Camping in Switzerland

[Jaymzflood]

Hi guys,

In March/April, im planning to go camping for the weekend in Geneva. But id like some advice before I go,

My plan is to just bag and tag my gear and get on a plane to Geneva, get off the plane, get a taxi/bus to somewhere that looks mountainy (not hard in Swiz) and just pitch up for the night, do some fishing and exploring, then move to a new location the following day.

BUT, my question is...

Can I do this...legally?

Can i really just jump off the plane and stick a tent up without having to look over my shoulder all weekend?


Cheers guys

 

[Jaymzflood]

Oh, and if anyone would like to accompany me, feel free. Im 22, Male, into fishing and all the usual. Will make a good weekend of it. Plane prices are about £70-80 return (Easyjet)

 

[rik_uk3]

I've not camped there in thirty years but the camp sites I used were spotless and very well equipped. I'd not try just pitching and hoping for the best, look online and find a good site.

In 1978 a pal and I were stopped on the way into Switzerland at passport control and searched and I mean a full search, not a rubber glove search but stripped down to pants, all our hiking kit was taken apart, the tent unpacked, rucksack emptied, cigarettes ripped open and lots of questions, "Where are you going, how much money do you have, where is your return ticket" etc Still had a great holiday, stayed in Grindlewald for a while, stunning area.
[h=1][/h]

 

[salad]

camp high and you will be fine , however there will still be snow at high and low levels at the time of year you are thinking of going so you should come equipped to deal with that scenario ie snow shovel and some spikes to help you walk in

You will enjoy the trout mountain browns taste just sweet . if you manage to catch them

I think the trick to getting a good trip is not just to get on a plane and hope for the best (in the summer this might work well) but to do a little planing . If it is your first trip to the mountains look for valleys and head there as you will get the rivers you want for fish and they will offer better shelter , also find out which areas are high avalanche risk and avoid them . A lot of the valleys will have shallow rises out of them and will be fine .
Another thing you could do is take a look at innsbruck airport in Austria or Menningham in the south of Germany both or these airports will pretty much land you already in the Alps.
You would not even need a taxi in innsbruck you could just put on your pack and walk out o the mountains also the river lech is not far and there is some great trout fishing in the Reutte area of the river lech and some good places to camp out
Obviously there is great fish to be had in many other places all through the Alps as well I just know the one I have described

Hope this has been of some help

 

[Jaymzflood]

Thanks for that reply Salad, its given something for me to think about
Obviously id only be staying a few nights, So i wouldn't want to spend half a day either side of the weekend on buses and trains getting to places, so somewhere straight outta the airport would be excellent.

Although saying that, what you have given me to think about, is getting to Austria, camping around Innsbruck area, and make my way through to Germany and camp there. So I can say I done the both countries in a few days.

 

[salad]

Thanks for that reply Salad, its given something for me to think about
Obviously id only be staying a few nights, So i wouldn't want to spend half a day either side of the weekend on buses and trains getting to places, so somewhere straight outta the airport would be excellent.

Although saying that, what you have given me to think about, is getting to Austria, camping around Innsbruck area, and make my way through to Germany and camp there. So I can say I done the both countries in a few days.

That would be straight forward to do, you could head to innsbruck then make your way to the lech and find a route which follows that to Germany , if you found you did not have time to hike the whole thing then it would not be hard to bail out get to a main road and catch a bus to the nearest train station or airport . There would be plenty of bail out points along the way and the scenery is stunning .
It would be an idea to plan a route with a start and finish next to public transport points . and it would not take long to get to either of the airports that I mentioned from anywhere in that area

You could also look at route which follows the river Isar this would achieve the same goal you outlined

 

[Jaymzflood]

Thanks Salad, will definatley be looking into this today.
Ive been trying to find some lakes and rivers around the area's that you have said, and Ive found a beautiful one that really makes me think...'I could spend a year there' google..'lake Plansee' beautiful.

 

[salad]

Dont need to hit google mate , if I climb to the top of one of the peaks near me I can see the plansee lake . It only half an hour drive from me or a mid length mountain hike

 

[Jaymzflood]

Ahhhhh, I can see your location now!! You must live in a paradise Salad.
Okay, I have a rough outline of what id like to do on the trip.

Day 1 - Arrive in Innsbruck, travel to Plansee lake, spend 1 night there and fish.
Day 2 - Travel from Plansee Lake to Eibsee lake in Germany, spend 1 night there and fish.
Day 3 - Travel from Eibsee lake to Walchensee lake further accross the borderline, spend 1 night and fish.
Day 4 - Travel from Walchensee lake to Innsbruck airport, and leave the Germans/Austrians in peace.

Its a nice little round trip circle. All routes are about an hour away from eachother via public transport.

How does that sound?

 

[Jaymzflood]

Something I just knocked up quickly on Paint, shows the route all the way round.

 

[salad]

Sounds do-able mate
I hope you have tight lines and catch lots a fish

Here is a photo or two that I took yesterday when I went for a walk to help calm my bloated xmas day stomach

 

[Jaymzflood]

Bloody georgeous. Whats the weather like there in April? I might have to extend the trip, the only flights there and back from Bristol are Friday and Sunday, and i wouldnt only wanna stay 2 days, So i could go from Sunday - Friday instead, 5 nights.

 

[salad]

Its my first year living here but according to the locals there can still be snow in April , its hard to say really .
In March the local wilderness schools still do winter expeditions so snow will still be here then but April can have its own mind I think . The weather should not stop you tho , just go prepared for various conditions .
I think your idea of 5 nights would be better also depending on what type of fish you are hoping to catch then you may want to look at some rivers as well as lakes, the best looking trout I have seen here have all been from rivers . But thats not to say the lakes dont have good ones to, its just in my short time here I have seen good trout in the rivers .

You can see some trout in the pics on this thread I started

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=75937&highlight=

and here are some other threads with local photos of scenery

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=79827&highlight=

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=82235&highlight=

 

[udamiano]

Innsbruck, is a really loverly place, and great for getting out, Im usually in St.Johhan in February skiing around the Steinplatte. I spent 2 weeks in Innsbruck 2 years ago, unfortunately the first week was in the Hospital for a blown calve muscle Doctors and Nurses were great. stayed the second week and went walking to help the repair. loved the place.
You will really enjoy it

 

[Jaymzflood]

all planned and thought out now I think. Got 2 days to play with so I think we will walk some rivers in that meantime to gain some travel and do more fishing.

Salad - Im assuming there are laws of fishing lakes/rivers in Germany and Austria. Do you know anything about the permits?

 

[salad]

Hi

You can get tourist fishing permits for a lot of waters in Austria. Certainly in the areas you want to this should not be a problem I recon (Local tourist information can normally supply details and they all speak English ) , I am not sure about Germany as I live here and I am errrm supposed to have a full german fishing licence that I am errrm supposed to sit an exam for .

 

[blacktimberwolf]

You must really like fishing, though you will probably spend more time waiting for & on various means of transport than actually fishing.




Hope you have a great time.

 

[Jaymzflood]

You must really like fishing, though you will probably spend more time waiting for & on various means of transport than actually fishing.




Hope you have a great time.

I really hope not.