Switzerland is just about within reach of the UK on a day’s drive: the Swiss border is very roughly 850km from the Channel coast and, given an early start and a clear autoroute run through northeastern France or Belgium, you could be in Basel, or even Bern or Lausanne, for dinner.

It’s fifty-fifty whether Calais or Oostende are better ports to aim for. The Oostende route suffers from traffic around both Brussels and Luxembourg, but then has much better autoroute access to eastern Switzerland. The Calais route – benefiting also from rapid Eurotunnel access – is shorter as the crow flies, and avoids large cities, but the autoroute runs out as you approach the Jura mountains, giving only minor roads or long detours by which to cross into Switzerland.

CHANNEL TUNNEL ROUTES

Eurotunnel runs shuttle trains between Folkestone and Coquelles, near Calais, via the Channel Tunnel, which are reserved solely for vehicles and their passengers. There are up to four departures per hour (only one per hour midnight–6am), and the journey takes 35–45 minutes. Fares depend on the time of year, time of day and length of stay; travelling between 10pm and 6am can cut costs considerably, while travelling at weekends, or in July and August, adds a premium. As an example, a standard return at an off-peak time costs £240 (passengers included) in the low season and goes up to £270 in the high season.

Once you emerge in France, you need to aim for the A26 to Reims, and thereafter to Mulhouse or Besançon, taking care to avoid Paris like the plague.

OTHER CROSS-CHANNEL SERVICES

Eurotunnel’s appeal notwithstanding, there are a host of other ways to cross the Channel with your vehicle. Hoverspeed, P&O Stena Line and Sea France all currently operate hovercraft or catamaran services between Dover and Calais. Although Sea France have slightly less frequent sailings than the other two, they’re noticeably less expensive: a car and up to five people costs £165 return. Fares on Hoverspeed and P&O Stena are more or less identical: a car with two people costs £210–290 for a year’s return. Boats in summer can get very crowded, and booking ahead is strongly advised. Hoverspeed’s rapid Sea-Cats take two hours to cross between Dover and Oostende; an open-dated return for a car plus five people costs £245–270.

If you live in the north of England, you’d probably do better to take advantage of the direct ferry services from Hull and Newcastle to the Belgian and Dutch coasts, even though the drive from there to Switzerland is longer. P&O North Sea Ferries have daily overnight services from Hull to both Rotterdam and Zeebrugge (the latter is slightly more convenient for onward travel to Switzerland), which both take fourteen hours or so, giving you a full night’s sleep on board. Year-round prices are the same for either destination: a car costs £130 for an open return, plus £84 per person, with fifty percent discounts for students and under 26s. A reclining seat is included in these prices; a bed in a cabin costs from £26 per person extra. From North Shields, near Newcastle, DFDS (formerly Scandinavian Seaways) have services to Amsterdam (14hr), costing in summer/winter £120/64 for the car plus £95/52 per person; these prices include a berth in a cabin.