At just over an hour’s drive from Geneva International Airport the Swiss Alpine Centre is located in Leysin, high in the Swiss Alps. From its sunny terraces, common rooms and many of the bedrooms right the centre offers spectacular views across the Rhone Valley to the dramatic French Alps and the peak of Mont Blanc. Right at our doorstep there are walking and hiking paths to the green alpine meadows with colourful flowers, wildlife and the invigorating fresh mountain air.

The centre welcomes up to 180 campers from all over the world for the speciality programmes with the exception of the Leadership Training Camp (LTC). Leadership Training Camp (LTC) is designed for 15-17 years old and takes place at the Alpine Classic Hotel, a first-class facility in the centre of Leysin, in the first session but is back in the Swiss Alpine Centre for second session.

Bedrooms at both sites have en-suite facilities and offer spacious, comfortable accommodating for up to four campers. Campers are assigned to rooms according to age and gender. Experienced counsellors (who stay in rooms near the campers) are responsible for taking special care of each and every camper.

During free time, campers in small groups enjoy the traditional cafes and shops in the village, which they can visit with their new-found friends from all over the world (younger campers are always accompanied by counsellors on their outings).

The Village Camps chefs prepare three nutritious, healthy and varied meals, every day. A salad bar with its fresh daily produce is available at all meals. Breakfast time a varied offer of choices from cereals to pastries and fresh fruit and more. We cater for healthy young appetites so ‘second helpings’ are always available.

Most special dietary needs can be accommodated but please check in advance with the Village Camps Head Office.

At Village Camps children are assigned to groups according to their choice of programme as well as age and/or skill levels. The morning period (3hrs) is devoted to the campers chosen specialty programme. In the afternoons, campers from most programmes join together and choose from a selection of ‘sign-up’ activities. Leadership (LTC) campers and Junior Adventure campers have their own special programmes and only join the other campers on special occasions.

Present for all activities (at an average ratio of 1:6) are experienced counsellors, trained by Village Camps before camp starts. Counsellors are enthusiastic young people from around the world and their role at camp is to take care of your children making sure they are comfortable, safe and happy at all times. The majority are in the age frame 21-35 and bring with them a variety of cultures and languages, creating a wonderful international environment, which is a Village Camps trade mark!

Evenings are filled with exciting imaginative games, spectacular events and relaxing activities. These include:

 Camp Fire - After a stroll through the stunning Swiss countryside to reach a local beauty spot campers enjoy a campfire with marshmallows and roasted, chocolate-filled bananas, as they watch the sun set on another great day in Leysin.

 Friday Festival - Starts with a hike to the beautiful Prafendaz lookout point where the campers enjoy a delicious BBQ and tasty donuts. After lunch it's time to put face paint on and split into groups to create and perform some awesome team chants, and begin the competition.

 Mountain Hut Overnight Stay – Camper take their pack lunches and put on their hiking shoes before setting off on their overnight Adventure Hut hike. They spend their day taking in some of Switzerland’s most beautiful scenery on the way up the mountain. After a hard day of hiking in the sunshine they settle in for a BBQ and a peaceful night's sleep in a quaint, traditional mountain hut!

 Carnival Night - Counsellors work hard to transform the whole camp into a Carnival filled with fun parlour games. Campers spend their afternoon playing awesome games like Strong Man, Oily Pig, Balloon Stomp, Hot Shot, Candy Guess, Karaoke and much more!

 Movie Night – Campers settle in with their duvets and lots of pillows for a comfortable night in on one of the common rooms. With a big screen and lots of popcorn, this is a welcomed relaxed evening and long tiring day of activities.

 Ice Skating – Campers go in small groups to the ice rink in the centre of town. It’s a chance to learn to skate for the ones that have never tried and a great opportunity to have fun on the ice with friends.

 International Night – On this day and evening we celebrate our diversity and give campers the chance to share their cultures, dances, traditions, gastronomy and humour of their home countries! Fantastic presentations will have been prepared by the campers. Everyone at camp takes part in the presentations and cheering each other on!

 Special Farewell Dinner – A very special dinner event complete with a beautifully decorated dining room and slideshows of all the best moments at camp. Campers are pampered with table service provided by their very own counsellors!

 Final Evening Festivities - There are awesome presentations by campers and the Dance Camp team plus a special edition of ‘Secret Friends’ hosted by special guests. Finally it's time to dance the night away at our very own disco.

Evening activities are often run independently for each separate age group but sometimes are organised as all-camp events where the entire camp comes together for some of the spectacular and much-anticipated Village Camps all-time favourites.

On all excursions we ensure free time for cultural visits, shopping and walking around in small groups. On visits to places of interest admission fees are included.

Highlight for campers are the two excursions that take place over the weekend.

Saturday – Excursion to a local point of interest

This excursion is organised separately for each age-group and is usually to one of the local points of interest set out below – according to weather conditions and any local special events:

 Maison Cailler - Chocolate Factory
 The Nest Museum in Vevey
 Olympic Museum
 Labyrinth Adventure Park
 United Nations Building and Geneva old town

Sunday – Excursion to the Aigle Outdoor Water Park

The whole camp is allowed a little extra time in bed and then after breakfast they grab their swimsuits, load up their lunch boxes and jump on the COG train to make their way to Aigle.