Driving to Swiss ski resorts
France might hog the spotlight for easy self-drive, but Swiss ski resorts can be just as quick to reach. Besides being eco-friendly, driving to resort gives you a lot more flexibility than other modes of transport: you’re able to set off when you like, take as many breaks as you fancy and pack the car with as much Swiss chocolate and cheese as possible on the way home - without worrying about weight limits.
The routes to the Swiss resorts take you through France. For access over the channel from England, the Euro Tunnel shuttle departs from Folkestone four times an hour in peak periods, and the journey to Calais only takes 35 minutes.
Another way to reach France is the Dover-Calais ferry, which is usually cheaper than the shuttle. The crossing tends to take about an hour and a half, which some drivers prefer as an opportunity to have a change of scene or nap after driving to the coast.
From Calais, getting to Switzerland’s top self-drive ski resorts takes around 8-10 hours (without stopping). Most routes take you along the A26 through Reims, then east past Mets and south past Strasbourg towards Basel, or south past Troyes and Dijon then over the border towards Lausanne.
Approx. toll costs for driving to the Swiss Alps from Calais:
30 – 60€ (as of 2021)
Approx. fuel costs for driving to the Swiss Alps from Calais:
60 – 80€ (as of 2021)
Switzerland road rules
Legal driving age: 18
Drive on the right
Headlights on at all times
Seatbelts fastened at all times
Items required for driving in Switzerland (as of 2021):
- Driving licence
- ID/Passport
- Car insurance certificate
- European breakdown cover
- GB sticker
- Warning triangle
- Reflective jacket
- Headlamp deflectors
- Motorway/autobahn vignette
- First aid kit
- Snow chains
- Spare pair of glasses/contact lenses if you wear them
- Winter tyres (recommended)
Also needed for driving through France:
- V5C certificate
- Breathalyser
- Spare bulbs
- Crit'Air vignette if you pass through Paris, Lyon or Grenoble
Good overnight stops on a drive to the Swiss Alps
Reims – the Champagne region in France
Dijon – one of France’s great historic cities
Paris – for Disneyland or the romantic capital (don’t forget the Crit'Air vignette if driving through Paris)
Best Swiss Ski Resorts for Self-drive
With distance and approximate non-stop driving time from Calais
Villars
503 miles, 8 hours
Les Diablerets
509 miles, 8 hours
Nendaz
532 miles, 8 hrs 20 mins
Interlaken
539 miles, 8 hrs 20 mins
Verbier
528 miles, 8.5 hours
Lenzerheide
545 miles, 8.5 hours
Engelberg
550 miles, 8 hrs 40 mins
Grindelwald
550 miles, 8 hrs 50 mins
Saas-Fee
570 miles, 9 hours
Crans Montana
550 miles, 9 hours
Zermatt
579 miles, 9 hours
Lenzerheide
608 miles, 9.5 hours
The information given on this page was correct at the start of the 2017/18 ski season but before you depart, we suggest checking the most up to date laws and journey details through somewhere like the RAC and ViaMichelin.
Read more about driving to the alps or browse more self-drive holidays in France, Austria, Italy and throughout Europe.
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