DeniseM

I'm at the early stages of planning my trip to Germany and Switzerland. I'm sort of jumping into the middle of my rough itinerary to get your advice on travel on a particular part of the journey as I have not yet pulled it all together.

After 10 days in Germany which my DH and I will travel by train, we will be ready to depart Munich for Fussen to spend a night or 2 and tour the castle(s), then proceed to Bernese Oberland. I'm still working on exactly where we will stay since we will be in Bernese Oberland in Mid-May, and many accommodations are closed.

One thought was to rent a car when ready to depart Munich. Drive the southern part of the Romantic Road to Fussen, eventually continuing to Switzerland. We will return to Germany to fly out from Frankfurt. I don't know exactly our return route since I don't yet know if it makes sense to attempt to drive this part of the trip. My point mostly being that we won't be dropping the car in Switzerland.

Is this drive possible and enjoyable? I know some of the towns are car-free. Currently, I am looking at Lauterbrunnen accommodations.

I've also noticed that the Railpass allows for discounts journeys to Jungfrau and that area. Perhaps I should get the rail pass for Germany/Switzerland and simply travel by rail?

I would appreciate your thoughts and experiences with driving vs. rail on this trip.

Larryincolorado

I'm not yet familiar with the Berner Oberland area, but I have spent considerable time in the Allgäu, which includes Füssen, Kempten, and Lindau. From Füssen you can get to Lindau by taking the train back toward Munich, then changing at Biessenhofen or Buchloe for a connection through Kempten to Lindau. You can also take a short bus ride to Pfronten, then catch the train (Ausserfernbahn) to Kempten. That's a particularly scenic train route. If you want a nice view of the Allgäu, stay on the bus from Füssen to Pfronten and go all the way to Sonthofen and by train from there.

All the previous routes (including the bus) are covered by a Bayern-Ticket at €27 for up to five of you.

Mimar

Of all the countries I've visited, Switzerland is the one where you least need a car. The trains, post buses, and boats cover practically all of the country and interconnect wonderfully conveniently. In fact, I think a car is a negative. There are towns and areas where you can't take a car. And the driver has to keep his eye on the road. As opposed to sitting in a comfortable train or bus and watching the scenery flow by.

A car would be good for the Romantic Road part of your trip. With a car, you can skip Fussen and stay near the castles at Hohenschwangau. And other parts of Germany lend themselves to a car.

Ingo

In this case I think renting a car makes sense. The train connections from Füssen to the Bernese Oberland are not particularly good.

Your best option is to stay in either Lauterbrunnen or Grindelwald. Both are accessible by cars and good hubs for exploring the Jungfrau area.

You can easily drive from there to Frankfurt (via Basel) to catch your flight home. Very reasonable itinerary.

DeniseM

Thank you all for your reply.

Looking at the online map, it looks like we could drive from Bavaria to Bernese Oberland via Zurich and Lucerne. If so, would this warrant a day or overnight stop at either? My main goal is Bernese Oberland and knowing nothing yet about Zurich or Lucerne, I don't know if a 'stopover' would do either place justice. Also, is this a scenic drive?

I have planned 3 nights in Bernese Oberland and could have time for an additional night in route if justified. Otherwise, I will use the extra night once returning to Germany.

Ingo

I don't like one-night stops and think it doesn't make much sense in this case. Personally, I would add that day to the Bernese Oberland or maybe break up the trip to Frankfurt (Gengenbach e.g.).

Yes, it is a scenic drive from Füssen to the Bernese Oberland. If you start around 9 or 10 in the morning you'll arrive at 5 or so in the morning and still have enough time for photo stops/lunch break etc. during the drive. Don't drive via Zurich, take the road via Rapperswil - crossing Lake Zurich - Zug - Lucerne - Brünig Pass.

simpsonc510

I, too, would rent a car. Lucerne is definitely worth a stopover IMO. I also enjoy Zurich a lot, for shopping along the Bahnhofstrasse, but for you I think it is not a stopover. Just bypass Zurich this time.

If you are renting a car in Germany you will need to buy some sort of Swiss pass (at the border, I think). It is a sticker that you put in the window. I do not know the cost. We always rent our car in Zurich, as we fly in and out of Switzerland all the time rather than FRA, but we cross into Germany and Italy all the time.

The drive is really lovely. I leave this afternoon for Zurich and will be traveling to Locarno and Lucerne while there. Can't wait to get back there!

Ingo... we'll be in Stuttgart at the end of the month!

Carol

Larryincolorado

Last October, I made a trip on the Romantic Road from Oberammergau (to Wieskirche) to Würzburg entirely via public transportation. It was not a problem, and was much more relaxing and cost a lot less than with a car.

It takes 2 hours from Munich to Füssen by train. You can make that trip with a €27 Bayern-Ticket. According to via Michelin, which tends to underestimate times, it takes over 3 hrs by car from Munich to Füssen via Augsburg and will cost almost €20 just for fuel. The time assumes no stops, which isn't a problem because there is not much to see on that part of the RR, and the road itself is nothing special - narrow, two lane, with lots of bus, truck, and farm equipment traffic. I'd avoid it and go direct to Füssen by train.

I don't know about Zurich to Interlaken, but from Füssen to Zurich there are good connections by train. Maybe rent a car in Zurich, but not before.

Jake1

It all depends on what you want out of a vacation, and your personality, but that part of Bavaria is wonderful for automobile travel. A lot of neat places to stop on the spur of the moment, and some popular sights are much more easily reached by car than by public transport. Public transportation to many destinations tends to be somewhat roundabout and slow once you get away from the urban centers.

But if you just want to get from one city to another without stopping along the way, then public transportation is the way to go.

DeniseM

Jake1, you kinda hit the nail on the head. We live in the USA and enjoy driving the country. My husband is from the Appalachian mountains and enjoys mountain drives.

By the time we depart Munich, we would have spent 11-12 days in Germany using the trains from Frankfurt to Braubach to Berlin to Munich.

I expect the 1st 12 days to be packed with train travel, tours, museums, lots of walking and enjoying the day-time hustle of Berlin and Munich and late nights enjoying food and drink. I thought it would be nice to spend the next week at a more leisurely pace with less regard to train schedules and more flexibility. Southern Bavaria and the Alps via car seemed to offer this.

But I am practical and want to compare the options. For example, if the drive is too distracting for the driver to really enjoy the scenery and the train is very scenic, this would warrant giving up the drive for the train. And of course, if it is SO much more expensive to drive than I'd have to consider this too.

I hope this offers more insight. Everyone's feedback has been so valuable.

bettyk

In 2006, we visited Germany and then traveled down to Lauterbrunnen via the Black Forest. We spent 3 nights at the Hotel Oberland which is on the main street in Lauterbrunnen. We enjoyed our stay there very much; their restaurant is great.

When we left Lauterbrunnen to return to Frankfurt, we made a 2 day stop in Stein am Rhein near the Swiss/German border. I highly recommend a visit to this amazingly lovely little town.

Here is a link to my trip report

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34813676

and our photos:

http://travel.webshots.com/album/554510509SyxotU

DeniseM

BettyK, thank you so much for sharing. So now this brings up the thought of traveling from Frankfurt through the blackforest to Lauterbrunnen, completing our tour through Germany counterclockwise rather than clockwise!

I have read on the post the drive though the black forest is wonderful, but I had not considered it. It looks like we could land in Frankfurt and after a few hours drive south, we could stop and rest from jet lag for a day or more before proceeding to Switzerland.

I'll do further research and also see how the change in dates affects hotel availability but if anyone has thoughts on this alternative, let me know!

bettyk

We really enjoyed Gengenbach but there are other nice towns, small and large, that would also make a good stopping point. You can do a search here for Black Forest for add'l info.

DeniseM

Ingo and anyone familar with the drive between Fussen and Lauterbrunnen, what is the best route leaving Fussen? When I map it on Google, it takes me from Fussen to Kreuz Memmingen to merge onto A96 toward Lindau.

I'm looking for an enjoyable route that will still allow us to make it from Fussen to Lauterbrunnen by the end of the day. This will be in May so it looks like sunset is around 8pm. Thanks.

Jake1

viamichelin.com allows you to pick different types of routes; e.g., shortest, quickest, recommended, discovery, etc.

Ingo

Definitely don't go as far back as Memmingen. Maybe to Kempten, then road B 12 to Lindau. But even this is a quite fast route and you should start with a more scenic drive.

Drive the "Deutsche Alpenstrasse" B 310 to Wertach (beyond Lake Grüntensee), then via Immenstadt and Sonthofen to Fischen where you turn left and drive into Austria via Balderschwang.

Continue to Dornbirn and Götzis where you can cross the border (Mäder is the name of the small village) to Switzerland. Drive via Altstätten, Appenzell to Rapperswil (several options, all of them are scenic).

In Rapperswil cross Lake Zurich on the dam, continue via Rothenturm, Sattel to Küssnacht and Luzern. From there south via Brünig Pass to Interlaken and Lauterbrunnen.

The drive is VERY scenic. Don't waste too much time at the begin with photo stops - the scenery gets better and better.

I.