First timers to Switzerland with a motorhome

Hi. Just looking for any advice as to wether the following is parctical or possible. And maybe soem alternatives

We will be travelling by motorhome down through France from the UK at the start of October. We aim to be in Switzerland by around the 6th October.

My initial thought on our road trip through the Alps is as follows. Stops en route as and when required

Head for Lausanne, then around Lake Geneva to Montreux. Down to Martigny and then follow route 9 to Visp where we splinter off and spend soem time around Tasch.

Back up and join the 19 to Obergoms before heading off across the Grimsell pass and then take route 8 down to Interlaken. Spear off to Jungfrau to spend some time in the area, and around Interlaken before heading around to Spiez and then take the 9/11 (unsure if this is a named pass) to Aigle and then skirt around the south of Lake Geneva to Geneva itself. Filally then back into France and head home

We have earmarked the whole of October fro thsi trip but expect to take 3 days through France, and fortnight around Switzerland and then 3 days back up through France. Effectively three weeks (ish) total

Is the above parctical and save the Interlaken area is there anything else we should be planning

Of course there is a concern that the Grimsell pass wont be open, so option B wound be to carry on at Obergoms and head to Lucerne and then back along route 8 to Interlaken

Many thanks for any advice

I have done a lot of camping trips by car from UK (via relatives in France near Geneva) around Switzerland since the early 1960s. The Grimsel was one of the first mountain passes I can remember.

Your itinerary sounds perfectly good.

A few immediate comments:

1) Obergoms is a region, not a place. The Goms valley stretches from Brig to Gletsch and 'ober' means upper.

2) If the Grimsel is closed, you cannot "carry on at Obergoms and head to Luzern" as there is no other road route. In an 'emergency you would have to use the Furka rail tunnel car carrying train which has size restrictions, see: www.matterhorngotthardbahn.ch/en/winter/journey/car-transport/furka/

3) The route Interlaken - Aigle is:

Interlaken - Spiez - Zweisimmen - Chateau d'Oex (following the 'GoldenPass' rail route) - Col des Mosses OR Col du Pillon - Aigle. Note that Col du Pillon summit is the start point of the cable car to Glacier 3000

In Interlaken I can recommend Camping Hobby 3 (all the Interlaken camp sites are numbered) as a friendly compact site (family owned since 1955)

1960man, great thanks for the response. Encouraged to see we've got a plan that might essentially work. Ah, see your point on Obergomms. I was just copying a name that cropped up on Gmaps. My point on an alternative route was that route 19 splits before the Furka pass and the 6 takes you on the Grimsell pass (our prefrred route) whilst the 19 carries on and we would then join route to to take us to Lucerne. Am I to assume that if Grimsell is closed, it will be well before we reach the split to the 6?

Ive had a look at the Furka train and it seems to accomdate oversize vehicles, so that might be an option. Its looks like we could get on at Zermatt and finish at Goschenen. We could then drive on to Lucerne

So if the Grimsell is closed what chances do we have to make the journey from Lucerne back to Interlaken via route 8 and 4

Finally on this point I know its not a science, but what chances in mid October that the Grimsell will be closed

The Interlaken Aigle route is noted, thanks

I'll check out camping Hobby 3, again thanks

The old fashioned way to see if a pass road is closed is to look at the sign on the road. Switzerland has famous signs in four languages . The modern way is to look online. With global warming, high passes might well close later than they used to...

The pass road East is the Furka Pass, even higher than the Grimsel and closed for longer in winter. So if the passes are closed you cannot drive beyond Gletsch. However you can use the Furka base tunnel railway car carrying service. IMPORTANT: you have confused normal railways with the tunnel car carrying services which just run through the tunnel section. On the Furka this operates from Oberwald to Realp.

Interlaken - Luzern is the Brunig pass road (the part modernised route 8/A8). THis is always open as it is a low altitude pass

For additional clarity:

Visp - Luzern Driving routes if the Grimsel Pass is closed:

1) Visp - Brig - Fiesch - Oberwald - Furka tunnel car carrying train - Realp - Andermatt - Wassen - Altdorf - Luzern

2) Visp - Goppenstein - Lotschberg tunnel car carrying train - Spiez - Interlaken - Brunig - Sarnen - Luzern

Hi Saridale,

Welcome to MySwissAlps.

In addition to 1960man's useful information, you can find further details about driving on mountain passes here: www.myswissalps.com/car/drivinginthemountains, and specific tips for driving with motorhomes and campervans here: https://www.myswissalps.com/car/caravancamper.

Regards,

Anna