First time motorhomers Swiss road trip (1 Viewer)

[Ca2468]

Hi all, my partner and I have hired a motorhome for 14 days in September. We are travelling via the tunnel first thing in the morning with our two dogs and we're aiming for Vianden in Luxembourg as our first stop. I'm hoping for advice on whether we should try and spend a night between Luxembourg and Switzerland or push on to get there quickly. We are looking at entering Switzerland from around Konstanz and would like to do Stoos Ridge hike, some lake side camping, more nice hikes, visit Lucerne and then have three or four nights in Grindelwald and visit Murren/Lauterbrunnen. Any recommendations of where to stay/how long for/good hikes etc. would be appreciated! We are aiming to leave Switzerland on the French side and have a couple of nights around Colmar before heading North for the tunnel.

As this is our first motorhome trip any advice is welcome, especially:
-stopovers on the described route
-whether it's best to book sites ahead or have a more 'play it by ear' approach
-dog friendly walks
-good food stops
-advice on how long to stay in each area
-advice on how long to aim to drive for each day (we are thinking of trying to do a couple of more intense driving days and the start and end of the trip to maximise our time around Switzerland)

Thanks in advance!!

 

[Grasmere9]

Download Search for Sites!! Invaluable app for finding places to stay.
Enjoy

 

[rb62]

Don't forget that if you're planning on travelling on any motorways in Switzerland you will need a vignette or pay a heavy duty charge depending on your weight.

Motorway vignette

In Switzerland, your car must have a special vignette (sticker or e-vignette) if you want to use certain roads. It costs CHF 40. The 2024 vignette is valid from 1 December 2023 to 31 January 2025.

www.ch.ch

 

[Flairy]

I think that’s a long way try not to rush on your fist trip,and welcome .

 

[JockandRita]

Don't forget that if you're planning on travelling on any motorways in Switzerland you will need a vignette or pay a heavy duty charge depending on your weight.

Motorway vignette

In Switzerland, your car must have a special vignette (sticker or e-vignette) if you want to use certain roads. It costs CHF 40. The 2024 vignette is valid from 1 December 2023 to 31 January 2025.

www.ch.ch

Ca2468. As well as Richard's advice above re a vignette for up to 3500Kgs, if over 3500Kgs you can purchase a 10 x day pass at the border entry point, or online, valid for up to 12 x months. It must be completed daily, even if not travelling.

Sorry, but unable to advise on stopovers, as we just used Switzerland as a through route to Italy, avoiding Austria's extortionate Go Box charges, ie rip off.
Our overnighter in a car/lorry/coach park in Lucerne was expensive enough, never mind staying on a campsite.

Good luck and enjoy.

Jock.

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[Chod Jacqui]

Lauterbrunnen has a lovely campsite and just half mile walk to train station with trains from there to the chair lifts. Superb for walks.

 

[Pocket Rocket]

Grindelwald is stunning - we stayed at the campsite in the link below - expensive but stunning views of the north face of the Eiger. Get the cable car up and hike the “Eiger Trail” back down - superb!

Home - Camping Eigernordwand :: Grindelwald

The idyllic, quiet campsite with a personalised ambience and a direct view of the north face of the Eiger

camping-eigernordwand.ch

Depending on your experience and the size of your motorhome, it can be much more tiring driving a motorhome than a car. So either shorter driving distance or days off driving. We prefer to do a few long days getting to where we want to be, then park up the motorhome for several days and walk / cycle instead.

 

[frwjd]

Lauterbrunnen has a lovely campsite and just half mile walk to train station with trains from there to the chair lifts. Superb for walks.

Camping Jungfrau - excellent site and location

 

[suavecarve]

Hi all, my partner and I have hired a motorhome for 14 days in September. We are travelling via the tunnel first thing in the morning with our two dogs and we're aiming for Vianden in Luxembourg as our first stop. I'm hoping for advice on whether we should try and spend a night between Luxembourg and Switzerland or push on to get there quickly. We are looking at entering Switzerland from around Konstanz and would like to do Stoos Ridge hike, some lake side camping, more nice hikes, visit Lucerne and then have three or four nights in Grindelwald and visit Murren/Lauterbrunnen. Any recommendations of where to stay/how long for/good hikes etc. would be appreciated! We are aiming to leave Switzerland on the French side and have a couple of nights around Colmar before heading North for the tunnel.

As this is our first motorhome trip any advice is welcome, especially:
-stopovers on the described route
-whether it's best to book sites ahead or have a more 'play it by ear' approach
-dog friendly walks
-good food stops
-advice on how long to stay in each area
-advice on how long to aim to drive for each day (we are thinking of trying to do a couple of more intense driving days and the start and end of the trip to maximise our time around Switzerland)

Thanks in advance!!

If you decided to stay an extra night between Lx and Ch and if you used the free autobahns rather than Metz then you will more or less pass the weingut geiger
A vineyard with huge motohome parking nearly always full and was about 10 euros a night 3 years ago.
It may be better to visit there on return journey as trying their 4 euro 5 glass tasters a couple of times helps/hinders the decision to purchase 10 boxes of their wine which are delivered in a tut tut. Meals are reasonable as well.

Weingut Geiger- Highly recommended if you like wine

Landy Andy was our informant on this one. He did well. It was covid times and we were sharing lots of information. It is 10 euros, however I paid for 2 nights so it must have something about it !!! The parking is best described as crammed if...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

 

[Puddleduck]

If going down the Rhine valley Colmar is an interesting place for a stop over.

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[mapman]

I would suggest booking ahead for Lauterbrunnen it is still busy in September with all the lifts still open unlike France. We are planning on stopping near Toul then stocking up at supermarket in Pontarlier before camping Jungfrau for lots of walking.

 

[PlacidoD]

A couple of basic questions:
What size of motorhome and have you driven in Europe before so as to have a good idea of your route? The answer to those questions may impact upon what mileage you do in a day. (I travelled circa 500 miles in one day on my first trip (by motorcycle) Zeebrugge to Zug but have always since done stop-overs, enjoyed some back roads and spread the journey over two days. And, of course, I was not travelling with dogs!
Are you planning to visit Eifelpark? Is that why you are so far north in Luxembourg?
I am on my way out 27/08/24 and retracing my motorcycle route for old time's sake as I have not used it since the Hull Zeebrugge route stopped around the time of Covid.
So my route will start further South than you (Dieppe) but then head up to the Franco/Belgian border for my trip down memory lane mixing motorway and back roads for variety. Adapting it for you:
Day 1 - Calais/Lille/E42 Tournai-Mons/R5 to N40/Beaumont/Phillipeville/Givet/Wellin/then E411&E25 to Luxembourg/A6&A3 thru then/A13 & A8 to Zweibrucken/ then 424/D662 & D1062 thru Vosges du Nord to Haguenau environs overnight.
Day 2 - Over the Rhine at Baden-Baden then down the B500 through the Black Forest with a small detour via Wolfach crossing the border into Switzerland at Waldshut-Tiengen.
You could easily adapt Day 2 to cross into Switzerland at Konstanz.
Just some food for though for you!!! My route above means no tolls (but you will need the vignette for Swiss motorways and it is difficult to avoid using them)
Re your suggested route I would say the tunnel then to Vianden should be doable in the day given an early crossing.
Hope your dogs travel well! That is likely to be your limiting factor rather than driver fatigue.
Cannot be much help with where to stop I am still looking/booking and I have relations in Switzerland so I know where I am parking there! Oh and my final destination is Lake Como!

P.S. Have booked this site for an overnight stop:

Camping du Pays Rhénan - Le Camping du Staedly

Le Camping du Staedly est ouvert du 1er avril au 31 octobre et propose 150 emplacements. Nichée dans un écrin de verdure, la zone de loisirs du Staedly offre une nature préservée, des équipements attractifs, dont un plan d'eau surveillé.

www.camping-paysrhenan.fr

but not much help to you as pets are not allowed! I post the link simply to make you aware that you will need to check that info on sites you are booking.

Hope the above helps!

 

[jerryz]

Ca2468. As well as Richard's advice above re a vignette for up to 3500Kgs, if over 3500Kgs you can purchase a 10 x day pass at the border entry point, or online, valid for up to 12 x months. It must be completed daily, even if not travelling.

Sorry, but unable to advise on stopovers, as we just used Switzerland as a through route to Italy, avoiding Austria's extortionate Go Box charges, ie rip off.
Our overnighter in a car/lorry/coach park in Lucerne was expensive enough, never mind staying on a campsite.

Good luck and enjoy.

Jock.

What is Austria Go box ???,, when I was in Austria last year we just got a vignette and it was not much ,, its France and Italy that are the real expensive toll places

 

[WESTY66]

What is Austria Go box ???,, when I was in Austria last year we just got a vignette and it was not much ,, its France and Italy that are the real expensive toll places

It’s for use if you’re over 3500kgs and want to use the motorways and expressways in Austria

 

[Paul Wilkins]

Use the Via App to pay the road charges

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[HKF]

Don't forget that if you're planning on travelling on any motorways in Switzerland you will need a vignette or pay a heavy duty charge depending on your weight.

Motorway vignette

In Switzerland, your car must have a special vignette (sticker or e-vignette) if you want to use certain roads. It costs CHF 40. The 2024 vignette is valid from 1 December 2023 to 31 January 2025.

www.ch.ch

Thank you for posting this. We're going to Switzerland soon, so it's helpful for us. Do we need a tag for road tolls, too, please?

 

[rb62]

Thank you for posting this. We're going to Switzerland soon, so it's helpful for us. Do we need a tag for road tolls, too, please?

Yes you will,you can get them at the border or order them through the 'Via' app.If you are over 3.5t you have to fill the form in every day wether you travel or not.

 

[PlacidoD]

The vignette replaces motorway road tolls in Switzerland. You can now acquire online 40 Francs. No need to display anything the camera system and the police know you have paid.

 

[gpat]

We love Switzerland. But we don't go anymore. Just be aware how expensive it is. Too expensive now in every way and we can find similar in France, Italy and Austriawithout that premium. If cost is not a problem then go for it, it's fantastic.

 

[WESTY66]

Yes you will,you can get them at the border or order them through the 'Via' app.If you are over 3.5t you have to fill the form in every day wether you travel or not.

View attachment 939702

Unless you just do it for 7 consecutive days like us, we’re booked into Switzerland on the via app for 7 days starting next Monday 2/8/24. No need to do anything else

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[Ridgeway]

We love Switzerland. But we don't go anymore. Just be aware how expensive it is. Too expensive now in every way and we can find similar in France, Italy and Austriawithout that premium. If cost is not a problem then go for it, it's fantastic.

But the gap is a lot less than a few years ago. Since Covid I’d say the gap has closed by 10-20%, still of corse it ain’t cheap but if you avoid, eating, drinking, any activity, shopping or camping, the rest is reasonably priced

 

[CamperManLez]

Hi all, my partner and I have hired a motorhome for 14 days in September. We are travelling via the tunnel first thing in the morning with our two dogs and we're aiming for Vianden in Luxembourg as our first stop. I'm hoping for advice on whether we should try and spend a night between Luxembourg and Switzerland or push on to get there quickly. We are looking at entering Switzerland from around Konstanz and would like to do Stoos Ridge hike, some lake side camping, more nice hikes, visit Lucerne and then have three or four nights in Grindelwald and visit Murren/Lauterbrunnen. Any recommendations of where to stay/how long for/good hikes etc. would be appreciated! We are aiming to leave Switzerland on the French side and have a couple of nights around Colmar before heading North for the tunnel.

As this is our first motorhome trip any advice is welcome, especially:
-stopovers on the described route
-whether it's best to book sites ahead or have a more 'play it by ear' approach
-dog friendly walks
-good food stops
-advice on how long to stay in each area
-advice on how long to aim to drive for each day (we are thinking of trying to do a couple of more intense driving days and the start and end of the trip to maximise our time around Switzerland)

Thanks in advance!!

Seems like your plan is bigger than 14 days? It’s 550 miles from Europort to Interlaken, I will take two days each way to complete that tommorow. Suggest you be a bit more focused on fewer areas so as to enjoy the trip and what’s on offer.

 

[Where to next?]

Unless you just do it for 7 consecutive days like us, we’re booked into Switzerland on the via app for 7 days starting next Monday 2/8/24. No need to do anything else

We’re exactly the same. Crossing into Switzerland on Monday 2 September then staying in the Interlaken area for 10-12 days. We’re 3.65T so have paid for the heavy vehicle vignette on-line. Very straight forward.

 

[WESTY66]

We’re exactly the same. Crossing into Switzerland on Monday 2 September then staying in the Interlaken area for 10-12 days. We’re 3.65T so have paid for the heavy vehicle vignette on-line. Very straight forward.

We’re at lauterbrunnen for 3 nights

 

[Coastal Cruiser.]

We love Switzerland. But we don't go anymore. Just be aware how expensive it is. Too expensive now in every way and we can find similar in France, Italy and Austriawithout that premium. If cost is not a problem then go for it, it's fantastic.

Would say site prices are on par with most other countries or only a tad dearer, food is more expensive but if you go with the van loaded up there is no need to eat out.

For me the beauty of the country is worth the extra few quid it costwe have been there twice and if we get another van it would be definitely be on our go to list.

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[DBK]

Use the Via App to pay the road charges

It's worth adding the app only works for vehicles over 3.5t.

 

[WESTY66]

Would say site prices are on par with most other countries or only a tad dearer, food is more expensive but if you go with the van loaded up there is no need to eat out.

For me the beauty of the country is worth the extra few quid it costwe have been there twice and WHEN we get our new Carthago it would be definitely be on our go to list.

There you go, corrected it for ya

 

[Coastal Cruiser.]

There you go, corrected it for ya

 

[Coastal Cruiser.]

It's worth adding the app only works for vehicles over 3.5t.

Got to be the best system of any country, so easy to do and pay for

 

[PlacidoD]

For the benefit of those new to Switzerland including the OP the tax on diesel varies from canton to canton and so can vary significantly. This site gives an overview:

https://en.comparis.ch/benzin-preise

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