Whether you are driving, taking the train, or flying to your destination, there are certain things you need to know before you travel in Switzerland this summer.
Let’s start with driving.
Like every year at this time , you should expect traffic jams on Swiss roads, and especially in front of the north portal of the Gotthard tunnel, which leads to Ticino and Italy.
Some days are a bit better than others – weekends being particularly heavy.
To see when you should avoid travelling through the Gotthard, the TCS motoring organisation has created these charts (yellow is for moderate traffic; orange for heavy; and red for the heaviest. The chart also indicates how long – in km- queues are expected to be and how long the actual wait would be).
Going southward in July:
And in August:
“To avoid traffic jams at the Gotthard Tunnel, the A13 motorway via the San Bernardino Pass is often used as an alternative,” the TCS points out.
“However, in heavy traffic, congestion can also occur on this route. Other Alpine passes, such as the Gotthard, Grimsel, Nufenen, or Simplon, also offer alternatives. Travelers coming from western Switzerland can use the Great St. Bernard Pass.”
What else should you know about driving to or from Switzerland?
If you have a vehicle registered in Switzerland and are leaving the country, you must have a ‘CH’ sticker affixed to the back of your car.
That’s because all vehicles, including motorcycles, trucks, and trailers traveling abroad “must bear a distinctive sign of nationality, i.e. the CH sticker, clearly visible on the rear of the vehicle” the law states.
In other words, just as you must have a proof of your nationality when you leave the country, so must your car. Just be thankful that your passport or ID card are carried in your hand and not affixed to your rear.
To be clear, this legislation applies only to cars that travel abroad; if you never leave Switzerland at all, the sticker is not a requirement.
READ MORE: Do I need a ‘CH sticker’ on my car when I leave Switzerland?
Now, if you are driving into Switzerland, don’t forget that you need either a paper or electronic version of a motorway vignette for 2026, which you can purchase at any manned border crossing for 40 francs.
Train
Swiss trains (SBB) can take you not only all across Switzerland (since the country boasts Europe’s densest rail network), but to neighbour countries as well.
For instance, toward Italy, two daily direct trains circulate between Zurich and Venice in each direction.
The daily Zurich to Florence train also runs farther, to Rimini, thus providing direct access to the Adriatic coast.
And if you prefer France, you can travel direct from Geneva to Aix-en-Provence, Marseille, as well as Antibes.
You can see the timetable for all European destinations, including via night trains, here.
Plane
There is good news for travellers departing from Zurich Airport: you are now able to carry up to two litres of liquids in hand luggage after the airport installed high-tech security scanners.
The new rules mean that passengers will no longer need to unpack or show liquid containers at security or even pack them separately in clear plastic bags. This should make going through security faster and more efficient.
This also applies to electronic devices: passengers will no longer need to take them out of their bags.
That’s the good news.
The not-so-good news is that air fares for summer travel have gone up.
Due to the conflict in the Middle East jet fuel is now more expensive, and both of Switzerland’s carriers – SWISS and Edelweiss – are, like other airlines, passing higher costs on to consumers via more expensive plane tickets.
How much more you are likely to pay depends on the route.
According to a study by Comparis consumer platform, air fares are currently up to 77 percent higher than there were five years ago.
Besides higher air fares, airlines will fly to fewer destinations and more flight cancellations are to be expected as well.
To save money, “airlines are optimising their networks, eliminating unprofitable flights, taking fuel-inefficient aircraft out of service and concentrating on a few connecting hubs,” Comparis pointed out.
These measures are already underway in Switzerland.
In mid-April, Edelweiss announced it was eliminating, with immediate effect, its flights from Zurich to two US destinations: Denver and Seattle.
Additionally, the frequency of another US-bound flight – from Zurich to Las Vegas – “will also be reduced during the early summer and autumn.”
However, Switzerland’s airlines have also added a number of destinations to their summer 2026 timetable, including a new flight from Zurich to Delhi, as well as increased operations to a number of European destinations – Málaga, Alicante, Stockholm, Athens, Malta, Porto, Palma de Mallorca, Palermo , Nice, Thessaloniki, and Venice among them.
READ MORE: Airline SWISS to add 74 new European flights this summer
