travelling in Switzerland (1 Viewer)

Ian Paul

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We are travelling to visit my son in Bern next week and then travel around Switzerland, and tips for campervans, we wanted to include a trip on the glacier express train.
 

DAVWOD

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I believe from friends that live in Switzerland they don’t accommodate for Motorhome’s and what they do have are few and far between.
As for your Train Trip Tourist Info
Will or should put you on the right track
Apols for the pun ...
Enjoy your trip
 

Ridgeway

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We are travelling to visit my son in Bern next week and then travel around Switzerland, and tips for campervans, we wanted to include a trip on the glacier express train.

What do you need to know ?

Worth checking which sites are open as some have already closed since the schools went back although as the weather is still quite warm i suspect most are still open.

It's probably worth reading some of the "Switzerland" threads as there's some good points in many of them.

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PhilG

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You have to stop and purchase a vignette at the border and make sure you fill in where you are each day, found mine from my last trip today , when i was having a tidy up .
 
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Only Aire I know of is up in age
I believe from friends that live in Switzerland they don’t accommodate for Motorhome’s and what they do have are few and far between.
As for your Train Trip Tourist Info
Will or should put you on the right track
Apols for the pun ...
Enjoy your trip

Only aire I know of is up in Grimentz

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DBK

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There are aires in Switzerland, this is what CamperContact lists.

Screenshot_20180924-075927.png


Check carefully on prices before you book in anywhere - £50 a night isn't impossible at some sites! Wild camping is not tolerated from what I've read.

It is picture postcard pretty in the mountains but the country isn't cheap. The standard note you get out of an ATM is a CHF50 for a reason - you will need them. :)
 

Ridgeway

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Just to clarify, assuming you're under 3500kgs (looks like yes if that's your van in your profile pic) then you only need a vignette to use the autoroutes, other wise not needed.

DBK is correct, Wild camping is more or less a no no as any commune will expect you to use an official site and pay your pay. Doesn't mean you can't do it if you hide well as most rural police are tucked up in bed by 9pm.

Re the Glacier Express, it will be easier to start from Brig as you can get there with the van and park easily. At Zermatt you'd need to leave the van at Täsch and then take the dedicated train in.

Winter is coming so expect snow above 2000m, we've had the first falls already 3wks back but it's still +/-20º here at normal life supporting altitudes:)

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Snowbird

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We are at Gex just outside Geneva at the moment. Prices are a little cheaper than down the road in Switzerland, but not much. We transited Switzerland from Munich to Geneva and stopped twice for meals, BIG MISTAKE. £200 for a salad and main for 3 people with no alcohol. Now I know why I have always avoided Switzerland. Oh, and dont get me started on the vignet for a 4.5 ton motorhome and trailer.
 

Ridgeway

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Overall it isn't that expensive here, it's just that the British £ is worth about as much the Rial

Joking aside it isn't a cheap country so just check prices before committing as to avoid any nasty surprises.
 
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Over 3500 kg you get a card you have to fill in every day you are in Switzerland. Applies to all roads and even if you are on a camp site.

I am aware of the over 3,500 kg regulation. I did not know you had a form to keep track !.

How much was it fir over 3.5?.

When I called in (Annecy - Geneva). I told them I had a “gross Wohnmobil” - “grand camping car” with my V5 in hand that they didn’t even bother looking at They just gave me a sticker !.

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EX51SSS

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Just to clarify, assuming you're under 3500kgs (looks like yes if that's your van in your profile pic) then you only need a vignette to use the autoroutes, other wise not needed.
Well I had to pay 40 CHF to get the vignette in Switzerland and I'm sub 3.5 tonnes. At the border, no choice.
 

Ridgeway

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Well I had to pay 40 CHF to get the vignette in Switzerland and I'm sub 3.5 tonnes. At the border, no choice.

Then you either came in via an Autoroute or when asked if you're going to use them you said yes, no need for a Vignette on normal roads. The guys at the douane dish them out like sweets, many seem to buy them.....
 
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Beware speeding , our friends in Germany warned they are very strict, as low a 1kph can be penalised.

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EX51SSS

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Then you either came in via an Autoroute or when asked if you're going to use them you said yes, no need for a Vignette on normal roads. The guys at the douane dish them out like sweets, many seem to buy them.....
They could only use sign language as they didn't speak any English. It wasn't an auto route but I hadn't realised the option but obviously did use an autoroute at some time during my transit.
 

DBK

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We crossed Switzerland without a vignette (≤3.5t) but it was done more as a bet with myself that it could be done. The problem is you may then be forced to travel on some pretty narrow and wiggly roads. This was fun but slow and there is always a risk roadworks (Switzerland had a lot of roadworks :)) diverting you onto a motorway.

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EX51SSS

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Tbf, I only stopped at the border out of courtesy. Other vehicles drove through without stopping at the border
 
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Re the Glacier Express, it will be easier to start from Brig as you can get there with the van and park easily. At Zermatt you'd need to leave the van at Täsch and then take the dedicated train in.

There are lots of parking options at Täsch or there is a campsite that is open all year, just outside of town, about 1 - 1.5km, I've stayed there summer and winter, works out around £20 a night for 1 adult and 2 dogs. It's 'Camping Hole in One' as it's opposite the golf course which is buried under snow for half the year!

the campsite has a minibus pick up once or twice in the morning to take you up to Zermatt town for a few Swiss Francs.
 

Ridgeway

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Beware speeding , our friends in Germany warned they are very strict, as low a 1kph can be penalised.

No so,

The ratio is given as max speed plus 5% here and then the cameras seem to have an additional margin of 1-2% so at autoroute max of 120kmh you are OK up to 128kmh, same ratio in the 50 and 80 zones. At 130kmh the fine is €100.

Anything above 160kmh is considerable more though and costs big time....

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Ian Paul

Ian Paul

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ive booked a campsite for the first two days at £40 a night for peace of mind however I expect to stealth on industrilal sites when I can find them, thanks for the tip about Zermatt.
 

Ridgeway

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ive booked a campsite for the first two days at £40 a night for peace of mind however I expect to stealth on industrilal sites when I can find them, thanks for the tip about Zermatt.

I think you'll be fine on some industrial areas, after 5pm they are invariably empty..

Enjoy the trip !
 
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I don’t find it that expensive tbh, when the euro was 1.4 and you crossed the border, yes there was a difference but now, I hardly blink an eye especially if you are coming in from France.

One thing about Switzerland, the currency is stable so you know what you’re getting.

Camping Jungfrau in Lauterbrunnen will be open for you, loads to see and do around there.

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Camping Jungfrau in Lauterbrunnen will be open for you, loads to see and do around there.
Or try Camping Breithorn about 6 mins bike ride further down the valley - basic facilities but half the price on ACSI and amazing views.
 

hilldweller

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The problem is you may then be forced to travel............

.............on motorways. It happened to us late May once, we had the non toll route planned only to be faced with six feet of snow. Had to turn round and risk it on a motorway. Got away with it, phewwwwwww.
 

DBK

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I don’t find it that expensive tbh, when the euro was 1.4 and you crossed the border, yes there was a difference but now, I hardly blink an eye especially if you are coming in from France.

One thing about Switzerland, the currency is stable so you know what you’re getting.

Camping Jungfrau in Lauterbrunnen will be open for you, loads to see and do around there.
We stayed a couple of nights at Camping Jungfrau last year. An amazing site and off season and with an ASCI card it was a shade over £30 a night from memory. But at the "wrong" time of the year you could pay twice that.
But still the only site I've been on where the loos were both clean enough for open heart surgery and they had the kit to do the job on hand. :)

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Went to Wengen on the train a year or so ago from there. There was a mountain marathon finishing in the village. Plastic water bottles two feet deep along the roads. An hour later you wouldn’t know an event had been on. Ahh Switzerland.
 
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We've just stayed for a couple of nights at a campsite in Tasch itself, right by the station for trains up to Zermatt. It cost 43 Swiss Francs a night with electric - a bit pricey but so convenient for the trains, which leave every 20 minutes or so. The weather is brilliant at the moment without a cloud in the sky. Left there this morning and we are now at Baveno on Lake Maggiore on an ACSI site right by the lake at 19 Euros a night.
 
D

DL42846

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Well I had to pay 40 CHF to get the vignette in Switzerland and I'm sub 3.5 tonnes. At the border, no choice.
My understanding is the Vignette is only required if you intend using the motorways. National roads are free. The vignette is 40€ for cars and Motor homes. They are valid from the 1 st Jan to 31st Dec so if your travelling over Christmas and New year you will need one for 2018 and one for 2019. I recently drove to Geneva airport from Lyon. I had to buy the vignette for the last 4 kilometers of the Swiss motorway. Alternatively I could have turned off the motorway and taken the national roads which was another 55 minutes each way but would have been free of charge.

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