Regensburg to Switzerland by car - overnight in Fussen

I would spend at least two nights in Fussen and cut if not skip Lucern. A car will not help you in Lauterbrunnen (unless you plan on seeing other places by car while there). So think about dropping the car in Lucern or Interlaken OST. J

Thank you.

Anyone else?

I would spend more time in Regensburg and Hamburg.

I live about 1 hour north of Regensburg. When we drive to Switzerland, we usually breakup the drive with an overnight stay near the Bodensee or Zurich area depending on where we are going. So Füssen sounds about right, just give yourself the time. If the rental does not come with a vignette, you'll need one for the Swiss Autobahns if you choose to drive them. I say Autobahn a little tongue in cheek as you'll be going 100-120 Kph.

This looks like a very American itinerary. And partly very rushed, two castles in one day and still having enough time to drive to Lauterbrunnen will not leave much time to actually see the palaces. I hope you are aware as well that renting a car in Germany and returning it in Switzerland will not be cheap. And you won't need a car in Lauterbrunnen, and probably not in Luzern either.

Spending a night in Regensburg is not a bad idea either, it is certainly worth it. You can also save a bit of time by taking the night train from Switzerland to Hamburg.

Thank you everyone for your comments...
We're still working out our itinerary -- and sounds reasonable to add at least 1 or 2 nights near the Bavarian castles.

Kathy Trinque

Your car drop-off fee will be around US$400 or more.

Concerning rental car you might consider to return the car in Lindau on Lake Constance and do the Swiss part by train only.
Füssen to Lindau takes about 1,5 hours by car and Lindau to Zürich is about 1,5 hours by train.

For the leg Zürich to Hamburg you might consider the night train (OBB Nightjet) instead of flying.
Advantage: no transfers to/from airports, you do not loose a travel day.
Disadvantage: How well might you sleep in a moving train and what do to with the luggage early morning in Hamburg?

Last summer we took the night train from Munich to Amsterdam in a sleeper cabin. It was o.k. but I did not sleep very well.
In case you consider it, try to get a cabin with own bathroom, that would give you also some more space in the cabin.