dragonsden001 Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 I posted here for the first time a few months back about our impending road trip and now we are all booked (just need our new van to arrive now!). We are taking the ferry to Calais and then driving south to a site in the Gorges du Verdon in France for a few nights. Then we will travel via Nice/Monaco into Italy and have 6 nights booked at a site in Lake Garda. From here we are planning on visiting Interlaken and then back via Colmar, Luxembourg, Belgium, Back to Calais. So far we have only booked two sites. We have an 8yr old so needed a few sites where she can use pools/play etc. The rest of the time we will hopefully stay wherever we find. We have invested in a Snooper sat nav. Very excited, just wish the van would hurry up. We traded in our Autoquest 180 for a Bailey Approach 665 (slightly shorter and narrower but still a 6 berth with rear lounge as the layout works for us.). Any tips? Can we buy the vignette for Switzerland before we go? Oh and we are taking our time - 3.5 weeks in total. Cheers Sarah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markh1 Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 You can buy a Swiss vignette here: http://www.tolltickets.com/country/swiss/vignette.aspx?lang=en-GB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonsden001 Posted June 8, 2015 Author Share Posted June 8, 2015 thanks :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 dragonsden001 - 2015-06-08 1:32 PM.....................Any tips? ................ Cheers Sarah Just one Sarah: take a trip in the UK before you set off across the channel. New vans should be in perfect working order when delivered, but some are not, and so-called infantile defects can arise once items are actually used, as opposed to merely being tested and comissioned. A few days should be enough, with sufficient time after that for any resulting defects to be sorted out by the dealer before you leave. As we are now entering summer, remember that dealer's workshop staff also take holidays, and many folk only find faults that need correction while they are preparing their vans for use. The two together tend to result in summer bottlenecks in workshops! ;-) Perhaps a visit to an outdoor show, such as one of Warners', where the van will be off mains hook-up for two or three days, allowing you to make sure that the 12V electrics, gas appliances, and water system, all work as they should. If you can't keep the van at home on mains hook-up, move on to a campsite somewhere, take the hook-up, and give the 230V systems a work-out. Apart from finding latent faults, it will give you a chance to familiarise yourselves with the way the van, and its appliances, work and may throw-up a few puzzles that can then be clarified before you leave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manxli Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Hi Best of luck with the trip. Be careful in Switzerland of a few traffic conventions that can catch Brits out. 1) Unmarked junctions. If there are no lines at the junction, then traffic from the right has priority. This applies even if your way ahead appears straight. Be careful. 2) Traffic lights showing green to turn right often assume that you will give pedestrains right of way. Their green man may also be lit. Be very careful. 3) Finally, recent Swiss law demands dipped headlights at ALL TIMES! £60 fine if caught. This is all very unlogical to us Brits and took me some time to get used to when I moved here. It's a beautiful country though and you'll love the scenery. It's a tad expensive, but search out Co-op or Migros supermarkets which are reasonable. There is also Aldi and Lidl everywhere. BTW You can buy the vignette at any border crossing upon entry , except for the unmanned ones on narrow country roads. They are also available at most petrol stations. Hope that's of help. Alan Switzerland Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Thank you for these tips, especially the dipped headlights at all times. Hope to visit Switzerland again this year. Is the vignette still only needed if you intend to go on motorways? I first visited Switzerland in 1964 and have loved it ever since especially Lauterbrunnen where it was very unspoilt in those days - campsite was just a grass field and the reception etc. was in the chalet, their home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manxli Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Hi Yes the Swiss Vignette is only for the motorways which are paid for by federal taxes. Swiss motorists then pay local county road tax by 'renting' their number plates on a yearly basis. There are some portions of motorway which are exempt and signposted "Ohne Vignette bis XXX" or "Sans Vigenette" , but it is better to be safe as the fines are also high if caught. Another quirkly law to be aware of is, that you should indicate your intention when leaving a round-about. Sometimes the police wait on an exit road and pull over offenders!!! I learnt this one the hard way :o( Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Actually that is something that I always do anyway! Passed my test over 50 years ago and that must be something we were told to do then, probably because they had just changed, or were about to change, the priority on roundabouts (called islands then!) from those entering to what we have now. My husband never got used to that so needed watching! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Patricia - 2015-06-09 8:05 AM Thank you for these tips, especially the dipped headlights at all times. Hope to visit Switzerland again this year. Is the vignette still only needed if you intend to go on motorways? I first visited Switzerland in 1964 and have loved it ever since especially Lauterbrunnen where it was very unspoilt in those days - campsite was just a grass field and the reception etc. was in the chalet, their home. Is your van at or under 3,500 MAM Patricia? I'd thought it was heavier, in which case the vignette is not appropriate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Thank you Brian for thinking of me but my van is under 3.5K fortunately as I gave up my "grandfather's (grandmother's?) rights" when I turned 70. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Patricia - 2015-06-09 2:53 PM Thank you Brian for thinking of me but my van is under 3.5K fortunately as I gave up my "grandfather's (grandmother's?) rights" when I turned 70. Good, and you're welcome. Sorry about the age thing! That's a lotta van for its weight! Good to see you're still wandering Europe. :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonsden001 Posted June 15, 2015 Author Share Posted June 15, 2015 Thanks Brian. We were expecting our new van in May however we are not getting it until 9th July, which is only 9 days before our trip. We will book a couple of night on that weekend somewhere local but we are constrained by school days and suchlike until the summer holidays! Am sure all will be well, and failing all else will camp on the drive for a few nights. Sarah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonsden001 Posted June 15, 2015 Author Share Posted June 15, 2015 Hi Alan thanks for the tips, very useful, especially the dipped headlights one. Not long to go now! Cheers Sarah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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