Info on going to Switzerland
Discussion
Im off in two weeks on the bike to switzerland and im after some info.Does anyone know if you need to buy a vignette for the bike like you do for a car or are bikes exempt.Also does anyone have any experience of the french toll roads.Are they expensive,best avoided or should they be used.Any other info,pointers etc appreciated.
No experience of any of that I'm afraid apart from the French toll roads.
I guess it depends how adventurous you're feeling but we drove to Cannes last year (scared of flying, me!) using the toll roads, and although the entire one-way journey's tolls came to somewhere around the £70/80 mark, I reckon it was worth it just for the fact that you didn't really have to mess around with maps too much, and a lot of it is still pretty scenic to boot.
Never mind the fact that I've since had a couple of french people tell me that certain "back" roads are best avoided by tourists?!
I guess it depends how adventurous you're feeling but we drove to Cannes last year (scared of flying, me!) using the toll roads, and although the entire one-way journey's tolls came to somewhere around the £70/80 mark, I reckon it was worth it just for the fact that you didn't really have to mess around with maps too much, and a lot of it is still pretty scenic to boot.
Never mind the fact that I've since had a couple of french people tell me that certain "back" roads are best avoided by tourists?!
Yep, you have to buy the motorway tax for a bike too, think it's 30 euro's for a year pass. First couple of years i didn't know about the tax, so got away with it
it was only a couple of years ago, when the border guard pointed out that i didn't have any road tax, i paid up without argument and thought myself lucky that the cops never caught me on the motorway as the fines are quite high.
The french toll roads are well worth the cash, probably cost you about 30 Euro's to get to the swiss border via Mullhouse(sp?) I've found the best roads only start near the alps, so i like to get there as quick as poss, so always used the toll roads untill i get near the alps.
it was only a couple of years ago, when the border guard pointed out that i didn't have any road tax, i paid up without argument and thought myself lucky that the cops never caught me on the motorway as the fines are quite high.The french toll roads are well worth the cash, probably cost you about 30 Euro's to get to the swiss border via Mullhouse(sp?) I've found the best roads only start near the alps, so i like to get there as quick as poss, so always used the toll roads untill i get near the alps.
I have my vignette sat on the desk in front of me! I'm off on Sunday morning.
http://www.switzerlandtravelcentre.co.uk
They only took a couple of days to post me it, it was 18 quid and £3.50 booking fee.
http://www.switzerlandtravelcentre.co.uk
They only took a couple of days to post me it, it was 18 quid and £3.50 booking fee.
I'd also reccomend these mountain passes... St Gotthard, Grimsel, Susten, Furka & Nufenen passes. although if you're on a heavy bike, the Nufenen has some really tight hairpins, which can be tricky! http://www.alpineroads.com/uri.php
Grimsel pass
Grimsel pass
Edited by JS99 on Thursday 19th July 09:39
catso said:
Switzerland is a beautiful country but be aware that they are extremely anti-motorist/motorcycle and they have a very draconian attitude towards motoring offences with huge fines for speeding etc.
So enjoy but be careful.
By the time I've got to Switzerland on the monster I'll scarcely be able to reach the limit, let alone break it! I might have to rig some foot rests on the forks, I've got a section of expedition karrimat to sit on if it all becomes too much. So enjoy but be careful.
With regards to the Toll roads... What's the deal on speeding?
It's fairly obvious that they know the distance between two booths so if you get from one to the other too quick they can prove you were speeding...
So, do you need to worry about that? Or do you stop to stretch your legs, get fuel and generally waste time to bring your average speed down before getting to the next booth?
It's fairly obvious that they know the distance between two booths so if you get from one to the other too quick they can prove you were speeding...
So, do you need to worry about that? Or do you stop to stretch your legs, get fuel and generally waste time to bring your average speed down before getting to the next booth?
we do several European tours each year (germany/Austria/Italy/Slovenia/Czech Rep etc). We always avoid Switzerland on our current and future tours due to a number of previous experiences where:
1) We found the Swiss border police and gas station owners to be quite rude
2) You have to buy a minimum year's motorway vignette (30 euros) instead of a few days (as can be done in Austria) even if you only want to drive thru the country (a few hours).
3) Many places we stopped at for a break were quite unwelcoming/misearble faced.
Much better experiences in the other countries where we were more than genarally made welcomed and people actually smiled
1) We found the Swiss border police and gas station owners to be quite rude
2) You have to buy a minimum year's motorway vignette (30 euros) instead of a few days (as can be done in Austria) even if you only want to drive thru the country (a few hours).
3) Many places we stopped at for a break were quite unwelcoming/misearble faced.
Much better experiences in the other countries where we were more than genarally made welcomed and people actually smiled
AndyMX5 said:
With regards to the Toll roads... What's the deal on speeding?
It's fairly obvious that they know the distance between two booths so if you get from one to the other too quick they can prove you were speeding...
It is a complete fallacy that they time you between the toll booths. What is closer to the truth is that the BiB will clock you in a hidden radar trap and radio ahead to a toll booth, where you are apprehended.It's fairly obvious that they know the distance between two booths so if you get from one to the other too quick they can prove you were speeding...
rsv gone! said:
AndyMX5 said:
With regards to the Toll roads... What's the deal on speeding?
It's fairly obvious that they know the distance between two booths so if you get from one to the other too quick they can prove you were speeding...
It is a complete fallacy that they time you between the toll booths. What is closer to the truth is that the BiB will clock you in a hidden radar trap and radio ahead to a toll booth, where you are apprehended.It's fairly obvious that they know the distance between two booths so if you get from one to the other too quick they can prove you were speeding...
Silver993tt said:
we do several European tours each year (germany/Austria/Italy/Slovenia/Czech Rep etc). We always avoid Switzerland on our current and future tours due to a number of previous experiences where:
1) We found the Swiss border police and gas station owners to be quite rude
2) You have to buy a minimum year's motorway vignette (30 euros) instead of a few days (as can be done in Austria) even if you only want to drive thru the country (a few hours).
3) Many places we stopped at for a break were quite unwelcoming/misearble faced.
Much better experiences in the other countries where we were more than genarally made welcomed and people actually smiled
Have to agree. I went to Switzerland once and found the people totally unwelcoming and unfriendly. It was expensive and offered very little extra road/scenery wise that you couldn’t find in the non-Swiss Alps. I certainly won’t be going back. In my opinion the best thing about Switzerland is that it’s small enough to be avoided!1) We found the Swiss border police and gas station owners to be quite rude
2) You have to buy a minimum year's motorway vignette (30 euros) instead of a few days (as can be done in Austria) even if you only want to drive thru the country (a few hours).
3) Many places we stopped at for a break were quite unwelcoming/misearble faced.
Much better experiences in the other countries where we were more than genarally made welcomed and people actually smiled
TPS said:
Does anyone know if you need to buy a vignette for the bike like you do for a car or are bikes exempt.
You do need to buy a vignette for your bike,but its worth looking on ebay cos people sell them on their return to the UK,but make sure you dont peel the adhesive backing off it,just pop it into a transparent CD wallet,small resealable polythene bag or similar and tape it onto the front right hand side of your bike,then sell it when you get home.wildone63 said:
TPS said:
Does anyone know if you need to buy a vignette for the bike like you do for a car or are bikes exempt.
You do need to buy a vignette for your bike,but its worth looking on ebay cos people sell them on their return to the UK,but make sure you dont peel the adhesive backing off it,just pop it into a transparent CD wallet,small resealable polythene bag or similar and tape it onto the front right hand side of your bike,then sell it when you get home.I'm off tomorrow, after discovering I had a flat tyre on the bike.
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