Hi,
A friend and I are flying into Basel next week (13th April) and want to make our way to the south of Switzerland (matterhorn), and then to Austria (salzburg on the 22nd/23rd April). We have a tent and want to camp in the wilderness/mountains and also visit some cities (preferably ones reflecting local culture) during this time. Any suggestions in regards to route, transportation and lodging will be highly appreciated!
Thanks in advance!
Is it that you actually want to climb the Matterhorn? You can do this from either Breuil-Cervinia/Italy or from Zermatt/Switzerland.
If you just want to get near it and see how it looks like, the obvious is to travel by train from Basel to Zermatt. The ride takes between 3 1/4 and 3 3/4 hours. For a personalized schedule as well as ticket prices, click here. Don't rent a car, you can't drive up to Zermatt, you would have to leave it in Täsch and pay a lot for the parking there, then still change onto the train.
Zermatt has a campground, click here to see it. It actually opens June 1st as right now, there is still snow up there. Forget about wild camping - again, because there is snow up there. Wild camping up in the mountains is however theoretically possible in Summer time - if you can stand the cold during the nights and if you're willing to schlepp all the material such a thing requires.
As on how to go from Zermatt to Salzburg, use the link above. It will be a full day's ride.
Camping Jungfrau, 3822 Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland (00 41 33 856 20 10; www.camping-jungfrau.ch)
Camping le Grand Champ, 167 Chemin Glacier de Taconnaz, Les Bossons, Chamonix, 74400, France Tel: 33 (0)450 53 04 83 Fax: 33 (0)450 53 04 83 (no website)
Camping des Glaciers, CH-1944 La Fouly - Tél. 41 (0)27 783 18 26 - Fax +41 (0)27 783 36 05 - mobile 41(0) 79 679 28 12 - info@camping-glaciers.ch
I would normally suggest http://www.camping-arolla.com but you're too early in the season; its altitude means it can't open until beginning of June.
Walk up fares for Switzerland are expensive; consider buying a pass to save cash. http://www.myswitzerland.com.
Thanks for the suggestions...I should clarify certain things about my plans...
I'm flying into Basel form Hamburg on Wednesday, April 13th. As of now, I have no further bookings in Switzerland. I plan on either camping or couchsurfing (I'm not sure if the weather is conducive to camping right now).
We want to travel from Basel to the south to see Chillon Castle and Matterhorn. We also want to hit up Bern, Lausanne, and ANY other recommendations you might have. We have to be in Salzburg on 22nd April (by train). So, in between we have approximately 9 days to spend in Switzerland/Austria and want to see as much as possible (at a decent pace).
So, any suggestions regarding how many days to spend at any one location, and day trips to unique places, etc will be much appreciated.
Thanks!