Basel airport arrive from Nice at 7:45 PM - Can we make it to Lucerne that evening?

Posted by jonjoslin on 04/03/17 04:17 AM

Hello all, for the second part of our trip, we have an easy jet flight from Nice, France to 'Basel Switzerland on the 28th of June, which lands at 7:45 PM.

My two options are as follows, and looking for advice for people who have driven Basel to Lucerne.

1). Get a hotel near the airport, relax, and pick up pour rental car the next morning
2). Pick up the rental car at the airport after 8:15 or 8:30 or so, and head to Lucerne.

So, is option 2 advisable, given the evening hour? I don't have any issues driving at night or anything, but want to be cautious about a 75 (or so) mile trip to our potential place in Lucerne.

If it helps, we are going to stay near Flugplatz Buochs for a few days.. from there as a base, we are going to see Lucerne, and probably take the panoramic train Luzern-Interlaken Express during one or more of the days.

Any thoughts for me?

Posted by Chris F

Basel, Switzerland

04/03/17 09:01 AM

8889 posts

Easy Peasy. DO NOT get a hotel at the airport, there aren't any (there is one that claims to be but isn't). DO NOT drive, picking up a car would add ~1 hour..
Basel is a quick airport, you should be out the front of arrivals within 30 minutes. Make sure you take the exit to Switzerland, not the one to France.
Take the bus from outside the terminal to the station (Basel SBB). You should be there ~20:30-20:45
Then a train to Luzern. There are trains at 21:04, 21:17, 22:02, 23:02, last train 00:02. So you need not be rushed.

we are going to stay near Flugplatz Buochs for a few days.. from there as a base, we are going to see Lucerne,

That actually makes things more difficult. Why aren't you staying in Luzern? I am not sure how far this is from Luzern station, and whether a taxi is feasable.

Posted by Chris F

Basel, Switzerland

04/03/17 12:30 PM

8889 posts

I've just looked up Flugplatz Buochs. It is some distance from Luzern. The nearest station is Stans, on the Luzern - Engelberg line. You could still get a train there, changing at Luzern. Depending on where your hotel is you probably need a taxi from Stans station.
Or stay the first night in Luzern.

Posted by jonjoslin OP

04/03/17 02:47 PM

17 posts

Hi Chris,

We are picking up a car for the remainder of the trip. Maybe that is the part we should rethink. We have not totally decided but picked the Flughaze property because it is away, and is a 3-bedroom.

With a car, this is ten miles from the Lucerne city-center. Without a car, we would not stay there.

We like to get away from the hotels when possible.

Maybe I should be asking broader questions:

1). If we fly into Basel, the evening of the 28th of June, where should we stay to position ourselves well for visiting Lucerne, and Training down to Interlaken Ost, perhaps on a day trip. We are planning from June 28th, to July 5th, when we fly our of Frankfurt.

As much as we keep reading about people with 20-30 trip in this area without ever driving, I think I may try harder to not rent.

Any help is well appreciated!

-Jon

Posted by Chris F

Basel, Switzerland

04/03/17 03:11 PM

8889 posts

One thing you need to know about Basel airport, it straddles the French/Swiss border. You can exit into either country, and get a car from either France or Switzerland. Your choice, but you have to return it in the same country, or pay a surcharge. Where are you intending to return this car?

I would not do this trip with a car from the airport, I would use the train. But it is your holiday and if that is what you want to do.
Landing at 7:45 pm (0r 19:45 as we call it here), and then driving after dark in a country you have not been to is probably not a good idea. Picking up a car takes time. I would still suggest you take a train to Luzern, and spend your first night there.
Or just take the bus into Basel, spend a day here and then pick up a car in Basel and drive by day to Luzern.

If you are having a car, you can do the route to Interlaken by car. Both the rail route and a road go over the Brünig Pass.

Also, if you have a car you absolutely must drive over one of the high Alpine passes. For example, Grimselpass. Look up "Grimselpass" on youtube.