Gavin4333 said:
I'm going to the Alps for a couple of weeks of gentle scenic touring at the end of August and using the book 'Motorcycle journeys through the Alps' (its fantastic) I've decided to base myself for a few days around Andermatt but can't decided where I should go from there - I (more the wife actually!!) prefere to spend 2 to 3 days in the same place exploring then move on.
So the quesions are:
Suggestions for towns/areas to base myself (or should I stay longer around Andermatt?).
As I'll be mostly camping could somebody say what the camping is like there (many sites? Good or bad facilitys? Price? etc)
Any thoughts appreciated.
Thanks
Andermatt is a good place to base yourself. However be aware about a few things here in Switzerland.
As mentioned before hotels always look like they were decorated in the mid '70s. Over night rates can be cheap compared to the UK. However food ( even snacks) and drink are relatively expensive.
Around Andermatt you have a host of great passes ... if you travel over the klausen pass an base yourself nr Skt Mortiz you can do a host more. Or you could actually stay in Italy. It will be cheaper.
Over in the "French" side , there is a whole heap of stuff around Monte Blanc. Again Alpine France is cheaper than Swizzy.
Fuel and Ciggies are much cheaper in switzerland. And beer / wine from Supermarkets is cheap.
This year they have started to have radar trap on the passes. If you exceed 120kph it get sort of expensive ... but they can't give you points on a licence. 25 kph over the limit will get you a fine of about 200 GBP. I know, I have had one! Normally someone will flag you to slow down .... but the swiss , being a nation of policemen will sometimes flag you, just to make you slow down.
Don't speed in tunnels ... a lot have laser speed traps.
At weekends a lot of gas stations are unmanned ... you will need a pin and chip card.
The swiss have a pragmatic view to passes. If you are going too fast , and go over the edge, then it's your problem. Many hairpins / high alpine roads have no barriers on them of any sort ... and there may well be dropp off of 100s of metres!!
At weekends the passes do get like rat runs, but generally there is a lot of camaraderie amongst bikers. And make sure you know where you left your GS , cos there will be 100s of the things.
As with the rest of Europe, you will not be treated as "the underclass", in fact most hotels will go out of there way to find you secure parking ( Swizzy crime rate is low, but the French and Italians will steal anything not bolted to the floor).