Plan to fly into MUC 2 night stay (Oktoberfest) rent car drive to Regenburg, then down to Salzburg Aus, Innsbruck, and Innsbruck to Zermatt, stopping in Bellinzona. Any suggestions and or ideas would be welcome. Departure dates are flex 23 September and return open at this time, have thought of train but that may take more time and not so easy Thank you L,
Posted by
Duluth 🛶
8020 posts
I would take the train to Regensburg, unless you really want to drive there. Regensburg is an easy train ride from Munich and then you don't have to worry about car parking. Then I would take the train to Salzburg, to Innsbruck and beyond. After Bellinzona, I would fly home from Zurich if possible.There's really no need to rent a car unless you plan to do a lot of exploring in outer villages and so on. Although thinking about it, you might want to rent a car for the Switzerland portion, as train travel there will take longer than driving (I think — I'm not as familiar with Switzerland as the other countries).
How much time are you looking to spend overall? Also, book lodging in Munich for Oktoberfest as early as possible as it sells out quickly and gets much more expensive the longer you wait.
Posted by
Green Bay
21160 posts
After Zermatt, then what? Flying back home or moving on to another destination.
Other than Regensburg to Salzburg, Trains would be more convenient, even that is not that much more time with regional trains. Salzburg to Innsbruck is a direct Railjet train. Innsbruck to Zermatt is straight forward by train. Any special reason to visit Bellinzona?
Innsbruck to Zermatt is 7 1/2 hours, mainly because of a 40 minute change time at Zurich HB. Otherwise the actual travel time is the same.
Here are things to consider about a car rental.
1. You need an International Drivers Permit for Austria.
2. You must remember to purchase vignettes for the car for both Austria and Switzerland.
3. Renting a car in one country and dropping in another can be very expensive. The car will have to be transported back to its home country, and you pay for that and then some. To avoid that, you would have to drive back to Munich, which wastes time and money, in that you could fly home from Zurich airport, which is a lot closer.
PS, 4. You cannot drive into Zermatt as it is a car free village. You have to park in the garage (costs) at Taesch and take the train to Zermatt.
Posted by
Lynnwood, Washington
8886 posts
Get your lodging for Munich nailed down ASAP. Prices go crazy during this time. We ended up staying at Hotel Gastoff Maisberger on the S1 line to reduce costs and discovered we really enjoyed the hotel. It is a commute from the center, but we did not find this an issue as it is located directly next to the station.