You can drive in Switzerland using your foreign driving license - you DO NOT need an international driver`s license. However, if your driver`s license is not in English, German, French or Italian, you will also need an International Driving License/Permit, which is not actually a license but a translation of your foreign license.

Car insurance is a must in Switzerland and you must be covered for personal liability insurance: third party drivers need additional insurance.

Be aware that many rental car companies only allow you to rent a car if you are over 23 or even 25 years of age. There are a few that are renting out to younger drivers, but most likely, the insurance rate will be quite high.

Driving on Swiss freeways (autobahn) is subject to a tax, which is levied in form of a tax sticker. Swiss rental cars are generally already equipped with a vignette (tax sticker). However, if you are traveling from abroad with your own vehicle or with a rental car from a country other than Switzerland, you will have to buy a tax sticker and affix it to your windshield before you drive onto a Swiss motorway.

You can purchase a vignette at most border crossings, gas stations or post offices. It costs CHF 40 and is valid until January 31 of the following year. (The vignette for 2020 can be used from December 1, 2019 until January 31, 2021.)

Every vehicle must be equipped with a warning triangle, which should be accessible at all times. It is therefore not recommended to keep it in the rear trunk. Reflective vests and first aid kits are not obligatory but are recommended.

Contrary to other reports, it`s not mandatory to carry a second pair of eyeglasses. However, when it is marked in your drivers license that you need glasses to be able to drive, and you forget, break or lose your glasses, you will not be allowed to continue the journey after a police control, and you will be reported to court. So, a second pair of glasses might come in handy.