kgag

Hi all, I'm a newbie. I find this forum very insightful. I hope you can assist me.

We are renting a car and travelling along the Rhein for 2 days from Bochum . I would like to drop off the car close to Switz and take the train from somewhere in Germany to somewhere in Switzerland. (I hear its best not to take rentals across?)I hear Thun is nice. Ideally, I like to be in hotel (not sure which) looking up at the peaks.

We have only two days in Switzerland. Then off to Rome for 4 nights.
We plan to take the train form Switz to Rome.

My questions are: 1) Where is best to drop rental off in Germany before catching Train?
2)Is it convenient to just puchase train tickets there or pre-order them?
3)Where to depart train in Switz?
4)Do we need a car in Switz and if so where to get it?
5)Any suggestions on hotels or Inns. (bet 100-130 Euros)
6) Other MUST see areas to see. (Only have two days)

Your comments will be very appreciated.
Thanks

sansman

why is it best not to bring cars across? Or do you mean expensive to drop off in a different country?

kgag

I suppose I mean its very expensive and possibly liciencing issues. I currently only have a Canadian Lic.
Is a Canadian lic valid in Switz. And do you need additional documents?

tcreath

You can easily drive a car across the border. The issue is if you decide to pick up the car in Germany and drop it off in Switzerland, as this can add hundreds of dollars to the rental.

You won't have any problems with your license. I have a US drivers license and have driven quite extensively in Europe. Your Canadian drivers license should be fine.

Tracy

tcreath

The train from Switzerland to Rome will be a long one. Are you planning on doing an overnight train? You may want to look at cheaper flights instead, as they may save you time and money. Check out www.whichbudget.com.

Is this your first time in Europe? With only two days I'm wondering if its worth going to Switzerland? It would help if we knew the rest of your itinerary, but I would probably consider spending 4 days on the Rhine instead of just 2 days there and 2 days in Switzerland, as you will be spending a lot of time traveling. From the Rhine (maybe Frankfurt or Cologne) you could find an inexpensive flight to Rome, cutting down your travel time.

Best wishes,
Tracy

altamiro

> 1) Where is best to drop rental off in Germany before catching Train?

In any big(ger) city/town. Look where the rental agency has an office, for example Freiburg, Lörrach, Weil am Rhein, Singen, Konstanz...

2)Is it convenient to just puchase train tickets there or pre-order them?

Absolutely no advantaage in pre-ordering. Just turn up and buy a ticket from the counter.

3)Where to depart train in Switz?

Well, wherever you are going to... Hard to asnwer that, no?
Thun is a good idea, or if you want to be in a more dramatic surrounding, you can go to one of the mountain villages like Wengen or Mürren. Alternatively, in the central Switzerland you have Lucerne as a city and vilages like Engelberg in the mountains.

4)Do we need a car in Switz and if so where to get it?

No, you wonīt need a car in Switzerland. You hardly need a car in Germany - especially in the densely settled areas along the Rhine -and the train/bus network in Switzerland is much denser than in Germany.

5)Any suggestions on hotels or Inns. (bet 100-130 Euros)

Look at the "accomodation" section of the townīs website where you want to stay. Another good hotel room agencies are www.hotel.de, www.rooms.ch or www.bnb.ch
The price wonīt be in Euros, but in Swiss franks.

6) Other MUST see areas to see. (Only have two days)

There are no MUST see areas - only WANT see. And with only 2 days you have hardly an opportunity to see more than one area unless you want to spend all of these days inside a train or a car.

No license issue, but

ira

Hi K,

What's your itinerary?

You might not need a car.

KatherineAM

First, let me say that any amount of time in Switzerland is worth it. We only spent two nights there, but it was the highlight of our two week trip.

You do not need a car in Switzerland. Basel is on the border of France, Germany and Switzerland. There is a big train station there, so you might be able to drop off your car there. Check with your car rental agency to see if they have an office there.

We stayed in Wengen, a car-free village located partway up the Eiger. You can look up to see the peaks and down into the beautiful Lauterbrunnen valley. It was spectacular beyond words. You can take the train or cable cars to many places from Wengen.

We stayed at the Hotel Eiger in a large room for a family of four and paid 440 Euro for two nights. It is undoubtedly cheaper for a smaller room.

tcreath

I wasn't implying that Switzerland isn't worth it. I was asking what the rest of the itinerary was because 2 days in the Rhine followed by 2 days in Switzerland seems a little rushed given their distances, especially when Rome is involved afterwards. But I certainly wasn't trying to tell the OP what to do.

Tracy

annhig

"I wasn't trying to tell the OP what to do."

oh, go on tracey, everyone else does! it's half the fun.

regards, ann

PS - kgag -

if you are renting a car to tour the Bochum area, you might like to look at boats and trains instead. then train straight to Switzerland.

However, if you decide on renting by the Rhein, I don't see the point of driving your car to the swiss border, just to leave it there and get the train. why not return it to your starting point, then get the train from there?

i also agree with other posters that you are probably taking on too much. you could easily spend 4 days by the Rhein, then take plane to Rome. 2 days in switzerland will involve too much travelling and not enough seeing, IMO.

Why are you starting off by the Rhein, if it's not a silly question?

tcreath

LOL annhig, everyone else certainly does it! I've definitely gotten my fair share of it on my own posts! But in the end I always welcome any suggestions or advice and try to return the favor to others.

Tracy

altamiro

>why not return it to your starting point, then get the train from there?

An even better idea might be to tour the Rhine area from north to south (though the question is - why Bochum? You spend first quite a while in the dense, slow traffic of the Ruhr conurbation). It might be easier to take a train to Bonn (or to the ICE station of Siegburg-Bonn), rent a car there, drive with stops and detours until Mainz or Mannheim and take a train from there to Switzerland.

Of course as long as you stay by the river a car is not necessary - you have a rail line at either shore.

kgag

You've all made some very interesting points. In an ideal world, I'd have 2 months of vacation and plenty of time to spend in these areas. Unfortunetely I have only 2 weeks.
Based on Tracy's comments I'm considering a revision. But let me explain itinerary in more detail.

Sunday Morn Sept 9th.
We arrive in Frankfurt.
We rent a car and travel to Bochum and surrounding areas(relatives)for 3-days

Wednesday Morn -we venture by car down and along the Rhein toward Switz
(THE PLAN WAS 2-DAYS FOR THIS JOURNEY)
And arriving in Switz on Friday say 11am)
Friday and Saturday - see Wengen or Mürren

Sunday Morning say 8-9am catch train to Rome - 8hours? (One suggestion was a cheap flight? I gather out of Zurich?)

Sunday night Dinner and night cap

Monday to Wednesday- Site see Rome

Thursday Morn. - Train to Munich 4-6hrs?

Friday to Sunday - Octoberfest (begins Saturday)

THIS WAS THE PLAN. ROOMS IN BOCHUM AND MUNCHEN BOOKED. ALL THE REST IS OPEN AT THE MOMENT. AS YOU CAN SEE DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME TO FIRM UP.

ANY OTHER COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS ARE WARMLY WELCOMED!

Thanks again
KGAG

altamiro

>Thursday Morn. - Train to Munich 4-6hrs?


I guess you have forgot the 1 before 4-6.

Have a look at www.bahn.de for schedules. It is FAR longer than you think.
An overnight train or a flight are your best bet unless you want to spend an entire day in the train.

>We arrive in Frankfurt.
We rent a car and travel to Bochum and surrounding areas(relatives)for 3-days

Donīt. Take the train from Frankfurt airport to Bochum and rent a car there. Besides the fact that you will be there 1 1/2 to 2 hours quicker (there are direct trains from FRA airport to Bochum every hour) you will be jet-lagged and have to fight through very dense, very fast traffic (or sometimes not fast at all)

kgag

OOPPs I jumped the gun a little here:

I meant to say we will travel by car along Rhein to Mainz near Frankfurt and then hop on train to Switz.

{Wednesday Morn -we venture by car down and along the Rhein toward Switz
(THE PLAN WAS 2-DAYS FOR THIS JOURNEY)
And arriving in Switz on Friday say 11am)
Friday and Saturday - see Wengen or Mürren}

altamiro

Sounds like train to Bochum (300 km/h between Frankfurt and Cologne), renting the car for a lesurely drive along the Rhine to Mainz, then train to Switzerland.

tcreath

kgag,

Thank you for explaining your itinerary. It's very helpful in helping us give you advice.

With that being said, it looks like you will be doing a lot of traveling around. Rome is a favorite of mine but it seems like a really far distance to go for 2 or 3 days. It will take hours to get there and get back. If you absolutely have to do this, definitely look into flights or overnight trains; otherwise you will eat up several whole days.

Tracy

kleeblatt

Regarding train to Rome, I've done the night train. We left Arth-Goldau at 23.59 (jawohl) and arrived at 11.00, an hour late. The ride went smoothly and my bed was very comfortable. My friend and I had a compartment for two. The bunk beds are modern and roomy. The breakfast was just a small cup of coffee and some bread thing wrapped in plastic. Bring your own breakfast. Everyone shares the bathroom so no luxury there.

I couldn't sleep well on the train because it braked through the night or made stops where the conductors just had to yell at each other. Real Italians. My friend slept better.

It was a great experience and am glad I did it.

Of course, you can take a budget flight down to Rome as well. Might save a bit time.

kgag

Thanks "schuler"

I'm considering the
night train for the adventure but also looking into a charter flight.
Time is running out, i'd better get to it.

JN

Maybe its just me, but this seems like a hectic, helter-skelter itinerary. If these are the areas you wish to see, my suggestion would be to spend two days on the Rhein, say, in Sankt Goar, then drop the car off at Hahn airport near Sankt Goar and take a low cost airline to Rome. After Rome, take a low cost airline to Munich. I'd skip Switzerland this trip and add the days to the Rhein, Rome or Munich.