Switzerland

Valid travel documents are needed for trips to Switzerland!
Anyone who has forgotten his ID-Card or passport or comes to the meeting point with an invalid travel document, cannot take part!

Citizens of the EU and of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway can enter by identity card or passport.
Participants from the following countries need their national passport to be valid for at least three months before entering Switzerland: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Israel, Japan, Canada, Korea (South), Croatia, Malaysia, Macedonia, Mexico , Montenegro (biometric pass required!), New Zealand, Paraguay, Serbia (biometric pass required!), Singapore, Uruguay, USA and Venezuela.
Students coming from a country not listed above can only enter Switzerland if they have their valid passport and an (electronic) residence permit for an EU country, Iceland, Canada, Norway or the US or a "Schengen Visa" or a "visa MULTIPLE for Germany".
Citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Turkey, who are permanent residents of an EU country, Iceland, Norway, USA or Canada, only need their passport - not a "residence permit for Germany". Serbian citizens do not need a "residence permit for Germany" if they have a biometric passport.
Palestine is not recognized by Switzerland as a state. The travel documents issued by Palestine (Passport / Travel Document and VIP Passport / Travel Document) are however accepted for entry into Switzerland.

France

Valid travel documents are needed for trips to France! Please make sure to bring your passport (valid for at least three months after entry; with Visa MULT for Germany or Schengen-Visa or with [electronic] residency permit), as it is necessary for crossing the border. If you are a citizen of a Schengen country, your ID will suffice.

The best thing to do is to log in with your user account on the SWFR website at the top right under "Login". When you click “my Account” you should get an overview of your bookings and the status of your payment. We check all incoming payments once a day (usually in the morning).

Generally, the tours take place in any weather, even in the rain. We recommend to always check the weather forecast and wear appropriate clothing. However, if the weather situation poses a safety risk (gale-force winds, severe thunderstorms, heat waves etc.), the tour won't happen of course. We relate to the official German Weather Service for weather warnings.

Normally we start and end the tour together, because the tour guide has the duty of supervision and is responsible for you. In exceptional cases and only after consultation with the guide you can leave earlier. In this case, you inform him/her directly at the beginning of the tour that you have to leave earlier and then explicitly sign off again when the time comes. Please note that especially on hikes it is not always possible to simply leave the tour, because we use hiking trails that lead through the wilderness.

If you can't make it to the meeting point on time, be sure to call your tour guide first. Since all tours are different she/he can help you best.

In general, if you miss the scheduled transportation because you are late to the meeting point, you can try to catch up with the group at your own expense. For example, you can buy a ticket for the next train/bus etc and catch up. However, some of our tours have a strict schedule and it may not be possible for the group to wait for you. For this reason, you should always check the details with the tour guide. If we travel with a chartered coach, it is not possible that we turn around to pick you up. In this case, you will miss the tour. There is no right to reimbursement for late arrival and we cannot reimburse you for any travel expenses incurred due to a private journey to the destination.

We offer two different types of tours: City trips and hikes. For both, we recommend good shoes in which you can comfortably walk long distances (for the hikes, of course, hiking boots are recommended). You should also bring a backpack or a bag with enough water (at least 1L), snacks/food (for city trips there is often the possibility to buy something, for hikes rather not) and depending on the weather additional clothing. We recommend you to check the weather forecast the day before the tour and pack sun or rain protection accordingly, as we will be outdoors for long stretches of time. If additional equipment is needed for a tour, the guide will announce this in an email.

Paid participant fees can only be refunded if the cancellation is made at least three working days before the registration deadline. In this case, a cancellation fee of 10% of the participant fee (but at least € 5.00) will be retained. If the cancellation takes place later, the participant fee cannot be refunded.

If a tour is cancelled due to bad weather, lack of participants or other unforeseen reasons, you will receive an email from us as soon as possible. This will also include details on the refund process for already paid participation fees.

It is best to register in time! But you can send us an email to studitours@swfr.de and ask if it is still possible to join the tour. In some cases it is possible, in others it isn’t, depending on the tour.

Members of the International Club (IC) pay the cheaper price for studitours. The IC card can be purchased at the SWFR info store during opening hours or at one of the service points in the canteen, it costs 2 €.