Geneva Our family, two daughters 11 and 7 who travel well are planning to drive from Geneva to Vienna (we could start in Zurich or?). We want to visit Alps, Ludwig's castles, and Vienna. Thoughts are to visit Zermatt (stay 2-3 days), travel through Andermatt on way to stay near Neuschwanstein (Fussen?), then on to Salzburg, and finally Vienna . Appreciate any advice on routes or options (maybe Grindelwald area instead of Zermatt?) places to stay (we like small inns vs. hotels) and sights to see.
Len
Posted by
Lake Forest, CA, USA
1633 posts
Len, we could use some more info before we can answer some of your questions. Sounds like you have a choice on whether to fly into Zurich or Geneva. Are you flying out of Vienna? You will incur drop off charges when you pick up a car in one country, then drop off in another. Have you driven in Europe before? How much time do you have for your trip (excluding the day of departure from the States) and when do you plan on going?
Posted by
OP
Rancho Santa Margarita, California, USA
8 posts
Thanks for the reply We are taking a family NCL cruise out of Barcelona. After, we plan to take train to Madrid for a couple days then we wanted to spend a about 10 days visiting Europe Lots of options, but the girls wanted to see the Ludwig castle, Vienna, Salzberg (girls know all the songs) maybe Prague Switzerland is not a must but thought a drive through the Alps would be a great experience (based on RS the Gimmelwald area sounded nice). If we skip Alps, we'd likely fly into Munich and end up in Prague Key concern is trying to see too much in too few days
Posted by
Lake Forest, CA, USA
1633 posts
Len, here is what a 10 day itinerary might look like. Yes, you could shorten some of your days in some of the towns, however, you also need to take into account your travel time. Day 1 Madrid to Zurich (assuming a flight); pick up car; drive to Berner Oberland area;Take cable car from Stechelberg to Muerren Day 2 Muerren Day 3 Muerren Day 4 Drive to West Austria; overnight in Tirol area Day 5 Drive to Lermoos; Girls go on Luge in Biberwier Day 6 Fuessen--castles and luge; maybe visit Wieskirche; overnight in Lermoos Day 7 Lermoos; cable car up to Zugspitze or drive to Garmisch & Mittenwald or tour other Ludwig castle Day 8 Drive southeast, past Innsbruck to Salzburg Day 9 Salzburg; Sound of Music tour; other Salzburg city sites Day 10 Drive to Bertchesgaden, Obersalzburg, Eagles Nest or drive to Hallstatt thru the Salzgammergut area; or drive to and tour Mauthausen We have travelled this route several times. Since you are my neighbor, if you want, we can get together and go over your itinerary and possible accommodations. Personal Message me if you are interested.
Posted by
Germany, Germany
813 posts
I say pick either Prague or Vienna. From Switzerland, you can drive along the E60 through Austria. It's not very easy driving, lots of tunnels, and goes from autobahn-type to secondary road type intermittently. It's beautiful though. There's plenty of great towns to stop in overnight for fun in the mtns, like Lech/St. Anton area. They're big ski towns in winter. It's a few hours then back on E60, through Imst up to Fuessen. From there you can go to Salzburg, then either Vienna or Prague. I'd vote for Vienna, it's a shorter drive.