Switzerland in July: am i mad ? Will it be too hot and crowded ?flying into Basel should I go to.place with a pool instead ?

[Snowangles]

Just that really I'm wondering if I'm being stupid and maybe should stay in a campsite elsewhere ? With a pool we are flying into Basel

@Octavia64 thank you ! Is Interlaken nice in sitself ?
Where did you visit ?

We went to Flims in July a few years ago. Had a vision of swimming in lake Caumasee enjoying some sun. What we got was 9 days of torrential rain.

I still swam in the lake. It was freezing but I’d travelled there to swim in it and so I was bloody well going to swim in it.

We stayed in Wengen a few years ago in July. Fabulous. Loads to explore (Jungfrau etc). It was actually during a heatwave but being up a mountain (Wengen is a ski resort in the winter) was v pleasant indeed. Took train there from Zurich so sure can get there from Basel with no problems.BTW we went half board which saved costs somewhat.

The Jungfrau area is wonderful. We've stayed in Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen. Both are lovely. More restaurants in Grindelwald and you can take the cable car up the Jungfrau from there. The train goes from both villages.
A lovely scenic area.
We stayed in Montreux also in the French part. It's a lovely lakeside setting with plenty of shops, restaurants and again, very scenic. The Charlie Chaplin museum is nearby which is worth a visit. And there is a free Queen museum in the casino which is interesting.
Zurich is a typical small city but it has an amazing spa with a rooftop pool looking over the city. I'd definitely recommend that.

I've been in Basel in July, tshirt weather but wasn't too hot to explore.

There are many family run guesthouses that won’t break the bank just outside the tourist destinations. For example in Wilderswil or Bönigen, or along the north side of the Thunersee, or Meiringen/Hasliberg.
Interlaken is meh. It’s a great transport hub though. Again, dozens of apartments and b&b everywhere.
The whole area is covered in holiday houses and apartments (Ferienwohnungen) and now would be a good time to book.
Ideally you want to be in striking distance of a lake for the kids.
Heat? Won’t be that hot in that area. The Alsace/Basel would be hotter.
Busy, it will be busy, but not catastrophic. The Swiss are renowned for tourist logistics.
Restaurants are expensive, but if you have an apartment you can supermarket a lot, or get pizzas etc.
You can also do say 4 or 5 days in CH then a couple in Alsace. Ideally you’ll have a car.
Rent from the French side of the airport, not the Swiss.

I think it will be lovely. But possibly extortionately expensive

My son went to Geneva this August and a Starbucks coffee cost him £8. That’s all I have to contribute to this thread I’m afraid.

We flew into Basel, then went to Freiburg and onto the Alsace via Europa Park last year and it was a great holiday. It was hot for us, over 30 degrees everyday. We went to Lake Titisee in the Back Forest too and you can swim in the lake. Basel has fountains you can bathe in!

Camp at Brienz near the lake, spend the day up in the mountains where it’s cooler, late afternoon and early evening by the lake. It’s gorgeous.

There is an outstanding campsite in Engelberg with a pool, playgrounds, and on that sweltering hot July day you could be up near 3000m sledging on snow on the Titlis glacier.

If you are thinking of Germany, the black forest and Freiburg aren‘t too far away. Also the Kaiserstuhl (wine growing Region) and Europapark.

www.europapark.de/en?gad_campaignid=789547833&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADO-wolwfLV6PZTSU9VoaG3_QgL9B&gclid=EAIaIQobChMInqq004-9kQMVo5ODBx0T1TQ3EAAYASAAEgKD3PD_BwE

We visited grindelwald, Meiringen, the Aare gorge and the reichenbach falls funicular.

If you go to the mountains especially at altitude it won’t be stifling. Grindelwald or Interlaken be fine ime, Wengen and Muerren are a little higher. All have access to public pools or lakes. It can get hot in the cities but you don’t need to spend time there.

And you find that once the sun goes down the temperature drops so air con not necessary at night.

YABU @Snowangles and see your poll results for reference. This isn't even the forum for this question?!

We went to Switzerland in June a couple of years ago, ended up being a heat wave and it was 37 degrees in Geneva and humid as hell. The sweat was literally pouring off my face, it was ridiculous.

We'd been staying in Sonogo for a few days before hand and went to Lavertezzo etc, then we stayed in a camp site near Montreux and while it was hot, it was nothing like in actual Geneva. We stayed a day there then left as it was ridiculous.

We moved on to France, that thankfully, wasn't as hot.

It's a beautiful country though and definitely would go back

Last time I was in Switzerland in august is was pouring with rain and 18 degrees, as I was on the motorbike i wasn’t best pleased!!! Weather happens, usually it’s pleasantly warm in summer there, but be prepared for hotter, colder and wetter too.

@Cynic17 I'm wondering whether we should maybe go there instead ? Lake constance ? What's vfm

Annecy in France is lovely but probably quite expensive/upmarket.
Lake Constance is on my to do list, we have only driven around a part of it en route to Italy — it looks so beautiful.

Annecy was a hot spot when we stayed there, over 30 degrees at night, whereas the mountains we moved on to were cooler and much more pleasant.

You’d be working hard to milk a week out of lake Konstanz, unless you went to Appenzell, which is spectacular.

Interlaken is lovely in July, warm rather than hot.