CH: Travelling through Switzerland in the winter

[vandel]

Hello guys!

I am Pandelis and I live in Greece. I had some questions and I could use any help you can provide me!
I am thinking of travelling from Italy to the Netherlands by car this December. Of course, we have to cross Switzerland and its Alps to do that!
Is it possible to drive through the Alps in the winter or will we get in trouble because of the snow? GoogleMaps's route planner was straight through the mountains and I noticed there are many tunels and at some points the altitude is quite high, so I don't know if it will be possible to drive there in December.
What do you suggest? We took the train this summer so we want to try something else this time!
Any help is welcome!

Thanks in advance, Pandelis

[RMN]

Kalispera and Jassu Pandelis

The majority of the passes will be closed, but there are some alternatives in order to cross the Alps at winter time.

A13 San Bernadino tunnel (Milano -> Bellinzone -> Chur -> Zurich -> Basel)
Sumit at around 1600m above sea level

A2 Gotthard tunnel (Milano -> Bellinzone -> Lucern -> Basel)
Sumit at around 1100m above sea level

A9 Simplon / Lötschberg car transport (railway Iselle - Kandersteg )

I suggest the A2 Gotthard tunnel. Keep in mind that road conditions can be very hard in December if it's snowing. Consult the weather forecast in advance. In case of snow or icy temperatures, you will need definitely winter tires! Those might be required in other countries, I'm not 100% sure.

Don't forget to buy the motorway sticker (vignette) which is required to travel on the Swiss Motorways.

[vandel]

Haha !! Efcharisto my friend!

Thanks a lot for the info, the A2 was my original thought and I think that will be my final choise too. After that I guess I just pray for good weather

I guess the vignette is sold when enterring Switzerland...right?
One final question, can you tell me how much fuel costs in Switzerland?

Thanks again for your time

[RMN]

Parakalo Pandelis

You can buy the vignette 2010 at customs in Chiasso, which costs you 40Sfr and allows you to travel till end Jan. 2011.

The "litra" fuel is around 1.6 - 1.7Sfr. which is approx 1.06 - 1.13 "Evro". Generally, the fuel is cheaper if you leave the motorway but that's up to you.

[vandel]

Thank you so much for the useful information. I am still confused of course and maybe I should consider making that trip next summer. We'll see!

Greetings from sunny Greece, Pandelis!

[Danny]

Probabely the most important thing you need are winter tires. A2 is the main corridor through Switzerland, and any every effort is made to keep the road open however at some point all the salt and cleaning does no longer help if too much snow is falling from the sky. Under such conditions they may close the A2 for trucks and unless you have winter tires, you cannot pass the pretty steep road either. Snow is usually coming in late, mostly after Xmas.

Another thing to consider is that there may be more snow on the german Autobahn then here in Switzerland.

Good luck.

[vandel]

aaah I see ...hehe. I didn't even think that we could have problems with the snow in Germany. I guess we must rethink the whole schedule because it's a 14-hour drive from Ancona to Arnhem and we were thinking of doing it straight (2 of us drive), but in such difficult conditions maybe that's not such a good idea... By "winter tires" you mean chains...? Because that's what we use when there's snow. The budjet isn't large enough for new tires...hehe.

Anyway, I see there are too many things that can go wrong in the winter and I suppose summer would be a better choice.

Thanks again for all your help

[rower2000]

[quote="vandel"]aaah I see ...hehe. I didn't even think that we could have problems with the snow in Germany. I guess we must rethink the whole schedule because it's a 14-hour drive from Ancona to Arnhem and we were thinking of doing it straight (2 of us drive), but in such difficult conditions maybe that's not such a good idea... By "winter tires" you mean chains...? Because that's what we use when there's snow. The budjet isn't large enough for new tires...hehe.

Anyway, I see there are too many things that can go wrong in the winter and I suppose summer would be a better choice.

Thanks again for all your help [/quote]

Snow chains are a bad idea, they limit your speed to about 40 km/h... When driving through the alps, no matter if in Switzerland, Austria, or elsewhere, you definitely need to have winter tires. See here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tire#Vehicle_applications the section "mud and snow". Deeper and differently structured profile compared to the normal summer tires. Without them, it's an absolute no-go here in winter!

Furthermore, also on the German autobahn there are many rather steep sections. When there is only a small layer of one or two cm of wet snow, you will inevitably get stuck, block the motorway and have a huge problem at hand!

Sigi

[vandel]

Since winter tires are not a cheap option, we postponed our trip for coming April. I guess the roads will be clean by then. If not....well, there's always summer

[rower2000]

[quote="vandel"]Since winter tires are not a cheap option, we postponed our trip for coming April. I guess the roads will be clean by then. If not....well, there's always summer [/quote]

In April you should be fine . There is of course always a possibility of late snow, but the probability of snow on the major motorways is very low...

[vandel]

Finally good news...yeeeah haha

[vandel]

Hello again! It's been a while but this time i can say with certainty that the trip will come true in July!

I will be using the A2 from Milan to Basel and I wanted any information you can give me about landmarks across the highway! I will make it a day-trip through the alps with many stops to see the fantastic scenery. Is there any particular site that I should be aware of?

Any information is welcome!

Thanks in advance, Pandelis...

[RMN]

-Lugano Lake and Mount San Salvatore (by cablecar)
-Gotthardpass (senic road instead of tunnel) or Nufenen pass and Furka pass instead of Gotthard pass
-If Furkapass then Rhone Icefield (glacier)
-Engelberg Mount Titlis by cablecar
-Lucerne Mount Pilatus by cablecar and Old Town of Lucerne (Kappelbrücke) "Bridge"

Very scenic would also be a boat ride on lake Lucerne

However, there are many popular places around Lago di Lugano and Lago Maggiore (Locarno) as well as lake Lucerne.

Normally, you won't need winter tires in July on the aforementioned road passes. However, extreme weather conditions might still require winter tires or even snow chains. In this case, I would use the tunnel.

Have a save trip

[vandel]

Wow...unbelievable places! Thanks a lot for your answer I'll check them all out intensively to choose one or two!

[RMN]

I forgot to mentioned the Schollenen Gorge

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sch%C3%B6llenen_Gorge

I would drive at least over 1 pass instead of the Gotthard tunnel.