looks like 2 week car rental is close to 9 days on a switzerland-austria dual country pass. anything i am missing? wouldnt you want to rent a car? i know some of the villages dont allow a car and driving in vienna to and from the hotel wont be easy .... but isnt that wy we have a GPS? help me !!!

There's some kind of permit you have to buy to drive in Austria... If you drop off the car in a different country than where you picked it up, there will be a pricey fee.... Did you factor in the fuel, parking, do you need additional insurance, etc ... Any 'stress' likely between the driver and the navigator? (personal experience )

You cannot make a direct comparison because train and car rental serve different purposes. With a train pass, once you've bought it there is no more outlay (except perhaps for supplement and seat reservation for certain services). You travel cty centre to city centre, you won't have the hazard of navigation, unfamiliar roads and possible adverse weather condition. You don't pay for parking, fuel, tolls and possible traffic fines. But a car gives you freedom to go where you want, when you want. You can change your plan at will, making a diversion to follow an interesting sign, or stop where and when you want. But in both countries, public transport is superbly well developed and co-ordinated, so there are few places you cannot conveniently reach. But it requires more planning.
So it's up to you. It depends on what kind of a traveller you are, whether you feel confident driving on unfamiliar roads (some mountain roads can be really scary!) and whether your itinerary is based mainly on cities (where train is better) or touring the countryside. If you are a solo traveller, I say take the train. The more people you can share the cost with, the cheaper the car rental option becomes.

Hi al,

Have you checked the actual prices for train travel at http://www.sbb.ch/en/index.htm and http://www.oebb.at/ ?

Have you factored in the cost of fuel, tolls and road tax stickers for the car?

Does your car cost include the drop off fee for one-way?

If you're traveling primarily to cities, the train goes from city center to city center in space and comfort. Driving a car in a European city is a bore; you have to find your way around, avoiding the restricted driving zones, have a place to park it and pay exhorbitant parking rates.

However, a car is much preferred for visiting hilltowns in Tuscany, drinking in the beautiful English countryside, daytripping around Provence.

The one country I would never drive in is Switzerland. The public transportation there is superb; the trains, buses and boats are scheduled to interconnect. The postal buses go deep into the mountains, where they connect up with gondolas and cogwheel trains. Plus driving you might miss a lot of the scenery.