TravelerNat1

My husband and I will be staying in Lauterbrunnen and Wengen in early July and then planning to drive from Interlaken to Chur via the Grimsel, Furka and Oberalp passes. If anyone has done this, how long does it take? Is it strenuous driving? Will we need to take lots of stops for scenery? We're planning on either staying in Chur for the night if the driving is exhausting or heading to Zurich to stay for the night. Would Chur or Zurich be better to stay in for the night?

Any advise is appreciated. Thank you!!

kja

If part of your goal is to see the scenery, you might consider taking Switzerland's wonderful public transportation instead -- that way, both of you can sit back and enjoy the scenery with absolutely no stress.
http://www.sbb.ch/en/timetable.html

If you do decide to drive, check viamichelin for a sense of the times:
http://www.viamichelin.com

"Would Chur or Zurich be better to stay in for the night?" I think that really depends on what you want to see and what you plan to do after your night in whichever place you stay.

Michael

It probably will take all day. The passes are slow driving and there will be many opportunities for stopping and admiring the scenery.

neckervd

Beautiful drive, but ONLY IF THE WEATHER IS FINE!

Places not to miss along the itinerary:

Gelmerbahn (steepest funicular line of the world)
http://www.grimselwelt.ch/grimsel-ex...mer-funicular/

Grimselpass/Lake Totensee: panoramic view to tons of Bernese, Valaisan and italian peaks and glaciers

Furka Belvedere: glacier ice cave

Andermatt Gemsstock: stunnign views to mountains and glaciers of Central Switzerland and Ticino

Vals hot springs: thermal spa in the middle of the mountains
http://en.graubuenden.ch/wellness-an...erme-vals.html

Flims and it's megaliths
http://www.flims.com/en/culture/parclamutta/

medieval city center of Chur

famous spa of Bad Ragaz

Plan about 2 full days if you really want to enjoy this journey.

TravelerNat1

Thanks so much for these suggestions. In particular, the ideas for stops along the way. Unfortunately, we will only have one full day to do this journey. I'm hoping for good weather!

tjhome1

We drove from Trub in Switzerland to Florence via the Furka pass last year. According to AA route planner it was just short of 8 hours. We shared the driving and it was fine - if there had been just one driver it would have been tough.

We stopped to look at the Rhone glacier mentioned above and it was magical - we were so glad we took the route we did and that we stopped - it was one of the highlights of our whole trip. We didn't have great weather though so we weren't stopping too often - I'm sure good weather would have made it a very long day.

TravelerNat1

Thank you! I'm trying to play around with the dates so that we can have a day and a half of the drive meaning that we can stay overnight somewhere. Does anyone have an idea of somewhere to stay before Chur? That way, we can make more stops along the way. Specifically at Gelmerbahn and the glaciers that neckervd suggested.

neckervd

Hotel list of the area you may be interested in
http://hotels.surselva.info/surselva...mmodation/list