credit card. The Swiss Travel Pass is an all-in-one ticket giving you complete access to Switzerland (and Liechtenstein!). Swiss Pass holders get a discount on train tickets to the Jungfraujoch. Youll be looking at 2-3 months without an income, travelling through potentially expensive European cities and without any guarantee you have the job until youve passed the finish line! Get a good nights sleep before your interview and enter the room calm, confident, and personable. You can reach Switzerland by train from the neighboring countries of Austria, Germany, France, and Italy. We use cookies to analyze traffic and provide you with personalized content and ads. Getting There. Best of Switzerland in 12 Days Tour. Switzerland's accommodation options range from rustic mountain bunkhouses for hikers to luxurious 5-star hotels with spas, Michelin-star dining, and every imaginable amenity. Small it may be, but Geneva is one of the most demographically diverse cities in Europe . TripSavvy uses only high-quality, trusted sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Provide enriching experiences to groups visiting a location. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Making it to the end of your training is a huge accomplishment in itself. If you are in no hurry, Switzerlands bright yellow postal buses can be a fun way to reach the remote mountain regions. From Kriens, a short bus ride from Lucerne, take the Panorama Gondola on a breathtaking 30-minute ride to the top of Pilatus, where you'll find hiking, an adventure park, restaurants, and soaring views. A tour guide who is likeable and personable can light up a destination and make every guest feel like the most important person in the group. Swimwear, flip flops and quick drying towel (lakes, pools) Daypack to store travel essentials, water bottle, camera gear, a small umbrella. Passenger boats run on Lake Geneva, Constance, Lucerne, Lugano, Neuchtel, Biel, Murten, Thun, Brienz and Zug. Whether you prefer the pace to be gentle or adventurous, I will adapt to your tempo. 60ff fo the Swiss civil right book (ZGB). If a week is all you've got, this itinerary will give you a taste of the best the country has to offer, taking you from cities to mountains and medieval towns to sparkling lakes. (and love chatting). Education. Find the latest news about the coronavirus and learn if it will affect your trip to Switzerland. Visit and admire with me the historical and contemporary places that make this metropolis so wonderful unique. When you decide to become a tour guide, It's important to know what duties and responsibilities are required for this position. February 12, 2013. This is simply best travel-related site I have ever seen. If you're fed up with your hometown and find yourself fantasising about a fresh start, these places will pay you to relocate there. Still up for the challenge? He said he was with his wife and child at the time and was angry he had to lie to his daughter . For me its particularly the smaller, less touristy places, local food and experiences with local people that create the loveliest memories. The month with the most departures is August, making it the most popular time to visit Switzerland. Though travel in Switzerland is efficient and convenient, it can also be expensive, and visitors planning to use inter-city routes should consider investing in a Swiss Travel Pass. Guiding groups around a location. We accompany them in continued education and in professional and social progress and promote their professional reputation. It doesnt matter if yourenew to this because everyone has to start somewhere. So p. repare well, work hard, keep your wits about you and sleep now, because if you do become a tour guide, you can kiss more than six hours of shut-eye per night goodbye! If youre lucky, theyll tell you they can take an application anytime! Communicating in an effective and entertaining manner. & more. If you gain their respect and they can see you know what youre doing, youre well on your way to being a roaring success. Celebrate the fact that youre here because experienced touring professionals believe you have what it takes to take passengers on the trip of a lifetime. Follow these steps to start your career: 1. Most major cities, including Bern, Geneva, Zurich and Basel, are connected by rail with daily services. Being a tour guide means you get to travel. The famous panorama tourist trains (with big windows) are just tip-of-the-iceberg stuff: regular scheduled services, which often ply the same routes as the tourist trains, can be just as enjoyable and significantly less expensive. Even though most tour guides have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED. Before you head out for a day of adventures, stop at a grocery store and pick up bread, cheese, cold cuts, or whatever else you want for a picnic. You may have shed blood, sweat and tears to get here but you can finally call yourself a tour guide! A 15-day pass is just shy of 500 CHF, so it's not cheap. This isnt a run of the mill 9 to 5, but if youre leading a group of tourists towards the pyramids of Giza then you already knew that! You can start your own tour guide company or seek employment. Switzerland is a land-locked country, but boats ply the country's large lakes, serviced by steamers operated by Swiss Federal Railwaysor private companies for which national travel passes are valid. Hop on board Europes railway network and discover a sustainable and stress-free way to explore the continent. You can find out more about rail travel in Europe, including purchasing tickets, on the Rail Europe website; and about bus travel on the Eurolines website. The role of a tour guide requires a range of knowledge, social skills and physical capabilities to cover the many aspects of the job. Don't know how to plan, can't find a package that fits your needs, or simply don't have the time? If you want to work in a region with year-round tourism (such as South East Asia, for example), check with the company to see when they run their training trips, or when is the best time to apply. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Here's how to get around this wonderfully scenic country. And the environmental clincher? Schaffhausen, Rhine Falls and Stein am Rhein. The 10 Best Things to Do in Bern, Switzerland, The Best 17 Places to Visit in Switzerland, Your Trip to Switzerland: The Complete Guide, The Top 9 Scenic and Novelty Train Rides in Switzerland, The Top 15 Things to Do in Geneva, Switzerland, How to Travel Between Italy and Switzerland by Train, Getting Around Switzerland: Guide to Public Transportation, How to Use Swiss Trains and the Swiss Travel Pass. Geography what does this mean. Still up for the challenge? The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. Its important to know that when youre looking for travelling job opportunities, many tour guide job advertisements will be looking for licensed city tour specialists, who unlike you will be looking to stay put in one city, See Also: Every Question You've Ever Had About Group Tours. The Swiss Tourist Guide Association celebrates its 25th birthday. The best of the best! We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. Bern is built into a sharp bend in the Aare River, which historically made it easier to defend and, aesthetically, placed it in a beautiful setting. The journey here is more than half the funthe boat ride is more than two hours, and traverses nearly the full length of Lake Lucerne. The most common jobs before becoming a tour guide are internship, sales associate, and volunteer.