Swiss Alps driving holiday
Discussion
Spurred on by 2500m round trip to The Dolomites this summer we are looking at our first driving trip to Switzerland next June (mid) to specifically drive the most famous passes ie Furka/Susten/Grimsel and look for a base somewhere nearby (Andermatt perhaps?)
We'll be using the Hull - Rotterdam ferry.
Suggestions/tips welcome for hotels/routes to and from and any other must-do passes we can comfortably fit into a 7 day round trip.
Want a mix of fast scenic drives plus stops for sightseeing /pics rather than full on long days once there, car we are going in is a V10 R8 which I'm really looking forward to hearing in the Alpine passes.
Cheers.
We'll be using the Hull - Rotterdam ferry.
Suggestions/tips welcome for hotels/routes to and from and any other must-do passes we can comfortably fit into a 7 day round trip.
Want a mix of fast scenic drives plus stops for sightseeing /pics rather than full on long days once there, car we are going in is a V10 R8 which I'm really looking forward to hearing in the Alpine passes.
Cheers.
I can understand you wanting a longer trip this time, bet the engine didn't even warm up in 2.5km!
Suspect we don't live far apart given your ferry choice.
That whole area is pretty special to be honest, dropping down in to France/Italy and Switzerland you have some stunning roads and great places for lunch etc.
There are some nice routes down too, are you aiming to come down through France or Germany? Down one and back the other has some positives, some fantastic bits on the way to enjoy.
Suspect we don't live far apart given your ferry choice.
That whole area is pretty special to be honest, dropping down in to France/Italy and Switzerland you have some stunning roads and great places for lunch etc.
There are some nice routes down too, are you aiming to come down through France or Germany? Down one and back the other has some positives, some fantastic bits on the way to enjoy.
200Plus Club said:
Spurred on by 2500m round trip to The Dolomites this summer we are looking at our first driving trip to Switzerland next June (mid) to specifically drive the most famous passes ie Furka/Susten/Grimsel and look for a base somewhere nearby (Andermatt perhaps?)
We'll be using the Hull - Rotterdam ferry.
Suggestions/tips welcome for hotels/routes to and from and any other must-do passes we can comfortably fit into a 7 day round trip.
Want a mix of fast scenic drives plus stops for sightseeing /pics rather than full on long days once there, car we are going in is a V10 R8 which I'm really looking forward to hearing in the Alpine passes.
Cheers.
The best for driving are pretty much listed here: https://www.ultimatedrivingtours.com/best-swiss-mo...We'll be using the Hull - Rotterdam ferry.
Suggestions/tips welcome for hotels/routes to and from and any other must-do passes we can comfortably fit into a 7 day round trip.
Want a mix of fast scenic drives plus stops for sightseeing /pics rather than full on long days once there, car we are going in is a V10 R8 which I'm really looking forward to hearing in the Alpine passes.
Cheers.
As a resident and driver here in Switzerland, one tip would be to forget any ideas of a fast scenic drive. Speeding is routinely checked and heavily penalized, particularly on the passes, highways and smaller roads between towns - not to mention many of the passes often have cyclists on them. Slow down and enjoy the scenery
. Andermatt could work as a base but it will mean coming some way up or down the Gotthard each day, in June it "should" be clear from snow.
wildoliver said:
I can understand you wanting a longer trip this time, bet the engine didn't even warm up in 2.5km!
Suspect we don't live far apart given your ferry choice.
That whole area is pretty special to be honest, dropping down in to France/Italy and Switzerland you have some stunning roads and great places for lunch etc.
There are some nice routes down too, are you aiming to come down through France or Germany? Down one and back the other has some positives, some fantastic bits on the way to enjoy.
Am happy to do some steady motorway thrashing to get there with one overnight perhaps there/back to break the journey up? Suspect we don't live far apart given your ferry choice.
That whole area is pretty special to be honest, dropping down in to France/Italy and Switzerland you have some stunning roads and great places for lunch etc.
There are some nice routes down too, are you aiming to come down through France or Germany? Down one and back the other has some positives, some fantastic bits on the way to enjoy.
If there is a decent scenic route through France without adding masses of mileage perhaps? Think I'd rather do more time in Switzerland if that makes sense
Pete102 said:
The best for driving are pretty much listed here: https://www.ultimatedrivingtours.com/best-swiss-mo...
As a resident and driver here in Switzerland, one tip would be to forget any ideas of a fast scenic drive. Speeding is routinely checked and heavily penalized, particularly on the passes, highways and smaller roads between towns - not to mention many of the passes often have cyclists on them. Slow down and enjoy the scenery.
Andermatt could work as a base but it will mean coming some way up or down the Gotthard each day, in June it "should" be clear from snow.
Cheers will have a lookat that. As a resident and driver here in Switzerland, one tip would be to forget any ideas of a fast scenic drive. Speeding is routinely checked and heavily penalized, particularly on the passes, highways and smaller roads between towns - not to mention many of the passes often have cyclists on them. Slow down and enjoy the scenery
. Andermatt could work as a base but it will mean coming some way up or down the Gotthard each day, in June it "should" be clear from snow.
Any other base area perhaps then rather than Andermatt? I'd be aiming for mid-late June and midweek to midweek I guess
My initial thought was Lucerne, this has easy access to a few passes within an hour or so driving and is hope to a very good transport museum, old town, restaurants, lake etc. however, its around 30 mins from the Gotthard entrance.
Another alternative would be Buochs which is a little south of Lucerne but still on the same lake (Vierwaldstättersee), the surrounding area is very nice and there are some good hotels.
Another alternative would be Buochs which is a little south of Lucerne but still on the same lake (Vierwaldstättersee), the surrounding area is very nice and there are some good hotels.
We were there mid-june and a lot of the passes were still closed for winter, you couldn't do the Furka, Susten, Grimsel loop for example. Still had a nice time and did some other routes.
Check the status here: https://alpen-paesse.ch/en/ - you can see historical opening dates too. Maybe delay for a couple of weeks to be certain everything is open.
Check the status here: https://alpen-paesse.ch/en/ - you can see historical opening dates too. Maybe delay for a couple of weeks to be certain everything is open.
LBT123456 said:
We were there mid-june and a lot of the passes were still closed for winter, you couldn't do the Furka, Susten, Grimsel loop for example. Still had a nice time and did some other routes.
Check the status here: https://alpen-paesse.ch/en/ - you can see historical opening dates too. Maybe delay for a couple of weeks to be certain everything is open.
That's a really helpful Website thanks. Definitely looks like late June to guarantee most passes will be open Check the status here: https://alpen-paesse.ch/en/ - you can see historical opening dates too. Maybe delay for a couple of weeks to be certain everything is open.
It's a bit more scenic to go down through Germany than France, although if you're in to such things going through France takes you down near Verdun and other WW1 sites.
Don't forget the Dutch 100kph limit and as above do not get caught speeding in Switzerland. It's worth getting a swiss motorway vignette as sometimes you find you need a short hop on a motorway.
There's some other great roads in Italy and Austria that aren't too far off, but stay in the hills as the valleys tend to be the main roads which are busy.
Don't forget the Dutch 100kph limit and as above do not get caught speeding in Switzerland. It's worth getting a swiss motorway vignette as sometimes you find you need a short hop on a motorway.
There's some other great roads in Italy and Austria that aren't too far off, but stay in the hills as the valleys tend to be the main roads which are busy.
RizzoTheRat said:
It's a bit more scenic to go down through Germany than France, although if you're in to such things going through France takes you down near Verdun and other WW1 sites.
Don't forget the Dutch 100kph limit and as above do not get caught speeding in Switzerland. It's worth getting a swiss motorway vignette as sometimes you find you need a short hop on a motorway.
There's some other great roads in Italy and Austria that aren't too far off, but stay in the hills as the valleys tend to be the main roads which are busy.
Does Germany really have scenic drives? We’ve done a ton of holidays in France, Switzerland and Austria and usually hike it back up through Germany. It always feels very industrial and functional to me on the German autobahns. Don't forget the Dutch 100kph limit and as above do not get caught speeding in Switzerland. It's worth getting a swiss motorway vignette as sometimes you find you need a short hop on a motorway.
There's some other great roads in Italy and Austria that aren't too far off, but stay in the hills as the valleys tend to be the main roads which are busy.
muscatdxb said:
Does Germany really have scenic drives? We’ve done a ton of holidays in France, Switzerland and Austria and usually hike it back up through Germany. It always feels very industrial and functional to me on the German autobahns.
Any motorway/autobahn/autoroute type driving isn’t going to offer the best scenery. The B500 through the Black Forest is very scenic. We did something similar back in 2022 and based ourselves in Andermatt for 3 nights.
We stayed in Andermatt Alpine Apartments which were on the edge of town - superb quality with a huge light spacious underground car park which we managed to get lost in (it even has a roundabout!)
The apartments are directly next to the Radisson Hotel so you could stay there instead.
Andermatt is good as a base for the Furka/Grimsel/Sustan passes but there really isn’t much else to see. A walk around town will take all of 30 minutes and that’s stretching it.
Our second day was supposed to be a trip to Livagno in Italy (tax free) but the dreaded TPS monitor showed we had a puncture in the LHR tyre as we were departing the underground car park - luckily repairable as we were due in Annecy, France the next day.
We stayed in Andermatt Alpine Apartments which were on the edge of town - superb quality with a huge light spacious underground car park which we managed to get lost in (it even has a roundabout!)
The apartments are directly next to the Radisson Hotel so you could stay there instead.
Andermatt is good as a base for the Furka/Grimsel/Sustan passes but there really isn’t much else to see. A walk around town will take all of 30 minutes and that’s stretching it.
Our second day was supposed to be a trip to Livagno in Italy (tax free) but the dreaded TPS monitor showed we had a puncture in the LHR tyre as we were departing the underground car park - luckily repairable as we were due in Annecy, France the next day.
muscatdxb said:
Does Germany really have scenic drives? We’ve done a ton of holidays in France, Switzerland and Austria and usually hike it back up through Germany. It always feels very industrial and functional to me on the German autobahns.
North east France is pretty flat and dull but improves once you get about half way down the Belgian border. Germany has more hills and forests once you get south of Cologne. But if you're sticking to autoroutes/autobahns then I guess it's all pretty similar. If I'm on a touring holiday I'm on my motorbike so avoiding motorways as much as possible.Boxster5 said:
We did something similar back in 2022 and based ourselves in Andermatt for 3 nights.
We stayed in Andermatt Alpine Apartments which were on the edge of town - superb quality with a huge light spacious underground car park which we managed to get lost in (it even has a roundabout!)
The apartments are directly next to the Radisson Hotel so you could stay there instead.
Andermatt is good as a base for the Furka/Grimsel/Sustan passes but there really isn’t much else to see. A walk around town will take all of 30 minutes and that’s stretching it.
Our second day was supposed to be a trip to Livagno in Italy (tax free) but the dreaded TPS monitor showed we had a puncture in the LHR tyre as we were departing the underground car park - luckily repairable as we were due in Annecy, France the next day.
CheersWe stayed in Andermatt Alpine Apartments which were on the edge of town - superb quality with a huge light spacious underground car park which we managed to get lost in (it even has a roundabout!)
The apartments are directly next to the Radisson Hotel so you could stay there instead.
Andermatt is good as a base for the Furka/Grimsel/Sustan passes but there really isn’t much else to see. A walk around town will take all of 30 minutes and that’s stretching it.
Our second day was supposed to be a trip to Livagno in Italy (tax free) but the dreaded TPS monitor showed we had a puncture in the LHR tyre as we were departing the underground car park - luckily repairable as we were due in Annecy, France the next day.
200Plus Club said:
wildoliver said:
I can understand you wanting a longer trip this time, bet the engine didn't even warm up in 2.5km!
Suspect we don't live far apart given your ferry choice.
That whole area is pretty special to be honest, dropping down in to France/Italy and Switzerland you have some stunning roads and great places for lunch etc.
There are some nice routes down too, are you aiming to come down through France or Germany? Down one and back the other has some positives, some fantastic bits on the way to enjoy.
Am happy to do some steady motorway thrashing to get there with one overnight perhaps there/back to break the journey up? Suspect we don't live far apart given your ferry choice.
That whole area is pretty special to be honest, dropping down in to France/Italy and Switzerland you have some stunning roads and great places for lunch etc.
There are some nice routes down too, are you aiming to come down through France or Germany? Down one and back the other has some positives, some fantastic bits on the way to enjoy.
If there is a decent scenic route through France without adding masses of mileage perhaps? Think I'd rather do more time in Switzerland if that makes sense
Re route, I've always found the best way to plan these trips is with a paper map ideally or Google maps up on a computer screen. Get a vague route direction then look around the motorway route for a roads. You'll generally find that a nice original route that was motorwayed out exists, route Napoleon probably being the most famous. When going to the french alps I tend to come off at Dijon then take a nice route down through to the back end of chamberry or albertville depending where the inevitable blockage is on the dog leg from Lyon. With the added advantage its sometimes quicker but goes through lovely villages, gorges and round lakes.
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