Solo European jaunt - Switzerland - Seven days

[mpgscott]

Afternoon fellow Beemer fans,

I’m toying with a solo stint over to hopefully the Swiss alps.

Looking for any routes and hotel suggestions along the way.

Thinking for flexibility I’m going to take the tunnel plus ive never done it. Looking to go Sunday 22nd June for a week but could extend.

So any suggestions and things to avoid. With regards to insurance and the likes. I’ve got AA cover so will make sure it’s got European recovery just incase. Any visa requirements or we all good for short durations under 30days.

I’m sure this has been asked but thought I’d start my own.

Away to hunt through this section as not been in here before.

Thanks for any help suggestions.

Oh I’ve got calimoto so have done a route with it. However would like to have some experience and fallback plan. Plus places to stay that are biker friendly is great.

=======

I have edited the title of your post and moved it into the Alps section.

Richard

 

[Wapping]

to go Sunday 22nd June for a week but could extend.

A week, commencing 22 June….. Does the week (7 full days) include the time taken to get from the Highlands and Islands to landing on the mainland of Europe and back to home again?

It’s a fair old schlep:



Could you please tell us:

A. What time, day and where you arrive on the mainland of Europe. I guess via North Sea ferry to Holland or Chunnel to Calais?

B. What time, day and where you have to be to catch the ferry / Chunnel back to the UK?

C. Where in the Swiss Alps you have in mind?

D. Are you adverse to using motorways from your arrival terminal to the Swiss Alps and back again from the Swiss Alps to your departure terminal?

The answers to A, B, C and D may well dictate the responses you receive.

Await your words.


PS Take a look at this:

Grand Tour of Switzerland | Switzerland Tourism

From palm-lined lakeshores to sparkling glaciers, from medieval villages to buzzing cities – the Grand Tour of Switzerland packs in an incredible number of sights. The concentration of attractions is unrivalled worldwide.

www.myswitzerland.com

PPS For just a week (presumably door-to-door) I’d probably fly and hire a bike / car.

 

[Northern jock]

Afternoon fellow Beemer fans,

I’m toying with a solo stint over to hopefully the Swiss alps.

Looking for any routes and hotel suggestions along the way.

Thinking for flexibility I’m going to take the tunnel plus ive never done it. Looking to go Sunday 22nd June for a week but could extend.

So any suggestions and things to avoid. With regards to insurance and the likes. I’ve got AA cover so will make sure it’s got European recovery just incase. Any visa requirements or we all good for short durations under 30days.

I’m sure this has been asked but thought I’d start my own.

Away to hunt through this section as not been in here before.

Thanks for any help suggestions.

Oh I’ve got calimoto so have done a route with it. However would like to have some experience and fallback plan. Plus places to stay that are biker friendly is great.

If you only have a week door to door I’d forget Switzerland and at the most, take a North Sea ferry and have a few nights in Northern Germany.

 

[theoneandonly]

my advice , avoid being in Switzerland , cities and towns .
noisy bike , speeding , filtering , non-standard lighting , all illegal . just don't go there. avoid it like the plague .

now watch someone say it is lovely .

it is fucking expensive , 'cept for petrol.

 

[stever1]

Coming down from your spot, in reality you need 2 weeks.
2 days down to ferry in hull. Or 2 LONG days to tunnel and you’ll be tired when you get there.

 

[johnnyboy]

my advice , avoid being in Switzerland , cities and towns .
noisy bike , speeding , filtering , non-standard lighting , all illegal . just don't go there. avoid it like the plague .

now watch someone say it is lovely .

it is fucking expensive , 'cept for petrol.

It IS lovely, but feckin expensive

 

[Wapping]

now watch someone say it is lovely….

 

[theoneandonly]

that's 750 miles , home 2 tunnel , 16 hours quoted , more like 20 in reality plus your ferry , so 2 days each way ,
your 1st ferry will determine your exit from home .
2 days to get/return from the Alps .
1 day in the Alpes
you need more time , or less ambition .

 

[Ectopic]

I did a brief excursion to Switzerland a few years ago (just checked - 2004!) with a friend. Six days in total. (One huge advantage in this respect is that we live a stone's throw from the Channel Tunnel/Dover ferries.)

Desperately trying to remember where we stayed. Day 1 was Calais to Ornans, Day 2 to Andermatt in Switzerland where I think we spent two nights, then Gerardmer in the Vosges on the way home.

It was by no means a through investigation of Switzerland, but on the day in Andermatt we rode the four main passes - Furka, Susten, Grimsel and Nufenen. Fantastic experience. On the day we left Andermatt we did the Sustenpass a second time, this time in think mist/fog, drizzle and some hay rain. Such a huge difference from the previous day's perfect weather and people who had only ridden it on one of the days would have vastly different opinions of the area! To cross from France into Spain we rode up the Col de la Faucille, which was also very nice and a good taster of what was to come. The drag up from Sion to Andermatt was tedious.

Switzerland, even 20 years ago, was painfully expensive. Though I can't remember the amount, pizza and a beer in Andermatt was like a week's shopping at home! We got hopelessly lost in Geneva, desperate to avoid inadvertently straying onto a toll road for which we didn't have a sticker.

A week to include travel from Scotland to the channel ports would be pushing it, in my opinion.

PS Don't get overly excited about the Channel Tunnel. It's not particularly exciting the first time and gets less exciting every time (I reckon I've done getting on for 1,000 return trips).

 

[Ectopic]

my advice , avoid being in Switzerland , cities and towns .
noisy bike , speeding , filtering , non-standard lighting , all illegal . just don't go there. avoid it like the plague .

now watch someone say it is lovely .

it is fucking expensive , 'cept for petrol.

I wouldn't disagree with this, BUT the scenery in the Alps is outstanding. Alongside the Dolomites, it's the best mountain topography I've encountered. I'm in no rush to go back, but I'm very glad I did it.

 

[theoneandonly]

the other way , depending on 1st ferry time , middle of the night start , down to Newhaven , overnight ferry get a cabin £90 ! spits you out at 0500 .
empty roads .
i can do Dieppe to Grenoble arriving round about 1900 , but that is splash and dash stops , and supermarket lunch .

 

[theoneandonly]

I wouldn't disagree with this, BUT the scenery in the Alps is outstanding. Alongside the Dolomites, it's the best mountain topography I've encountered. I'm in no rush to go back, but I'm very glad I did it.

yes , but the Swiss are c***s . you can avoid most of them , by going around the bottom , to the good stuff.

 

[mpgscott]

A week, commencing 22 June….. Does the week (7 full days) include the time taken to get from the Highlands and Islands to landing on the mainland of Europe and back to home again?

It’s a fair old schlep:

View attachment 411966

Could you please tell us:

A. What time, day and where you arrive on the mainland of Europe. I guess via North Sea ferry to Holland or Chunnel to Calais?

B. What time, day and where you have to be to catch the ferry / Chunnel back to the UK?

C. Where in the Swiss Alps you have in mind?

D. Are you adverse to using motorways from your arrival terminal to the Swiss Alps and back again from the Swiss Alps to your departure terminal?

The answers to A, B, C and D may well dictate the responses you receive.

Await your words.


PS Take a look at this:

Grand Tour of Switzerland | Switzerland Tourism

From palm-lined lakeshores to sparkling glaciers, from medieval villages to buzzing cities – the Grand Tour of Switzerland packs in an incredible number of sights. The concentration of attractions is unrivalled worldwide.

www.myswitzerland.com

PPS For just a week (presumably door-to-door) I’d probably fly and hire a bike / car.

Thankyou sir, no I’m thinking 7 days for across the channel. So the week before a couple of pals are over and we’re going to be touring around these lovely western isles regardless of weather.

The following week I’m planning on doing the tour over the channel myself. So probably drop off from the guys around Westmorland approx on Sunday afternoon.

So was looking to head down and get over the Chunnel tunnel and stay the night on the other side for a fresh euro run on the Monday morning.

Not adverse to some motorways but would ike to try and avoid.

Stelvio pass ideally, however open to suggestions on what’s good.

Thanks

 

[mpgscott]

the other way , depending on 1st ferry time , middle of the night start , down to Newhaven , overnight ferry get a cabin £90 ! spits you out at 0500 .
empty roads .
i can do Dieppe to Grenoble arriving round about 1900 , but that is splash and dash stops , and supermarket lunch .

Didn’t know of that ferry, could be a good option.

I’m open to anything just fancy a wee jaunt in Europe see if I get the bite for it..

 

[johnnyboy]

Didn’t know of that ferry, could be a good option.

I’m open to anything just fancy a wee jaunt in Europe see if I get the bite for it..

Check the hotel prices in Switzerland first, they put expensive into a whole new scale.
Camping is a good option if you do it. Visit Interlaken, Grindelwald for the tourist bit. The hostels are good but tend to get booked up early. I can recommend a campsite that looks at the North Face of the Eiger https://camping-eigernordwand.ch/. However, if it's the passes you want to ride, Andermatt, is better placed. It is a beautiful country and you will be impressed. If I haven't mentioned it already, take plenty of money

 

[Hairnet600]

danish pennisula southern norway

or fly to ljubliana rent a bike and do alps and swiss from there thru the interesting bits of italy and austria

im gonna do that sometime but towards greece

 

[Wapping]

Thankyou sir, no I’m thinking 7 days for across the channel. So the week before a couple of pals are over and we’re going to be touring around these lovely western isles regardless of weather.

The following week I’m planning on doing the tour over the channel myself. So probably drop off from the guys around Westmorland approx on Sunday afternoon.

So was looking to head down and get over the Chunnel tunnel and stay the night on the other side for a fresh euro run on the Monday morning.

Not adverse to some motorways but would ike to try and avoid.

Stelvio pass ideally, however open to suggestions on what’s good.

Thanks

OK, thanks.

As I read it, you want to be over the Channel by late afternoon or early evening on Sunday 22 June, staying in (for example only) St Omer. This means:

Monday 23 June, leave St Omer, to ride to Switzerland, returning to Calais, seven days later, to arrive in the late afternoon or early evening of Sunday 29 June. Over this seven day period you want to include the Stelvio pass at some point. You want to avoid motorways, if possible.

As a very basic starter, the Stelvio pass is at the very eastern lower edge of Switzerland. From St Omer to the Stelvio pass, reasonably direct but avoiding motorways, is about 1,000 kilometres / 620 miles. Over two days, that is 310 miles a day.



Is that doable? Yes, I guess so, if you crack on. Two days out of seven gone, five left.

If we assume that it’s two days to return to Calais, that leaves three days to ‘do Switzerland’, which (very roughly) is the area bordered by the red hand drawn line:



Doable? In theory yes.

As Calais and the Chunnel is your return destination, I’d suggest that you’d need to find yourself somewhere around Basel on the evening of Friday, 27 June. Then, over the next two days, you’d take non-motorway roads to ride (roughly) in the direction of this yellow line:



That is, very roughly, 800 kilometres / 500 miles, over two days ie. 250 miles a day. Doable? Yes, I guess so.

Comment:

1. You could of course reverse it.

2. Does this look doable to you?

3. If the answer to comment 2, is yes. Then fill in your chosen routes in the red bordered area, allowing yourself three days.

Your turn now…..



PS I have all the routes of the linked site in post #2 available.in GPX files.

 

[GADGET]

Ironically, I’ve toured most, if not all of Europe, over the years, but spent last week in Scotland on my bike, the weather was glorious, scenery and roads as good as anywhere and no language issues.

 

[Slime Bomb]

In the past 20 years I've been to Switzerland almost every year camping. It can be expensive if you want it to be. I've never had a problem.
I've also never had a problem with speeding. As long as you don't speed in towns and don't take the piss you'll be fine. I've always advocated that once you're in the mountains it's playtime! Maybe I've just been luck...

 

[stever1]

Good one Wappers.
I would add, if you want to do Stelvio pass, (and it’s a big If as it’s really busy nowadays) head straight there and spend night 2 at this hotel then do it at the start of day 3.

Motorbike hotel in Kaunertal, Tyrol: Hotel Weisseespitze | Kurven & Knödel Motorradhotels

Motorbike hotel in Kaunertal, Tyrol: Hotel Weisseespitze. This is a hotel that was built for motorcyclists - attention to the small details and a deliberate focus on comfort with people who are there for you. A friendly smile, a hearty hello - you'll feel right at home here.

www.motorrad-hotel.com

It’s one of the let’s bike together group and is very nice. It’s only about fifty miles from the top of the pass.
My personal preference would be go in via Maria val Müstair, up the umbral pass then down the Stelvio.