Hitchhiking in winter through Switzerland, can be cold and indeed it was! This is about how hitchhiking is going in Switzerland and also how it is in winter.
Where is it located and the route?
Switzerland is a landlocked country located in central Europe. It has many neighbors, France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria and Italy.
Even though most countries in the region, besides Liechtenstein, are in the European Union and are using the Euro, it is different in Switzerland.
Bern is due to the central location most likely mentioned as the capital city but is just the 5th biggest city of the country.
The route of this trip was planned with getting from Germany over the border and hitchhiking first to Liechtenstein, due to having a host there. After this it was planned to hitchhike back into Switzerland to enter then South Tyrol in the north part of Italy. More or less, this was also how it went at the end.
What to expect in Switzerland?
In Switzerland it depends first, where you are located. There is a part, where the people are speaking German, another where they are speaking French and also an Italian speaking part. I can personally just speak here about the German speaking part of Switzerland.
In the German part you can expect to see many high mountains and locals with a strong accent, when speaking German. Due to this, especially in winter, it is possible to be freezing cold. This is understandable, skiing is a big thing in Switzerland, same as its neighbor Austria .
Generally speaking it is to be expected that everything will be expensive, compared to its neighbors. People in Switzerland are also earning more, so it does make sense, just for travelers it is not much fun. I assume for Swiss people it is also not fun. Due to that most people, who live close to the borders, are going shopping at the other side.
Even though it is a business orientated country in general, you can see especially in the countryside, the relation with the roots and nature as well. Also many guest workers are easy to find.
Hitchhiking in Swiss winter what to know
Like mentioned in the section before, it is cold in winter. With cold I mean, it can get minus 25 celsius. This is a temperature, during which you should not be outside that much.
While we hitchhiked through Switzerland it was expected to not be easy, after the south of Germany was going really bad. Not many people were willing to help, even after talking to them at a gas station. Just over the border in Switzerland, close to Basel, things kind of changed.
People were stopping quite often, sometimes also people, who drove in a different direction, who offered to drive us to a better spot. It was a positive surprise hitchhiking in Switzerland, which does not mean that it was always easy.
When you want to hitchhike in winter in Switzerland, then you need to be well prepared. You need to have really warm clothes with you and maybe also a place to stay beforehand. Sleeping in a tent during these temperatures might be not the best idea.
It can happen that you are stuck in the cold and for this you need to be prepared, it is honestly not the safest thing to do, hitchhiking there in winter. So besides warm clothes, try to have something warm to drink with you in special bottles or maybe even food. Take every chance, you can get warmer.
When waiting for a car, try also to find some shelters, to not receive too much wind, because the temperature itself is cold enough. Also I would not recommend hitchhiking at night, not because it is dangerous in Switzerland, just because less cars are driving away from cities and the temperatures are going to drop radically.
My experience
When entering Switzerland at the border with Germany, the temperature was great, just around five degrees. A little bit of rain was included, but that was to expect when doing things like that in January.
Things around Basel were great, many people were stopping and it was not hard getting around. Even after a guy was taking us and leaving us completely out of the way, it was easy getting back on track.
During the first day in the country, we made it to Liechtenstein in just one day. It was over 200km which was finished by early afternoon. After spending a couple of days in Liechtenstein, the journey continued.
Now it was the plan to hitchhike all the way to the Italian border. It was from a distance around 150km, which is doable in a day. We didn’t research how it would be over there, but were not thinking about it becoming worse. The temperature until Liechtenstein was fine, just a bit colder, then in Germany, but we were not freezing.
Getting out of Liechtenstein took a while, because not many cars were driving in the early days. Most likely in the afternoon, you will have it easier, because people who are leaving work are going back home to Switzerland.
When arriving in the first village behind the border, there were always people stopping, just most of the time for little distances. It was always going from one village to another, but there was not much time waiting.
We didn’t know that some parts on the way were closed due to the bad weather which was coming. A courier driver was picking us up, during his work. He was able to drop us at a great spot near the border after his shift.
Things went bad
While driving with the currier driver, he was telling us a lot about the region. We drove through some popular places like Davos and Zernez, which are popular for tourists. While driving through them it was possible to tell why people were visiting them, because it looked really nice.
During the drive, the temperature was dropping and dropping. It went from at the beginning around 0 degrees, to at the end minus 25 and that with sunlight! We got slowly afraid, because those were not temperatures we were expecting.
Having a good tent, sleeping bag and clothes are good, but surviving a night outside was nothing we would have known if surviving was guaranteed. Everything was full with snow, so even when we wanted to put the tent up, we didn’t know how to.
After receiving some local food from the driver and having a last bit of heating up, we were starting to hitchhike again. Getting out of the car it was freezing cold. We were lucky, because a heated public bathroom was not far away, so we always took turns. First I was standing in the cold and then I was able to heat up a little bit.
The worries were starting
Time passed and nobody stopped. The longer it took, the more nervous we got. We were not far from the border, not 30km, which was not possible to walk at that time.
When we were getting a ride and thought to be left at the right place, but when we found out, that the street was closed. Being stuck on the road, with the sun slowly going down. It was possible to feel the difference.
We were doing the 0 Euro Challenge, so we did not spend money, but even if we would have spent money at that time, nothing was close. In the darkness some guy was stopping, we were bagging, to put the tent up in his yard, maybe under a little shelter of wind. We never did that before and after, because usually bagging was not our style, in this case it was necessary to survive. He let us sleep inside the house even for two nights, which probably was life saving!
The family was absolutely nice and welcomed us with all their heart. We had a room for ourselves and were able to get to know them which was probably the best thing happening in Switzerland. It was not easy to continue after being so comfortable at their place.
What to do better next time?
Next time it would be necessary to research before doing something unplanned like this trip. It was unnecessary, dangerous and could have caused serious physical problems. Besides researching the circumstances, I also have a backup plan for accommodation, for example with Couchsurfing.
There are also regions in Switzerland, where it is not that freezing cold, that’s why an alternative route could make the experience safer. Due to the covid pandemic it was during that time important for us to cross into Italy. The border to Austria was not legal to cross without a PCR test, which would have been spending money.
The equipment would need to be better next time, yes the equipment was not bad, but not good enough for something like minus 25 or even colder at night.
Probably the best way to do it better next time will be to do it during a better season. Spring or fall is most likely the best option. Summer would be up to 30 degrees, so I would prefer the other two seasons.
Switzerland has in winter, but also in summer a lot to offer, so it would not be a shame visiting it during different times.
Summary
Traveling through Switzerland by hitchhiking is something not many people are doing. Many people who do it, are telling how hard it is to do. That can be true, because everyone is able to have different experiences. Maybe it is also due to the part of Switzerland you are doing it.
The people in the French or the Italian part are still Swizz people, but at least from the language different then the German part.
Switzerland is a beautiful country, which should be enjoyed. It is important to be careful, especially in the winter due to the temperatures. Do some researching before entering and some planning for a great route would be optional.
Even though it is one of the most expensive countries in Europe and even the world. It is still possible to travel cheap or even for free through it.
I would love to hear your experiences about this place, or questions. Share it with me in the comments.
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