Part 1 – SWITZERLAND: AN AMBLING ADVENTURES CAMPERVAN TRAVEL BLOG

Welcome to the blog version of our travel diary/guide to Switzerland; the full 96-page PDF version is also available, where we go into more detail about all the places we visited, the drives, and the campsites.

We are Marcus & Louise, and we have been making ambling adventures in campervans across the UK for several years. Our journey began with Flossy, a hired Pink VW T2 van that sold us on the campervan lifestyle. We then purchased Bellamy, our (t)rusty 36-year-old VW T3, with whom we enjoyed five years of exploring the UK, and continue now with Amberly, our orange Ford Nugget. Our passions lie in exploring new destinations and immersing ourselves in the outdoors.

Planning

Our Switzerland trip was our first European camper van adventure, and we approached the whole trip with some nervous trepidation. We tend to park our van for 2-3 nights in a single location and explore the surrounding area on foot, bicycle, or public transport. Of course, there’s always a chance we might park up, open a bottle of Malbec, and read a good book for two days instead of exploring.

In advance, we researched YouTube, travel blogs, and books. We noted places we’d like to visit and investigated nearby campsites as we planned a loose route across this fantastic country. We booked or reserved five Swiss campsites we’d chosen and also researched an Aire or two that we might use as we traveled through France. Finally, as we moved between the campsites, we planned to add some day trips to places on or near the route if possible. We had a plan, well, kind of.

Our journey would begin in Hampshire, UK, and we’d catch the Le Shuttle into France. We planned to use an overnight French Aire as we traveled towards Switzerland. Our campsites were located in Interlaken, Lugano, Lauterbrunen, La Fouly and Lausanne. The routes we stumbled upon were filled with scenic beauty, mountain passes, and some of the most beautiful campsites we’d ever visited.

The Campsites

Throughout our journey, we stayed at several campsites. Each one had its unique charm and offered a different slice of Switzerland. From the shores of Lake Thunsee at Manor Farm, the natural park on the shores of Camping Lugano Lake, the breathtaking landscape at Camping Jungfrau, the serene mountain landscape at Camping des Glaciers to the picturesque views of Lake Geneva at Camping de Vidy-Lausanne.

Useful Apps

To make our journey smoother, we used several apps, such as MeteoSwiss for weather updates, Outdooractive for maps and hiking routes, Park4Night for finding Aires and emergency stopovers, and Alertswiss for alerts of severe weather and emergencies in Switzerland.

Maps & Locations

To help you plan any journeys, the full PDF version of this guide includes all of the notable locations and campsites in a handy Google Maps List and Craft.do document you can access online.