Vignette for 2023. Not sure if the £9.50 handling fee is payable if you get the Vignette at the border, or whether this applies to online purchases. Today's FX Rate: GBP 1 = CHF 1.12321 I think I will get it on the day from the nice lady at the border
The annoying thing with Switzerland is the scenery is amazing. But the nazi police, and bloody ridiculous pricing for everything make it undesirable for your average biker that likes to get a wriggle on, and do stuff on the cheap.
Yes, but there are lots of tunnels in Switzerland and Austria, and most are motorway tunnels. If you don't have a vignette, you would have to take back roads and mountain passes every time. If that's what you want to do, fine. But it makes for slow progress, especially in bad weather.
The most interesting crossings from Switzerland to Italy are arguably those which are only open a few months of the year due to snow, but that also depends on what bike you're riding. For hairpins and massive climbs -think 800m in a couple of miles, Majola Pass ticks the box. That said I once lived in Verbier and drove the Gd St Bernard frequently which allowed me to learn it well and made the driving far more fun... Arguably the best crossing is one where you meet the Polizia di Frontiera & Guardia de Finanzia with your bike, driving licence and money. Its not always the case.
I remember buying one in Austria but you could just buy one for a number of days rather than an annual one as in Switzerland
That looks good - a few tunnels but looks nice and comes out the "right side" of Italy without having to get involved with the traffic into or around Milan. Did you get any speeding tickets Old border crossings for some of these off the beaten track crossings sounds interesting - got me thinking about that Ice Man - Otzi - that would be interesting to go and see that. A bit far away. People have been crossing the alps continuously for thousands of years. Taking cows up to the summer pastures is - I think they said - the oldest continuous human activity in history. Amazing. The Moloja Pass is the only one that I have done. It was in August and I remember the smell of hot engines and hot brakes on the way down - and that it was about 15° centigrade warmer at the bottom than it was at the top ! There was a coach some vehicles in front that was having difficulty making it round the corners ! Bonkers cyclists cycling up it ! Really busy peak summer holiday season, really enjoyed that. Went to the Moto Guzzi Factory but it was closed that day - public holiday I think it was. I bought two of something 'cause I could only say two in German so not sure if it was two weeks or months. Just replied yes ! It had the dates on it once purchased !
Several huge ones, with escort to the ATM a couple of times. I was living just outside Gstaad at the time. The final one they insisted on a court appearance to give them the opportunity to ban me and confiscate my licence. Unfortunately for them, I worked for a major travel operator at the time and was always able to issue myself a flight ticket on the court date to delay the proceedings. After some months I switched my work location to the USA. I stopped by my Advocates office as I left the quaint cuckoo clock land, its cheese and chocolate behind. Regretfully I advised them that I was moving to the other side of the atlantic and could not come to any courts for speeding due to work. I was unable to give them my licence as I'd unaccountably mislaid it. However I did give them a forwarding address for any correspondence. A few weeks passed, a curt letter arrived together with a large fine which I paid. The Swiss are very, very good at keeping records and there are many cases of people flying into Geneva years after not paying tickets and being arrested on the spot. IIRC one was Andrew Neill on assignment to cover something for the BBC, but there are others too... Switzerland a great place to ride or drive -just don't speed. The entire mentality toward speeding is the polar opposite of ours, and is summed up in way by the total ban on motorsports in the entire country.
@Jez900ie Interesting. "Dura lex sed lex" - I suppose. Probably as well to pay the fine ! Definitely something to keep in mind whilst in the country Thanks for the info.
It makes a big difference. Got my digital ten day pass already sorted for June. A much more reasonable attitude to motorists and not fleecing visitors. I remember leaving the Rhine falls a few years back, just approaching the German border, when we we came around the bend, there was the speed trap. Facing down a long section of road waiting for new victims arriving in the country. Bloody lucky because two of the bikes n the group had just been making indecent progress seconds earlier!
