15-16 days Road Trip - Switzerland
 

Hi,

Me and my wife are planning a 15-16 day road trip aeound switzerland. Bur since it has some beautiful rail routes we would like to club a few rail routes along the way.

Can anyone suggest which city to start and the route we should take around.

We are planning to travel in september.

Regards,
Gagandeep

A scenic rail trip might be best done at the beginning or end of the trip, otherwise you have the problem of getting back to your car.

Alternatively, it might make more sense to do the trip mainly by train and rent a car for a few days where it makes the most sense.

For example, you could start your trip with 3-4 days in Luzern and then take the Golden Pass train to Montreux. There you could rent a car for a few days to explore French Switzerland.

There are a million ways to do this. Do you already have some kind of itinerary in mind?

Have you considered using public transportation for all of your time in Switzerland? It is incredibly easy and convenient, and would let the driver actually enjoy the mangificent scenery through which you will pass. You can learn more at the Swiss Rail web-site (which also covers busses, boats, etc.)
http://www.sbb.ch/en/home.html

I would strongly encourage you to get a copy of the Michelin Green Guide.

Until then, you might find some useful ideas in my trip report:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...any-thanks.cfm

Swiss public transportation is the way to go if it's your first time. Loved being able to hop on a train, boat, or bus with the Swiss Pass. Do choose 2-3 bases and day trip from there. Switzerland is small so the distances are manageable. Great country full of gorgeous scenery. Expensive, but if you rent a couple of apartments, you can help keep that under control.

I spent 17 nights in Switzerland back in September - October 2011.

Had stays in Zurich, Lucerne, Interlaken, Montreux, Evian les Bains (France), and Geneva. I picked up a car when leaving Zurich and returned it upon arrival in Geneva after checking into my hotel. Had some daytrips from my hotel locations and stops along the way between hotel locations. It was a great trip.

I really enjoyed going to a "moo-ving of the cows". ;-). It is when they bring the cows down from the the upper pastures to the valley for the winter. A lot of fun! The cows are decked out in their big bells with flowers on the head, the farmers and kids are all dressed in their alpine outfits. Fun!

http://www.myswitzerland.com/en-us/a...he-cattle.html

A mix of days with and days without a car will be best, rather than having the same car for the duration. The car simply won't get enough use. Many Swiss don't own one, and they move around like crazy - my nephew and my sister in Bern are always out of town somewhere, and never by car.

Map out where you want to go, THEN find out what region on what day or days would be good or better to do by car. I can think of one - to explore the Jura region I would want the car. But hardly any Fodorites ever seem to go there - I never read recommendations or questions about the Jura (see http://www.myswitzerland.com/en-us/d...ree-lakes.html)

Once you have a list of targets, look up the relevant pages of http://www.myswitzerland.com/en-us/d...s/regions.html to see what's recommended for mode of transportation.

Look frequently at https://map.search.ch/?pos=743808,155520&z=1 because it shows in relief the elevations - folks tend to forget that mountains are obstacles between A and B...

Use www.viamichelin.com and google maps and don't trust everything you read.

Mainly, learn your way around the train timetables at www.sbb.ch/en, and never forget the brilliant system of postal buses called Postauto (https://www.postauto.ch/en) that go where trains don't go, and that link up with trailheads of the equally brilliant Swiss network of hiking trails called Wanderwege.

(The Postautos originally carried mail into far-flung places, nowadays they are like commuter buses for those same far-flung places).

Happy planning!

Whether a car suits you or not depends on what YOU want to see and experience. I certainly would NOT agree that "a mix of days with and days without a car <b>will</b> [emphasis added] be best." Personally, I would prioritize destinations that let me enjoy the scenery unencumbered -- that is, those I can see WITHOUT a car -- over those that require a car, at least for a visit to Switzerland as short as 15 or 16 days. JMO.

SWITZERLAND BY CAR

It's perfectly possible to visit tons of gems in Switzerland by car, without boarding any train (between June and October, when all mountain roads are open).

But if you want to visit Switzerland by car, don’t choose just the places that can NOT be reached by car (like Muerren, Gimmelwald, Wengen, Schynige Platte, Schilthorn, First, Kleine Scheidegg, Maennlichen, Rigi, Pilatus, Bettmeralp, Zermatt, Braunwald, etc). Otherwise you will have to pay for both: car rental, fuel (about 8 USD per US gallon/3,85 litres) AND mountain railways.

There are tons of beautiful places in the Swiss Alps which can be reached by car. Some suggestions:

Drive from Martigny to Col de la Gueulaz on Lake Emosson (2000m/6600ft). You are then just in front of the Northern side of Mont Blanc, the highest mountain chain of Western Europe. The glaciers of Trient, Tour, Argentiere as well as the peaks of Aiguille d'Argentiere (3900m/13000fr), Aiguille Verte (4120m/13500ft), Grandes Jorasse (4210m/13800ft), Mont Blanc (4810m/15800ft) ar jus a few miles away.

Drive from Martigny to Grand St Bernard Pass (2470m/8100ft) and hike in 1 hr to La Chenalette (2800m/9200ft). From there, you have a stupendous view to the Southern side of Mont Blanc (A Neuve Glacier, Dolent Glacier, Pre de Bar Glacier, Triolet Glacier as well as a lot of 3800 to 4800m / 13000 to 15800ft high peaks). In the South, but farther away, you see the glaciers and peaks of the Gran Paradiso chain.
A easy, but very scenic 6hrs circular hike goes from Col du Gd St-Bernard via Col des Chevaux - Lake Petit Le - Col de Bastillon to the 3 blue mountain lakes of Fenetre and then over the Col de Fenetre de Ferret back to Col du Gd St-Bernard.

Drive from Sion to Col du Sanetsch (2250m/7400ft) and hike in about 2 hrs to Refuge/Restaurant La Quille du Diable on Tsanfleuron Glacier (2900m/9500ft). You are there on the top of a perpendicular cliff and can look down to Lake Derborence, just 1500m/5000ft below your feet. Stupendous view to Mont Blanc chain, Grand Combin, Mont Collon and tons of other peaks.

Drive from Sierre to Grimentz and then up to the end of the road on Lake Moiry (2250m/7400ft) and hike then in aobut 1 hr to Moiry hut (Swiss Alpine club) and Moiry Glacier.

Drive from Brig to Ried-Moerel, go by gondola to Riederalp (5 CHF/one way), hike in 1/2 hr to Riederfurka (2070m/6800ft), visit the visitor's centre/museum of the Jungfrau-Aletsch Nature reserve, walk through the Aletsch Forest and have a look at the Aletsch Glacier (longest glacier of Europe) just below and in front of you.

Drive to Breuil-Cervinia (Italian neighbourhood, 2000m/6500ft) and go by cableway to Plateau Rosa (28 EUR/35 USD roundtrip). Plateau Rosa (3500m/11500ft) is close to Matterhorn Paradise/Kleinmatterhorn (1 mile away, same panorama). The roundtrip ticket from Taesch Parking to Matterhorn Paradise costs 107 CHF/112 USD

Drive to Grimsel Pass (2200m/7200ft) and hike in about 1 1/2 hr to Sidelhorn (2800m/9200ft). Panoramic views to Unteraar Glacier, Oberaar Glacier, 6 mountain lakes around Grimsel Pass, Finsteraarhorn (4300m/14100ft) and dozens of other peaks. You may also hike from Grimsel Pass to Lake Oberaar (1 hr) and along this lake to Oberaar Glacier (another hr).
Drive then from Grimsel Pass to Furka Belvedere and visit the Ice cave in the Rhone Glacier.
Another road in the same area goes to Nufenenpass/Griessee. The hike from the end of the road to Lake Griessee - Gries Pass - Gries Glacier takes about 1 1/2 hrs.

Drive from Davos or St. Moritz to Stelvio Pass (2800m/9200ft). Hike to the glaciers (1 hr or so) or enjoy the view to them from Piz da las Trais Linguas (3 languages peak; 2850m/9400ft).

etc. etc.

But if you prefer to ride with Glacier Express, Bernina Express, Golden Pass Panoramic, etc. and if you want to visit Gornergrat and Jungfraujoch, you better look after rail passes.

You may have a look at
http://www.myswitzerland.com/en/home.html
http://www.swisstravelsystem.ch/en/
http://fahrplan.sbb.ch/bin/query.exe/en

I have spent time in Switzerland with a car and without a car. I would never try to say one is better than the other. It all depends on what you want to do with your time and where you want to go.

I would say you need to some research of your own and decide where you want to try and visit, based on your interests. Asking anyone else where they would go doesn't mean they would go to places that would interest you. There is no shortcut for doing your own research.

OP chose the term “road trip”, so OP wants to drive, that seems to be a given, or OP wouldn’t have chosen that header.

As neckervd rightly says, many desirable targets don’t lend themselves to driving, so OP will have to cut back on the driving on some days or miss out on those worthwhile targets.

That leaves a mix of driving and non-driving days as the only solution to cover all options, unless OP is so determined to make this a road-trip that he is willing to forego those non-driving targets.

OP needs to list targets, and then determine the mode of transportation for each. It will likely be a mix.