Nature becomes a luxury hotel in the Swiss Alps. Camping, like hosteling, is a great way to meet Europeans. European campgrounds have great showers and washing facilities. European tenters appreciate the in-camp grocery store. The store, while high priced, stays open longer than most, offering late-comers a budget alternative to the restaurant.
Silence reigns in European campgrounds after the ten or eleven o'clock curfew.
Noisemakers are dealt with strictly. Campgrounds, unlike hostels, are remarkably theft-free. They are full of basically honest middle-class European families and someone's at the gate all day. Most people just leave their gear zipped inside their tent. Even if you don't have a car or trailer, if you're a camper at heart, camping may still be the way to go.