Logistic Advice 2 weeks: Germany-Switzerland-Salzburg-Vienna

We are doing something similar with 3 younger teens in the summer next year, but for 6 weeks. We are flying into Munich and departing Frankfurt. We have decided to rent a car to see the castles in Bavaria and touring through Switzerland, then return it to Munich. The rental seems very reasonable, unless you plan on dropping it off somewhere other than where you picked it up - add a huge one-way drop fee to your total. We decided that it was cheaper to return it to the Munich airport and pay for an extra night in the area before heading to Salzburg, than pay that fee. We will be doing the rest of our travels through Austria, Germany and the Netherlands by train.

Munich seems to be a less expensive city to fly into. You should determine if the savings of flying into/out of Munich is worth the time spent traveling back there from Vienna. Sometimes "multiple destination" or "open jaw" flights are not worth the extra cost. If you end up with a Eurail pass, the cost to get back to Munich from Vienna may be built in. We ended up with the open jaw flights because we were spending so much time traveling around the rest of Germany and have a definite date we need to be home. I didn't want to take the time to go back to Munich, and the cost for the 5 of us balanced out.

I feel that part of the experience of going to Europe is riding the trains to get places. However, when I tried to route us from Füssen to Lucerne on the train, it was 7 ½ hours and 7 transfers. Plus, I discovered that there are some private railroads in Switzerland that don't use the Eurail pass (I'm sure someone will correct me on this, as I am still learning. Please do.) So, we are using the car to go to the castles, Lucerne, possibly Geneva if we can get into CERN (the large collider only books tours 15 days out), Bern to see the world heritage city, then through Liechtenstein to return to Munich. Who else do you know who plans to go through Liechtenstein, right?

We'll start using the one month train pass after we hit Salzburg.

Eurail passes are by country, multiple countries, or all countries. They are on sale 20% off until the end of December, so check that out at www.eurail.com.

I'd love to hear what your plans end up being and how the transportation works for you. Enjoy your journey.

lower Bavaria area

I just want to make sure you have the correct terminology here before I respond further. Lower Bavaria (Niederbayern) is not the southernmost portion of the state that contains the Alps, that's actually Upper Bavaria (Oberbayern). Rather, Lower Bavaria is the district to the northeast, centered on Landshut. The names "Upper" and "Lower" correspond to the flow of rivers, not the north-south orientation of the districts.

Tom - thank you for the clarification. Our objective was to get out of the big city and get a feel for the areas that are pretty heading down toward Fussen etc. if that's making sense. Hence some of my dilemma trying to get the logistics right first. Am I better of doing this just out and back to Munich or if I fly into Zurich (Lucerne / Interlaken ... thinking) do I then try to get over to Lindau, Germany and drive up through/toward Munich (rental car). Trying to avoid the $ rental car country-country drop fee and use trains optimally unless you or someone says just pay the approx. $400 drop fee and do "x" ... its easier. Sincerely appreciate the input. Also, welcome advice if there's a better path that involves Salzburg and Vienna - I had figured those best served on the train out of Munich and fly home from Vienna.

To Jenny M, Yes the problem with the train lines in Upper Bavaria /Ober Bayern Alpine foothills, for example Füssen, is that they all head north to Munich. You can't go south because the Alps are in the way, and west to east involves going round or over foothills. By train you have to go north then to cut south-west to go to Switzerland - the long way around.

To both of you: One way international car hire has surcharges. One way hire within a country is OK, so is taking it to another country, so long as you return it to the same country you picled it up in.
One option is to pick up a car at Munich airport, drive to Füssen and on to Lindau (lovely town on the Swiss border); drop the car off and take the train from there.

Eurail passes: These are rarely good value. Read this article BEFORE buying one: http://www.seat61.com/Railpass-and-Eurail-pass-guide.htm Normal tickets, or local passes are in most cases cheaper.
Read the rest of that website, it is the best resource about train travel in Europe there is.

Once you get to Switzerland, spend a few days in Luzern/Lucerne, the on to somewhere in the Berner Oberland above (not in) Interlaken.

P.S., just read your 2nd post.

How about fly into Vienna. Train -> Salzburg --> Munich. Pick up car --> Füssen / Ober Bayern --> Lindau.. Train --> Luzern --> Berner Oberland --> Lausanne --> Geneva and fly home form there.
Except, you only have 2 weeks = 13 nights: Vienna+Salzburg+Munich+Füssen+Luzern+Berner Oberland+Geneva @ minimum 2 nights each (some places need 3+), 7x2 = 14 nights. Something has to give.

As has been mentioned, drop fees on rental cars from one country to another can bring you to your knees. You will also want to consider air fare differences between different destinations as well as rental prices. (For example, Delta is currently offering roundtrip economy from several hubs to Munich at crazy prices for travel leaving the states before mid May--i.e.Seattle to Munich is under $600 R/T). With a car, planning your trip as a loop can be more cost effective, but parking a car in a large city can problematic and if you end up using public transportation in cities, you pay rental on a car that is sitting in a car park that may come with a healthy fee as well. However the cost of train transportation for 4 may offset some of these costs, so it comes down to doing your homework. Our last trip, we used public transportation is cities, rented cars for countryside travel, and used trains for cross-border travel. Just as a couple side notes: Dachau used to be closed on Mondays so check on hours--it is reachable by public transportation from Munich. I would also second the suggestion for staying above Interlaken. We recently stayed in Beatenburg at the Gloria. A breathtaking location and the hotel supplied cards that gave us free public transportation up and down the mountain. Concerning Salzburg, it is one city where we found a "city card" worth buying.

Where are you getting your rail information? (I hope not Rail Europe.) Use the German Rail schedule and booking website. I see a four change connection leaving Füssen at 10:06 and taking 6H19M to Luzern. Then there is a 6H44M connection leaving Füssen at 11:07, changing at Buchloe to the direct EC to Zürich, then at Zürich to an InterRegional (IR) to Luzern. The second connection has a Saving Fare as low as 29,00€ per person if booked well in advance. If you go the other way, there is a 2 change connection taking 5H45M from Luzern to Füssen, still with that fare.

For travel in Bavaria use the Bayern-Ticket, 38€ (2016 prices) for four adults to go all over Bavaria, hop on/off, after 9 AM, on regional trains (which is what there is to most of the places you want to go). Dachau is a suburb of Munich and local fares are even less.

Yes, train lines tend to radiate out from Munich, but towns in Oberbayern are well connected with a system of buses run by RVO (RegionalVerkehr Oberbayern), a subsitderary of German Rail. I've spent literally months in Bavaria, visiting mostly small towns, and never needed a car to do it.

To compare regional train coverage in Switzerland by different passes, see the summary at https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/switzerland-rail-passes. The Swiss Travel Pass, Half-Fare Card, and Transfer Ticket are not Eurail products, so you won't find them on that web site, but one of these may be most appropriate, combined with driving in Germany and a single train ticket from Salzburg to Vienna.