Budman

A lot of the websites in Switzerland show prices, fares, and costs for lodging in both Sfr and Euro. Do most places in Switzerland accept both currencies as a matter of routine, or only in the border towns, or is this just a cross reference?

Since Switzerland is not part of the EU, does one have to go thru passport control/customs when driving across from the Austrian border into Switzerland?

viaggio_sempre

Hey Budman, hope you are well \/

I, too, am curious about this.

If you don't mind, what is your itinerary? You are going in May, correcto?

xyz123

Many places take euro as well as swiss francs but nobody can universally say yes, yes a thousand times yes. And remember, they are 2 separate currencies and the exchange rate varies every day just as the rate between sfr and usd or euro and gbp so you are at the mercy of the merchant as to just how good or poor the rate is so you'd be best off to use an atm to get sfr and try to pay only in sfr...

In theory you can be asked for a passport and you do go through customs whenever crossing from any of the EU countries into Switzerland; in practice they rarely ask or check. However, while I haven't driven into any of these countries, from my readings you have to pay a road tax when entering into say Switzerland which means you have to stop at the border control and pay the tax (or is this just for the tour buses I have been on crossing into Switzerland?)

suze

I always use CHF in Switzerland, never thought to do differently. But I have read on this board that others have spent in euro in places with tourism like Montreux.

clevelandbrown

As others have said, when you pay in euro, you should anticipate that the exchange rate they use will favor them, as they are incurring additional expenses. I think they often post prices in euro on the web to counter the reputation of Switzerland being vary expensive. 100 euro looks a lot less expensive than 155 CHF.

You do have to do the customs and immigration thing at the border, but I have always found it to be very informal, often to the point where you don't know you have done it.

I don't think there is a road tax, but to drive on the limited access highways, you need a sticker, so you may have to buy one of those. The sticker is good for a year, so if you are driving a rental car, a previous renter may have bought one, so you should check to see if one has been affixed.

Michael

The afore-mentioned road tax is exclusively for the limited access highways. One can drive through Switzerland without using them, but it is not always easy.

Voyager2006

I've been to Switzerland several times and have never even tried to use Euros there, especially in the so-called "weeds" so perhaps those prices are for cross-reference purposes more than anything else.

I agree, you won;t get the best exchange rate if you try to use Euros and I suppose you might even get disdain by some what with Switzerland's rather jealous adoration of its own currency.

I would get some CHF from the ATM for use while there.

logos999

>passport control/customs
Can be from hardly noticable to very intense. I have experienced both. The is an additional road tax for mobile homes/ campers, which isn't limited to Autobahns. If you have more than 15000€ in cash, do not forget do declare it to the German/Austrian customs officer. All around the border (about 20km) German customs have set up traps, hardly noticable, but very efficient.

Budman

viaggio_sempre,

Arrive Munich 19 May

20-26 Grindelwald

27-28 Lucerne

29 Zurich

30 Fly home.

If you're in the same area, maybe a GTG for a glass of wine, couple of beers, a Swiss Fondue dinner or whatever. Cheers! Anyone else?

bob_brown

My finding has been that euro pricing is for reference mostly. In a few places, such as the Rhine Falls, the cashier took both currencies.

A few big hotels take payment in euro notes, but usually coins are not accepted.

Don't try to pay for gas with euro notes!! Credit card or Swiss currency.