Bike Travel Camp in the Alps, Switzerland

Course Description: Bike Travel Camp in the Alps, Switzerland

🎓 Course Overview

This one-week cycling expedition takes teenagers aged 12–17 through the Swiss Alps and pre-Alps, where the cantons of Vaud, Fribourg and Bern meet. Riding by day and camping by night, the group covers long distances and real climbs, spends a night in a mountain refuge and mixes in lake days, a survival workshop and campfires. The camp is bilingual (English and French) and international.

📚 Academic Content

This is a demanding travel camp: participants ride long distances with significant elevation gain, on a mix of roads and mountain-bike routes over tracks, trails and technical sections. A good level of cycling is required, and families are asked to assess honestly whether their teenager is ready before booking.

Typical Week

• Setting off: group meeting, bike and kit check, route briefing, first riding stage and first camp.

• On the road: riding through Vaud, Fribourg and Bern, picnic lunch, setting up camp and a campfire.

• Lake day: paddleboarding and water sports, and the start of each rider's adventure journal.

• Into the mountains: a climb into the mountains, hiking and a night in a mountain refuge.

• Survival workshop: a shorter ride, a survival workshop, team challenges and a theme night.

• Last stage: the final ride and a closing campfire where campers share a page of their journal.

📍 Campus & Location

There is no fixed campus: the group travels by bike through the Alpine region where Vaud, Fribourg and Bern meet, passing landscapes such as the Gastlosen peaks and the area around Les Diablerets, and moving to a new camp regularly. A support van carries luggage and equipment.

International participants meet at Geneva Airport, with transport arranged from there. Swiss participants meet at Lausanne railway station and travel to Les Diablerets for a day of multi-activities before setting off. Slightly different arrival and departure dates may be possible on request.

🏫 Accommodation & Meals

Nights are spent mostly in tents at overnight camps along the route, with one night in a mountain refuge. Tents and group equipment are provided.

Breakfast is eaten at camp, lunch is a picnic on the road and dinner is cooked together by the group. Dietary requirements, allergies and intolerances are recorded on the trip preparation form before camp so the team can plan for them.

🚌 Excursions & Activities

Alongside the riding, the week includes a lake day of paddleboarding and water sports, hiking in the mountains, a night in a mountain refuge, a survival workshop, team challenges and a theme night (such as Camp Olympics or Night of the Superheroes), plus campfires and an adventure journal kept throughout the trip.

2027 Dates & Fees 📅

This is a residential travel camp. Each stage runs for one week, from Sunday to Saturday, and teens can book one or more consecutive weeks. Fees are quoted in Swiss francs (CHF) per week and depend on where the family lives, not nationality. International participants receive a bike and bike bags as part of the fee; Swiss-resident participants bring their own or rent one from the camp at a reduced price.

• Sunday 4 July – Saturday 10 July — Length: 1 week — Residential: CHF 1,630 (Swiss residents: CHF 1,210)

• Sunday 11 July – Saturday 17 July — Length: 1 week — Residential: CHF 1,630 (Swiss residents: CHF 1,210)

• Sunday 18 July – Saturday 24 July — Length: 1 week — Residential: CHF 1,630 (Swiss residents: CHF 1,210)

• Sunday 25 July – Saturday 31 July — Length: 1 week — Residential: CHF 1,630 (Swiss residents: CHF 1,210)

• Sunday 1 August – Saturday 7 August — Length: 1 week — Residential: CHF 1,630 (Swiss residents: CHF 1,210)

• Sunday 8 August – Saturday 14 August — Length: 1 week — Residential: CHF 1,630 (Swiss residents: CHF 1,210)

• Sunday 15 August – Saturday 21 August — Length: 1 week — Residential: CHF 1,630 (Swiss residents: CHF 1,210)

• Sunday 22 August – Saturday 28 August — Length: 1 week — Residential: CHF 1,630 (Swiss residents: CHF 1,210)

Multi-week stays (international families): two consecutive weeks CHF 3,260; three consecutive weeks CHF 4,890 (Swiss-resident families: CHF 2,420 and CHF 3,630).

Optional extras: afternoon language classes in English, French or German (2 hours a day, Monday to Friday, CHF 260 per week, materials included); special activities such as paragliding or dog sledding (priced separately); accident, rescue and repatriation insurance and cancellation insurance, both bookable at registration; and extra nights for early arrival or late departure (cost confirmed individually). Swiss-resident families can use a drop-off service at Geneva Airport for a small fee.

Payment: places are confirmed only once payment is received, either in full or as the first instalment where a payment plan is offered. Payment is by card or bank transfer, in Swiss francs only. There are no sibling, friend or multi-week discounts, no VAT is added and the weekly price is the same throughout the summer. Booking can be cancelled free of charge before payment; after payment, the cancellation terms in the camp contract apply. If the camp itself cancels, a full refund is given.

✔️ What's Included

All participant costs during the camp: transport during the trip, all meals, accommodation in tents and a mountain refuge, group equipment (tents, activity equipment, harnesses and climbing gear), activities, a camp T-shirt and 24/7 first-aid cover. International participants also receive a bike and bike bags and transport from Geneva Airport.

Not included: travel to the meeting point, personal equipment and clothing (a sleeping bag can be requested from the camp), personal expenses, optional insurance and, for Swiss residents, the bike and bike bags.

🛡️ Safety & Welfare

The team travels with the group throughout, and a support van accompanies the trip.

There is one leader for every five children, and campers are supervised during activities, meals, evenings and at night. All staff are over 18 and are recruited through interviews, background and reference checks; each provides a police record extract, and paid leaders hold Swiss Jeunesse+Sport (J+S) qualifications. Certifications across the team include J+S climbing instructor, CAS mountain guide instructor and Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician, at least one in two instructors is fully certified in CPR and first aid, and staff arrive about a week before the first session for training.

A person responsible for first aid and crisis management is always with the group. Medication is handed to staff on arrival with written instructions, campers are checked for ticks daily, and staff see a doctor when needed and call parents at the earliest opportunity. The camp has a no-bullying policy and monitors group behaviour closely. Families must hold travel or accident insurance covering emergency rescue (including mountain and helicopter rescue) and repatriation; the camp's own policy can be added at booking.

Phones are kept away for the week; calls home depend on mobile reception along the route. Parents receive updates every evening and can reach the team 24/7 in an emergency.

💡 Who This Programme Is For

This camp suits fit, confident 12–17-year-old cyclists who are comfortable riding long days with climbs and some technical trail sections. It is ideal for teens who love the idea of a self-propelled journey, camping under canvas and travelling as a close-knit international team.

Young Explorers Club — Google Maps ↗

Rue de Bourg 27, 1003 Lausanne, Switzerland Google Maps ↗