The announcement - A preliminary tour
So the trip which Thomas Cook announced in «Cook's Excursionist» on 6th June 1863 was explicitly described as a «preliminary tour», which would prepare and investigate the way. He declared his intention of accompanying a group to Geneva, Lucerne and the other important places around the Alps and lakes, and invited anyone who wanted to travel with him to Paris and Switzerland in the last week of June, to let him know. The trip would not be advertised, but he said he would like to take about 25 people to Switzerland and on to Paris.
A trip for pioneers
Cook made clear that some degree of pioneering spirit would be required. He warned would-be travellers that everything would depend on the circumstances, the number of participants who decided to travel together, the kind of transport and other factors which he could not precisely foresee. But it was clear that the areas that would certainly be visited would include Chamonix and Mont Blanc plus the Rigi, and that the rail ticket that Cook was negotiating meant that Geneva and Neuchâtel would be the connecting cities on the international rail network.