My daughter and I are flying to Zurich from Chicago landing Thursday at around 10:00 am. This will be our first time in Switzerland (my first to Europe!), and are renting a car upon arrival and then making the short drive to Lucerne for 3 days. I understand the weather will be quite chilly and very possibly rainy. I/we are a bit concerned about driving especially not knowing the roads, road conditions, and road signs. Can anyone give me some tips on what to expect? Also I assume the car rentals are AT the airport? We need any info anyone has out there!
Posted by
Chicago
3587 posts
Have you considered taking the train instead? It is so easy as the train station is right inside Zurich airport. It will take you to Lucerne in just over an hour. That way, you do not need to worry about road conditions and signs and parking.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
We mentioned it and provided we can cancel our car rental we may do that. I should have mentioned she rented the car for us because we were moving two more time. So Lucerne for 3 nights, then onto, Grindelwald for 2 nights then turning the car in after driving to Geneva. There we will take a train to Annecy France for our last few days. Thank you so much for answering so quickly! We are a bit nervous!
Posted by
Uppsala, Sweden
7514 posts
I can't see why moving two times means you have to rent a car. I agree that this would be much easier to do by train. Especially if you are concerned about driving.
Posted by
The Heartland USA
9316 posts
Its not just the driving that's a burden, its also the parking. The train takes you right to the center of things.
Posted by
Nashville, TN
958 posts
Use MeteoSwiss.ch or the MeteoSwiss app for accurate weather. I'm seeing it's to be in the 60s later this week/weekend and party sunny.
With your itinerary it would be much better to use the trains, not to mention more enjoyable. You're going to the mountains where everything is more accessible via train, cable car and boat. Your car will end up in expensive parking spots while you still end up paying for public transportation. The trains can feel overwhelming, but once you get the hang of it, they are very easy and everyone working at the stations speaks English if you get overwhelmed or lost.
Doing it this way means you can also forget the hassle of dropping off the car in Geneva. You can just go from Grindelwald to Annecy, as Geneva isn't a highlight to spend time in.
For your trip you should be getting half fare cards to get 50% off all your trips, otherwise it will add up quickly! Or you can look into getting a pass, which would then mean anything covered under the pass you wouldn't have to buy tickets for at all. For example, the Swiss Travel Pass would cover you fully from the airport to Luzern to Grindelwald and on to Geneva and any trips you did there while in inhabited places, with a discount on mountain transport.
Use SBB.ch/en to look at train times and routes. The Zurich airport is called "Zurich Flughafen", Lucerne is called "Luzern" and in Grindelwald there are 2 train stations (terminal & main). You can type in the physical address of your hotel and it will tell you the exact combo of train, walking and/or bus needed to get where you're going, including a map.
Half Fare Card - https://www.sbb.ch/en/tickets-offers/tickets/guests-abroad/swiss-half-fare-card.html
Swiss Travel Pass - https://www.sbb.ch/en/tickets-offers/tickets/guests-abroad/swiss-travel-pass.html