South Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Austria itinerary by car. What to see where to stay

Hi,

Picking Frankfurt as your flying into and out of airport for this itinerary was less than ideal, as most every night stay is a long distance from Frankfurt. Flying into Zurich and out of Munich would have been better in my opinion, but it seems you have your flights booked.

Sounds very rushed to me. I'll comment only on the places we have stayed.

2 full days in the Swiss Alps basing in Interlaken. In my opinion it would be a shame to be so close to one of the prettiest, most scenic alpine area's in Europe and not stay "in" the Alps, such as Wengen or Muerren. This and the fact your day trips take you away from the Berner Oberland. This part of the plan I don't understand.

The Alta Badia. You give this one full day. IF it rains this day, what is your backup plan for this one day? You will completely miss out on seeing the amazing Dolomites. We've spent 7 nights based in the Alta Badia and 4 nights based in the Val Gardena. I think you're short changing the amazing Dolomites.

Innsbruck. You're taking 2 days trips and pretty much omitting seeing Innsbruck. Visiting Salzburg will mean a full day away from Innsbruck. Seeing Mittenwald would mean being away roughly 1/2 day from Innsbruck.

Personally, I think you have too many places spread out too far for 14 days.

Paul

I've only spent a few days in a car in Europe, and that was as the navigator, not the driver, but I have to say it: You're moving around an awful lot. I wouldn't want to cover this many spots (all of them beautiful and worth a visit, for sure!) on such a short trip, and I think it's going to be mentally tiring for the driver. Surely some folks who've actually driven those roads will comment, but between the terrain and five border-crossings I believe you'll spend a lot more time cooped up in the car than you expect, though the scenery will undoubtedly be great. For me, all that packing and unpacking would also be a real drag. But perhaps you've done this sort of lightning trip before.

The Interlake-Lucerne-Berne-Interlaken loop can certainly be done by train if Rome2Rio is accurate (I didn't check the Swiss Rail website), and that might even be more efficient since you wouldn't have to look for parking in two cities. Swiss trains are not inexpensive, however, so you'll want to price that out.

I suggest you consider trimming a bit. I'd do either Como or Garda, not both, and maybe cut one of the three mountain areas. I also wouldn't choose to do both Berne and Lucerne in one day. One of those and perhaps a small town would be less hectic. Eliminating a stop or two would allow more time for your teenagers to be active. As it stands, I believe there's just too much time in the car.

ai yai yai

You don't stay still for long, do you?

We want our kids to get a true European travel experience.

With respect, it will be with the strong emphasis on travel.

You will spend the vast majority of your time looking out the windows of the car at the roads. You can probably do that at home. Really, a German Autobahn, a French Autoroute, and Italian Autostrada or a US Freeway, all look pretty much the same. But you don't share where home is, so maybe you come from a country which doesn't have freeways? Maybe that is the adventure.

But it is your (and the children's) holiday so perhaps we can give some other hints.

To get the other costs out of the way and to help you prepare, each driver will need a compulsory (you will be driving in France and Italy) IDP - International Driving Permit which you will carry with your home driving license. They are available at different agencies in different countries. If you have EU driving licenses you don't need one. If you have Canadian or US state licenses you get them from CAA or AAA. They are difficult to obtain in India. I don't know where you get them if you are from the antipodes.

You will have Autoroute/Autostrada tolls in France and Italy. Both Switzerland and Austria require you to buy a windscreen sticker called a Vignette so you can drive on motorways and main routes. In Switzerland the price last year was CHF 40 for a year (not available for shorter periods), in Austria it was approximately €8 for 10 days, more for longer. Several Austrian motorway tunnels and bridges charge a large toll in addition to the Vignette. European fuel is very expensive. If you can hire a diesel car for about the same as a petrol (gasoline) one, you will get better mileage and a little lower fuel prices.

Will you be jet lagged when you arrive, and then drive several hours on very busy autobahns? The A5 is not much fun much of the time. Driving jetlagged has been said to be equivalent to driving under the influence. Would you like to see any of the beautiful area close to Frankfurt?

Have you planned out how many hours you will be in the car each day?

Is this your first trip to Europe, or are you hitting old highlights with the children?

That's my first look. I can go into specifics a bit later, but I do worry that you will all be sick of the inside of the car before the end.

That schedule is very very very busy. Perhaps choose something with less driving time to/from Frankfurt. Like driving south via Stuttgart to South Tirol then back. South Tirol is very nice for vacation, great food and wine and interesting culture (70/30 German/Italian speaking). The value is much better in Germany, Austria, South Tirol, than in Switz.

Some of these driving distances are long to do every day.

Frankfurt to Innsbruck is 6? hours.
Innsbruck to Bozen is 2 hours.
Mittenwald to Salzburg is 3 hours. You could skip Mittenwald imho. There are towns closer to Innsbruck which have a similar vibe.

I dont mind whirlwind road trips with teens (I have done it a few times) but you do have lots of drive time and as someone else mentioned the drive through mountain areas can be stressful. In and out of Frankfurt you can do a loop trip so as not to backtrack.
All the places you have mentioned are beautiful but not sure you will have time to enjoy them. The car will enhance your trip if you are not living in it. Shorter drives with time to take a side road (off the beaten path) when you see something that interests you. I think the kids would love Salzburg and would spend a night there.

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. You bring up excellent points about driving time/distance whcih have sparked plenty of discussion at our home! Great tips about IDP too! Thanks.
We now are in the process of deciding on the areas we really want to see and spend more nights there. Still on the table are Interlaken area, Lake Como, Italian Dolomites, Innsbruck/Salzburg.
Suggestions about hotels or B&B (with private bath), specific places to visit?
Thanks again!

One place you might want to consider is the Lake of Constance... it is beautiful and is surrounded by the mountains... Germany, Switzerland and Austria. I do like the Lake Como area but I really prefer Lake of Constance (Bodensee)
However, Lugano is also a favorite and makes sense with Como... too many choices and too many beautiful options:)

If you will spend two to three days at Lake Como and relax you could skip the Gardasee. We liked the town of Varenna and you can reach many points on the lake with the ferries out of Varenna (no car needed). You might consider the Seiser Alm and visit St. Ulrich instead of Alta Badia or Cortina D'Ampezzo. Driving north I could recommend Sterzing, IT for a short stop on the way to Innsbruck. Mittenwald is nice, but the last 10 years it has turned into a tourist mecca. I like to travel by car. With a good "Navi" you should have no problem getting around. I like your itinerary, but it is very busy! Weather dependent is a good choice. Many webcams online to help you in your decisions.

Assuming you are arriving from the US, I'd say driving a longish distance upon arrival is dangerous. You'll be exhausted. I'd also pick two bases and make day trips. Seefeld would be one good choice and maybe Verona as another? Maybe see if you can buy tickets to fly down to Munich on your arrival day?