Car vs train for this itinerary...

And, if you recommend car, is there a company you recommend or that I should stay away from?

Even as I look at this itinerary, the Vienna part of it is looking unrealistic as it is so far east. I don't like the LONG drive/train trip back to Zurich. Or the cost of open jaw flight out of Vienna. Any recommendations on itinerary are welcome! Vienna and Lucerne would both be new for us.

Is there any way you could land in Munich rather than Zürich, and leave from Zürich? It would save you the 4.5-hour train journey between Zürich and Füssen.
If you do land in Munich, I would perhaps spend the first night there, then rent a car for a few days of touring the Bavarian Alps, return it in Munich, and do the rest by train.
I would also leave Vienna out, and spend more time in Switzerland instead. You could also stay a couple of days in Tirol to break the journey between Salzburg and Zürich / Luzern. For instance, Seefeld near Innsbruck, Innsbruck itself, or Achensee.

Would love to do that, but this trip will be from Sept 20-Oct 4, right during Oktoberfest in Munich. Airfare is sky high compared to Zurich!

Correction! I just looked it up, and it's a very small price change to fly into Munich and out of Zurich! Wow! That might be the solution to my planning problems! Thanks! Tina

Just a question about your travel dates. You are no doubt aware that the O'gau Passion Play is this year? Unless you have tickets for the play, it may be difficult if not impossible to find accommodations in O'gau itself. G-P shouldn't be a problem.

The idea of flying into Munich makes logistical sense. And if you want to avoid the ridiculously high hotel prices there during October fest, consider taking the train to G-P on arrival and renting your car there. You could look at Auto Europe to find your rental. Don't forget that the driver(s) will need an International Driver Permit (get it at your local AAA). And you will need to buy a vignette for the car if you travel on the Austrian auto routes.

I can't make a recommendation about Vienna,really. We love Vienna a lot, and might consider it worth the time on a train to Zurich. BTW, flying from Vienna to Zurich is only 1 1/2 hrs and should cost about $100 pp.

I have toured the region you're wanting to go in many times, and I always fly into Munich--a great large city worth seeing.

I don't consider Zurich to be worthwhile as it's not in The Alps--and somewhat dull. And if you're wanting to go to Vienna, it's a long, long way.

Have you considered catching a train down to Innsbruck and doing day trips out of. there by rental car? Garmisch and Fuessen are not very far. And you have incredible mountains to ramble through in this very interesting region.

It's all autobahn up to Salzburg and even over to Vienna. The main thing is to avoid backtracking which is expensive. The trick is that you want to turn a rental car into the same country as it was rented in to avoid hefty return charges.

We too have been to Vienna many times, and know of a great B&B in the city if you need a place to stay. We adore the city.

CJean, Yes, we are aware of the Oberammergau Passion Play (have been wanting to go for 40+ years). I finally and independently bought tickets for Sunday, Sept 25. I have a good apartment on the line in Oberammergau vs a cheaper apartment in GP. Just trying to decide if we will use public transport and stay local in O'gau (the first option), or rent a car and stay further away. Husband found out that I was thinking about the latter and objected. He wanted to be local to whatever site were were visiting (ie. hop around). So, that might be a deciding factor.

I don't want to waste time backtracking, as was mentioned in another post. But flying in AND out of Munich is over $1000 per ticket, whereas Zurich is $750. Into Munich and out of Zurich is about $860, which, considering the cost of train from Z->M, is about equal. I'm looking into intracontinental flights, say Vienna to Zurich. But, we could also leave Vienna out and go into Switzerland instead: beautiful city vs beautiful lakes/countryside. We don't care about Zurich itself. And we have no great desire to visit Munich during Oktoberfest.

May I ask where you’re flying from?

There is a scenic trainline from Zurich to Innsbruck (or vice versa). I have travelled from Innsbruck to Salzburg, to Munich with G-P on the way, or south to Bolzano - and even farther south to Verona. Take a look at all the great train options.

We are flying from the Pacific Northwest. Could do either Portland or Seattle. I'm not a fan of driving anywhere near Seattle, but because it's cheaper, we'll probably go out of SeaTac airport.