UK to Switzerland Road Trip

[SunsetOnTheHorizon]

Is this a realistic trip?

We will be travelling from Dover to Dunkirk, driving to Belgium and stopping for lunch, staying two nights in Luxembourg and making a one night stop in Switzerland (possibly two) Then make our way back through France with a stop in Lyon.

It is our 1st road trip with 4 kids and we are aware that there is so much to explore! We want to keep it short to keep costs down and also we haven't got much time left till school starts - so we need to get back.

Our main aim is to see and reach Switzerland obviously we won't get to see loads - but it's more about the experience we will gain from this.

Has anyone tried anything similar? What should I bear in mind and what tips would you chuck my way?

The first rule of keeping costs down is not to go to Switzerland.

Is there a compelling reason you have to go there? You can certainly have a very nice trip down through France and back again in the time available.

What about crossing into Germany once you reach Strasbourg and driving back up along the Rhine?

If you are traveling from Lux embourg the first place you hit is Basel, which is actually a lovely compact small city, and I think it is worth an overnight stay. It’s about 4
hours from Lyon.

the second day would then be either Interlaken or maybe Geneva.

But yes, expensive!

Switzerland is expensive and you have to buy an annual permit to use the motorway. My advice is to stay on the border and just pop in on the back roads

Switzerland is very expensive so I would try keep that bit as short as possible. If you want to keep costs down take as much breakfast/lunch foods for the kids as possible. Take a bottle of squash to dilute in bottled water so you’re not having to pay out for lots of expensive drinks. Plan where you want to go and search the cost for each of them so you can stay within a budget. Also get a travel card to avoid fees abroad. If the kids have their own spending money and are over 11 nationwide doesn’t charge fees for using the child’s card abroad. Also find out if there will be any toll roads you need to pay for on your route so you can also factor in the cost of those.

What is the point of going to Switzerland if you are not going to see much? We went last October, beautiful scenery, rented a car. Attractions and train tickets were expensive.

We did self catering so ate breakfast and dinner in the apartment most of the time and took picnic, snacks for lunch, bought a few coffees, snacks out; money was was spent on accommodation, a couple of train journeys we wanted to do, petrol and entrance to some attractions.

I think there’s a risk you feel like you are in the car all the time and not seeing stuff.

How old are your kids? We did an overnight stop in Bergues in an amazing value b&b about 15 mins from Dunkirk beach (which we also liked) and we did a day trip to Plopsaland theme park which the kids loved. We also find Luxembourg City expensive - is that where you’re headed? The castle is nice but I wouldn’t spend more than one night there.

I’d probably head to EuropaPark and the Black Forest and give Switseeland a miss