Drive or Fly from London to Switzerland & Bavaria
Sep 3rd, 2009, 06:29 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 30
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Drive or Fly from London to Switzerland & Bavaria
I am in the process of trying to decide if it is better to drive from London to Switzerland and then onto Bavaria to see the castles or just fly. It looks like it is about $200 USD/pp to fly. (There are 4 of us going). We will be going in the middle of October for one week.
In Switzerland we were planning on going to Lucerne and then up into the mountains. After Switzerland we were going to Bavaria to see the castles. Then back to London.
My husband wants to drive to give us more flexibility but I kind of like the idea of flying and training it. Any thoughts?
In Switzerland we were planning on going to Lucerne and then up into the mountains. After Switzerland we were going to Bavaria to see the castles. Then back to London.
My husband wants to drive to give us more flexibility but I kind of like the idea of flying and training it. Any thoughts?
Sep 3rd, 2009, 06:34 AM
#2
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 8,345
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hi Family4UK,
I love using trains in Switzerland and in Bavaria, where I moved to last year. In Switzerland particularly the trains are a great idea because the sweetest mountain villages and all of the mountaintops do not allow cars. And having a car in a city (like Luzern) isn't smart -- winding ancient streets, rare and expensive parking, etc.
The trains run frequently enough and to so many places that the argument of flexibility is pretty flat.
Anyway, good luck with the decision!
s
I love using trains in Switzerland and in Bavaria, where I moved to last year. In Switzerland particularly the trains are a great idea because the sweetest mountain villages and all of the mountaintops do not allow cars. And having a car in a city (like Luzern) isn't smart -- winding ancient streets, rare and expensive parking, etc.
The trains run frequently enough and to so many places that the argument of flexibility is pretty flat.
Anyway, good luck with the decision!
s
Sep 3rd, 2009, 06:53 AM
#3
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 8,247
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Would you really rent a car in the UK to take it to the Continent and drive all the time on the "wrong side" of the road?
There should be many budget airline options. Maybe not in/out Zurich, but to Basel/CH (easyjet) or Memmingen/Germany (Ryanair) from London.
Memmingen is the closest airport for Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles, less than 1hr driving from the airport.
If you are somewhat flexible, you can fly Stansted-Memmingen one-way for 15GBP incl taxes and CC fee (+10GBP luggage if applicable) on many dates in October. But check the fine print to understand luggage weight restrictions.
The only thing you should avoid (or check for fees) re. rentals cars is to rent in one country and drop off in another. That can be costly.
There should be many budget airline options. Maybe not in/out Zurich, but to Basel/CH (easyjet) or Memmingen/Germany (Ryanair) from London.
Memmingen is the closest airport for Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles, less than 1hr driving from the airport.
If you are somewhat flexible, you can fly Stansted-Memmingen one-way for 15GBP incl taxes and CC fee (+10GBP luggage if applicable) on many dates in October. But check the fine print to understand luggage weight restrictions.
The only thing you should avoid (or check for fees) re. rentals cars is to rent in one country and drop off in another. That can be costly.
Sep 3rd, 2009, 07:46 AM
#4
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 7,561
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Cowboy has a good point regarding having driving controls on the wrong side of the car for the Continent. It can be odd enough driving on the wrong side of the road in the UK, but at least the driving control on the right provides a certain logic to driving on the left. That logic is completely shot if your steering wheel is on the right and you're driving on the right.
And a car equipped for the UK may be far more expensive to drop on the Continent because the rental agency will absolutely have to return the car to the UK, instead of working some sort of trade arrangement in car allocation for cars with the steering wheels on the same side as the agency could with a France-Switzerland drop.
If you insist on a car, then you should determine how to get to the Continent (Eurostar to Brussels? Cheapo flight to Germany?) and rent from there.
And a car equipped for the UK may be far more expensive to drop on the Continent because the rental agency will absolutely have to return the car to the UK, instead of working some sort of trade arrangement in car allocation for cars with the steering wheels on the same side as the agency could with a France-Switzerland drop.
If you insist on a car, then you should determine how to get to the Continent (Eurostar to Brussels? Cheapo flight to Germany?) and rent from there.
Sep 3rd, 2009, 08:46 AM
#6
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 17,268
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I assume if you're pricing in (??US) dollars, you don't live here, and you're going to be hiring a car.
You can't just take a hired car from Britain to the Continent: it's usually explicitly banned in the hire agreement, and the co zonks you a couple of hundred pounds for the waiver. One-way drops will be several hundred pounds more.
Tunnel/ferry charges are as complicated as plane fares: usually £150 return for an average car, but it can easily be twice or half that depending on how far ahead you book and how antisocial a time you want to cross. Add in French tolls, Swiss vignette and European petrol prices and you'll find your 200 whotsitses, whatever that is in real money, probably less than the cost of driving.
Ignore the nonsense about controls on the wrong side: a huge proportion of the lorries on Britain's roads are Continental, and millions of us take our properly-configured cars to the Continent every year. (Amazingly, none of us - or of the Continental truckers - go into the conniptions about it that innumerable American old maids, of all ages, throw themselves into on this board at the thought of driving on the left.) Just do it: if thousands of Romanian lorry drivers can do it, so can anyone.
Alternatives include cheap flights to anywhere nearby (just look at specials on offer. You don't really care whether it's Brussels, Lyons or Dusseldorf. Just fly, hire your car locally and return it to the same place), or the Eurostar cheapo to Paris (get off at Lille and hire your car there)
You can't just take a hired car from Britain to the Continent: it's usually explicitly banned in the hire agreement, and the co zonks you a couple of hundred pounds for the waiver. One-way drops will be several hundred pounds more.
Tunnel/ferry charges are as complicated as plane fares: usually £150 return for an average car, but it can easily be twice or half that depending on how far ahead you book and how antisocial a time you want to cross. Add in French tolls, Swiss vignette and European petrol prices and you'll find your 200 whotsitses, whatever that is in real money, probably less than the cost of driving.
Ignore the nonsense about controls on the wrong side: a huge proportion of the lorries on Britain's roads are Continental, and millions of us take our properly-configured cars to the Continent every year. (Amazingly, none of us - or of the Continental truckers - go into the conniptions about it that innumerable American old maids, of all ages, throw themselves into on this board at the thought of driving on the left.) Just do it: if thousands of Romanian lorry drivers can do it, so can anyone.
Alternatives include cheap flights to anywhere nearby (just look at specials on offer. You don't really care whether it's Brussels, Lyons or Dusseldorf. Just fly, hire your car locally and return it to the same place), or the Eurostar cheapo to Paris (get off at Lille and hire your car there)
Sep 3rd, 2009, 08:52 AM
#7
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 17,268
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
PS:
Your other posts rather imply you DO live here so forget all that nonsense about hire surcharges. Starting from Ascot, you'll be in Switzerland late that afternoon with a reasonably early start if you don't get tempted to linger over a French lunch.
Personally, I wouldn't dream of faffing about with trains or planes in that case - especially if you've got a carful of people.
Moral: if you live here, quoting funny foreign money GUARANTEES you'll get unhelpful answers from people who've jumped to understandable, but erroneous, conclusions.
Your other posts rather imply you DO live here so forget all that nonsense about hire surcharges. Starting from Ascot, you'll be in Switzerland late that afternoon with a reasonably early start if you don't get tempted to linger over a French lunch.
Personally, I wouldn't dream of faffing about with trains or planes in that case - especially if you've got a carful of people.
Moral: if you live here, quoting funny foreign money GUARANTEES you'll get unhelpful answers from people who've jumped to understandable, but erroneous, conclusions.
Sep 3rd, 2009, 09:44 AM
#8
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 21
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I woul definitely suggest to drive but a lot depends on how much time you guys have. The trip from London to Switzerland and then Germany is really fascinating. You go down to the South of England and see a beautiful country side then you take the boat from Dover and land in France and you go down till Switzerland going through really beautiful places.
Sep 3rd, 2009, 12:34 PM
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 30
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Sorry for all the confusion about where I live. We are an ex-pat family from the USA currently living in Southern England. I convert money to USD as that is what I am most familiar with. Yes we would be driving our own car from England so rental return is not an issue.
Sep 3rd, 2009, 01:53 PM
#10
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 8,247
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Why waste money on ferries, tunnels, and gas, when you can get here by plane in 1 hours for much less than $200pP and either rent a car for a week or take the train?
You should simply do a dummy calculation for either option.
Driving on the right side of the road with the steering wheel on the wrong side is no big issue on a motorway. But how do you pass a tractor or slow-moving truck on a 2-lane highway when you can't see where you're going? Does the guy or girl in the passenger seat left of you decide when it's okay to pass? That last thing we need here is more drivers who stay for kilometers behind a truck because they can't or won't overtake.
You should simply do a dummy calculation for either option.
Driving on the right side of the road with the steering wheel on the wrong side is no big issue on a motorway. But how do you pass a tractor or slow-moving truck on a 2-lane highway when you can't see where you're going? Does the guy or girl in the passenger seat left of you decide when it's okay to pass? That last thing we need here is more drivers who stay for kilometers behind a truck because they can't or won't overtake.
Sep 3rd, 2009, 08:11 PM
#11
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 17,268
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
"But how do you pass a tractor or slow-moving truck on a 2-lane highway when you can't see where you're going?"
The same way German drivers drive in Britain and British drivers drive on the Continent.
This really is turning into mountains out of molehills time.
Just do it - and ignore these absurd moaning minnies who'll be worrying about whether that Swiss water's drinkable next.
The same way German drivers drive in Britain and British drivers drive on the Continent.
This really is turning into mountains out of molehills time.
Just do it - and ignore these absurd moaning minnies who'll be worrying about whether that Swiss water's drinkable next.
Sep 3rd, 2009, 08:40 PM
#12
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 8,247
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
<i>The same way German drivers drive in Britain </i>
That probably does not make people more confident lol
Actually, it was a simple question. On a 2-lane-highway, how can you see that there is no oncoming traffic when you want to pass a lorry and when you steering wheel in on the wrong side?
That probably does not make people more confident lol
Actually, it was a simple question. On a 2-lane-highway, how can you see that there is no oncoming traffic when you want to pass a lorry and when you steering wheel in on the wrong side?
Sep 3rd, 2009, 09:10 PM
#13
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 12,009
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
My only thought is that you only have 7 days to drive from Southern England to Switzerland AND Bavaria? Not nearly enough time to cover so much territory.
I think the only way to see what you want is to fly. Driving would waste too much of your precious time.
I think the only way to see what you want is to fly. Driving would waste too much of your precious time.
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
snowbelle
Europe
7
Oct 10th, 2013 08:03 PM
