Dream62258624190, Dec 2025
Extraordinary Once in a Lifetime Experience with SLS!
Okay firstly, if you're considering traveling to Switzerland, Italy, or any of the neighboring countries, and you haven't booked a tour yet with Fernando and SLS, stop reading now and go make your booking right now!!I first reached out to Fernando via Cool Destinations in mid-June of this year regarding a 14-day trip from early to mid-August. Within about 5 minutes he had responded and about 30 minutes later we were on a call together mapping out my itinerary. Over the next month we kept in touch, me dumping stream of conscious information and changes on Fernando, and Fernando patiently and helpfully tweaking the itinerary and making recommendations.We were a family of 4 (me, my fiancee and my 75+ year old parents). My parents wanted to see beautiful nature views and tour historical sites. My fiancee wanted to enjoy fine local dining, transit in luxury, go shopping, and generally take as few steps every day as possible. Oh, and we had to stop-over for a wedding in Lake Como and had about 6 super heavy luggages to lug around.From the moment we got off the plane in Zurich, Fernando was in constant contact. His nephew Markus was dressed in an immaculate suit waiting to pick us up in a luxury limo (the kind where you get to sit facing each other inside). He shuttled us to our hotel and the next morning, Fernando came to pick us up for the beginning of our tour.To try and recount every memory over the following 8 days would take up several volumes of text, but here were some of the highlights:- Bernese Oberland, including Interlaken and some of the most unreal views of the Lake Brienz, a short hike through a valley of waterfalls in Aareschlucht Gorge, walking behind the Geissbach Falls, taking the cable car to the mountaintop hamlet of Sulwald, and posing for photos at Iseltwald.
- Taking the steepest cable car in the world above Lauterbrunnen, drive from Lauterbrunnen to Lucerne, and drive from Lucerne to the town of Chur to catch the Bernina Express into Tirano Italy.
- Pickup from Tirano, day spent touring Lake Como, including Orrido di Bellano Gorge, and taking the ferry from Verenna with a stop to do some shopping in Bellagio.
- Pickup from South Lake Como and day trip to Milan, where we ran into Fernando's wife and kid on a shopping trip.
- Pickup from Como and drive all the way to Venice, with stop in Verona (famous for being the city of Romeo of Juliet).
- Doing wrist rolls with our watches at every opportunity along the way with incredible views in the background (we love our APs and Rolexes lol).At just about every stop along this multi-day journey, Fernando knew the locals, the local eateries, and all the best places for photos. I need to pause here and say that Fernando is *really* good at taking photos. He knows all the right angles, time of day for the best lighting and exposure, and how to capture the right backdrop -- all of which were super important for my fiancee (who needs 100 photos to find 1 that is Instagram worthy, and firmly subscribes to the belief that if it's not on Instagram, it never happened).Throughout our trip, Fernando kept us on schedule and made snap decisions along the way to allow us more time at our favorite places. He was absolutely masterful at reading our energy level, interest in particular types of sights, and non-stop calibrating to ensure we received the most memorable experience without overexerting ourselves.I want to also acknowledge just how ridiculously hardworking both Fernando and Markus are as individuals. On multiple occasions, they woke up at the crack of dawn (after touring with us all day and reaching home late the night before) to meet us again. And always with a smile, enthusiasm and energy level which to me felt unfathomable on the amount of rest they were getting. One thing that never ceased to amaze me was how genuinely interested and excited Fernando seemed to be everywhere we went, always with his phone out taking photos and running ahead to save the best photo spots for us, then doubling back to pose us. You'd think he was experiencing it all with you for the first time, until you realize he's literally been there probably a hundred times already.The small details need some mentioning as well. Fernando would always drop us off as close as possible to the site, then find parking and join us while we meandered around. He'd find restrooms and rest stops everywhere we went, and there is nothing you can ask of Fernando that he isn't willing to do, all the while wearing a sharp suit in smoldering hot August Southern Europe weather.We were truly sad when we finally parted ways in Venice. I've been on tours before where we really clicked with the guide, and never spoke to each other again when it ended. But now, more than 4 months later, Fernando and I are still exchanging memes and stories on Instagram and recounting memories from our trip. We not only had the experience of a lifetime that took us through about 10 cities in 8 days, but we made an amazing friend along the way in Fernando. And to top it off, he sent Markus with a bottle of his favorite wine as a parting gift for us as we were headed to the airport for our departure, just because I mentioned in passing to him that I was sad we didn't get to do some wine tours on our trip. That's the kind of guy he is.
