Switzerland is a hiker’s paradise with dramatic peaks, glaciers, waterfalls, and over 13,000 miles of Alpine trails. But it’s also the most expensive country in the world.
Forty years ago, my boyfriend and I ventured into Switzerland on a Eurail pass. We couldn’t even afford McDonald’s, let alone a hotel room. We bought some chocolate and got back on the train.
For years, I dreamed of returning but assumed this destination was out of my reach.
Then I discovered that because so many campervans are manufactured in Italy and Germany, renting a van in Europe is far cheaper than in the U.S.
Indie Campers had the best prices, so we opted for a Fiat Joa 60G with automatic transmission, backup camera and a bathroom for $90 per day. This also included linens, cookware and insurance.
Picking up our van near Milan’s Malpensa Airport—just under an hour from the Swiss border—also allowed us to explore northern Italy’s Lake Como, Maggiore, and Orta, along with the towns that surround them, like Orta San Giulio, Cannobio and Bellagio.
My husband says it’s a good thing we took this trip later in life because it will be hard to top it.
Here are some tips to maximize your fun and stretch your franc.
Travel During the Shoulder Season
Visiting between summer and ski season saves money and avoids crowds. But don’t wait too long — snow can start by mid to late October, depending on elevation, and many of the aerial lifts stop operating when it’s too snowy to hike.
Read More: How to Use Eurail to Travel Across Europe: A Eurail Guide
Use Your Van as a Base, Not a Touring Vehicle
I was worried about driving on mountain switchbacks in the Alps, but driving on the narrow medieval streets was far more nerve-wracking. Here’s what will make the drive less stressful:
- Go with the smallest camper possible. We opted for a 20-foot van with a bathroom, but if you’re comfortable with a portable toilet, you can go down to 16.5 feet.
- Stay at campgrounds near public transit. Many areas, such as Ticino, offer guest cards to campers that provide free or discounted access to buses, trains, and even aerial lifts.
- Rent folding bikes. Outdoorsy’s folding bikes fit easily under the van bed and were just $62 each for the entire trip. (Get the 5-speed models if possible.) We often biked to public transportation, extending our hiking range without having to use the van. Several towns we camped in were surrounded by miles of paved bike paths, giving us another way to explore the Alps and their pastoral villages.
- Rent a camper with a built-in GPS or bring a Garmin. It’s much easier than navigating by phone.
- Make sure your van has a backup camera.
- Buy a Swiss Vignette, the mandatory yearly highway pass that you can get online for 40 CHF. It will cover almost all the tunnel passes.
Consider Buying the Swiss Half-Fare Card
The card costs 120 CHF and is valid for one month, giving you a 50% discount on buses and trains and nearly all mountain aerial lifts. It’s great if you plan to visit the expensive high-elevation observation decks like Jungfraujoch or Mt. Titlis.
Use AllTrails to Identify the Best Hikes
Thanks to the dense Swiss transportation network, it’s easy to tailor hikes to your needs. I prefer easy to moderate hikes, under six miles, with a maximum elevation gain of 1500 feet.
This crowdsourced app lets you apply multiple filters to find just the right trail among its hundreds of offerings in the Alps.
The paid version ($35/yr) shows your location on the trail and saves you from getting lost many times.
Some hiking highlights include the clanging of cowbells, lush grassy “barefoot trails” for tired feet, and scenic trailside restaurants perched on the edge of mouth-dropping views.
Switzerland seems to have a secret mission to make every hiking trail feel like an adventure park for kids. Scattered along the most scenic alpine routes are thoughtfully designed playgrounds — wooden castles, rope bridges, ziplines, and climbing walls — crafted to blend into the natural surroundings.
The Brunni Trail in Engelberg features treasure chests along the path where children find clues to solve a puzzle.
Embrace European-Style Camping
The Swiss and Italian campgrounds we stayed at resemble cozy camping villages with bungalows, campers, and tents where people come to relax and socialize.
Camp stores are stocked with decent food and wine and fresh-baked bread is available every morning.
Camping areas will often have a restaurant, playground, pool, communal kitchen, and laundry facilities. Some even have tennis courts, spas, and hot springs. The bathrooms are immaculate, and every shower we took had plenty of hot water and great pressure.
“Wild camping” is illegal in Switzerland, so stick to campgrounds unless 24+ hour parking is expressly permitted. (Park4night.com is a great resource for daytime and overnight parking.)
Expect to pay $45-$65 for campgrounds in Switzerland and $35-$45 in Italy. (Be aware that Swiss electric hookups are different from the rest of Europe, but nearly all campgrounds carry adaptors.)
Don’t miss Camping Jungfrau in Lauterbrunnen beneath the illuminated Staubbach Falls. The valley, which boasts 71 other waterfalls, offers a great base for dozens of spectacular hikes and the car-free towns of Murren and Wengen.
Eat Lunch Out and Dinner In
Dining out in Switzerland is pricey because servers are paid a living wage, so our van kitchen saved us lots of money. Breakfast was usually Swiss muesli, while we typically ate lunch at one of the several bistros along the trail.
What better way to celebrate reaching a summit than to break for a beverage and a perfectly toasted ham, cheese, and tomato bruschetta sandwich while seated on an outdoor patio on the edge of a glacier, like the Grindelwaldblick restaurant in Kleine Scheidegg? These meals were actually cheaper than similar U.S. fare.
In the evening, we preferred relaxing in the van with cheese and meat we had bought from local farmers right off the trail, supplemented by wine, bread, greens, and other items from the ubiquitous Swiss Coop and Migros supermarkets.
Plan Around the Weather
Don’t despair if your weather app predicts daily rain. While clouds often produce moisture when they hit the Alps, it almost never rained all day and extended forecasts beyond one or two days were rarely reliable.
Always carry a raincoat, rain pants, and a waterproof cover for your backpack. A typical day in the Alps includes a bit of sun, clouds, and brief showers, so plan your day accordingly.
It’s very frustrating when breathtaking 14,000-foot snowy peaks surround you and they are entirely obscured by clouds.
On those rainy or cloudy days, visit waterfalls like the Reichenbach Falls (scene of the last duel between Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty) or gorge trails like the dramatic Aare Gorge with walkways all along the side of a raging glacial river.
Traveling through the Swiss Alps in a campervan gave us front-row views of some of the most breathtaking landscapes on earth—without blowing our budget.
With a little planning and a sense of adventure, we discovered that a dream trip to one of the world’s most expensive countries doesn’t have to stay a dream.
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Author Bio: Sarena Neyman is a writer living in western Massachusetts and avid off-the-beaten-path traveler whose essays have appeared in CabinLife.com, Huffington Post, Business Insider, and the Christian Science Monitor. My opinion pieces have also been syndicated nationally through PeaceVoice.
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