Train or Car Rental

A car for sure into Normandy from there you will spend alot of time driving but it's nice to stop in the small towns for meals or signt seeing. If your 2 kids are impatient like alot of kids their age you may want the experience of the train. If it was my trip I would rent a car and scale it down by going to Dublin on another trip. Maybe from Garmisch go to Rothenberg Germany for 2 nights if you have not been there. I think one of the most beautiful places in the world was Lauterbrunin Switzerland if you get the chance to go there I highly recomend it. Please excuse my spelling. Enjoy.

I won't answer your question, sorry, you need to do the math. I will suggest that 4x 3 country railpasses are unlikely to be cost effective relative to point-to-point tickets. Where that comes relative to car rental, don't know. (Wakey Wakey, Ed and Lee?) Do consider that European cars tend to be a little tight, and that luggage storage is tight. Really tight. Yes, you need the various stickers on the car, the Vignette in Austria is cheap and available for short periods, the Vignette in Switzerland is CHF40, and a lot of cities in Germany reguire an Umweltplakette, and tolls on the French Autoroutes add up quite quickly. The only one you really need in advance is the German one. We drove through Germany last summer (in our own car) without one (the TUeV took our money but we never received the sticker) and as long as you park outside centres of towns you should be OK. Why do I think that you will be better off, regardless of price, in the car? Because you are a family of 4. My experience is that it can be easier for couples to find seats together on trains than groups of 4. I find its much easier to talk together as a group in your own car than on a train. (that's from a guy who works all week for a train company). The time you are travelling, and on your itinerary there will be plenty, can be so valuable. You can plan the day, discuss yesterday, consult together on issues, read stories out loud, read books out loud, listen to RS on Ipod, and all sorts. Me, that would be my choice. You, I dunno. Maybe you don't speak to the young'ens or maybe they don't you. Maybe they prefer to sit on the train in the next car. Dunno. Anyway, add it up and make a choice. We will do everything we can to help...... Happy Planning, and Bon Voyage Gute Fahrt Buon Viaggio

You really can't do much in Normandy without a car. You might want to rent when you leave Paris, then keep the car for a week or so to do Normandy and to drive down to Switzerland; you'll need a 40 CHF vignette to drive in Switzerland. Then return car to France (Mulhouse, Strasbourg, or whatever station you can find that is close to the German border and makes sense for your trip) to avoid heavy foreign drop-off fees and proceed by train into Germany. Once in Germany, the going will be fairly cheap by train. A ticket for the train from Freiburg, in Germany's southwest corner, to Garmisch-Partkenkirchen can be picked up for 29 Euros (if you're on top of things and can get advance-sale tix 92 days in advance at http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en ) Are you flying out of MUC or the Memmingen airport to Dublin? Fares from FMM to Dublin in May are about 30 Euros right now on Ryanair. You can use a "Bayern ticket" (daypass for 2-5 people, 29 Euros) to catch a regional train to MUC or Memmingen or to do other daytrips by train from Garmisch. In Garmisch be sure to visit the Fraundorfer Inn for a "Bavarian Evening" meal - lots of traditional food and music, lots of fun.

In your 2 nights here and there, think about how long it'll take to travel. By car from Le Havre France to Interlaken is minimum 8.5 hrs, no stops and without getting stuck in traffic in Paris or car sick up the N5to N57 to E23 route. Also Interlaken to Garmisch is autobahn, but as I like to call it "adventurous autobahn" where high speed Mercedes blowing past you meet Alps curves. That is also a 5 hr drive in good conditions, there very well could be snow in May, yet a stunningly beautiful drive. Given the long drive from Normandy to Interlake, if you take the train, odds are you'll spend time changing trains, not sure where you'd change, but calaculate that and then make your decision.

Just a couple more points to ponder: (1) Driving out of central Paris is challenging, even if you're used to driving in Atlanta, LA, or Manhattan...traffic is very congested, road markings for lanes can be non-existent, road name signs are not on intersections but are on plaques on building walls (hard to see), and local drivers can speed and change lanes with little care. It can be done, but you'll need a good navigator to assist; (2) Should you end up driving to Germany, you'll need an environmental zone sticker for German cities...your rental car may not have one if rented in France.

If you book well in advance from the Bahn, you can get Europa Spezial Schweiz tickets fro Interlaken Ost to either Füssen or Garmisch-Partenkirchen for €39 per adult. For your trip to Munich you can use a Bayern-Ticket for €29 (total) for the four of you.