Has anyone ever driven from the Berner Oberland (specifically Lauterbrunnen or Wengen) to Venice, Italy? I was thinking of flying into Zurich, spending about 9 days in Luzern and the Berner Oberland area and then driving down to Venice for a few days and then fly home from Milan. It seems to make sense on Mapquest--6 hours drive total--but with the mountains, etc., does it make sense in reality?

Will you incur steep drop-off charges by renting in Switzerland and returning car in Milan, Italy?

If so drive back to Lugano, Switzerland, return car and take train to Milan and bus to airport.

six hours makes sense to me - it's all autoroute after Spiez, close to Interlaken- under the high mountains via two tunnels - the Lotschberg Tunnel (where you must put you car on a train and take it off at the other end) and then via the Simplon Tunnel so there are really no mountains to deal with.

Once in Italy it is by autoroutes as well.

Pal...as you know, we just recently took trains from Interlken to Spiez, Spiez to Brig where we caught the Venice train...about 5 hours of relaxing and watching the scenery go by.

Judy, since you can't use a car in Venice anyway..why not take another train to Milan.

stu

Driving does not make sense on this itinerary--use the trains.

Yes, isn't Wengen a car-free village? You don't want a car in the Bernese Oberland. You get around by gondolas and lifts and little trains. In fact, I wouldn't rent a car for anywhere in Switzerland. The public transportation is superb and superbly connected.

And you can't drive in Venice. So why a car at all?

Train does make the most sense. Someone mentioned Wengen which you can not drive to. If that is your destination your car will sit in a garage in Lauterbrunnen. Venice also means parking your car outside the city.

Thank you for all the help--it's always a bonus when you can avoid the cost of a car rental and the effort of driving.

Yup you'dhave to pay steep parking rates in the parking garage by Lauterbrunnen's train station as not only are cars not allowed in Wengen but i believe no farther up the Lauterbrunnen Valley than the town (not positive though) and at Grindelwald, the most popular Jungfrau area base again cars cannot go any farther than town - so again you pay to park a car you cannot use if going into the hills.