DRIVING THROUGH SWITZERLAND (Your Tips Please)
Discussion
Hi all,
This year I am considering driving through Switzerland.
My planned leg 2 is: Strasbourg France - to - Bergamo Italy (completed in one day)
The last time I drove a UK car through Switzerland was in 1993 in an old MK111 Cortina and I don't even think I needed a Vignette back then (or if I did I never bought one as I was an impoverished student living on the edge
).
So here are my questions:
1) If I avoid the motorways, do I even need a Vignette?
2) Is driving through Switzerland in one day without using the motorway (Vignette) network a practical proposition? (I seem to remember some big hills with snow on them last time so for all their beauty the A & B roads can be a bit winding and slow
)
3) I believe there are additional toll charges for the longer tunnels, can these be avoided given my rout?
4) I need to depart from Strasbourg in the morning & arrive in Bergamo in the late afternoon so I will only ever get one day use out of the Vignette, am I better off forgetting the whole Swiss thing & skirting around the clock makers via France?
If I end up spending €30.00 on a Vignette and another €30.00 on a tunnel for just one day's diving it starts to make the Switzerland idea look like an expensive luxury.
Thanks in advance for sharing the benefit of your Swiss driving experiences and answering my questions.
Dave.
This year I am considering driving through Switzerland.
My planned leg 2 is: Strasbourg France - to - Bergamo Italy (completed in one day)
The last time I drove a UK car through Switzerland was in 1993 in an old MK111 Cortina and I don't even think I needed a Vignette back then (or if I did I never bought one as I was an impoverished student living on the edge
).So here are my questions:
1) If I avoid the motorways, do I even need a Vignette?
2) Is driving through Switzerland in one day without using the motorway (Vignette) network a practical proposition? (I seem to remember some big hills with snow on them last time so for all their beauty the A & B roads can be a bit winding and slow
)3) I believe there are additional toll charges for the longer tunnels, can these be avoided given my rout?
4) I need to depart from Strasbourg in the morning & arrive in Bergamo in the late afternoon so I will only ever get one day use out of the Vignette, am I better off forgetting the whole Swiss thing & skirting around the clock makers via France?
If I end up spending €30.00 on a Vignette and another €30.00 on a tunnel for just one day's diving it starts to make the Switzerland idea look like an expensive luxury.
Thanks in advance for sharing the benefit of your Swiss driving experiences and answering my questions.
Dave.
Hi Dave
Yes you will need to pay the Vignette as soon as you reach the Swiss border, they will give you a little sticker on your windscreen but I think it lasts from Jan to Dec, so if you need intend to go back again this year it is worth doing.
The Swiss motorways or country routes are very nice with good scenary. Just watch your speed.
Hope that helps
Yes you will need to pay the Vignette as soon as you reach the Swiss border, they will give you a little sticker on your windscreen but I think it lasts from Jan to Dec, so if you need intend to go back again this year it is worth doing.
The Swiss motorways or country routes are very nice with good scenary. Just watch your speed.
Hope that helps
Tuscan Wil said:
Hi Dave
Yes you will need to pay the Vignette as soon as you reach the Swiss border, they will give you a little sticker on your windscreen but I think it lasts from Jan to Dec, so if you need intend to go back again this year it is worth doing.
The Swiss motorways or country routes are very nice with good scenary. Just watch your speed.
Hope that helps
Thanks Wil, but from what I have read the Vignette is not actually a compulsory thing.Yes you will need to pay the Vignette as soon as you reach the Swiss border, they will give you a little sticker on your windscreen but I think it lasts from Jan to Dec, so if you need intend to go back again this year it is worth doing.
The Swiss motorways or country routes are very nice with good scenary. Just watch your speed.
Hope that helps
If you stay off the motorway network I don't thing you need one?
The question is if staying off the motorway network is a practical proposition, or will it be painfully slow?
I only have one day to traverse the whole country, perhaps it would be cheaper and better just to scoot around it via France?
I was in Interlaken in a hire car last year and while its all very picturesque €60.00 on tolls for one day's driving and lunch stop in the mountains is a bit rich.
Thoughts
Hi.
we did that very same journey last week in our Griff. We did stop at the entry into the country and paid the 30 quid ( or so) for the windscreen sticker.
Its valid until next January.
The tunnels were so slow due to maintenance work, we sat in traffic for a few hours. The going was painfully slow.
The route is a very scenic one, and if you buy the 'sticker' its just an excuse to go back later on in the year to get your monies worth !!
Bregamot is a great place to visit. Keep it quiet though, or they'll all be going......
we did that very same journey last week in our Griff. We did stop at the entry into the country and paid the 30 quid ( or so) for the windscreen sticker.
Its valid until next January.
The tunnels were so slow due to maintenance work, we sat in traffic for a few hours. The going was painfully slow.
The route is a very scenic one, and if you buy the 'sticker' its just an excuse to go back later on in the year to get your monies worth !!
Bregamot is a great place to visit. Keep it quiet though, or they'll all be going......
I have to work down there every three months.
The country routes can be, as you fear painfully slow. Get out of town and off the motorways every village seems to have a roundabout with speedhumps in and out, a camera every 20 yards and parked up patrol cars. Maybe I am just unlucky with where i have to go though?
You don't have to worry about the cameras, just the police.
Personally, I wouldn't bother and pay the toll, as a percentage of your total costs it wikll probably be very small.
The country routes can be, as you fear painfully slow. Get out of town and off the motorways every village seems to have a roundabout with speedhumps in and out, a camera every 20 yards and parked up patrol cars. Maybe I am just unlucky with where i have to go though?
You don't have to worry about the cameras, just the police.
Personally, I wouldn't bother and pay the toll, as a percentage of your total costs it wikll probably be very small.
Dave
yes you are right, apparently you don't have to pay Vignette if you don't use the motorway. I guess you better practice your French and tell the border control then. Judging you need to get from Strasbourg to Bergamo in one day, I fear that it is hard to get through Switzerland fast enough without using the motorway. Indeed some tunnels or bridges will be additional too. So you may be better off stay in France. Mind you the Vignette last until end of the year and you may need it on your return journy.
Another road trip for you, I am so jealous of you!!
yes you are right, apparently you don't have to pay Vignette if you don't use the motorway. I guess you better practice your French and tell the border control then. Judging you need to get from Strasbourg to Bergamo in one day, I fear that it is hard to get through Switzerland fast enough without using the motorway. Indeed some tunnels or bridges will be additional too. So you may be better off stay in France. Mind you the Vignette last until end of the year and you may need it on your return journy.
Another road trip for you, I am so jealous of you!!
Chimpafrolic said:
I've got to say I'm going a bit cold on the whole Swiss thing.
You might be missing a trick here, Switzerland is a lovely place to visit in its own right, I guess it depends on what sort of scenery you like. Some great roads and whilst speed is an issue I have never had a problem, I go there every year.A Vignette is a must though - not much point in doing a road trip and penny pinching over a few quid IMO. Filling up there will save you a few quid anyway, fuel is always "cheap" in Switzerland and Luxembourg.
Out of interest, what is the attraction of Bergamo?
Ribol said:
You might be missing a trick here, Switzerland is a lovely place to visit in its own right, I guess it depends on what sort of scenery you like. Some great roads and whilst speed is an issue I have never had a problem, I go there every year.
A Vignette is a must though - not much point in doing a road trip and penny pinching over a few quid IMO. Filling up there will save you a few quid anyway, fuel is always "cheap" in Switzerland and Luxembourg.
Out of interest, what is the attraction of Bergamo?
Thanks Ribol, I have toured Switzerland a couple of times now and have enjoyed it greatly on both occasions.A Vignette is a must though - not much point in doing a road trip and penny pinching over a few quid IMO. Filling up there will save you a few quid anyway, fuel is always "cheap" in Switzerland and Luxembourg.
Out of interest, what is the attraction of Bergamo?
Actually I lived in Zurich for a short period in the late eighties until they deported me
Lots of chat above about speed traps, but I must say when I was there a year or so ago in a hire car I never saw a single one.
Money isn't really an issue, all this is just my way of thrashing out my options.
We have friends in Bergamo if you must know.
Ribol said:
Ok, been there before and it didn't really stand out in a car hoon sort of way, hence the question.
The old medieval town is beautiful mate, it's well worth a visit.Take the wife for a long weekend, Squeezy jet get you there for next to nothing.
Well worth the Brownie points from SWMBO.
cwin said:
Magic919 said:
Keep the warning triangle in reach, not in the boot. Don't use satnav safety camera warnings. Vignette for motorways and similar only. Don't speed!
Why do not advise on using sat nav safety camera warnings?Roop said:
Forgot to add, the Swiss are hot on the speed camera thing but they are far less hot in Suisse Romande (French Part) compared to the German part. You still get fined the same but there are fewer cameras at this end...
It is also worth remembering that nowadays doing 50kph over the speed limit in France gets you an instant ban and the car impounded, which could somewhat disrupt any well planned trip.Gassing Station | General TVR Stuff & Gossip | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff