Motorhome around Switzerland - a ready route along selected sections of the Grand Tour of Switzerland

This is our second trip to Switzerland by motorhome in cooperation with the tourist organization My Switzerland. This year we chose the beginning of June for our trip, to be able to enter the passes, which are closed in the winter and spring. Virtually all Swiss passes do not open until early June. We also wanted to visit some mountain peaks and take a trip on the famous Bernina Express. Check, by reading the article to the end, whether we managed to achieve everything.

During our trip, you most often asked us about tolls, the possibility of using the telephone and the Internet, as well as about the cost of accommodation. You will find the answers to all these questions and many more in the article below.

What do you need to know before a motorhome holiday in Switzerland?

During our trip, there were a lot of questions about the cost of traveling around Switzerland. It is impossible to say unequivocally whether traveling by motorhome in Switzerland is expensive or not. In my opinion, you can spend your holidays there just like in any other country, i.e. you can spend them on a budget or very luxurious. It all depends on you and the places where you want to sleep and those you want to see.

How much does camping in Switzerland cost?

On average, for one night at a campsite for a motorhome, 2 adults and 2 children, plus electricity connection, you have to count around CHF 50-70, but there are (as well as in Europe) more expensive places. We paid cheaper for the camper-park, about 20 CHF. Once we slept wild on the Nufennenpass.

An application that helps you find cheap accommodation in Switzerland, which was recommended to us by our reader living in Switzerland: https://wohnmobilland-schweiz.ch/ . We also recommend the park4night app.

Is it possible to sleep wild in a motorhome in Switzerland?

First of all, you should look at the signs, follow the general rules of wild camping, and if in doubt, ask the local people or even at the police station.

Internet and telephone in Switzerland

While in Switzerland, we used unlimited internet for tourists from the Salt network. You can buy the service for as many days as you want. It costs 2CHF per day and works very well. We had a bandwidth aggregation router with us, which worked very well except for one place - at Nufennepass. Link to our Huawei router at Ceneo.pl . We received calls via Wifi calling.

Motorhome tolls in Switzerland

We traveled around Switzerland in a motorhome with a DMC of 7.5 tons. We bought the vignette through the Via application. You can buy a vignette for a specific number of days. For 10 days we pay about 34 CHF. You can read more about tolls for motorhomes over 3.5 tons in the article: " What are the tolls in Europe for motorhomes with GVM over 3.5t "

When traveling with motorhomes under 3.5 tonnes, you must purchase a vignette. You can read more about traffic rules here: Traffic rules in Switzerland .

Lake Walensee - where to stay with a motorhome

On the first day we stop at Lake Walensee at the Murg am See campsite which has direct access to the lake. The campsite has pitches overlooking the lake, it also has its own beach and bar. A beautiful bicycle path stretches along one side of the lake. It is worth planning an extra half day to explore the area in this way. At the beginning of June, the water in the lake is still cold, but the first daredevils, including our children, are already jumping in

Viamala Canyon - Grand Tour of Switzerland

On the second day of our trip around Switzerland, we jump on the Grand Tour of Switzerland. The first stop on the tour is Viamala Canyon.

Entrance for a 2+1 family costs 20 francs, and Franek enters for free, because children up to 6 years old have free entry. It is impossible to visit this place with a pram, there are a lot of stairs here. Sightseeing takes us about 30 minutes. We continue to Filisur, from where we will catch the panoramic train to Italy tomorrow.

Grand Train Tour - Bernina Express

I recommend planning your trip on the Bernina Express panoramic train much earlier, and below are my specific tips. We drove the section from Filisur to Tirano and back. In Filisur, it is best to leave the camper at the campsite. Unfortunately, it takes about 30 minutes to get from the campsite to the station. It is not possible to place a motorhome closer to the train station. Access to the car park at the train station is very narrow and I do not recommend driving a motorhome there.

· if you have a Swiss Travel Pass, you must additionally buy seat reservations for this train. We recommend booking them a month in advance or even a few months in advance if you go in summer,

· by booking tickets online so far in advance, you can indicate that you will be using the Swiss Travel Pass even if you do not have it physically yet,

· if you are looking for savings, book a panoramic train one way and take a regular train the other way,

· we recommend purchasing additional seat cancellation insurance. It costs a few francs, and it's really worth it,

The trip took us over 8 hours. If you are traveling with children, bring snacks and some toys,

· It doesn't really matter from which side you buy a seat, you need to have your eyes around your head because every side surprises you with views.

More tips on the Swiss Travel Pass can be found in the article prepared in cooperation with the organization My Switzerland: " How to travel smartly in Switzerland? "

Panoramic trains are prepared for tourists. On board you have staff who help you with everything, there is a food and drink service that is served to the table. You can read more about the Bernina Express journey in our article: Bernina Express - a panoramic train journey along a UNESCO-listed railway route .

The next day we continue the Grand Tour of Switzerland. Unfortunately, in this section we encounter an obstacle. We were supposed to cross the San Bernardino Pass, but we were limited by the dimensions of the camper we were driving. We change the route and just drive through the tunnel under the pass. It is worth remembering when traveling in a motorhome on the Grand Tour of Switzerland that practically on every section of this route, if you encounter any tonnage or dimension restrictions, you can switch to another road that goes parallel to the Grand Tour. Don't worry too much about the dimensions of your vehicles!

Bellinzona

Behind the San Bernadrino Pass, it is worth stopping in the town of Bellinzona. There is a camper-park here, which we find in Google Maps by entering phrases such as: Wohnmobilstellplatz or Reisemobilstellplatz in the search engine.

We recommend climbing the Montebello castle. The Grand Tour of Switzerland viewpoint is located here. If you are going to visit more of them, we recommend downloading the application and "collecting" these places in your wallet.

Bellinzona is located in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland and we will spend the next day in this region.

Locarno by motorhome

We stop at a camper-park in Locarno. We cycle to the city center from where we catch the cable car to the town of Orselina. The journey takes literally a few minutes.

Then we catch Cardada's turn and this is where the adventure begins! There are plenty of hiking trails, viewpoints and attractions for children at the top. At the lower station of the gondola, we get an off-road game, thanks to which the kids easily cover several kilometers looking for animal tracks.

From the top of the place, we catch a chairlift to an even higher vantage point. For the first time in our lives we ride a wagon that goes sideways!

From the top you can fly in tandem with a paraglider and take an instagram photo of the swing.

We go down by chair and gondola, but you can also go down on foot from the top. The lower part of the route leads through beautiful gardens. For all rounds we pay 90 CHF for our 2+1 because Franek enters for free again. (Children under 6 have free entry here)

Verzasca River Valley

Being in the Locarno area, I highly recommend you go up the Verzasca River. It is worth going to the dam of the same name. The famous James Bond heist in Golden Eye was filmed here. On selected days, you can repeat such a jump here. We managed to watch as many as a few jumps! They make a huge impression. Entrance to the dam is free.

Continuing up the river, you will reach the village of Lavertezzo, where the famous Ponte dei Salti is located. It's a great place to unwind and cool down after a day exploring the area. There is even a parking lot for motorhomes where you can stay overnight, but we are going further. We will spend the night on the pass at an altitude of 2500 meters above sea level. Higher up in Sonogno, there are also places designated for motorhomes.

Nufenenpass - motorhome entry to the pass

We have always dreamed of going with a motorhome to one of the passes in Switzerland. This year we made it! We chose Nufenenpass for several reasons:

· There are no tonnage restrictions here

There are no restrictions on the width, height and length of the car

· You can't drive here only with trailers

There is only one narrowing on the way

At the top there is no ban on overnight stays in motorhomes, so we stay for one night. Nufenenpass is not located directly on the Grand Tour of Switzerland, but it's worth a detour if you want to go to a pass with a motorhome.

From Nufenenpass we go towards Lucerne. We are staying at a campsite in the city center. It's hard to get in without a reservation, so we recommend planning a stopover at this campsite in advance!

Pilatus - Golden Round Trip

The Golden Round Trip is a trip around Mount Pilatus. During our journey we will travel by five different means of transport. The first is the ship from Lucerne to Alpnachstadt. We catch this ship from the Lido Verkhouse stop, which is located right next to the campsite where we sleep. Camping in this place is a great starting point not only for a trip to Pilatus, but also, for example, to Mount Rigi.

In Aplnachstad we change to the rack railway. We highly recommend you to book a trolley for a specific hour. Avoid then waiting in a long line. The cable car climbs over 2,000 m in half an hour. We recommend taking something warm to wear upstairs.

You can spend from an hour to two at the top, depending on which trails you want to go to the top and whether you want to eat lunch there. If you are traveling with children, they will certainly want to play an interactive game with dragons.

There are definitely more attractions for children at the lower Fräkmutegg station, which we reach by the third means of transport, i.e. the panoramic gondola. In this place you can spend another hour if you decide to eat lunch here like we did and go to the rope park or bobsleigh and zip line.

You can take the smaller gondola down to Kriens. From there you catch the number 1 bus to Lucerne. We from Lucerne are still walking along the promenade along the lake to the campsite. With the Swiss Travel Pass, we buy tickets for the Golden Round Trip for 150 francs for our 2+1, because children up to 6 years of age (i.e. Franek) enter for free.

stoos

You cannot sleep in a motorhome under Stoos, but you can park it near the funicular for the day. A characteristic railway with round carriages leads to the town located in the mountains, which is said to be the steepest funicular railway in the world.

In Stoos you can take a walk (even with a pram), eat lunch and just chill on the grass, or you can go to one of the two peaks. We chose Fronalpstock. We took the chairlift and went down on foot.

At the top there is a beautiful playground, several viewpoints. This is probably the prettiest place we've seen this week. We wanted to eat dinner upstairs, but the kitchen closes after 3pm, so watch out for that. We settle for cookies and go down. Some of the routes lead through pastures, so we walk among the cows and cross the electric shepherd fence ourselves.

We agree that we could spend a few more days in this place, choosing different trails for walks every day. We love it here!

Klausenpass

We spend our last day in Switzerland at the Klausen Pass. There is a great self-service camper-park operating on a fair box basis. From here you can go on a walking tour. You can drive a camper through the pass if your vehicle is less than 2.3 m wide.

Are you looking for further travel inspiration in Switzerland

If you are looking for more information about traveling by motorhome in Switzerland, take a look at our article: Trip to Jungfraujoch top of Europe - what you need to know .