During our European summer adventures in our campervan in 2023, we spent 7 days in Switzerland either side of our two week tour of Italy. My daughter and I travelled to Switzerland on our own, then my husband and son flew into Zurich to meet us. We travelled together into and around Italy for a week, before my husband flew home and I took over the driving and parenting- the last three weeks of our European tour were a solo parenting adventure for me!

We absolutely loved our time in Switzerland. It is a breathtaking country with outstanding views wherever you look. Mountains and beautiful lakes are everywhere and, in my humble opinion, the country has something for everybody. We stayed in four different campsites, enjoyed free access to the lakes and explored some mountain activities in Grindlewald.

Here I will share with you our 7 day Itinerary, the campsites we stayed at and our thoughts on the site, plus our spending during those 7 days. We didn't do everything I hoped to during our time in Switzerland, as we decided to take a slower pace after two very busy weeks in Italy. We also spent a lot of our time in the beautiful, blue lakes- which were FREE and cool!

Day 1- Rosie and I had made a seven hour journey across France and into Switzerland and arrived at our first campsite. I already had our vignette (motorway tax) which I had ordered online before our trip (40 CHF) and found the driving in this second new country to be fine. We stayed at TCS camping in a premium pitch on the edge of Lake Brienz which cost £62.33. We quickly fell in love with the campsite, with its playground, trampoline and free access to the Lido next door. Rosie enjoyed playing in the small pool on the site after dinner, despite the rain!

Day 2- Rosie and I made our way into Interlaken, finding parking for our big van easily, and enjoyed a walk along the main green in the town watching all of the paraglider land on the grass. We then took a walk up to the funicular for Harder Kulm. We shared a tasty pizza in the restaurant and took a walk out onto the viewing platform at 1,322 metres above sea level- the views were spectacular! The tickets cost £45.44 for the two of us and our lunch cost £51.12. Parking cost £3.58. We then left Interlaken and drove to Lucerne to have a quick explore of the beautiful city. Rosie loved playing with the tiny birds who swooped across the lake, feeding them crackers from the palm of her hand! After a whistle stop tour and a Starbucks, we left Lucerne and drove on to Zurich to pick up our boys who flew in from home. They hadn't been able to leave home with us as Noah has two football commitments. That night, the four of us stayed at Camping Gerbe which was very different to TCS camping, but we loved it just as much! This is a farm stay, so expect farmyard smells and a wake up call from the roosters. We fed the goats and the children loved the playground and swimming pool. Our stay cost £39.81.

Day 3- After a two week break from Switzerland and a wonderfully busy two weeks exploring the west coast of Italy, the children and I headed back to Switzerland and back to where Rosie and I began- TCS camping. Unfortunately we were only able to get one night back at this campsite, as we quickly discovered that winging it in Switzerland wasn't quite so easy. However, we were grateful that the site could fit us in for one night at least, as we were able to spend the day with our friends who were already camped up there. We spent the day in Lake Brienz, frolicking in the water on kayaks and paddle boards, with lots of jumping in and climbing back on. The water really is the breathtaking blue that it looks from the photos.

Day 4- After our friends left to head back home, the children and I were back to a team of 3. We spent the day exploring Grindlewald, an Eiger village bursting with beautiful mountains and activity opportunities. We paid £14.39 to park for the day in Grindlewald and headed for the cable car at Pfingsteggbahn. We reached Alp Pfingstegg in less than 5 minutes, where we found a restaurant, a playground, a toboggan run and a forest zip wire. The children and I loved our ride on the toboggan run. Rosie rode solo, flying around on the little sledge in front of Noah and I, who rode together. Then Rosie had a go on the fly line, Noah decided he didn't want to do this, so we waited for Rosie to come back together. Our day in Grindlewald cost £62.95. We took a packed lunch to save money on eating out. That evening we stayed at Manor Farm, a fabulous campsite on the edge of Lake Thun, which has the most beautiful facilities we had seen on a campsite. Rosie absolutely loved the playroom which was bursting with toys. We inflated our SUP and took it through the campsite to Lake Thun and watched the sun go down. Perfect.

Day 5- After a busy day yesterday, we decided to have a slower day while we waited for more friends to arrive to join us. At every campsite you stay at in Switzerland, you are given a guest card which offers free transport on the boats and buses, and discounted prices at various attractions and excursions. Today I decided we should use our guest card to explore the lakes further, so we walked to the boat port on Lake Thun. We departed at Thun and sat in a cafe with a cold drink- a welcome relief in the 35 degree heat! After a quick explore, we headed back to the boat and took the trip back, then packed up our van to move to the campsite over the road- Camping Alpenblick. By now our friends had arrived too. We had a fab pizza night and enjoyed the campsite ping pong table and playground. This was our least favourite campsite that we stayed in during our Swiss experience, as we felt our pitch was quite small and the facilities were not as nice as the others.

Day 6- Today we decided to have another cool off in the lakes- not only are these free to enjoy, the water is beautifully clean and cool- the best way to manage in the mountain heat! With four children between us, we had lots of huge inflatables which we took with us to the water. You can walk across from Alpenblick to Manor Farm to make your way to Lake Thun. We enjoyed our last night in Switzerland at, yes you guessed it- TCS Bonigen! It was a shame that we weren't able to pitch up and stay at just one campsite during our second stint in Switzerland, the moving around lots made us quite grumpy at times. But, I wouldn't change our experience by booking everything in advance, I really do love winging it and booking as we go.

Day 7- Our final day in Switzerland came to an end with some life admin- filling up with fuel and making a pit stop at the supermarket. We discovered that the Swiss reputation of being expensive was very true- Noah had been craving cheddar, but when we found a bag in Aldi for 14.55CHF, his craving was not eased! Our final time in Switzerland isn't without a memorable exit, as I drove across my first huge mountain pass. We did Furka Pass when my husband was with us and I vowed never to drive one myself. Little did I know that google maps had lead us straight back the way we came... When I saw the signs for Furka Pass I decided to take a different route called Sustenpass. It was a pass I hadn't heard of so I didn't think it would be quite as bad. I was wrong! It was high, long and the corners were just as tight- not easy in a big van like mine! I am proud to say that I achieved it, but, it's not an experience I would like to repeat.

So, that's our Swiss experience done! I have included links to each of the campsites, and detailed where we spent our days. Here is the breakdown of our costs for the week:

Camping- £271.38

Fuel- £231.24

Eating out- £170.61

Excursions/activities- £108.39

Food shopping- £66.79

Souvenirs- £28.34

Vingette- £36.81

Parking- £17.97

Total- £931.53