Travel from Zurich, to Balzars Liechtenstein to Venice By Car
Aug 13th, 2018, 03:06 PM
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Travel from Zurich, to Balzars Liechtenstein to Venice By Car
Hello everyone, I am looking for advice for travel by car this month from the Zurich airport to Balzars, Liechtenstein and then onto Venice, Italy by car. I am wondering how safe the roads are (I will be driving with children) and which routes would be recommended. Thank you in advance!
Aug 13th, 2018, 03:59 PM
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How quick are you having to make that drive? The fastest way would be on boring autoroutes - Zurich up to Gotthard Base Tunnel where you can put your car on a train and off at other end - well Google maps shows that. But are you into going slowly and taking in some nice places or straight thru in one day? There are several slower routes if time.
Aug 13th, 2018, 05:05 PM
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Are you renting a car? If you were thinking of returning the rental car in Italy and haven't already investigated, you might want to get a quote to see how much the one-way, multi-country rental will cost.
You have a choice of sights depending on your route. St. Moritz, Lakes Lugano, Como and Garda, Verona, Vicenza, Padova, a bit of the Dolomites, Bolzano (Ice Man Museum), etc. You should peruse a map, consider what you might like to see, and then plot your route. Several of these places are also on the train routes from Zurich to Venice if you decide not to drive.
You have a choice of sights depending on your route. St. Moritz, Lakes Lugano, Como and Garda, Verona, Vicenza, Padova, a bit of the Dolomites, Bolzano (Ice Man Museum), etc. You should peruse a map, consider what you might like to see, and then plot your route. Several of these places are also on the train routes from Zurich to Venice if you decide not to drive.
Aug 13th, 2018, 05:19 PM
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And be sure to buy a vignette for Swiss autoroutes at the border. And yes how much time you have - you could take some dramatically scenic routes if you have several days - like the Bernina Pass Highway - going up and over the Alps. Or going down thru Austria to Dolomites.
Aug 13th, 2018, 06:47 PM
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How quick are you having to make that drive? The fastest way would be on boring autoroutes - Zurich up to Gotthard Base Tunnel where you can put your car on a train and off at other end - well Google maps shows that. But are you into going slowly and taking in some nice places or straight thru in one day? There are several slower routes if time.
Thank you! I am looking for the faster route, and will probably pull off at certain exits. I am mostly worried about the safety of the roads. Are they very narrow and winding? Is there sufficient space for cars traveling in both directions along the route? Since it is a mountainous region I was a little worried about the drive.
Aug 14th, 2018, 02:49 AM
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Rental cars you pick up in Switzerland will already have the Swiss motorway toll sticker AKA the vignette.
One-way rentals across borders usually incur steep extra fees. Check the fineprint and or terms.
The quickest and shortest route from Zurich airport to Balzers (check Google maps) is via motorways only.
Motorways / freeways are designated by the letter "A" in Switzerland, Austria and Italy (and others). So as long as pick a routing that follows "A" routes, you will never hit a mountain pass road. The latter are mostly for pleasure driving only and have no real purpose for long-distance travel in Europe anyway.
From Balzers to Venice, I would lean against Google map's preferred routing via Milan (to avoid the traffic of the greater Milan area) and rather drive via Innsbruck, Brenner pass (again a motorway and no "winding 2 lane pass road") and Verona (one of the two alternate routings you see with Google maps).
If you decide to drive via Austria, you need to buy a "vignette"/ motorway toll sticker for less than €10 while still in Switzerland or Liechtenstein (at many/most gas stations near the border).
You must not drive one km on Austria's motorways without a valid sticker - if you get stopped, you pay a steep penalty otherwise.
The route via Innsbruck will incur a seperate toll for using the Brenner pass motorway on top of what you paid already for the vignette.
In Itally, motorway tolls are collected as you go (no flat fees as in CH or AT).
While this trip would take you on motorways only (except for a few kms on a regular highway between Balzers to Feldkirch in Austria) you should not expect a full leisure time experiences. The motorways that cut through the Alps are among Europe's busiest are heavily used both by trucks (lots of trucks!) and tourists going to or coming from Italy (lots of tourists). The Brenner pass often sees traffic backed up for many kilometers (or hours), but the later you go in August (and when you can avoid weekends) you should see more traffic going in the opposite direction as summer holidays come to an end in Germany and Austria.
One-way rentals across borders usually incur steep extra fees. Check the fineprint and or terms.
The quickest and shortest route from Zurich airport to Balzers (check Google maps) is via motorways only.
Motorways / freeways are designated by the letter "A" in Switzerland, Austria and Italy (and others). So as long as pick a routing that follows "A" routes, you will never hit a mountain pass road. The latter are mostly for pleasure driving only and have no real purpose for long-distance travel in Europe anyway.
From Balzers to Venice, I would lean against Google map's preferred routing via Milan (to avoid the traffic of the greater Milan area) and rather drive via Innsbruck, Brenner pass (again a motorway and no "winding 2 lane pass road") and Verona (one of the two alternate routings you see with Google maps).
If you decide to drive via Austria, you need to buy a "vignette"/ motorway toll sticker for less than €10 while still in Switzerland or Liechtenstein (at many/most gas stations near the border).
You must not drive one km on Austria's motorways without a valid sticker - if you get stopped, you pay a steep penalty otherwise.
The route via Innsbruck will incur a seperate toll for using the Brenner pass motorway on top of what you paid already for the vignette.
In Itally, motorway tolls are collected as you go (no flat fees as in CH or AT).
While this trip would take you on motorways only (except for a few kms on a regular highway between Balzers to Feldkirch in Austria) you should not expect a full leisure time experiences. The motorways that cut through the Alps are among Europe's busiest are heavily used both by trucks (lots of trucks!) and tourists going to or coming from Italy (lots of tourists). The Brenner pass often sees traffic backed up for many kilometers (or hours), but the later you go in August (and when you can avoid weekends) you should see more traffic going in the opposite direction as summer holidays come to an end in Germany and Austria.
Last edited by Cowboy1968; Aug 14th, 2018 at 02:54 AM.
Aug 14th, 2018, 07:01 AM
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And autoroutes are as safe as at home or just about - you want to dash from Liechtenstein to Venice the fastest way possible so take autoroutes as cowboy says have no sinuous mountain roads but use tunnels and low passes - that should not be a worry - are you renting a car - and this only trip - if so consider taking trains and more enjoy the ride. A marathon day on autoroutes dan be exhausting.
Aug 14th, 2018, 07:27 AM
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The roads are perfectly safe IF you're an experienced driver and don't mind loads and loads of enormous trucks and being blinded going in and out of tunnels. It's certainly not a trip I'd enjoy taking in a car, though and, as mentioned, picking up a car in one country and dropping it off in another will cost you a king's ransom.
Do you have to drive? it would be a pleasant journey by train.
Do you have to drive? it would be a pleasant journey by train.
Aug 14th, 2018, 07:50 AM
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will probably pull off at certain exits>
there are rest areas on autoroutes with restaurants, shops and places for kids to run around. Getting off at exits and going into towns would be nice but would take a lot of time. Sounds like you want to go straight thru and if so little time for getting off autoroutes. And if so just take the quickest autoroute way via Michelin or other sites listing best ways - fastest routes. Sounds like a real drudge - look into flying from Zurich or trains - and that is your only trip?
there are rest areas on autoroutes with restaurants, shops and places for kids to run around. Getting off at exits and going into towns would be nice but would take a lot of time. Sounds like you want to go straight thru and if so little time for getting off autoroutes. And if so just take the quickest autoroute way via Michelin or other sites listing best ways - fastest routes. Sounds like a real drudge - look into flying from Zurich or trains - and that is your only trip?
