Oh yes, I love the Engadin much more than the Bernese Oberland. Some reasons are a) that the villages are more beautiful, b) the food is better, c) especially the area around Scuol is less touristy, d) it is surrounded by huge mountains - if you look at the map you'll see that the Bernese Oberland has huge mountains only in one direction - the other is just flat/hills.

I cannot agree more with Cicerone.

Yes, I have driven these passes. Very beautiful! The Susten is one of my favourites: great scenery, the road easy to drive. The part between Disentis and Ilanz is a bit boring since it is all located in a deep valley and doesn't offer many scenic views. But that's no problem IMO, there are more than enough places with stunning panoramic views along this route.

I recommend you don't drive through Chur (if you are not late) and take the road via Reichenau, Rhäzüns, Rothenbrunnen, Paspels, Sils i. D., Tiefencastel, Bergün, Albula Pass, La Punt, Zernez, Scuol.

Between Rothenbrunnen and Sils i.D. there are plenty of castles (partly ruins) which are picturesque, but private and not to tour inside. The Albula Pass is IMO the most scenic pass from the region around Chur to the Engadin and also the least busy pass.

There seems to be several towns..Sils-Maria, Sils-Baselgia... that also look like good places to stay. I know you like the Hotel Waldhaus which looks nice but alittle expensive. How would the romantik hotel magna be? I haven't heard anything from the Scuol hotels. Are the Sils-Maria and Baselgia as charming towns??

I have not stayed in the Margna, sorry. It seems to be a fascinating old Patrician house with much charm. I thought it was too expensive as well (if you say the Waldhaus is a bit too expensive).

Friends of mine stayed in the Randolina in Sils Baselgia. They had a room with view of the lake ... unforgettable they said. Their rates are IMO still reasonable. Maybe you should try this one. www.randolina.ch

Yes, Sils is split into two parts: Sils Maria is the larger part, where you find most hotels, restaurants, some shops, where the horse-drawn carriages start into the Fex Valley ... and Sils Baselgia is located on the other side of the main valley, smaller. Sils cannot compete with the beautiful houses in the small towns/villages of the Lower Engadin like Scuol, Guarda, Ardez etc. But the location is more beautiful: between two lakes, views of more glaciers.

I have read so many wonderful things about the Engadin and particularly Guarda over these past few years that I will surely spend some time there when I am able.

But I feel this overwhelming compulsion to jump to the defense of places like Brienz and Murten. Admittedly, it's been years since I stayed almost a week in each, but surely there must be some of the magic still remaining in some little nook or cranny. Aren't there dark carved wood houses along Brunnengasse in Brienz any more? (Not underestimating the beauty of the lake/mountain view credited by Cicerone) Has Murten lost its medieval plan, walls, and interesting old buildings? I know I was lucky to visit these places before tourist blight set in, but I'll be desolated to learn that if one rises with the sun or explores at sunset there will not be any remnants of the "charm" that I remember so fondly.

The only other comment I'd like to make is that the towns of the Engadine valley are distinctively different from any other area of Switzerland. I'm absolutely positive that they must be seen and savored. But though they might be the "best" villages of Switzerland, one will not really experience the amazing variety of the country's towns unless time is spent in Appenzell, Ticino, the Vaud, and the Oberland, too. Affectionately, J.

I have to agree with jmw44.

I love the Engadin.
I also love Tessin.
I also love Emmental.
I also love Appenzell.
Even Berner Oberland is nice.

cparris: You can see all these regional houses in an open air museum in Ballenberg near Brienz. You can walk into the houses and see how people lived 100 years ago.

However, if you choose to go to the Engadin, I would recommend a drive over Stilfserjoch. It's the ultimate in an alp pass. It doesn't have the most breathtaking views (although the South Tirol side is marvellous), but it does have 87 curves. It's definately an adventure.

Check out this website for pictures:
http://www.tourenland.de/paesse/stilfser.htm

I am still looking for hotels. I may end up taking a night off of Wengen(I am staying there 3 nights)and adding it to the Engadin?? The Astras is fully booked. The Schlosshotel Chastè hasn't responded to my last 2 emails (they did give an offer) the Hotel Waldhaus is too expensive. That leaves the romantik hotel Magna which isn't too expensive and looks nice. The Hotel Meisser if I increase the nights to 3, or the Posthotel Engiadina in Zuoz. What do you think about these hotels and staying only 2 nights in WEngen and three in one of these?

I'm wishing we could see your planned and unplanned days in some sort of chart, cparris. So if I'm off the mark, I know you can ignore my contribution. This is what I'm thinking: If you've got two days available between Wengen and Zurich, can't you add one of those to Wengen so you can have three nights there as well as three nights in the Engadine valley? Then add the lone day to your stay at the Sonne on Zurichsee and perhaps daytrip somewhere. I can't recall if Appenzell is still in your plans for your arrival in Switzerland or not. Oh well, at least I'm topping this so you can hear again from Cicerone, Ingo, Swandav, etc. J.

Ok, We fly to Munich and get there on Saturday. We are picking up a BMW on Monday morning and driving to Stein-am-Rhine and staying overnight. I want to see that area including Schaffhausen and the falls. Then we drive to Alsace spending one night in Colmar and have 2 nights in Obernai. After that we go to Luzern and spend 2 nights.( On the second night there is a big firework show.) After that we have 3 nights in Wengen. We then have 2 nights which I was thinking of spending in the Engadin before we must be back in Zurich to drop off the car(on Friday). Then we have the weekend in Zurich and are flying out on Sunday.

We spent 4 nights in Alsace and loved the area. We stayed in Ottrott which is just a couple of miles from Obernai. Obernai is a good choice for seeing the area. It's a very nice town.

As far as Colmar is concerned, we thought it was just another big city with the exception of the Petit Venice area. Some people love it, some not that fond of it. I would recommend staying in either Ribeauville or Riquewihr, with just a day trip to Colmar. A couple of hours is all we thought it deserved.

Haut Koenigsbourg is worth a trip, and if you have the time, drive up to Hohneck. On a clear day you can see for miles.

You have a great itinerary and sounds like a fun trip. What car series are you getting? ((b))

We are getting the 530xi this time...three years ago we picked up also and got the 325xi...great in the snow. I have wanted to go to Alsace for a long time. I take french cooking classes on occasion and my teacher is from Alsace. Of course he thinks we should stay much longer than 3 nights. I decided to stay in Colmar when I found the hotel La Maison des Tetes which looks really interesting. I had thought to stay in Ribeauville or Riquewihr too, but we will visit them. I am really looking forward to this trip. It is fun planning but I always have the problem of deciding what I want to see the most.

Thanks for the tentative itinerary recap. I did have an inaccurate mental picture.

Seems to me you should consider a third night in the Engadin if you're going to drive that far to see it. Is there any chance you could whittle Lucerne down to one night or the Alsace to two, so Wengen and Guarda (or wherever) could each have three? But now that I've written it, it really should depend on how devoted you are to hiking. If that's the priority, then my suggestion stands. If sight-seeing is of greater interest, then you do want to retain the three nights in Alsace and the two in Lucerne. Now then, haven't I been a lot of help? J.

How long do you think I would need to see Luzern? Are there alot to do there? I could take a day off of Alsace too. The other option is to switch the last part of the trip to the beginning and go to the engadin first from Munich. I would have to switch some hotels though. Thats always a pain.

Budman, Did you write a trip report for your trip to Alsace? I looked for it but had not luck. What were your favorite things to do. Did you visit and good winerys?

No trip report. We went before we found Fodors.

We stayed in Ottrott which is a couple of miles from Obernai. Our highlights were Mont Ste Odile, Haut Koenigsbourg, Petite Venice in Colmar, and Hohneck, as well as driving around some of the little towns & villages.

As far as wine tasting, there was a wine shop in Obernai and lots of places when you drive thru the villages.

Colmar was not one of our favorite places, but the hotel you linked to looks very nice. ((b))

One day devoted to walking around Lucerne and one day spent toodling around the spectacular blue-green lake. So if I were trying to squeeze three nights each for Wengen and Guarda, I think I'd leave out the night in Colmar. Truthfully, the Alsace deserves its own trip. J.

This could be my alternate itinery. Drive munich to Guarda area for 2 nights, two nights sils baselgia, two nights luzern, two nights wengen, one night colmar, one night obernai, one night stein am rhine, two nights zurich. I thought to split up the engadin to two areas so as to cut down on the driving since I would like to see each area. The problem with this is that Wengen is only 2 nights. What do you think.

Your itinerary makes sense. I like the idea of splitting up the time in the Engadine between Guarda and Sils.

I think you could add the night in Stein am Rhein to Wengen, if you heart is set on Wengen. Stein am Rhein is well to visit within, say 3-4 hours. This could be done on the driving day from Obernai to Zurich - just a little detour, if you start relatively early in Obernai.

Hi cparris,

Just a quick note: Stein am Rhine is only about an hour from Zurich by train or car, so it hardly merits moving hotels. If I were you, I would pick only one and do the other by day-trip. That would also free up one more day for Wengen --

s

That's a lot of packing/unpacking/moving/driving - I counted 8 times. I know you want to break in the new bimmer ((a)), but you might want to consider saving Alsace for another trip? ((b))

Apologies for a slightly off topic post, but seeing Stein am Rhein mentioned, thought I'd ask. If I'm planning to bicycle around the Bodensee, would a detour to Stein am Rhein be worth the time?