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Rent car from Basel Switzerland to Munich. After Castles on the Rhine cruise

Would it be better to rent in a German border town close to Basel Switzerland
And then drop it in Munich. Travel August 2016. If so what town would be close
And big enough to rent cars. Thanks

Posted by
6590 posts

Check Autoeurope to see what German pick up locations are near Basel. AE uses a variety of companies.

Or just take the train from Basel to Munich. You can be there in about 5 hours. Or you can break up your trip somewhere on the way. Tickets can be had cheaply - less than €50 I imagine - if you travel via Germany the whole way and buy saver fares at DB.

Posted by
980 posts

Looks like most rental car locations are in Basel. I'd say your best option if you are deadset on getting a car is renting in Freiburg. Sixt has oneway rentals from Freiburg to Munich between $30-40 /day in August 2016.

DJ

Edit: or as Russ said consider the train. I've both driven this route and have taken a train and personally I'd take a train over driving.

Posted by
2 posts

Forgot to add we are stopping in Fussen for a couple of days before we head to Minch
Read it would take 11 hours by train from Basel o Fussen, duel transfers and train schedules

Posted by
6590 posts

"Read it would take 11 hours by train from Basel o Fussen, duel transfers and train schedules"

It's easy to find a lot of garbage information online. Yes, you have to use a train schedule. I just looked it up - pretty easy... The trip From Basel to Füssen leaving at 8:07 takes less than 6 hours. You have a change of train in Zurich and Buchloe. By rental car the trip will take 4-5 hours if road conditions are just right, not including your public transport from Basel to whatever station in Germany where you will rent from, plus pick-up / drop-off time. Gas is around €85 for the straight trip to Füssen. I see train "saver fares" at DB for €39 so if you got two of those, the train will cost less than your gas alone. Then you use a Bayern Ticket (€28 day pass for two) to reach Munich from Füssen.

DB itinerary page: http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

Saver fares: http://www.bahn.com/i/view/USA/en/prices/germany/savings-fare.shtml

You get the best possible price when you buy the saver fare 91 days prior to the travel date (when they first go on sale.) Prices will rise as tickets sell - saver fares are quantity-controlled.

Posted by
980 posts

Upon further review it appears Sixt doe have a location near the train station in Lörrach but you have to search for the location "Loerrach" (surprising the Sixt website can't handle umlauts). Prices seem the same as from Freiburg.

My advice if you are going the rental car route pick some interesting places to stop along the way beforehand, at least that way you will certainly take advantage of the benefit a rental car has over the train, stopping along the way where you want.

DJ

Posted by
6590 posts

"if you are going the rental car route pick some interesting places to stop along the way beforehand, at least that way you will certainly take advantage of the benefit a rental car has over the train, stopping along the way where you want."

It's a common misunderstanding that using trains keeps you from "stopping along the way where you want." If you've chosen some interesting stops already, this becomes especially easy. Right now I'm looking at a saver fare trip from Basel to Füssen (routed via Donaueschingen, Germany, the source of the Danube River, €39 for a sample date in January.) The route takes you through the Black Forest along the scenic Black Forest Railway and past Lake Constance on the way to Füssen, and with this ticket, I could easily hop off at town Y for an hour or two, then hop back on, proceed to town Z, and do the same.

If you heed Rick Steves' packing advice, you eliminate the need for a car trunk to store your things. Luggage is the one thing that can get in your way of flexible train travel (not every station will offer locker storage.)