The typical Swiss campsite is shiny, clean and well equipped, although the higher the altitude the more limited the opening times: many close altogether outside the summer season (May–Sept). Just about every town and village in the country has a site or two. Campsites are classified according to facilities, from one to five stars, and tourist offices in every region in the country have a camping map showing the locations, contact details and facilities of campsites in the locality. The TCS is a particularly useful source of information, with a national map showing every campsite in the country, and their own Camping Guidebook (Campingführer, Guide Camping, Guida dei Campeggi), available in Swiss bookshops or from the TCS camping office, CP 176, CH-1217 Meyrin 1 (022/785 13 33).

Bear in mind, though, that most campsites are located well away from cities (and often well away from transport facilities too), so they’re not ideal if you’re planning to see the sights of the country on the cheap – in fact, once you factor in transport costs to reach the site, you won’t pay much less than you would in a hostel. Average campsite charges are Fr.6–8 per person, plus Fr.5–8 for a tent, and Fr.4–5 for a car. Eight TCS-run campsites around the country offer two- and four-person tents to rent on site: a two-person “Canadian Tent” plus bedrolls costs Fr.26 per night in high season. Booking ahead is recommended at all times of the year.

If you’re planning to do a lot of camping, an international camping carnet (Camping Card International or CCI; £4.50) is a good investment. It’s available in the UK from the AA, the RAC or the Camping and Caravanning Club, Greenfields House, Westwood Way, Coventry CV4 8JH (024/7669 4995); and in the US and Canada from Family Campers and Rvers, 4804 Transit Rd, Building 2, Depew, NY 14043 (%1-800/245-9755), or from home motoring organizations like the American Automobile Association and the Canadian Automobile Association. The carnet serves as useful identification, and many campsites will accept it instead of making you surrender your passport during your stay. It covers you for third-party insurance when camping, and sometimes helps you get ten percent reductions or other incentives at the nine campsites listed in the CCI Information booklet which comes with your carnet.

Camping rough, outside authorized sites, is formally prohibited by law, and you may well find yourself with a fine or worse if you try it in populated or cultivated areas, but in the mountain wilds – as long as you take care to clean up properly after yourself – it’s hard to envisage how anyone could complain. Discretion and environmental respect are everything.