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Germany & Switzerland

Posted by on

Hi

We are a family of 5 and will be flying in to Frankfurt in December and driving for a few days around Germany (Christmas markets , Nuremberg, Munich, Neuscheanstein castle)

Then we will head to Switzerland and spend a week there.
We are planning to visit Lucern( 2 days ), Zermatt (3 days ), Zurich (1 day) and fly off from Zurich.

Initially I had planned to drive into Switzerland but after reading all your posts, I am convinced that the best way is to drop off the car in Germany and take a train into Switzerland and travel around by rail.

I need help to find the best way to do it.
Questions:
1. I intend to drop off the car at Lindau and take the train from Lindau to Lucern. is it possible? if yes, then how?

  1. Travelling from Lucern to Zermatt and then to Zurich. Would getting a Swiss Pass be good?

Any suggestion on which Pass to get?

Thank you so much !

Posted by
21090 posts

Lindau sits on a little island just off shore on the Bodensee. The rail station is located on the island, connected by a causeway, as well as the roads. The car rental locations are on the mainland, so a taxi would be in order to get over to the train station.

If you have kids under 15, you can get a free Family card so they can travel free when one of the parents has some sort of Swiss Pass or Half Fare Card. The only real way to know is to add up all the individual ticket prices and see what way gives the lowest price. This includes excursion rides like the Gornergratbahn in Zermatt. Even with a Swiss Pass, you still have to pay 50% for the ticket, so you pay the same for these tickets as with a Half Fare Card. Takes a bit of number crunching on your part to get the right answer.

BTW, if you are getting ski passes, all these lifts in Zermatt will be included with the pass.

Posted by
3 posts

Hi Sam
Tks for your reply

So to clarify, I can purchase a single trip ticket at Lindau HBf to travel to Lucerne?

If I'm coming from Fussen, any suggestion to drop off the car anyway else besides Lindau before taking the train to Lucerne?

Thanks again

Posted by
8889 posts

Yes, you can buy single tickets from Lindau Hbf to Luzern. Lindau is the last station in Germany on the main line from Munich to Switzerland.
But, you have yet to decide whether you are buying a Swiss rail pass. You need to do the arithmetic yourself to decide if it is worth it. If you have a pass, you only need to get tickets from Lindau to the first station in Switzerland (St. Margrethen) as your pass will be valid from there.

Lookup times on the DB (German Railways) site: https://www.bahn.com/en/view/index.shtml
You can buy tickets at the station or online in advance. If you buy online, buy from the railway company, not from resellers.

Here is a rail map of Switzerland which may help. Lindau is also shown: https://www.sbb.ch/content/dam/infrastruktur/trafimage/karten/karte-sts-pass-gueltigkeit.pdf

Coming from Füssen, Lindau is the best place to drop the car as anywhere closer would be in Austria and you would have to pay more to drop the car their.

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