Heading to Lucerne from Bellagio Italy - where should I drop off car once I enter Switzerland?
 

Originally, I thought we would just drive from Lake Como area to Lucerene but I'm a little worried about the mountain passes etc. Does it make sense for us to drive from Bellagio to Lugano (74km) drop off the car (autoeurope) and get the direct train (I think) from Lugano to Lucerne? It would give my husband a break from driving and we want to take advantage of the trains as everyone has suggested in Switzerland. Thank you again for all of your help
Dac

Hi dac, I may be wrong but I believe it will cost you more to drop off the car in Switzerland versus dropping it off in Italy but someone with more knowledge can advise you. Or maybe you know that it does and it doesn't matter. Have a wonderful trip, you will be in a beautiful area.

As far as I know, the only rental car locations in the Lake Como area are in the city of Como. To circumvent crossing the border with the rental car, you could drop the car there before heading to Switzerland.

I believe in an earlier email you said you were picking the car up in Switzerland so you'll want to drop it off there as well. We did this trip last year during the exact time period and only had a problem on a smaller mt. pass that we should not have been on (Sustern) where it was snowing hard. The suggested routes and passes will be fine; you'll pass through many long tunnels.

dac..

The ride from Bellagio to Lugano is a pleasant one and less that 2 hours....have lunch in Lugano, a beautiful town and drive to Lucerne (an even nicer town) again in less than 2 hours....Unless youre absolutely terrified of the mountain roads, its a nice ride. Since you already have the car I would take advantage....and as many dont realize, trains(especially in Switzerland) can be expensive. Good luck, and enjoy the views of the alps from Lucerne!

Mikek

Thanks everyone.
Happy Trvlr, you are right I'm picking up in Montreux and we are flying out of Zurich. So the ride is not that bad? I'm one of those that hate winding roads with very little between me and the edge. Are the roads like that or are they multiple lane in each direction? Thanks for any information you can give me as to the roads.
Dac

I don't like "edges" either and the roads and mountain passes were not bad at all.

Yes, I would. The train to Luzern is easy and you do not need to drive. The car drop will not be at the train station so you will need a taxi--about a :10 drive.

A nicer way to do that is to drive from Bellagio up to St. Moritz in Switzerland's Engadin region (look it up!). Stay the night, look around - Sils Maria by the lake, other lovely places.

A big touristy draw, St. Moritz is likely to have a rental franchise that will accept your car. St. Moritz is expensive, but nearby towns not so much.

Then you can take the train from there, or drive to Chur for example - no gnarly mountain passes on those routes.

The drive from the St. M ortiz area to Lake Como was easy, scenic and didn't take more than 2 1/2 hrs. We liked stayed in Pontresina outside of St. MOrtiz. You could drop car off in SM and take train to Lucerne.