Hi My wife and i will be leaving for Europe from the UK in two weeks, travelling through France into Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany then dropping into Switzerland. Are there any do's and dont, must haves etc. for the crossing into and through Switzerland? This is the Route we're taking over the 3 days in the country so not sure if a vignette will be required : https://www.google.co.uk/maps/ms?ms...sa=0&ll=47.72824,8.64624&spn=2.257574,6.28418 https://www.google.co.uk/maps/ms?msid=204250573344138442401.0004d51615ac5d2d7175f&msa=0 https://www.google.co.uk/maps/ms?msid=204250573344138442401.0004d515ff0f34ae36d02&msa=0 Thanks in advance
If you enter off a motorway, they will be waiting to welcome you with open arms and a CHF 40 Vignette. Just enter from a regular road and there are no problems. All routes that require a Vignette have alternates (usually running right beside them) that do not. You don't want the motorway anyway - save the 40 Francs. Use it at a great ice cream place in Brunnen just across the street from the ferry docks. There's moto parking there, too
Went many times through Switzerland on my way to Italy in he 90´s... funny the vignette thing apparently still has not changed! I usually did not buy it, as there are some very nice non-toll roads through the country. But note: it is much, MUCH slower that way, will most likely take all day or a couple of days to do it. And if the weather is bad in the mountains, then small roads aren´t much fun. Still I don´t get it, why they charge the same amount from someone, who only passes by once a year, and someone, who uses the roads daily (for example Austria, France, or Italy do not do that). In fact I´m personally not gonna buy the Swiss vignette again – I´ll either stick to the smaller roads, or if in a hurry, then I´ll by-pass the country altogether. edit. North Italy: make sure you have a few days to spend in Lago Maggiore / Lago di Lugano / lago di Como area, it is stunningly beautiful, and great roads are just too many to list here (but a good, detailed map of the area is essential!)
I rode in to Basel last month on the E35, ready to purchase my vignette and just got waved through. I do have a 2010 vignette on the bike but can't imagine that was a mistake as it's a different colour. Either way, nobody wanted to take my money so I just rolled on through.
For your first route in Germany to Switzerland, you might take a look at the highway 500, which roughly parallels your route. It's probably faster but doesn't give up any quality riding. Just saying. As far as the vignette, 40 francs doesn't get you much anyway, so for peace of mind, buy it. If you stop along an autoroute for fuel or eats, the traffic cops might spot you and then it'll be expensive and inconvenient. But that's just me, couldn't win the lottery if I bought every ticket. I was there two weeks ago and like the last few entries, the vignettes were bought from petrol stations and convenience shops, not from customs. Yes, there are alternate roads to the autoroutes but it will cost you plenty in time. Entering Switzerland is easy, usually just a wave from the border types, but carry the bikes' papers and your passports.
My Italian friends have stories of BIG fines, if you're busted on toll road in CH without the vignette. Also said they now have automatic cameras to spot those who haven't got it. I would not recommend to try that..
Interesting - I've rented a couple of times from a Swiss BMW place, and they put the Vignette on the underside of the saddle. Pretty nifty camera to spot that.
Interesting - autobahnen.ch website has clear instructions to put it on the windscreen (in a car - I found no mention of a bike, though): http://www.autobahnen.ch/index.php?lg=001&page=014 "Vignette surveillance In case of an inapprorate set up or missing vignette, you wil be fined with an amopunt of 200 Swiss francs. In addition, a valid vignette must be bought immediately. Please be reminded that the police enforces the vignette on a regula basis. Inappropriate set up = Invalid! Wrong! This car driver will be ticketed by the police. The vignette must be sticked on the windshield. "
+1 The Alps in general are amazing. I went through them by tour bus once, and spent the whole time with my nose pressed against the window watching bikes go by. I vowed that the next time I went, I would be on the other side of that glass.
