Koz2

We'll be visiting Switzerland and Austria in September and have already booked a week at an apartment in Wengen. From there we are planning to travel to Austria and have to be back at Zurich airport a week later. We are trying to decide between traveling by train to and from Austria or hiring a car in Switzerland.

If we travel by train we would go from Wengen through Zurich to Salzburg on the Saturday, having Sunday and Monday in Salzburg, picking up a rental car on Tuesday morning and driving to the Salzkammergut area, staying in Hallstatt or somewhere else in the area for three nights. On the Friday we would drive to Innsbruck, staying there overnight and dropping the car off there before traveling by train on Saturday afternoon to Zurich airport, ready for a flight early the next morning. By dropping off the car in Innsbruck we do not have any one way drop off fees.

We are also considering hiring a car from either Zurich airport or Interlaken and driving to Austria, having the car for the whole eight days and then driving back to Zurich airport by the Saturday night. I know we wouldn't use the car in Salzburg but the price for the 5 days or 8 days is not very different since we get the cheaper 1 week rate with the 8 day rental and we would save on train fares.

I like the idea of renting the car in Switzerland but wonder what the drive would be like and whether, considering the amount of time we have, we will not have a lot of time to stop along the way on the days traveling from and back to Switzerland. I like the opportunity to stop along the way to take photos but we had two weeks in Switzerland last year and traveled everywhere by train and loved it.

I'd appreciate any thoughts about this.
Thanks.
Koz

joannyc

I enjoy having the freedom of a car. But, you'll need to weigh the parking expenses to see if it's worth it to you.

PinBud

How many are you? If you're more than two I think it would be cheaper to drive, just rent a diesel with gps and avoid paying high parking fees in city centres. I drove all around Switzerland and Austria, it's a breeze. Myself I am a car fan, whenever I did the math it was cheaper to drive. Plus you can stop wherever to do whatever and there's no stress of missing a train, getting a cab, carrying luggage and all that. So if you're not a single student on a eurail bugdet, if you're a good driver that enjoys driving thru the beautiful Alps, do yourself a favour and rent a car.

swandav2000

Hi Koz,

I spent several days in St. Gilgen and will day that I don't think you need a car. I ran around the lakes using the lake ferries and a bicycle -- it was a wonderful and slow way to get to know the area. The bus system to the lakes and around the lakes works well.

I love train travel -- I think it gets you deeper into the soul and the culture of a place as you linger longer and get to do a lot more people-watching. I also love buying snacks and enjoying them during the trip and chatting with folks who are sitting around me. I always think that using the trains is the more "European" way of travel, particularly for those folks who live in North America who don't get to travel that way often.

Another consideration, of course, is that using the trains is more green (yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay). When there is a good working transport system, it seems a shame to avoid it. You'll probably be happy to have limited your emissions for this trip again, and be helping to preserve the beauty you came to see.

Have fun as you plan!

s

PinBud

For local short trips within a city or between cities where parking would be a problem, or if you want to enjoy a drink during your trip, I'd also recommend using the trains and the local transit system, which in Europe is close to perfect. For example we did take the train from Como to Milan for a day trip as it made sense for us to do that. However, last year it was cheaper and a LOT more convenient for two of us to rent a car in Amsterdam and drive to Bruges than to take the trains. This summer I'm also paying a premium on my car rental from Frankfurt as even if it was cheaper to rent a Renault from Strasbourg, the cost of two train tickets Frankfurt-Strasbourg was prohibitive. When comparing trans vs. cars, let's talk money, comfort, convenience, scheduling issues, and practical things like that, NOT global warming scams and scares which have no basis whatsoever

swandav2000

For PinBud,

I wonder where you are getting your train fare information? Usually you can get great discount fares if you buy the tickets about 90 days in advance -- in those cases, the fares are around 30-40 Euro per person.

For instance, the fare for the trip from Frankfurt to Strasbourg is 29 Euro and 39 Euro when purchased in advance. Hardly prohibitive!

So, yes, I am talking money and comfort (walking the aisles, reading, munching a picnic).

I am also talking global climate change, which I can see right outside my window as I look at the Alpspitz. And the ugly smog that I see over München and which is threatening to approach my town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Let's keep the Alps beautiful, not smoggy!

s

PinBud

Hi Swandav,

Uh, when I looked to buy train tickets for Fra-Str they were about 100 euro each way per person. The rental surcharge for Fra pickup/dropoff was about 200 euro. Where do you europeans book your trains, can you recommend a link please?

I'm all for clean air and no pollution, believe me, I'm just against politicizing the issue like Al Gore and Obama do. Sorry to hear about the smog over Munich, I love Bavaria and Europe! Hopefully my small diesel Clio will not make it worse ?

swandav2000

Hi again,

I'm American living here in GaP.

The best place to book advance-purchase tickets is the German rail site

www.bahn.de

There is an English-language function. The discount fares go on sale 92 days early, but they do sell out quickly, so you have to be ready to jump on 'em.

Yeah, I too thought the car-use was no big deal until a few years ago when I saw the ugly grey smog over Lake Geneva (my favorite place) and over München. A few weeks ago, I saw a light layer of smog over GaP (as I was skiing), and I acttually got angry.

The German rail site has a function to show you how much emissions you save with each trip -- it's a great way to remind yourself of the good you're doing!

s

Ingo

Did you calculate that a gallon diesel is about $7.50 right now in Germany? It's only slightly cheaper in Austria.

Koz2

Thanks to everyone for your replies. To answer PinBud's question there are two of us. Rather than our original plan of staying a few nights in Salzburg and a few nights in the Lake District we're now considering staying for 5 or 6 nights in one place - perhaps St Gilgen or St Wolfgang, and doing day trips from there. While we will probably have a car to explore the Salzkammergut region we could travel to Salzburg by bus. We had thought of basing ourselves at Hallstatt but it seems too long a trip each day to visit Salzburg a couple of times so think somewhere more central would probably be better.

Cowboy1968

There was no SMOG here in Munich the last few days, but FOG.

From late fall to early spring, it's quite typical (and depressing) to have these days of persistant "high fog" (which is in fact low, flat clouds) in Munich which does not burn away during the day.
The humid cold air rises in the morning, but the warmer upper air levels keep it locked close to the ground, i.e. an inversion develops.
Once you gain 200-300 meters in elevation when you drive towards the Alps, you suddenly break through that "barrier" and have bright sunshine. While Munich and surroundings still sit under a grey layer of FOG.

But that is just a well-known phenomenon during calm weather periods under high pressure in the colder seasons in and around Munich.
So what you see from the Alps is natural, what you can't see, i.e. the emissions trapped under the cloud, is what counts.

But, no worries, air quality was okay last week in Munich, by measurements and self-inflicted testing ;-)

Dukey1

I usually travel by rail but face it..you are NEVER going to have the versatility that comes with having a CAR if you use the rail system.

How important is that to you..no, REALLY?

The car come with parking fees, petrol fees, (I assume you are one of those people who NEVER pays for insurance and uses your credit card..or are you?) and then you have to find parking, etc., find petrol, and so forth.

Last time we were in Germany (Franconia, etc.,) we rented a car the first week rather than using trains and it was the best decision we ever made.

Both have their place. And as to that drive from Switzerland..it will be very scenic and you can stop anywhere you want and photograph it, too.