ViaJacobi / Jakobsweg / The Swiss Route(s)

[J_Barben]

I am wanting to do the Swiss Route, from the Bodensee to Geneva, and am looking for advice regarding training, and if there is anything new about the route that has been published in English? Most of the information I have found is quite old, and some of the websites are no longer available.

Also, are there any Albergues on the Swiss route? I saw that the accommodation is pretty expensive, so just want to know if there are some more affordable options? Would also be keen to camp, are the rules regarding camping in Switzerland?

Thanks to anyone who is able to assist! And apologies for all the questions!

 

[mspath]

I am wanting to do the Swiss Route, from the Bodensee to Geneva, and am looking for advice regarding training, and if there is anything new about the route that has been published in English? Most of the information I have found is quite old, and some of the websites are no longer available.

Also, are there any Albergues on the Swiss route? I saw that the accommodation is pretty expensive, so just want to know if there are some more affordable options? Would also be keen to camp, are the rules regarding camping in Switzerland?

Thanks to anyone who is able to assist! And apologies for all the questions!

Perhaps this site will be useful for your research.
https://www.jakobsweg.ch/de/eu/ch/

Happy planning et Bon chemin!

 

[sugargypsy]

I am wanting to do the Swiss Route, from the Bodensee to Geneva, and am looking for advice regarding training, and if there is anything new about the route that has been published in English? Most of the information I have found is quite old, and some of the websites are no longer available.

Don't know whether you've found this site which is in English and gives a rough idea about the swiss Jakobsweg. There are further sites mentioned which are also written in English.

Also, are there any Albergues on the Swiss route? I saw that the accommodation is pretty expensive, so just want to know if there are some more affordable options?

There are only 5 or 6 albergues = Herbergen / Pilgerherbergen in Suisse as far as I know, the average price is about 20 Euros a night. I've found a survey of all sorts of accommodations + explanation of the abreviations (german/french) the cheapest seem to be around 30 Euros a night, but in general you'll have to pay about 50 Euros or more a night. Two years ago I worked on a project close to the Berner Oberland, it's really expensive. You might check airbnb, maybe you'll find cheap alternatives.

Time of travelling will be important too. Winter season is quite long, beginning September till the end of April there might be snow and icy conditions, walks are sometimes very steep, lots of ups and downs but the landscape is just ever so beautiful, people are really friendly. First part of the Jakobsweg, mainly german and suisse german will be spoken, second half you'll be on the french side.

 

[edandjoan]

We did the Via Jacobi in Aug/Sept 2016 from St. Gallen to Geneva. We used a couple of on line site for reference. It is much more expensive than Spain or Portugal and a bit more than France but that would not deter us from going back. It is a beautiful way with few pilgrim and very well marked. So much so that we would follow other routes at times. We used the National route 4. The Swiss have a very nice web site with all the walking routes. I haven't read our blog in a while so not sure how helpful it would be: https://swisscheeseandchocolateblog.wordpress.com

 

[Kitsambler]

Hooray! Another convert to the Swiss route - the most spectacular scenery of any of the Ways of St James. I walked the Swiss route in stages over 2 years in 2013/2015 - see details in my blog below.

Yes, it's more expensive. But there are inexpensive lodgings - especially if you book well in advance. "Schlaf im Stroh" (sleep in the straw) are farmhouse accommodations unique to Switzerland. The association link given by @mspath above has English-language pages and includes accommodation lists. Print these off and take them with you, as this is the only source of accommodation information.

The transportation system serves every town, and it is easy to obtain supplies for breakfast and lunch. That, and a bit of planning, will help you keep your costs down. (Do not take the ad hoc approach of the Camino Frances, for you are competing with tourists in the most expensive country in Europe.)

 

[gittiharre]

Ditto re above. I got by staying at albergues and sleeping in straw and the odd bnb and 2 or 3 convents.
Ate meat twice on the whole route due to cost. Lots of aelpli macaroni, a dish made with butter, cheese, pasta and potatoes. Took instant cappuccino type sachets and packet soups which saved me quite a bit of money. Lots of ups and downs and lots of concrete under foot. Spectacular scenery.
Once you hit Lake Geneva things get absurd. A lot of the accommodation in my guidebook was being demolished. One night we had to spend 280 Francs on a hotel room. Take the boat along the lake as far as Geneva. The old pilgrims did just that.
I spent about 65 Swiss Francs on average, being very abstemious...

 

[Former member 91318]

I am wanting to do the Swiss Route, from the Bodensee to Geneva, and am looking for advice regarding training, and if there is anything new about the route that has been published in English? Most of the information I have found is quite old, and some of the websites are no longer available.

Also, are there any Albergues on the Swiss route? I saw that the accommodation is pretty expensive, so just want to know if there are some more affordable options? Would also be keen to camp, are the rules regarding camping in Switzerland?

Thanks to anyone who is able to assist! And apologies for all the questions!

 

[Former member 91318]

The newest book on the Swiss Camino was published in September 2019. Check out Swiss Camino on Amazon.com or hansbeumer.com for the answers to all your questions. Bon Camino in Switzerland!

 

[gittiharre]

I walked the route in 2013 so rather out of date. There are a handful of pilgrim albergues, make sure you stay there.
There is a Via Jacobi official website, https://jakobsweg.ch/en/eu/ch/routes/
In bigger towns, you can eat relatively cheaply in shopping centre food courts.
I slept in the straw on farms a few times, even that was expensive...once you get to Lake Geneva, take a boat instead of battling the busy built up and overpriced lake side settlements. The ancient pilgrim tradition was to take the boat along the lake....
Scenery in Switzerland is wonderful. Lots of ups and downs.