Any pitfalls in this 17 day itinerary for trip focussed on small towns and hiking Alps?

The biggest pitfall I see is that it's an awful lot of driving for when you're jet-lagged - best to avoid any driving for at least a couple of days, I would think.

How about flying in to Zurich and taking the train to Murren? (Edited to add that you could do it 'open jaw' and still fly out of Munich, if you wish).

Add to your budget Swiss vignette (toll sticker) 40 CHF, Austrian vignette 10-day 8.80 EUR, Slovenia vignette 1-week 15 EUR. Buy at the very first gas station you come to entering the country.
Each driver should get an International Drivers Permit.

Hi,
Can you fly into Zurich and out of Munich? It makes the most sense.
I have a feeling you have the air tickets already.

What time is your flight home? You have Day 16 in Berchtesgaden and the 17 fly home. Do you need to stay by Munich airport for an early flight home?

You need to buy the Vignette to drive highways in Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia. The Swiss cost is 38Euro, the Austrian is 9Euro and the Slovenia Vignette costs 15Euro. These are toll stickers for the car windshield that shows you have paid the "toll" to drive on highways in each of these countries.

You're driving 10 hours to visit Muerren, stay longer. Heaven forbid you get a bad weather day or two. Have the extra day.
Although we've never been, I'd drop Lake Bled.
Again, you're driving 9 hours to visit the Dolomites (we've stayed 10 nights so far) and staying for only 3 nights (2 full days) when 4 nights (3 full days) isn't even a long time to visit.

Basically, since all your destinations and primary activities (hiking) are weather dependent, I'd do this:

I look at Day 2 and Day 7 as non days of sightseeing, etc. Basically transit days.

Day 2: Arrive Munich in am. Drive 5 hours (near Zurich to overnight)
Day 3: Drive 5 hours to Murren in the am.
Day 4: Murren
Day 5: Murren
Day 6: Murren
Day 7: Drive 9 hours to Badia in the Italian Dolomites
Day 8: Badia
Day 9: Badia
Day 10: Badia
Day 11: Badia
Day 12: Drive to Heiligenblut at the start of the Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse.
Day 13: Drive to Berchtesgaden via the Grossglockner, Zell am See, St. Johann, Lofer, etc.
Day 14: Berchtesgaden
Day 15: Berchtesgaden
Day 16: Berchtesgaden
Day 17: Fly home

Take your first days drive slow and be prepared to to stop early if you are tired. Jetlag effects people differently - keep in mind you are 20 years older than the last time you made that trip.

Also, I am guessing, educated guessing, the car rental rate does not include the insurance - have you considered what that entails? Waiving the rental company's insurance and relying on the ins from a cc or travel policy will result in a very large hold on your credit card - be sure and read all of the fine print on insurance.

For your fuel budget - have you computed the miles you are driving? The current price of fuel in your region is appx $5.50 to $5.90 per US gallon.

Driving 5 hours after an overnight flight, through mountains, is dangerous and irresponsible, in my opinion.

Agreed. If you can't change your air tickets to a more logical arrival in Zurich, why not take the train from Munich upon arriving there rather than getting in a car and driving upon arriving from a transatlantic flight. Stay in/near Zurich overnight and then pick up the car the next morning.

That nine-hour drive to Badia looks long, too! But if that's somewhere you want to hit, I guess there you go.

As others have advised, take the train to Zurich on arrival and overnight. Next AM, Day 3, take the train/lifts to Muerren. No need for a car there. When you are ready to leave the Lauterbrunnen Valley, rent your car.

I would also drop Bled and add those days to Muerren and Badia. In case of poor weather you are more likely to have success with high mountain areas the longer you stay.

Finally, be certain you can take your Swiss rented car into other countries. You'll need to divulge that, I believe, for insurance.

This is if you drop Lake Bled.

Maybe... Train from Munich to Zurich or nearby. Use the trains in Switzerland, as you'll have to leave the car in a parking lot while in Muerren and the Berner Oberland. Cars aren't allowed in most places. Train to Garmisch, pick up the car and drive to Alta Badia. It's about 3 hours drive. Then drive to or near the Munich airport.
OR, maybe train from Switzerland to Innsbruck, pick up a car, and after Berchtesgaden, leave the car in Salzburg, 30 minutes away from Berchtesgaden. Train to Munich, near the airport or to the airport.

Paul

Wow, thanks for all the feedback!

Just to let you know that we have our plane tickets in/out of Munich. We used FF miles, so that allowed us the best flights for the timeframe we wanted to travel. Also, we've rented cars previously on our European trips and really do like the flexibility it offers us. To rent a car and return to a different location is so much more expensive, so I think it makes the most sense for us to rent and return to Munich. However, I think we will heed your advise and drive only 2-3 hours the first day and then sleep before we drive the rest of the way to Murren.

I also think we may amend our itinerary to eliminate Bled and stay additional days in Murren and Badia. We already have a cute apartment rented near Berchtesgaden for the last 5 nights (except for our final night near the Munich airport), so that's a done deal. I haven't ever been to Slovenia, so would be very excited to go there, but maybe it would best be worked into another trip, hoping the dollar stays strong.

Again, I really appreciate the feedback and recommendations for change.

Just adding my opinion on the fuel cost question: I have always had great luck when renting small cars in Europe, mostly Germany, but also in Italy (I must have been mad to drive there) and Spain. I always ask for a diesel fuel car. They are much, much more fuel efficient, although the price per liter is still quite high. I normally ask for an Opel diesel, and if one is not available I'll take a Fiat. I have also rented VW Passat's, BMW's and Mercedes cars in Germany, diesel of course, and found them to be much more comfortable to ride/drive for any long distances, but none the less very fuel efficient at the same time.

We are also used to driving and usually drive 2 to 3 hours to our first destination. Just wanted to say dropping Bled makes sense and that if you've never been to the Dolomites or to the Berchtesgaden area, you're going to love both. We've spent 18 nights at a wonderful pension just outside Berchtesgaden and are heading back this fall. We've also spent 10 nights in the Dolomites, 6 in the Alta Badia. Just amazing to see the Dolomites in person. Like nothing else you'll see in the alps. Plus the food is Austrian and Italian, so you get the best of both countries in one. Win win.

Paul