Three weeks in Switzerland

Given the frequency of trains in Switzerland, you pretty much are traveling whenever you want. Parking that freedom-mobile can turn it into a expensive anchor. But there are no absolutes, trains are expensive as well. All depends on where you are going.

Will you be travelling alone? If so, the train really makes the most sense. Still does for two people, IMO.

Driving and parking in Switzerland is not 100% straightforward and it gets expensive. Also, accidentally drive 10 kph above the limit next to one of the ubiquitous speed cameras, and that's the price of a Half-Fare train card already.
Whereas Swiss trains run frequently, do not require reservations (with a handful of exceptions), and go almost everywhere with buses to fill the few gaps.

So, let someone else do the driving and enjoy the views! And this is spoken as someone who really enjoys driving on mountain roads (a bit too enthusiastically for some of my passengers).

We are spending 3 weeks in Switzerland in September as well and struggled with the car/train question. Gas prices helped us to decide on the train, ha ha. After researching, it seems we can easily get to everywhere we’d like to visit by train, so we are buying a Travel Pass and planning to make the most of it. The Lee County Library has several good travel books available, you might want to check them out.

My first trip to Switzerland was three weeks. I had a Swiss rail pass and got everywhere I wanted to, including getting off in small towns, walking around, and getting back on a later train. Since I was packing light (before Rick was around) I didnt worry about luggage storage. And I flew into Zurich and out of Geneva.

In hindsight, with three weeks, I would have liked to have spent time in all three of the main cultural areas. I think a good guidebook will help you figure out specifics.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/lucerne-62eb4d28-60ab-4837-b4b4-91a2486eb732

Above is my Trip Report from Sept, 2021. Perhaps there are some useful suggestions that may assist your planning to this beautiful country.

Safe travels!

I've done four trips to Switzerland since 2017. The first two trips we had a car for all or part of the trip, and it made good sense for what we were doing. The last two trips we've done the Swiss Travel Pass. I prefer the trains. So efficient and relaxing. So I'll recommend the trains, yet, with what we were doing our first two trips, the car made more sense.

But the train coverage is vast, and where there is no train, they connect buses and ferries seamlessly. And it's so much more relaxing.

Most people here will tell you to go to the Bernese Oberland, but if you have 3 weeks, branch out and do some of the other sights. Ticino, Appenzell, some of the charming cities.

I spent an entire month in Switzerland. Flew in and out of Zurich. I followed the itinerary in Rick's guidebook. Including Appenzell which even Rick was surprised I went to (ran into him in Lucerne). One of my fave places was Lugano. I don't drive so I did all my travelling by train. And yes, you can set your watch by the train arrival and departure. I loved Zermatt. Loved Gimmelwald and the Berner Oberland. It's all good. You can do a lot in 3 weeks. You can't go wrong with the itinerary in Rick's guidebook.