Road Trip From Munich To Turin via Switzerland in September

Chloe, I’m pretty sure you’ll encounter a very high drop off fee if renting in Munich and dropping it off in Milan. Where are you flying home from?

Indeed, renting in Munich and returning in Turin is likely to saddle you with a high drop-off fee. This sounds like the perfect trip to take a mix of wonderful trains for. Upon arrival in Turin, you can rent a car there to get to your friends’ and enjoy the Langhe.

I didn't consider a very high dropoff fee - I guess it depends on what that is. Kim - I like the idea of taking the train to Turin! I'm not even sure we need a car in this case, our friends probably can pick us up and drop us off back @ the airport.

You will also need to purchase a Swiss vignette for the car when you enter Switzerland for 40 CHF. If you meander your way to Switzerland via Austria using a motorway, you'll also need a short term Austrian vignette for 9.50 EUR. and be sure to get an International Drivers Permit from AAA.

If you decide to nix the car, why not fly to Zurich instead of Munich. Saves time, and easy and frequent rail connections from Zurich airport to Luzern with at least 2 direct trains every hour taking about 1 1/4 hours. Luzern to Montreux via the beautiful Golden Pass route through Interlaken. Direct train in the morning to Milan from Montreux where you can rent an Italian car for the rest of your stay in Italy.

Agree with Kim, this is good trip by train. Renting a car will be expensive. Munich–Zürich-Milan-Turin is an easy train trip, the cities are all connected by fast (up to 300 km/h) trains. But there are plenty of options for stops along the way as well as scenic detours. Especially between Zürich and Milan where the direct train takes the fast route through the tunnels under the Alps, but you can take slower trains that offer amazing views.

I’ve seen one way drop off fees of about $1,000, so it’s definitely something to consider.

And putting together a patchwork of different Swiss trains would be so fun !!!

Ah, the Swiss vignette also. I have the International Drivers Permit.

My husband already booked the flight to Germany, but I imagine we can change it. We originally intended to just go hang out with our friends for the week but now decided to take 3 days for ourselves. Sam's suggestion is also great - I will look into changing to Zurich, that seems like a great option with the rail connections and the train to Milan from Montreaux. If that doesn't work, I like the train vs. driving. These are all great suggestions and I think all better than the driving idea. Thank you everyone for the fantastic advice.

The train between Montreux and MIlan (actually between Brig and MIlan) spends a fair amount of time in a long tunnel under the Alps ( Simplon tunnel).

Instead, you could have a fun journey by boat and train by flying into Geneva instead of Zurich, and heading to Montreux first, right after landing. It is a short journey and a nice place to overnight. Practice your French before heading to Luzern in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. From Luzern, after checking in to your hotel, you can ride a cablecar up Pilatus, the mountain closest to town, for a short hike, or take a boat to Weggis and ride the cablecar up Rigi for a longer hike.

Next day board a boat heading south on the lake ( Vierwaldstättersee, aka Lake Lucerne) for the first leg of the Gotthard Panorama Express. This is a special train-boat combination that links Luzern with Lugano in the Ticino, the Italian-speaking area of Switzerland. The train uses the old Gotthard Pass route instead of a deep Basistunnel. There is still a tunnel, but it is higher and much shorter than the modern deep tunnels. You actually get to see some of the Alps and hanging Glaciers from the train.

https://www.sbb.ch/en/leisure-holidays/travel-in-switzerland/panoramareisen/gotthard-panorama-express.html

Spend night 3 in Lugano, explore a bit in the morning ( take the funicular up Monte Bré, high above the lake, and walk back down), then hop on a train to MIlan, about an hour away, and change trains there for the short journey to Torino.

In three days you will have explored 3 of the 4 language regions of Switzerland by train, boat, cablecar and funicular. Sound interesting? It does to me. . . We might do this ourselves when we return to Italy in September 2022 for some hiking in the Dolomites.

Sam's suggestion is also great - I will look into changing to Zurich,
that seems like a great option with the rail connections and the train
to Milan from Montreaux.

If it was me, I'd keep the tickets. Munich is a lovely city that is well worth some time, there is so much more to Munich than Oktoberfest and day trips to Neuschwanstein.

You need more time. The charm of Switzerland is in its lakes, mountains and countryside (alps), not the big cities. Even without dropoff fees, which involve a driver hired to return the car to its orignal country (this is not like dropping it off in another U.S. State), 3 days to get from Munich to Torino is going to be a nail-biter and you won't see much. I am a fast driver, and I have done Rapallo, Italy to Strasbourg, France in one afternoon, but I do not recommend it.

If you really only have 3 days, spend them in and around Munich, where you can rent a car and there is plenty to see (Garmisch and the Zugspitze, famous breweries, museums, parks and so forth). A little further away, you have Berchtesgaden which, in spite of its unfortunate association with a certain tyrant, as an absolutely gorgeous area. And nearby is Salzburg and the Austrian lake district. In short: millions of things to do within easy drive of Munich.

If you have more time, I would recommend you give Switzerland a week minimum and base out of either Munich or Zurich or Torino and rent the car out and back. In Switzerland, spend time in places like Vitznau (Vierwaldstattersee), Zermatt, Lenk (Bernese Oberland) Lindau (Lake Constance), Interlaken, and Lugano (or more specifically San Mamete, rather than the bigger cities like Berne, Zurich, Lausanne etc. which are frankly not that fascinating, IMO.

Lola's suggestions are also great! The only change I would make is for "Lake Luzern" which the Swiss call VierWaldStatterSee (Lac des Quatre Cantons in french). Luzern is fine, but the other towns like Weggis and Vitznau are super cute. The boat ride around the lake is expensive, but gorgeous. For both Rigi and the Pilatus, you can catch the cable car up right at the ferry dock. Once a week in Vitznau, on Sundays I believe, they fire up the old coal-fired cog train up to the Rigi. It's quite a production and astounding that this is even allowed in Switzerland.

In Switzerland, spend time in places like Vitznau
(Vierwaldstattersee), Zermatt, Lenk (Bernese Oberland) Lindau (Lake
Constance), Interlaken, and Lugano (or more specifically San Mamete,
rather than the bigger cities like Berne, Zurich, Lausanne etc. which
are frankly not that fascinating, IMO

Lindau is a good place to spend some time, but it is in Germany and not in Switzerland. It is however an easy stop along the way as the Munich-Zürich trains stop there.