Camping sites on the Jakobsweg/Via Jacobi route in Switzerland

[Madrood]

Hi all

I was doing some research on camping on this route and thought I would share my findings.

Here is a map of camping sites that are on or near this route.

And here is a basic spreadsheet containing the costs and contact details.

Most prices are in Swiss Francs, except for some of the last ones in France which are in Euros; not much of a difference between the two currencies.

Disclaimers: I have not been to any of these campsites (or been camping in Switzerland at all), information may change and I may not update the information, other campsites may be available, use at your own risk etc.

Other pilgrim accommodations are also available.

Edit: all of the prices are for high season (July/August), where there is a distinction. Expect to pay several francs less outside of this period, assuming the site is open.

 

[pepi]

Hi all

I was doing some research on camping on this route and thought I would share my findings.

Here is a map of camping sites that are on or near this route.

And here is a basic spreadsheet containing the costs and contact details.

Most prices are in Swiss Francs, except for some of the last ones in France which are in Euros; not much of a difference between the two currencies.

Disclaimers: I have not been to any of these campsites (or been camping in Switzerland at all), information may change and I may not update the information, other campsites may be available, use at your own risk etc.

Other pilgrim accommodations are also available.

Very impressive research, @Madrood! Being Swiss, I would not know a fraction of what you gathered, but then I never was into camping either. I know Atzmännig and recommend you to check again, for all I know, this camping is for annual/seasonal rentals and does not cater for one-nighters.
Maybe you also want to check out youth hostels (Jugendherbergen), some of them offer pretty good deals. Another, less common way is to simply knock on the doors of the farmhouses and ask if you could sleep in their haystack.
Bon Chemin

 

[Madrood]

Very impressive research, @Madrood! Being Swiss, I would not know a fraction of what you gathered, but then I never was into camping either. I know Atzmännig and recommend you to check again, for all I know, this camping is for annual/seasonal rentals and does not cater for one-nighters.
Maybe you also want to check out youth hostels (Jugendherbergen), some of them offer pretty good deals. Another, less common way is to simply knock on the doors of the farmhouses and ask if you could sleep in their haystack.
Bon Chemin

Thank you!

I checked again and their website says: "a total of 200 well-tended spots. Around 190 thereof are reserved for our permanent campers", so you could still get lucky with the remaining 10.

Yes both of those are good options. There is already a list of accommodations, including otherwise unavailable pilgrim beds, put together by one of the Swiss pilgrim associates, I can't seem to find it right now though. In general the prices are similar to or a little higher than the campsites iirc.

Surprisingly, some of the "sleep in hay" options were more expensive than camping, even outside of Switzerland.

 

[Kathy F.]

What an amazing amount of research! Thank you for posting.

 

[florrod]

This is such great information! I'd love to walk in Switzerland but I never considered it seriously because of the prices. For some reason, I just assumed the Swiss do not camp out too much (that's my stereotyping, of course). I really love coming back to this forum for this very reason: so much inspiration and value.

 

[Madrood]

This is such great information! I'd love to walk in Switzerland but I never considered it seriously because of the prices. For some reason, I just assumed the Swiss do not camp out too much (that's my stereotyping, of course). I really love coming back to this forum for this very reason: so much inspiration and value.

Thanks, I hope it's useful for you. Please bear in mind though that I'm not Swiss, nor familiar with their camping. From looking at pictures, it seemed to favour camper vans and the like.

 

[Kitsambler]

This is such great information! I'd love to walk in Switzerland but I never considered it seriously because of the prices.

Let me encourage you! Walking the pilgrim route(s) in Switzerland is quite doable, as I've done it over several years. The accommodation costs are quite manageable with a little planning, but they are a little more expensive than France, at least by my average. And the scenery can't be beat.

 

[florrod]

Thank you, @Kitsambler, I'm seriously tempted now! Though I'll probably use my tent anyways, I guess I just like the freedom that goes with it. May I ask about your planning in Switzerland? Do you book every stay ahead of making the trip, or is there room for spontaneous decisions?

 

[pepi]

While I am Swiss, I am not familiar with camping, but I would call ahead a day or two. Ever since Covid, nothing is like before, people holiday as if it's their very last chance and camping is very popular here.
As mentioned somewhere earlier in this thread, camping is commonly done for extended stays, less for one-nighters
I also recommend contacting local tourist offices always good for useful tips, tell the straight what you are looking for and what you plan to spend.

 

[pepi]

From looking at pictures, it seemed to favour camper vans and the like.

Camping vans are indeed very popular here, to tenters pilgrims I recommend searching on https://naturfreunde.ch, which is very unfortunately only avail in German and French, but you can always use Google translate, Deepl, etc. I don't know if they require membership from those using the services, but that would be a small amount.

I just checked: Non-members are welcome at the numerous "Swiss Albergues" albeit at a slightly higher price, check out this example.

 

[Kitsambler]

May I ask about your planning in Switzerland? Do you book every stay ahead of making the trip, or is there room for spontaneous decisions?

Being spontaneous will cost you more, as the less expensive accommodations will already be booked. Pilgrims compete with tourists for lodging, you see. Daily details are in my blog, linked in my sig block.

 

[izsolt]

List of camp sites of our camino 2023 across Switzerland on Via Jacobi from Feldkirch to Geneve
Maybe you can use it...


day 1 Appenzell N47 20.753 E9 23.639, Familie Brülisauer, need to ask/reserve for a pitch reto.regula@bluewin.ch 10CHF

day 2 Schönengrund N47 19.242 E9 12.744 Dexterhof Mösli dexterhof.ch, good to ask/reserve for a pitch 10CHF, no warm water

day 3 -- (Wattwil, awful weather, no camping, sleeping in kloster, N47 18.107 E9 04.869 50CHF with breakfast)

day 4 --

day 5 Einsiedeln, hotel/pilgerhaus/camp Allegro N47 07.953 E8 45.587 16CHF

day 6 Brunnen camp Urmiberg N47 00.018 E8 35.503 16CHF?

day 7 Buochs camping N46 58.771 E8 25.080 20+CHF

day 8 camping Hostetten N46 56.791 E8 18.717 8CHF

day 9 camping Lungern N46 47.104 E8 09.114

day 10 Ringgenberg camp Talacker N46 42.456 E7 54.461 20CHF

day 11 --

day 12 camp Burgistein N46 47.666 E7 28.908 12CHF

day 13 --

day 14 --

day 15 camp Moudon N46 39.674 E6 47.497 16CHF

day 16 camp Pra Collet N46 33.632 E6 41.748 14CHF

day 17 camp Morges N46 30.262 E6 29.337 22CHF