We are a family of 4 with 2 adult kids. In early staging of planning a trip. We have to be in Munich, Germany for 3 days for my sons conference. We would like to go to Switzerland after that. Avoiding big cities. Focus is on Lucerne, : Engelberg, Interlaken, Zermatt and then fly back to USA from Geneva. We like the flexibility of travelling in car and early mornings can be an issue with my family so car can give some flexibility on time. Since there are 4 of us, seems could be budget friendly but I understand the parking, tolls and gas expenses. Looking for an advise on whether we should make this a road trip or train trip specially since we are crossing a country.
Posted by
361 posts
Train is by far the best way to reach these destinations as the views are stunning and you dont want to have to be paying attention to the toad.
Posted by
Ontario, Canada
6106 posts
and you dont want to have to be paying attention to the toad.
Lol. Or the road. Definitely look into the trains as a preferred option. If you are unfamiliar with European trains the Seat 61 website should be required reading. https://www.seat61.com/
Posted by
Irving
3389 posts
Renting a car in one country and returning in a different country is costly. It’s cheaper to take public transportation between countries and rent a car per country you visit.
There are no direct trains from Munich to Lucerne (Luzern) meaning you’ll have to transfer at least once (4h 45m): https://int.bahn.de/en/.
Engelberg is a day trip from Lucerne by direct train (45m): https://www.sbb.ch/en. There are also direct trains from Luzern to Interlaken (2h), however, I would not sleep in Interlaken. Instead go to the Lauterbrunnen Valley and stay there.
I don’t believe there are car rental agencies in Interlaken. A train from Interlaken to Zermatt requires a minimum of two connections. With Zermatt being the outlier, you might want to remove it from your itinerary. Furthermore, when visiting mountains, you want to add an extra night in case of bad weather. There is a lot to do in the Lauterbrunnen Valley and you would not be bored with a five-night stay. The same with Zermatt. There’s a lot to see and do there too. I would choose the Lauterbrunnen Valley over Zermatt.
Posted by
Wengen
2932 posts
You can't drive to Zermatt. The interesting bits around Interlaken (Interlaken itself is underwhelming) are mostly not car accessible either. Interlaken to Zermatt is much faster by train as well.
And when you get up is not an issue, as trains run the whole day...
And lastly, train system counts as one of the major tourist attractions in Switzerland...
Posted by
Alsenborn, Germany
1888 posts
Unless you have driven in that part of the world before I suggest it would be best not to rent a car. Most of the roads in that part of the country are narrow, two lanes, and locals drive much faster than Americans. And, as noted above, it's hard to enjoy the scenery when you're otherwise occupied.
Personally I'd go to Innsbruck, and take the train from there to Lucerne. Reserve a seat on the top level.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thanks everyone for the feedback. Based on your feedback, I will go for train option. One additional question, I was considering taking my mom (75 years old) along with us. is train journey senior friendly? My mom is in average health for her age. She has no issues walking etc. but probably steep areas will be hard for her so I was going back and forth whether to take her with us or not?
Posted by
Irving
3389 posts
Packing light is essential and doing laundry often is necessary when traveling by train. The fewer connections on a route the easier it is. Train stations often have stairs and can attract unwanted attention if struggling with bags.