cometstar

I am planning a trip with my family that includes a route going from Salzburg to Paris. Due to big prices differences in flight, we will actually be flying from the US to Copenhagen then onto Salzburg, traveling by car and train through Germany and Switzerland, and ending up in Paris before we fly back to catch our return flight from Copenhagen. It is not idea, but for our budget, it was actually cheaper to do this. We will have around 14-15 days and we are traveling with 4 people. We plan to go in middle weeks of January.

We would ideally like to either rent a car from Salzburg or Munich (therefore taking a train from Salzburg to Munich) and spend a 3-4 days in the Munich/Bavaria area as we make our way towards the Swiss Border. My question then is:

Is it better to drop the car in Germany (by the Swiss border) and then taking the train to Lucerne? If so, what city is this best for? Is there an Austrian city we can take the train to Lucerne? Or is it more cost efficient for 4 people to drive directly to Lucerne (taking into account dropping off the car at a different country).

Basically, what is the best border city around Switzerland to take a train to Lucerne?

This was my main question, but if anyone wants to comment on the rest of our rough itinerary, we plan to train through Lucern/Interlaken to Geneva (3 days) and then taking a train to Paris for the rest of our trip before flying back to CPH. I know it is a bit rushed, but we are willing to spend less time in Paris for this trip (since we know we will go back there).

Thanks for all your help!!

joannyc

You can see the sites of Geneva in a day. What are your plans for the other 2 days? Yvoire and Montreux are wonderful.

cometstar

Thanks for your reply!

We are mainly in Geneva to see family friends and to transfer to Paris, we are more interested in the alps. I was thinking about taking the Golden Express route from Lucerne, through Interlaken, to Montreux and then another train to Geneva? We would stop probably 2 nights and use that to visit one of the peaks (I heard Mt. Titlus is nice).

My main concern would be how to get from Germany to Lucerne, and if we should invest in a rail pass if we are not in Switzerland for that long.

PalenQ

Lindau, Germany would be a great place to dump the car - returning in same country you p[ick up in avoid often hefty drop-off fees.

Lindau is practically in Switzerland and has great train links to Lucerne, via Zurich

In Switzerland many folks find trains better than cars - the best Alpine areas ban private vehicles so like in the Jungfrau Region beyond Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen you have to take trains.

And Swiss trains are so so nice.

From Lucerne you can take the Golden Pass scenic train up and over the Brunig Pass to Interlaken - base in some dreamy Alpine village like Grindelwald, Wengen, Lauterbrunnen, etc.

Then take the Golden Pass west to Montreux - again a really scenic route - Montreux is about an hour from Geneva - many prefer staying in Montreux or Vevey over Geneva.

For lots of great stuff on Swiss trains I always spotlight these IMO fantastic sites: www.swisstravelsystem.com; http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/id3.html and www.ricksteves.com.

Investigate the Swiss Pass, good not only on trains but lake boats (wonderful lake boat rides on Lake Lucerne - the two idyllic lakes bookending Interlaken and Lake Geneva - passes also valid on city buses and trams, the iconic postal buses and give free entry to 400+ Swiss museums - with a pass just hop on any of these - no need to get tickets, etc.

Dukey1

For sightseeing IN Munich you do NOT need a car; the public transport system is excellent.

If you want to visit some place that is more or less between Salzburg and Munich such as Neuschwanstein or Linderhof or even Herrenchiemsee you might do better by renting a car in Salzburg.

BUT be aware of the possible drop charges for the car. You say renting the car is more economical for you and since we don't know your budget I'll take your word for it.

You can take the train from Munich all the way to Lucern. The quickest timing requires one change in Zurich. The route will almost undoubtedly take you through a small portion of Austria.

You could drop a car rented in Salzburg in some place such as Bregenz and take the train onward from there but that may still involve a drop charge.

Passes: i would investigate point to point tickets FIRST and often if you buy them in advance online you can get better prices.

cometstar

Thanks for your advice! I will look into Lindau. Would the Swiss Pass cover the portion of the trip from Lindau to Lucerne? I do not have knowledge of how much train tickets cost, so do you think Swiss Pass is most cost-efficient for us rather than buying the Golden Pass separately? And are we allowed to overnight in an alpine village as a stopover for the Golden Pass?

Ingo

I would pick Konstanz instead of Lindau; there is also a train station of the SBB (Swiss Railways) there, so the Swiss Pass is valid from there on (unlike from Lindau).

cometstar

Thanks Dukey1. Yes, I looked into renting a car in Munich and dropping off at Lindau and it is a good price for us. It would also allow us more flexibility since we do want to visit Neuschwanstein. We won't be driving in Munich.

It seems it's better then to take train from Salzburg to Munich, and then drive in Bavaria towards Swiss border.

joannyc

You could take the train or a taxi to Freilassing, Germany from Salzburg and pickup a car from Europcar at:

LUDWIG-ZELLER-STR. 1
83395 FREILASSING
GERMANY

It's a 20 minute train ride to Freilassing or a 9-mile taxi ride from Salzburg.

Then drop the car before moving onto Switzerland.

neckervd

You can rent a car at Salzburg (Austria), drive via Munich to Lindau and give it back at Bregenz (Austria), a few miles from the Swiss border. Buses or trains up to the Swiss border about every 30 min, trains from there via Zurich to Lucerne every 30 min, via Rapperswil to Lucerne every hr.
If you want to give back your car in Germany, Konstanz is the better place than Lindau, as Ingo told you.
If you prefer to travel by public transport (there may be heavy snowfall around Neuschwanstein), the bus from Munich to Constance - Zurich is the cheapest solution for individuals (only up to Constance for Swiss Pass holders).
For 4 pax, the Bayern ticket up to Lindau or Nonnenhorn may be the cheapest solution.

greg

So far you have looked at your itinerary mainly from the financial framework. Have you also looked at it from a risk framework? Neckervd breifly touched about heavy snowfall. It is not necessarily limited to the mountain area. Do you have a backup plan if get hit with snow induced disruptions?

soods

This goes out to Neckervd...I've asked for help for a 16 day trip from Switzerland to Austria and Germany. Have not had any input from you. Being that you're a native of Switzerland, I'd like to hear your thoughts about the itinerary we're discussing. Could you please take a look at the post and replies and give your opinion? Thanks!

cometstar

I have not thought about heavy snowfall. How is snow removal in Germany and Switzerland?

neckervd

Soods wrote:
"I promised my husband one scenic mountain train ride along with scenic driving.....I thought we might fly into Geneva, drive or train northeast to Innsbruck, then north to Munich. From there we'd like to go .... along the Rhine and fly home from Frankfort. I'm not sure which area is best to drive, which to high speed train, and which to scenic train. I need help connecting all the dots as well as suggestions on places to see along the way. Thanks!"

It's impossible to give a good answer without knowing your interests. There are hundreds of interesting places in the triangle GVA-MUC-FRA.
As to Switzerland, may be you have a look at
http://www.myswitzerland.com/en/home.html
http://www.swisstravelsystem.ch/en/
http://fahrplan.sbb.ch/bin/query.exe/en

neckervd

Winter roads in the Alps:
Snow on motorways and other highways is usually removed immediately and these routes are salted. That doesn't mean that there is no snow on the road after the passage of the snow plow, however. The salt doesn't act immediately. In the case of heavy snowfalls and blocked roads due to serious traffic accidents, roads can be closed for hours or (extremely seldom) days, however.
Black ice can never be excluded, even on highways (especially bridges at night).
But most of the time, the roads are dry or just a little wet , but free of snow and ice.
But nobody knows long in advance when the weather will be fine and when heavy snowfall will occur.