Winter Driving in Switzerland
 

We (3 adults, 3 children) are going to Grindelwald next year in mid January, flying into Zurich, and staying 10 days.I have never driven in bad snow, and I don't know the route from Zurich to Grindelwald. Is it over high mountains, and what will the roads be like? What are snow chains and can one drive normally with them, or are you restricted to about 30 miles per hour? We drove from Geneva to Grindelwald in the summer, and it was all flat motorway, so no bother. And it will be dark when we get there. So, it is OK to drive, or should we take the train, and try and hire a car somewhere in Interlaken or Grindelwald? Two of the adults don't ski, and don't intend to learn, and so we will want to be going places during the holiday. Opinions please. Thanks.

Let's see: You're not familiar with winter driving,(let alone in the mountains), you don't know the route, and you will be driving at night. Do yourselves and others a favor and take the train.

MOst of the route from Zurich is autoroute, but you still may find yourselves in a snowstorm along the way, and that's not fun. Where I live, winter driving conditions are a regular part of life, but every year at the first snow, there are lots of accidents as drivers reaccustom themselves to the new conditions.

Tire chains are normally only used in heavy snow conditions, such as crossing alpine passes. You must mount them entering the area and take them off again when leaving, which is a real nuisance. Where they are required, you wouldn't want to drive much more than 30 mph anyway.

The non-skiers can consider hiring a car at Grindelwald, but you would be better off to take a bus or train to visit other places.

If you are not used to driving in snow, stick to public transportation. A fender bender is unpleasant in the best of circumstances, I would not want to risk it in a foreign country. Whenever you drive you risk one, but the chances of one increase tremendously in snowy conditions, especially after a sleepless night on a transatlantic flight.

Hi cod,

I agree with the above posters -- your best bet would be to take the train.

However, there is another option: stay your first night in Zurich or in Luzern, then pick up your car the next day and drive on.

Do you know about the Swiss Rail website at www.rail.ch? Go there to check schedules & fares & passes.

Good luck!

s

c

I agree with the others -- take the train. Having said that, many years ago my friend and I drove from Berne to Grindelwald to go skiing (two southern California natives who never see snow unless we go skiing), and the drive there wasn't bad, and it did snow while we were there. The roads were passable, and the car was equipped with snow tires, so there was no need for chains. We even moved the car out of a snow drift three feet high, but I seem to recall the roads were plowed frequently.