Message Forums

I'm planning on going to Interlaken in June.

Anybody got any ideas about stop-over sites somewhere near Strasbourg - or general advice on the use of the French Toll motorways down through Rheims and Metz or the alternative route through Belguim, Luxembourg, and Strasbourg.

No idea of Toll prices but have been told they are expensive so may stay on the German side of the border.

Not done anything like this before so any advice welcome

I'll be towing a caravan by the way.

Thanks.

You can find out your toll costs by using viamichelin.com, or mappy.com.  Put your start destination, and your end destination, select towing a caravan (which makes the tolls more expensive) and both programmes will calculate a route for you, and calculate the tolls.  You can then select a toll-free route and look at the time differences involved to see if it makes that much difference to your overall journey time.  A quick look at mappy suggests that your tolls in France will be around 32 euros.

Don't forget that in Switzerland you'll need to purchase a vignette for both car and caravan, cost 40 swiss francs for each one! 

Here is a nice site,25km from Strasbourg.

http://www.obernai.fr/site/Municipal_Campsite-182.html

If you do the Belgium, Luxembourg route there are no tolls until you hit the A4 at Metz and there is no difference in mileage. So save yourself some money.

harryb

Thanks for the replies everybody.

I'll check out the site at Obernai, it looks like it's just about the perfect distance for us on the way down.

Links to route finders and route advice is great - I'd never heard of mappy before. Thanks again.

This is a great forum - and a great source of help.  Someone on here will nearly always be able to give you some really good advice!

From experience I would endorse Harry B's post above, and would add that way has the added bonus that you can fill up with cheaper fuel in Luxembourg.  You can save about 40 miles (and avoid Strasbourg) by leaving the A4 at Savernes and going on ordinary roads through Molsheim then back onto the autoroute.  From Calais to Interlaken this way is about 560 miles.

Unless things have changed in the last couple of years, if you enter Basle on the French side of the Rhine you are pitched into city traffic so suggest you cross into Germany near Mulhouse and enter the city on the autobahn where you carry straight on on the Swiss motorway.

HI, do you get any of the caravan magazines? If so, i'm pretty sure that about four months ago (at least), practical caravan magazine had an article about travelling to Switzerland.  It has some useful info in, and also details about sites.  I will try to find magazine and post some other details (when I find it!!).

Best of luck, Switzerland is beautiful, especially Interlaken. Enjoy

Ali

This is our favourite site in Interlaken  http://www.lazyrancho.ch/e/index.htm

also see this  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOeNrqkRZdQ 

and this http://www.regiopass-berneroberland.ch/engl/ticket.html we bought these pases this year. Hardly used the car for 10 days.

Also when you book onto campsites you will recieve a free local bus pass for the duration of your stay.

If you have any questions, dont be afraid to ask

Andrew