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Switzerland/Germany combo trip

Posted by on

Hi,
My husband and two teenage sons (who are great travellers) and I are travelling to Zurich on December 31st and planning on immediately jumping on the train to Murren and staying there for three nights to do some hiking and exploring. After, we need to get to Stuttgart for our Son's university exchange, and are wondering if renting a car for the whole journey makes more sense or riding the rails in Switzerland and then taking a train to Stuttgart as well. We will have some running around to do in Stuttgart to buy groceries, get him set up.
So a few questions:
1. Is Murren the right spot to be? We looked at Wengen but no availability
2. Is Zurich to Murren too much of a journey for Day 1 after a flight from North America?

3. Is Luzern or Zurich a miss if we don't stop and spend a night there?
4. Transportation- Swiss rail passes seem very expensive, although very convenient, and we will investigate discount fares if they pop up. Would it be feasible to rent a car, drive to somewhere close to Murren, park for our few days there and then drive it to Stuttgart and drop it there at the end of our travels? I looked at the cost of this and a rental car is the same price as tickets for 4 to and from Zurich to the Lauterbrunnen area.

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks!

Posted by
6394 posts

To be honest, it you are going to Mürren, renting a car is a stupid idea. Why pay car rental costs and parking for a car to sit and gather dust? And if you want to return a Swiss car in Germany, there will be an additional fee. Also, remember that the rental cost is not the only cost for a car. If you just want to travel from Zürich to Mürren and then Mürren to Stuttgart, the train makes more sense.

I'm not sure what kind of running around you plan to do in Stuttgart or where your son is staying, but you don't need a car to buy groceries in Europe.

Posted by
20100 posts

You will be in Muerren at the height of ski season. I don't know how much "hiking" will be available.
There will be 4 departures every hour from Zurich airport that will get you to Muerren in about 3 1/2 hours.

Posted by
6901 posts

You will be in Muerren at the height of ski season. I don't know how much "hiking" will be available

...or how much 3-night accommodation. Busiest time of the year, and minimum stays are not unusual. If you have problems, Wengen and Grindelwald have more hotels.
Any hiking will be winter hiking: there are miles of groomed paths for that, but not plowed so snow boots are needed. Tobogganing is also available (check your insurance exclusions before you join the fun).

Posted by
8446 posts

re: #2, what time does your flight arrive? If its in the AM, you likely wont be able to check into a hotel anyway, and rather than wandering the streets in a dazed stupor, I think its wise to keep moving forward and go all the way to Mürren.

re: #3, Zurich can easily be skipped. It's a large cosmopolitan city, and not in the mountains which is what you come to Switzerland to see.

With the rail station right there in the Zurich airport, (Zurich Flüghaven) you can travel directly to/from Luzern in about 1.25 hours. Given the other constraints (snow being one) Luzern might make a good Plan B if you cant find space in the Lauterbrunnen Valley.

Posted by
20100 posts

Even if you don't ski, you should get ski passes for 2 days for each person, 149 HF for adults and 88 CHF for kids 16 to 19 yo. That will give you complete freedom to ride all of the lifts in the region including train to Interlaken Ost station.
https://www.jungfrau.ch/en-gb/jungfrau-ski-region/buy-skipass/#1053

You can buy nonrefundable train specific tickets for 4 from Muerren to Stuttgart for 120 EUR total now at https://int.bahn.de/en

To get from Zurich airport to Muerren on Dec 31, you can buy now Saver Day Passes for 52 CHF per person.
https://www.sbb.ch/en/travelcards-and-tickets/tickets-for-switzerland/day-pass/saver-day-pass.html

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