?? on Swiss Travel pass

We spent 5 nights in Wengen in the middle of a 3 week road trip. We parked in Lauterbrunnen on arrival and never moved the car. We took the train, gondolas and funiculars everywhere. You will likely need some kind of train pass, since the places with the best views are not accessible by car. We used the Half Fare Card plus the Berner Oberland pass. To determine which pass works best for you, you’ll need to figure out where exactly you plan to go, which gonodalas and trains you’ll need to use, and price out the options. There isn’t an easy answer, other than a car is really of no benefit in many areas in Switzerland. And if you pick it up in Italy and return it in Switzerland, there could be a huge one way fee.

Would need to know amount of nights in each place and what major activities you plan to do in order to answer this question.

With 4 adults, it's probably cheaper and more convenient by car. The Dolomites are definitely best by car. Can't stress how beautiful the drive to Cortina from Ortisei is. We are heading back for the third time in 4 years to one of the most breathtaking places in the world (and a bit appreciative that the Olympic coverage of the area didn't highlight just how majestic it is). If you love ski gondolas, let me mention Lagazuoi. If you only get up there for a long lunch and a slow beer, you will have experienced the essence of these mountains. The history is interesting but the vistas are crazy. We tried to spend the night on top of the peak but everything in June was booked by last December.

Also, many of the places you stay will give you FREE passes to use local transportation during your stay. That's a great thing to do in Lauterbrunnen. Parking was a bit of pain in Grindelwald; less in most of the places we saw in the Dolomites though ZTLs cause their own issues. Do read the many comments in this Travel Forum to get an understanding of the issues of driving in older areas of towns. Ortisei has an area with limited travel and there are similar restrictions up the Alpe di Siusi.

We are going direct from Geneva via train to Zermatt because it would spare me a long drive with jet lag. As I looked at booking options, I discovered that sometimes the surcharge for picking up a car in one place and dropping off in another was significant, other city pairs costs nothing at all. I use many travel sites but keep falling back to the 2 largest ones and went to a few rental companies directly to find out what would work for us.

We pick up a car in Sion after we leave Zermatt. Depending on the order you can drive through Simmertal/Gstaad Valley, or take a car train/drive from Zermatt(Tasch) to Interlaken through the Kandersteg Valley which we've added to this year's Bernese Oberland stops. There are rental agencies in Visp and Sion, so you might want to drop the car off before Zermatt, train to the Matterhorn, an pick up a new car when you head to your next stop. I've noticed that it's not really so far to get from anywhere in Switzerland to everywhere else. L

Let me plug the Sustern Pass drive, whichever direction you are going. Our 2023 trip added the other big passes to our list of places we've been and, so far, it was the most beautiful on a stormy July day. We spent the night in Wassen after two nights in Lauterbrunnen. This year, we are getting to the Klausen Pass and to the great geology that earned UNESCO recognition.

We are back to Switzerland through the Bernina Pass, though we took the quickest route last trip. The road through Mustair was not that impressive (and services were somewhat limited), though it became more beautiful after we got deeper into Italy.

There is great rail service that the Swiss have mastered as a way to live their daily lives, but taking your travels off even the most efficient and frequent timetables will make your vacation less stressful. With what you save over rail fares, you should spring for an extra driver to let each other decompress after some of the long mountain stretches that your trip involves. I found that I was more cautious and there were many cyclists in the most remote places of the Swiss Alps and the Dolomites as I drove. Frequent stops made it easier to deal with all the Ferraris I encountered in those impressive mountains.

Have a great time.

I second Wanderweg’s question. To know how to answer, more info is needed. Duration in nights is key, but also the exact itinerary (which location first, second, third), and what your group likes to do, how active you are.

Note that one way rentals across borders are often eyewateringly expensive. So the spot to drop of your car is: At a convenient station before you level the country you rented it in.