volrick

My wife and I are planning a trip May for 24 days and will start in Zurich and end in Zurich. We would like to rent a car and drive. We have thought about going to Munich and Austria, thru Switzerland and into France. We really like freelancing and visiting the off the beaten path places. Any ideas about trip, car, hotels would be appreciated. We are in our 60's but get around pretty good but will not be climbing any mountains.

PalenQ

OK- sample possible itinerary

Zurich-Lucerne

Lucerne-Grindelwald (Alps at their most awesome)

Grindelwald-Montreux (Lake Geneva) via Brig and the Rhone Valley

Lake Geneva -Alsace - say lovely Colmar- a wine town of note for a taste of France (and drink of local wine)

Alsace via Strasbourg - Black Forest in Germany

Black Forest to Munich

Munich to Innsbruck

Innsbruck to Zurich

7 stops - 3-4 days each

But there are oodles of possibilities but this would be one good - great itinerary IMO- having gone to each place several times.

PalenQ

I've enjoyed the thrill of driving Alpine passes like the Simplon Pass or Gotthard Pass - sinuously twsiting roads but always nice at the summit- not for all I guess though.

You can take trains under most passes like the two above- put your car on shuttle trains-you have to do this if going between Interlaken and say Brig - the Lotschberg Pass has no real roads going up and over it - put your car on shuttle trains in Frutigen and get off in Visp-if saying going to Zermatt from Zurich.

But Alpine passes are a thrill - from the Interlaken area you can drive over the famous three pass scenic route- going over the Alps- a great route too.

Another gorgeous drive is between Martigny and Chamonix, France- a dramatically scenic route and a good way to go from Switzerland to France and see another awesome Alpine resort - Chamonix. From there drive to Burgundy or via Geneva area to Alsace.

Michael

There are three Alpine passes close to each other, that can be done in a day: the Grimsel Pass, the Susten Pass, and the Furka Pass.

In France there is a road that follows the Italian border and goes from Chamonix to Menton/Nice and goes over 5 very high passes, each one different. We did it in two days a long time ago, with an overnight in Briançon.

In Austria the Silvettra Hochstrasse will give you a taste of the high Alps in that area.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...7622926792957/

For all these passes you need to check if they are open in May.

kja

Are you fully committed to driving while in Switzerland? Public transportation there is excellent, and would allow the driver to enjoy the scenery in ways that simply would not otherwise be safely possible.
http://www.sbb.ch/en/home.html

nytraveler

How many weeks do you have for this trip?

We have done more than 20 road trips in europe - in all of the countries you mention and have several rules in doing so:

No one night stays; stay 2 nights even in small towns and 3/4 in larger ones

Use large city as an anchor at each end

Don;t drive more than about 4 hours per day so there is time to stop during the day for sightseeing and a relaxing lunch as well as things that pop up through serendipity

We have never gone over the mountain passes since they are often still snowed in during May and sometimes even in June; we use the long tunnels through that are open all year

But there are many smaller local roads in the lower mountains, plenty exciting for us

What are some of the specific places/sights that are key for the trip? for instance - is Austria Innsbruck, Salzberg or Vienna - or all 3?

PalenQ

Are you fully committed to driving while in Switzerland? Public transportation there is excellent>

Yes indeedy - especially if going to Alpine areas where private vehicles are banned and must be parked at edges of access town. For lots on Swiss trains check www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com. A Swiss Passcan be a great deal.

Sue81

Hi, My husband and I did a car trip in Switzerland and rented a car. While I understand all the benefits of the Swiss Rail, and love it, it is also very nice to have a car. We started in Zurich,picked up the car there. drove to Engeleburg, Luzern, Murren, and spent about 2 or 3 nights in each place. Left the car at tram station at bottom of mountain (was that Interlocken), to go up to Murren, lovely spot. Maybe the stops were not in this exact order. Had a great trip. I made the hotel reservations over the Internet,researching each place we planned to stop and it worked out great. We also went to Zermatt, and then down toward Chamonix, via some train that carried the car.....I am hazy about where we stopped, but they had a great Roman aquaduct in the middle of the city, then on to Chamonix. I know this is vague, some years back but a great trip. Only glitch was that the car rental agency tried to claim some body damage on car, which was absolutely not there, just before the flight out, sort of a scam we thought...had to fight that. Sue

PalenQ

We started in Zurich,picked up the car there. drove to Engeleburg, Luzern, Murren, and spent about 2 or 3 nights in each place>

How did you drive to Murren - impossible.

Michael

<i> How did you drive to Murren - impossible.

</i>
It pays to read:

<i> Left the car at tram station at bottom of mountain (was that Interlocken), to go up to Murren,</i>

PalenQ

I was just jesting - but yes did not read the above so my apology to sue for not carefully reading - left car in Lauterbrunnen probably, which you can drive to and is at the bottom of the cliff - you then take a cable car up top and train once there to Murren.

Cars are great in Switzerland as I said in another post above - I've driven around a lot but if mainly going to Alpine resorts like the Jungfrau Region or Zermatt then cars are useless once there as you have to park them for your stay in the area if going into the hills. so if staying several days a car is rather useless but a few days yes.

But yes for what sue did a car would be great- some lovely drives- especially to Zermatt and Chamonix and Lauterbrunnen and Engleberg.

Mimar

<< While I understand all the benefits of the Swiss Rail, and love it, it is also very nice to have a car. >>

It's not just the trains, it's also the boats, buses, funiculars, cable cars, gondolas... And all of these are timed to connect seamlessly. There's no place better than Switzerland for public transportation and no place with better scenery seen better from that public transportation.

Sue81

Ok, we did leave the car in some city just below Murren, I thought it was Interloken and took two cable/type train cars up to Murren. I don't think we had to pay to leave the car, as I recall. There was some flood in this small town at the time, could it have been interlochen? We also on the way down to Chamonix we stopped for the night in Aosta, might have gone thru the Simplon Pass, some snow in there. Anyway it was a very nice trip. It has been maybe 15 years ago so excuse my memory if some sounds incorrect. This is in no way to disparage the great rail system in Switzerland.

Palen, it was not Lauterbrunnen, and we did leave the car, not easy to drive up to Murren/Ha! Sue

Sue81

OK one last note, When we drove thru the Simplon Pass into Italy, it was Spring and there was a sign at the entry to the Pass. I hate to admit this, but we could not read the sign very well (stupid American, I do know a little German). It may have said, caution much snow. Well we did go on thru and there was a whole lot of snow on this road and it was at tad scary, so be careful in May as there can be some hazardous conditions. Sue

PalenQ

Passes can be blocked or dicey like Sue says -check reports before going over them - late spring or even in September some passes can be blocked and pass roads are really twisting and turning all the time.

Sue you sound like you had a great time -cheers.

ticino

If you are an EU resident, please be aware that the EU has decided that EU residents may not drive into the EU driving Swiss cars unless they are returning to their place of residence.

We were informed about this by the rental company upon arrival in Zürich last weekend, there was no information whatsoever on their website. Apparently the regulation has been in place for a few months but it is only in the past few weeks that they are acting on it, especially at the German and Austrian borders. We were told that the fine is 10% of the car's value.

Borrowing a car from a Swiss relative was not an option, as the rule affects all Swiss cars, not just rentals. Fortunately the rental company had some German cars and we got one at no extra cost. They also told us that they are planning on keeping EU cars in the future but that they cannot guarantee there will be EU cars even if we say we need an EU car at the time of booking.

Anyway, good luck, Switzerland is a wonderful place to drive around!! Been there enough to know public transportation is not as great as some people say it is. I'd definitely go for a car.

hetismij2

The above is true of any non EU country. If you tell the rental company beforehand that as an EU citizen you also intend to drive the vehicle in the EU they will provide an EU registered vehicle.
All to do with customs laws apparently.

PalenQ

There was some flood in this small town at the time, could it have been interlochen?>

Must have been Interlaken - and floods may have closed access by road to Lauterbrunnen as the road there goes along a mountain river.

volrick

Thanks

This is all great info

It will be used

Pegontheroad

Pal: Your knowledge is really amazing. I've been traveling in Europe since 1965, and I don't remember a tenth of what I did, what I saw, the roads.

Make that a twentieth.

You remember everything! Kind of like Percy. He's great for details, too.