Switzerland
July 1995 - Camping
This was the first time we went to Europe by public transport!
Its rather a long time ago now but here's the basic details:-
We stayed overnight in London, got a train to Harwich, a bus transfer to the ferry port, a ferry from Harwich to Belgium, then a train from the ferry port to Brussels, an overnight sleeper train from Brussels to Switzerland and with just one change and a short journey we were in Interlaken, finally it was a short bus ride to the campsite.
Now of course there's the Eurostar!
We stayed in a Sunsites (no longer operating) "Super Tent" on the outskirts of Interlaken.
The campsite had amazing views of the snow capped Jungfrau mountain range, a small pool, good sanitary facilities. I'm sure this is the site we stayed at: www.jungfraublick.ch
And there was three railway stations, a supermarket, swimming pools with water slides, lovely villages, lake Thun and Brienz with lakeside beaches and of course Interlaken centre all within walking distance and much more...
Positives - beautiful scenery, brilliant walking, great railways - that go up and through the mountains too and lots of nice warm sunny weather
Challenges - sharing a sleeping compartment with four other people was interesting, the cost of living was very expensive - the pound had fallen dramatically against the Swiss Franc just before we went.
We definitely want to go again as a family!
Here's some links you might find helpful
www.raileurope.co.uk
First of all here are our tips for traveling - back packing - by public transport with children
