You’ve thought of everything: winter tires, snow chains, a roof rack: you can enjoy your winter sports trip yourself. Whether you are a snowboarder or a skier: you want to arrive at your destination safe and sound with your family, friends or perhaps even colleagues. But perhaps you have forgotten something when it comes to the car, partly because we don’t really do anything about it in the Netherlands: your toll vignette.
Toll vignette for Switzerland
For example, if you want to go to Saas Fee, then you definitely have one toll vignette for Switzerland necessary. It is mandatory if you want to drive on Swiss roads. You may have bought it before and remember it as a sticker that you put in the car, but the land of chocolate and cheeses has also moved with the times: that vignette is now simply digital. This has not been the case for very long: an e-vignette has only been available since August 1, 2023.
The convenient thing is that you don’t have to leave the house, you don’t have to wait for mail and it is arranged within a few minutes. Moreover, you do not have to worry about a sticker with adhesive residue on your car window and you can even arrange it very last minute. If you prefer an old-fashioned motorway vignette, that is certainly possible, but digital is just a little easier. When you register for an e-vignette, the license plate of your car is requested and stored in the database of the highway authority in Switzerland. If you are checked, the police will compare your license plate details and the vignette. So make sure that you enter the correct license plate when registering: not accidentally that of your mother’s Fiat Panda that does not go on winter sports at all.
E-vignette
The e-vignette is always valid for more than a year, so if you buy it on December 1, 2023, you can use it until January 31, 2025. The costs are 40 Swiss francs and that translates to approximately 41.50 euros, even if you have a caravan or a motorcycle. You do need a separate vignette for your caravan (so twice: 1 for the car and 1 for the caravan). Also take into account some administration costs of approximately 9 euros, which means you will spend more than 50 euros for your e-vignette. And then if you drive via the Munt-la-Scheratunnel or the Grote Sint-Bernardtunnel, there is also an extra fee.
If you don’t bring your own car, but rent a car from a Swiss airport, you don’t have to worry about that e-vignette: rental cars already have this, provided they come from Switzerland. Always check with the landlord: it is probably fine, but it will save you from unpleasant surprises.
Once all this has been arranged, you can set off with peace of mind. Also read our tips for winter sports with an electric car. Drive carefully and have a nice holiday!
[Fotocredits – ottaviocamb © Adobe Stock]
