Car transport
Car transport to Zurich
800 kilometres to Zurich: one driving day, one vignette, and not a low-emission zone in the whole country. Of all the long runs this is the simplest.
Why this route
One driving day, and one sticker
Zurich lies about 800 kilometres away. That is one driving day of seven to eight hours, through Germany on the A3 and A5 to Basel and then the last hour eastwards. No hotel night, no crossing, no registration procedure.
What sets this destination apart from nearly every other on this site: Switzerland has no low-emission zones for private cars. No Umweltplakette as in Germany, no Crit'Air as in France, no ZTL as in Italy and no ULEZ registration as in London. There is one thing that has to be arranged, and that is the motorway vignette: CHF 40, and without it the fine is CHF 200.
That makes Zurich administratively the simplest long run I do. Germany on the way out asks nothing of private cars, and the German Umweltzonen only apply if you have to go into a German city, not on the Autobahn itself. So: one vignette, and drive.
Your route
Netherlands → Zurich
One direct drive from the Netherlands, your own car, one dedicated driver, from your door to the destination. Every other destination in Europe I drive just as readily.
direct route · 1 dedicated driver
Price indication — Zurich
One-way
~ 800 km · ~ 1 driving days
- Driver fee
- € 460
- Travel expenses (calculated up front, no mark-up)
- € 650
- Total (indicative)
- ± € 1.350
incl. 21% VAT · ± € 1.110 excl. VAT
Return (combi)
~ 800 km · ~ 2 driving days
- Driver fee
- € 920
- Travel expenses (calculated up front, no mark-up)
- € 1.130
- Total (indicative)
- ± € 2.490
incl. 21% VAT · ± € 2.050 excl. VAT
Prices may vary slightly due to variable costs such as hotel, fuel and tolls.
Who sends a car here
Four situations where this works
Zurich is banking, industry and the gateway to the Grisons. The clientele is mainly business, with a clear winter peak.
A posting or a longer work stay
Zurich draws Dutch people who spend months or years there, in finance, at the technical university or at one of the head offices. On a stay like that, having the car brought out costs less than hiring in one of Europe's most expensive countries, and you drive your own car.
Skiing in the Grisons
Davos, Klosters, Laax, Arosa and St Moritz are an hour and a half to three hours from Zurich. Anyone with an apartment there or spending a season has the car brought out rather than driving the outward leg themselves with chains and luggage. In January the World Economic Forum in Davos comes on top of that, filling the whole region.
Concerts and events
The Hallenstadion is Switzerland's largest venue and the Letzigrund its largest stadium. In August there is the Street Parade, which takes over the whole centre and the lakefront, and Zürich Openair. In April there is the Sechseläuten on the square of the same name. In those periods the city is full and arriving is slow.
Collecting or returning a car
Switzerland is a country where cars are well kept and often lightly used, which makes it interesting for Dutch buyers. I fly out, check the car at the seller, photograph its condition and drive it home, in one day.
The route
Eight hundred kilometres, in one day
Down the A3 and A5 to Basel, and then another hour.
- 01
Arranging the vignette
Before departure
The Swiss motorway vignette costs CHF 40 and without one the fine is CHF 200. The digital version is valid immediately after purchase, so there is no waiting time, unlike the Austrian digital vignette, which only takes effect eighteen minutes later. Beyond that there is nothing to apply for on this run.
- 02
Collection in the Netherlands
Early morning
I collect the car where it stands, walk round it with you and photograph its condition at departure. On a run of 800 kilometres I leave early.
- 03
Down the A3 and A5 to Basel
± 600 km
Across the border at Elten via Arnhem, then the A3 past Duisburg, Cologne and the Westerwald to Frankfurt, and on down the A5 past Karlsruhe to Basel. No toll for cars in Germany. The Cologne rush hour is the only point I plan around.
- 04
Basel to Zurich
± 90 km
From the border on the A3 along the Aare to Zurich: just under an hour. From here the Swiss speed limits apply, which are lower and enforced more strictly than in Germany. I drive to them, not just under them.
- 05
Delivery and the way back
End of the day
I deliver to the agreed address, with photographs of the condition on arrival. Then I fly home from Zurich, which has several direct flights a day to the Netherlands all year. That ticket is in the price.
Practical points
Switzerland has no low-emission zones
This is the distinguishing fact about this destination. Germany has the Umweltplakette, France the Crit'Air and its ZFEs, Italy the ZTL and Britain the ULEZ with its registration requirement. Switzerland has none of that for private cars: there is one motorway vignette and nothing else. That makes this run administratively simpler than nearly any other on this site.
The vignette is genuinely compulsory though
CHF 40, and without it the fine is CHF 200, plus you still have to buy the vignette. The digital version is valid immediately after purchase. I arrange it in advance, so there is nothing for you to do and no detour to a border office in the planning.
Swiss enforcement is stricter than German
On the German Autobahn there is no limit over long stretches; in Switzerland it is 120 and strictly enforced, with fines considerably higher than you are used to in the Netherlands. I do not drive faster than necessary in someone else's car in any case, but on this last hour of the run that is especially relevant.
Recurring events
The Street Parade in August takes over the centre and the Zürichsee waterfront and is one of the largest single-day events in Europe; Zürich Openair falls in the same month. April brings the Sechseläuten. The Hallenstadion also runs all year, and in January the whole region fills up for the World Economic Forum in Davos. In those periods hotels are dearer and I agree the delivery address more precisely.
Luggage travels with it
No trailer is involved, so whatever fits in your car comes along. For a skiing stay in the Grisons that saves a separate shipment for skis, boots and clothing.
Compare your options
The same car from the Netherlands to Southern Europe, three ways, three price tags. With a trailer, watch which one you are comparing: riding along on a scheduled line from depot to depot is the cheapest there is, but a transporter making the run for your car alone charges per kilometre and bills the truck’s journey home as well. Between those two extremes sits a factor of five.
Trailer transport
€675 – 4,500 excl.
± 10 working days, or 2–3
- €675 – 850 if your car rides along on a scheduled line
- But then you take it to the depot yourself and collect it yourself on arrival, ten working days later
- If the transporter runs for your car alone, door to door, it goes per kilometre — open ± €0.95, enclosed ± €1.35 — and the truck’s journey home counts too. Utrecht–Marbella comes to ± €4,500
- Luggage in the car usually not allowed
Driving it yourself
± €0.25 per km + your time
± 2 – 3 days of your own
- You drive the whole route yourself
- Fuel and tolls come to roughly €0.25 per kilometre
- Plus a hotel night on the way and a flight back
- And two to three days of your own time
Monarch DriveDrive-it-Back
± €2,040 excl. for Utrecht–Marbella
± 3 days
- One dedicated driver drives your own car, door to door
- Half what a transporter charges to make that same run for your car alone
- On the day you choose, not the day the line departs
- Load the car with your own luggage
- 360° condition report + daily updates
Trailer prices, September 2026: the line prices from one large Dutch car transporter's own route pages, the door-to-door price from a Dutch specialist in exclusive car transport's own rate calculator. My figure is the indication from the calculator above for Utrecht–Marbella, one way. All amounts exclude VAT so they can be read side by side. Travel expenses are calculated up front and included in the fixed price, with no mark-up.
Frequently asked
What people ask about this route
No. Switzerland has no low-emission zones for private cars, no Umweltplakette, no Crit'Air, no ZTL. The only thing needed is the CHF 40 motorway vignette.
The fine is CHF 200, and you still have to buy the vignette. The digital version is valid immediately after purchase; I arrange it in advance.
Seven to eight hours, so one driving day. With an early departure your car is there the same evening. There is no hotel night in the price.
Yes. Davos is about two hours away, St Moritz three. In winter I allow for the chain requirement on the mountain roads and for the days when the passes are shut.
No. Germany has no toll for cars. On this run you pay fuel, the Swiss vignette and my time, and nothing else.
By air from Zurich, which has several direct flights a day to the Netherlands all year. That ticket is in the price.
How I safeguard your car
Clear about cover
Your own policy stays leading. Damage caused by me: I cover the excess up to €500. What I do not have is stated just as plainly.
Signed transport agreement
Every arrangement — excess, route, planning — recorded in writing beforehand.
360° condition report
Your car's condition fully documented with photos, before and on delivery.
Reply within 24 hours
A personal answer from one point of contact, not a call centre.
Elsewhere on the site
The other side of Switzerland, or further into the Alps?
The other direction
And if your car needs to come back from Zurich?
Bringing your car back from Zurich costs ± € 1.140. Going out is ± € 1.350, so the return works out cheaper: the last driving day ends at my own door, with no hotel night at the far end and no flight home. I fly out and drive it back to you.
Ready to have your car transported safely?
Request your indication with no obligation. Within 24 hours you will have a personal reply.