Switzerland in June?

[Wobble’s Mum]

Hello,

We are considering a trip to Switzerland in June 2020 and are looking for some wise travellers to share tips or recommendations to help with planning. I seem to have more questions than answers having never yet taken Denzil out of the UK. The loose plan is to have 10 days in total, possibly breaking up the journey with a couple of key stops in France and spend the rest of time exploring Switzerland.

We are based in Devon, so my first dilemma is Ferry from Plymouth or Euro-tunnel from Calais? Is there more of a benefit with choosing one over the other?
Other than a vignette and the normal european driving rules, is there anything else to be aware of?
We thought we would take our e-bikes - are you allowed them on trains/cable cars?
Can anybody recommend some good campsites? I'm budgeting around £30 per night - is this realistic in June?

Sorry for all the questions - but I would prefer to learn from your real life experiences, as researching through the internet is giving me conflicting info.
Feel free to bombard the thread with pictures too!

TIA

 

[Erbster]

Can’t offer advice on CH but re. Ferries, my opinion is take the cheapest crossing, which is likely to be tunnel. Journey via tunnel also likely to be faster. The ferries to Normandy are nice but the main benefit IMO is avoiding driving extra miles west across France. I don’t think those ferries will save you much/any driving and are likely to cost more. Alternatively, you may feel that a ferry crossing is an enjoyable event in itself and therefore worth it.


caliventures364847572.wordpress.com

 

[TripleBee]

Boncourt to Glovelier:

Gorges du Pichoux:

Lauterbrunnen to camping Breithorn:

Camping Breithorn to Lauterbrunnen:

Biel to Loveresse over the A16:

Oh, I love Switzerland

And yes, another vote for Camping Breithorn in Stechelberg, by the sisters Von Allmen.

 

[soulstyledevon]

Switzerland is my favourite European country. You can drive quite easily from the UK to Switzerland in one day.
Everywhere is incredible.

Only downside is everything is expensive, but worth it.
Went this year again and I think we are going back next year too

 

[sapto]

Hello,

Other than a vignette and the normal european driving rules, is there anything else to be aware of?
We thought we would take our e-bikes - are you allowed them on trains/cable cars?
Can anybody recommend some good campsites? I'm budgeting around £30 per night - is this realistic in June?

Sorry for all the questions - but I would prefer to learn from your real life experiences, as researching through the internet is giving me conflicting info.
Feel free to bombard the thread with pictures too!

TIA

Happy to hear you all liked parts of Switzerland! We tend to think our country is (too) small, expensive (yes, some parts are def), crowded and people are not always open hearted.

Try to give some views from down here:
Re e-Bikes: Very popular here and often allowed on cable cars and trains. On sbb.ch you find the (main) connections (public transport and supported by the governement) and the site gives you also intel about bikes in these trains (some trains got restrictions, spacewise). Using bikes in the mountains is great and gives you access to wonderful places.

 

[sapto]

Hello,

Other than a vignette and the normal european driving rules, is there anything else to be aware of?
We thought we would take our e-bikes - are you allowed them on trains/cable cars?
Can anybody recommend some good campsites? I'm budgeting around £30 per night - is this realistic in June?

Sorry for all the questions - but I would prefer to learn from your real life experiences, as researching through the internet is giving me conflicting info.
Feel free to bombard the thread with pictures too!

TIA

Of course it all depends on where you‘d like to go in June and I guess you get better deals if you stay longer on one site. In general £30 might be tight for pitch, tax and electricity. On the other hand smaller places still got low season in June (for example: http://www.camping-vitznau.ch/englisch/preise-eng.php).

 

[sapto]

Re driving:
Diesel is more expensive than petrol (around £1.26/L) and speeding fines are expensive:

Driving over the speed limit

The maximum speed limit on motorways is 120 km/h, on expressways it is 100 km/h, on main roads and minor roads outside built-up areas it is 80 km/h and in built-up areas it is 50 km/h.

www.ch.ch

 

[rolvos]

For getting to Switzerland from Dover we always take the ferry (cheaper than tunnel) and then drive via Lyon into Belgium, Tournai, Bergen, Namur, Luxemburg (cheap diesel), then into Germany, Merzig, Neunkirchen, Zweibrücken, Pirmasens to Karlsruhe. There you can decide wether to go south to Basel or via Stuttgart to Zurich. No Tollroads 'til you enter Switzerland.

 

[Hotel California]

For getting to Switzerland from Dover we always take the ferry (cheaper than tunnel) and then drive via Lyon into Belgium, Tournai, Bergen, Namur, Luxemburg (cheap diesel), then into Germany, Merzig, Neunkirchen, Zweibrücken, Pirmasens to Karlsruhe. There you can decide wether to go south to Basel or via Stuttgart to Zurich. No Tollroads 'til you enter Switzerland.

Sure Lyon is odd in that list....

 

[rolvos]

Sure Lyon is odd in that list....

Yes, because I meant Lille. Sorry.

 

[Bellcrew]

Hello,

We are considering a trip to Switzerland in June 2020 and are looking for some wise travellers to share tips or recommendations to help with planning. I seem to have more questions than answers having never yet taken Denzil out of the UK. The loose plan is to have 10 days in total, possibly breaking up the journey with a couple of key stops in France and spend the rest of time exploring Switzerland.

We are based in Devon, so my first dilemma is Ferry from Plymouth or Euro-tunnel from Calais? Is there more of a benefit with choosing one over the other?
Other than a vignette and the normal european driving rules, is there anything else to be aware of?
We thought we would take our e-bikes - are you allowed them on trains/cable cars?
Can anybody recommend some good campsites? I'm budgeting around £30 per night - is this realistic in June?

Sorry for all the questions - but I would prefer to learn from your real life experiences, as researching through the internet is giving me conflicting info.
Feel free to bombard the thread with pictures too!

TIA

The Dover Calais/Dunkirk ferries are fine, P&O can be booked economy going out and flexi return to give maximum choice of return dates/times.
We stay at Ghent the first night, excellent site, free shuttle bus to centre.
Luxembourg a nice short trip, bus into centre short walk from site and of course cheapest fuel in Europe.
6 euro road toll to Nancy, lovely centre fun vibe last week, again easy bus into centre from campsite.
Bad Bellingen campsite situated between Freiburg and Basel, heated pool and fantastic free public transport offer. We used train to both cities (station 17 mins walk from campsite) completely free with the Kornus ticket. Get your Swiss vignette from the tourist office in Basel. Freiburg was a revelation, just great fun.
Drive down through the Gotthard tunnel, free with the vignette, try and visit the Italian lakes if time allows.
All campsites can be found on the ACSI app at 20 euro a night including electricity and often Wifi until the end of June except the Ghent site which is at the Blaarmeersen municipal site, more expensive but another lovely city.
Use Via Michelin route planner to obtain info about distances/times and costs of each leg.

 

[rolvos]

Rolvos, how long does this route take to get to Switzerland?

From Dover to Schaffhausen is nearly 900 km, so we normally take a ferry in the evening, then sleep in Belgium on a parking at the motorway and drive the next full day.

 

[alan middleton]

Hello,

We are considering a trip to Switzerland in June 2020 and are looking for some wise travellers to share tips or recommendations to help with planning. I seem to have more questions than answers having never yet taken Denzil out of the UK. The loose plan is to have 10 days in total, possibly breaking up the journey with a couple of key stops in France and spend the rest of time exploring Switzerland.

We are based in Devon, so my first dilemma is Ferry from Plymouth or Euro-tunnel from Calais? Is there more of a benefit with choosing one over the other?
Other than a vignette and the normal european driving rules, is there anything else to be aware of?
We thought we would take our e-bikes - are you allowed them on trains/cable cars?
Can anybody recommend some good campsites? I'm budgeting around £30 per night - is this realistic in June?

Sorry for all the questions - but I would prefer to learn from your real life experiences, as researching through the internet is giving me conflicting info.
Feel free to bombard the thread with pictures too!

TIA

Hi

Can’t help with best route as we are up north. We go to Rotterdam by ferry and head straight through Germany along the Rhine.

We stayed at Camping Jungfrau which is just near the other recommendation. They’re both good, but this one is a lot bigger and has a superb restaurant on site. Fabulous area. Your bikes will generally be allowed most places, but some cable cars would not be suitable.

Aktivferien im Berner Oberland: Camping Jungfrau Lauterbrunnen

Camping Jungfrau bietet Ihnen einen nachhaltigen und erholsamen Urlaub mit Camper, Zelt, im Hostel, Mobilheim oder Bungalow und mit erstklassiker Infrastruktur

www.campingjungfrau.swiss

The rules are pretty straightforward in Switzerland and you won’t have any difficulty driving there. Don’t be tempted to speed though.

 

[Kris Emery]

Switzerland is my adopted country (for 35+ years now) and it is beautiful as has been mentioned above.
Getting from the UK we used the ferries - enjoy the couple hours break to get a meal etc. From Calais go A26 to Reims, then Metz, Strasbourg and then towards Basel, but then cut across the Rhine towards Lorrach and enter Switzerland at Rheinfelden. (This cuts out delays through Basel). Autobahn Vignette (for Swiss motorways - valid for the calendar year) costs 40 CHF which you can get at the border. Allow 7.5 - 8 hours from Calais.
As to campsites I can recommend Sempach which is very handy for cycling into Luzern and also a cycle route around the Sempach lake.
Others have recommended some other great places above - but also consider east Switzerland and Lake Constance (Bodensee locally) then Camping Seehorn, Egnach on the west side of the lake. There is a cycle track all around the lake (think days not hours to cycle all round it) and also handy for the Rheinfalls and the island of Meinau with its wonderful gardens.
As to cost, yes, Switzerland is expensive and it will cost 30-40 CHF per night (for two and a dog). Both these campsites are "top of the range" with full facilities.
Hope you enjoy your trip - June is a wonderful time as the mountain meadows are in full bloom and it is not too crowded.

 

[warny15]

Hello,

We are considering a trip to Switzerland in June 2020 and are looking for some wise travellers to share tips or recommendations to help with planning. I seem to have more questions than answers having never yet taken Denzil out of the UK. The loose plan is to have 10 days in total, possibly breaking up the journey with a couple of key stops in France and spend the rest of time exploring Switzerland.

We are based in Devon, so my first dilemma is Ferry from Plymouth or Euro-tunnel from Calais? Is there more of a benefit with choosing one over the other?
Other than a vignette and the normal european driving rules, is there anything else to be aware of?
We thought we would take our e-bikes - are you allowed them on trains/cable cars?
Can anybody recommend some good campsites? I'm budgeting around £30 per night - is this realistic in June?

Sorry for all the questions - but I would prefer to learn from your real life experiences, as researching through the internet is giving me conflicting info.
Feel free to bombard the thread with pictures too!

TIA

done Switzerland twice in past 2 years, a couple of stop off options on way down there are Colmar, or there’s also a great campsite in Paris !, I’d say Lauterbrunnen valley is a must and we prefer Camping Jungfrau over Breithorn campsite (as someone else said it has a great restaurant). Easy access from here to hiking in the area and cycling, also vehicle free villages of Murren & Wengen. Eigernordwand campsite close by, is also good, overlooked by Eiger north face with great views of Grindelwald. There is a fantastic site in Lucerne which is beautiful and good base for Mt Pilates etc. Finally Haven't stayed there yet but also a site in Bern which looks stunning. We crossed on tunnel and stayed in Canterbury campsite night before. There is a fantastic campsite in Ypres if you need a night stopover on way back, less than an hour from tunnel and you can checkout the last post at Menin gate at 8pm

 

[Amarillo]

We stayed a few nights at a basic and pleasant campsite in Mustair - a Romansh speaking town near the border with German speaking Italy. It is also close to the Swiss National Park, notable for being a ‘strict nature reserve’: no marked paths, and forbidden to disturb any flora or fauna, or sleep anywhere except the single mountain hut. Forget it if you have a dog- even on a leash they are prohibited.

 

[dynamicstall]

Hello,

We are considering a trip to Switzerland in June 2020 and are looking for some wise travellers to share tips or recommendations to help with planning. I seem to have more questions than answers having never yet taken Denzil out of the UK. The loose plan is to have 10 days in total, possibly breaking up the journey with a couple of key stops in France and spend the rest of time exploring Switzerland.

We are based in Devon, so my first dilemma is Ferry from Plymouth or Euro-tunnel from Calais? Is there more of a benefit with choosing one over the other?
Other than a vignette and the normal european driving rules, is there anything else to be aware of?
We thought we would take our e-bikes - are you allowed them on trains/cable cars?
Can anybody recommend some good campsites? I'm budgeting around £30 per night - is this realistic in June?

Sorry for all the questions - but I would prefer to learn from your real life experiences, as researching through the internet is giving me conflicting info.
Feel free to bombard the thread with pictures too!

TIA

Grindelwald in Switzerland has a great camp site under the Eiger. You can walk in to the village to take the rail up and through the mountain. Amazing but expensive. A once-in-a-lifetime amazing experience. Don't forget non motorway speed limits in France have been reduced from 90 km to 80 km per hour despite signage to the contrary.

 

[dynamicstall]

Pic of camp site Grindelwald. The James Bond restaurant on the top of the mountain is only a few miles away and worth a visit if it's not cloudy at the top. OHMSS.

 

[Swiss Cheese]

We are also exiled Brits living in Switzerland 19 years now. We love it and I agree with all the above regarding expense and scenery.

To add to places to stay, but again in the middle of the country, we frequent two sites:
Lungern: https://obsee.ch/
Interlaken: https://www.talacker.ch/

We also stay above Appenzell: http://eischen.ch/camping/

You can pay a lot for 1 night, but generally if you do then the facilities are extremely clean.

We actually drove back from UK to Zurich last weekend via the Chunnel. It takes about 9h30m with a couple of short stops, maybe 8h actual driving time. We take the motorway (A26/A4/A35?) the whole time except to avoid Strassbourg where we deviate south on D1004/D500 and rejoin the motorway A35. Cost is about €55 one way across 4 toll roads.

 

[TripleBee]

Don't forget non motorway speed limits in France have been reduced from 90 km to 80 km per hour despite signage to the contrary.

80 is just on single lane in each direction. Except when there is a sign for 70 or 50.
90 is still allowed on double lane in one or two directions. In most cases it will be shown with a sign.

 

[Amarillo]

We are also exiled Brits living in Switzerland 19 years now. We love it and I agree with all the above regarding expense and scenery.

To add to places to stay, but again in the middle of the country, we frequent two sites:
Lungern: https://obsee.ch/
Interlaken: https://www.talacker.ch/

We also stay above Appenzell: http://eischen.ch/camping/

You can pay a lot for 1 night, but generally if you do then the facilities are extremely clean.

We actually drove back from UK to Zurich last weekend via the Chunnel. It takes about 9h30m with a couple of short stops, maybe 8h actual driving time. We take the motorway (A26/A4/A35?) the whole time except to avoid Strassbourg where we deviate south on D1004/D500 and rejoin the motorway A35. Cost is about €55 one way across 4 toll roads.

How much longer would it take driving via German autobahn to avoid French tolls?

 

[Swiss Cheese]

How much longer would it take driving via German autobahn to avoid French tolls?

I've never tried it, but the tolls are basically from Calais to west of Strassbourg so you'd actually need to be skirting the northern French border and going through Belgium and Luxembourg before hitting Germany to head south. It's probably quite some extra km if you start from Calais, but a better option when landing in Europe further North maybe?

There is no toll south of Strassbourg to Basel, which is basically the German border so there is no financial benefit from crossing to Germany at that point. I never really considered doing that full stretch since you then need to make an extra border crossing at one point. I have, however, avoided Basel traffic by crossing at Rheinfelden as another post mentioned. On Sunday we took a minor detour and crossed late evening at an unmanned checkpoint between France and Basel as I wanted to find another option. That's not much use if you need to buy the Vignette at the checkpoint though.

Hope that helps a little bit.

 

[Ksar-el-kebir]

Can’t offer advice on CH but re. Ferries, my opinion is take the cheapest crossing, which is likely to be tunnel. Journey via tunnel also likely to be faster. The ferries to Normandy are nice but the main benefit IMO is avoiding driving extra miles west across France. I don’t think those ferries will save you much/any driving and are likely to cost more. Alternatively, you may feel that a ferry crossing is an enjoyable event in itself and therefore worth it.


caliventures364847572.wordpress.com

Cheapest crossing is Dover to Dunkirk DFDS, about £45. Then Belgium, Luxembourg for cheap fuel, fags and alcohol and France down to Metz, across to Strasbourg and down to St Louis/Basle. Eating out, like most things in Swiss, is expensive but it’s a beautiful country.
I use Campercontact for sites; it’s Dutch but you can get it in English and it’s extremely comprehensive.
The vignette runs from 1st January to 31st December whenever you buy it so you can go there for an Autumn/Winter break too!

 

[alan middleton]

How much longer would it take driving via German autobahn to avoid French tolls?

We crossed to Rotterdam, so could avoid France. (Definitely worth it for those of us living up north). The Autobahn has a lot more speed restricted stretches now, but when not, it still feels good to stretch the Cali legs a little.....

 

[Bellcrew]

Cheapest crossing is Dover to Dunkirk DFDS, about £45. Then Belgium, Luxembourg for cheap fuel, fags and alcohol and France down to Metz, across to Strasbourg and down to St Louis/Basle. Eating out, like most things in Swiss, is expensive but it’s a beautiful country.
I use Campercontact for sites; it’s Dutch but you can get it in English and it’s extremely comprehensive.
The vignette runs from 1st January to 31st December whenever you buy it so you can go there for an Autumn/Winter break too!

Noticed I got stung by Sky mobile for the two days whilst in Switcherland, £6 a day for the slightest use, in one case half an hour using the google map app in Basel, all because the Swiss choose to not to be members of the EU or EEA.