Car lease vs. train travel for four-week trip for family of four

When comparing the costs, do not overlook, tolls, parking and fuel.

Signing and driving habits are different so there will be some additional stress, and the driver sees the road, not the scenery.

It does not have to be 'all or nothing'. If a car in some remote area makes sense, do it as a short term rental.

For people with a serious interest in the Normandy invasion, I really recommend at least a one-day guided tour. Several companies operate van tours out of Bayeux (I used Overlord). You see and learn a lot more with a knowledgeable guide. You can then spend an extra day or two doing things like museums on your own. Otherwise, you're going to be looking at a lot of sand and chunks of concrete. And probably getting lost frequently.

I visited Normandy by train and bus last year, and it worked fine for my interests. I didn't attempt to go to any of the battle sites on my own; for that a car would have been handy, though one can get to some places by bus. It's also useful to have a car to travel between Mont St. Michel and Bayeux/Caen.

I think 3 nights is the absolute minimum for Switzerland, and I'd want more, given the time required to get to Murren. What happens if the weather is dreadful for both of your days in the mountains after you've spent the time and money for that leg of the trip? I'd seriously consider postponing Switzerland for another time when you can spend more than a few days there. You'd still be covering a lot of ground, and there would be no difficulty in filling the time. You might be able to get a good price on a multi-city ticket into Paris and out of Munich, avoiding the time and cost of that final doubling-back to Paris.

We did almost a 4 week lease in Portugal, northern Spain and S. France this spring. I think it can be stressful for the driver if you do not have a good Nav system. Our brand NEW Peugeot had a good Nav system, in proper British English, but not in the cities, unless you knew exactly where you are going.
Yes, tolls, and parking adds up... as well as the fuel. But many cars in Europe are much better at fuel economy. You will need a bit larger auto for 4 and luggage.
We will be visiting Belgium in the fall and will only be using train transportation. I can let you know how that goes.
We will be renting cars in Ireland and Scotland this fall.
The Leasing was extremely easy both for insurance, pick up, drop off... but it only works out if you lease it over a certain amount of time. If we were in Europe for over 3 weeks, it is the only thing I would do especially if we wanted to explore out of the way locations.
Just to add, if you want to have flexibility in your travel plans then the car will be beneficial. As we changed our plans one day and decided to drive to Andorra from S. France. We really could have never visited many areas we did if we relied on some sort of mass transportation.

hey sara
sounds like a great vacation you're planning for the gang. lots of work and research that i think maybe you should appoint someplace for your kids to research as to what they want to do and see, let them be in charge and they'd be happy travelers that they joined in. also don't forget your IDP (international driving permit), from AAA for all drivers, ($25 or so and two small size pictures). not so much for rental just in case you are stopped by policeman. also make sure places you stay at in cities have parking, how far away, how much, do you really want to drive in paris NO. if interested couple places (apts) i stayed in paris and amsterdam, let me know.
aloha

I love train travel and always look forward to doing as many train trips as I can practically fit into any trip I make to Europe. The trains work great compared to US trains (unless there's a strike!). The trains are more modern and work more efficiently than Amtrak for sure. I find them relaxing and fun. Sometimes I do drive when it makes sense, especially in rural areas. (And I'll take a long-distance bus as a last resort - love trains, buses not so much.)

I'd probably try to plan the entire trip by train, then see where it's hardest to get places by train. Then maybe consider renting a car for just those areas. For example, Normandy really makes more sense to do with your own wheels (unless you hire a tour). When I visited Normandy for a few days, I took the train from Paris to Caen and rented a car for a few days there. But you might try to pick up and drop cars in places where it will save you time. You might drop the rental car in France at or near one of the train stations that takes you north to Belgium. But don't take the train when doing so would require lots of extra inconvenience or delay. Some trains are direct and simple and save you the stress of driving into big cities, finding parking, etc.

If you have a smart phone and are used to using ti at home as a GPS, you can use it just as well for driving in Europe (even without phone service - GPS works without it, if you download the maps "offline" ahead of time). That way, you won't have to become familiar with a new navigation system and won't have to pay for one. Just make sure you bring a suction cup and a "cigarette lighter" USB charger in case the car doesn't have one - GPS navigation can eat the phone battery quickly.

We spent 3 weeks driving in Germany, Austria, Slovenia & Italy in June/July with our 11 yo and 14 yo. We rented an estate car/wagon for $690, (AutoEurope) not including insurance, which was covered by our credit card. We traveled 2800 km and spent about 300€ on gas, 100€ on tolls/vignettes. Parking was about 100 €. So less than 1100€ total. We had a brand new Opel Insignia with GPS (didn’t request it), but we forgot to have them change the language to English! We ended up plugging in our destination, using the map for directions. I also downloaded google maps offline so we could have verbal directions. Worked great. We did take the train along the Rhine, so we could take the boat back to Boppard. Also in Munich to Dachau (we wasted a lot of time waiting for the bus after the train and wished we had just driven). I know lots of people love the train, but I much prefer the flexibility of a car. You can go when and where you want. No schlepping luggage along cobblestone streets. Less restriction on luggage size. (We fit 2 large suitcases, two carryon suitcases, and 2 duffle bags in the trunk). No standing on full trains and worrying about you luggage. More flexibility in lodging.

We rented apartments most places. We either had parking right outside the door, or dropped off luggage at the door then parked. Driving on the highways is easy - signage is good, people are predictable. Driving in cities is more stressful. I would look at picking up a car when you leave Paris, returning in Paris. Then see what lodging options are available. Hotels in Europe rarely accommodate 4, so you’ll need 2 rooms. Even “family rooms” often consider a sofa bed a bed. Apartments or houses will give you more space and may include parking. I found prices much better than two hotel rooms. We had good experiences with booking.com and Airbnb. Read the descriptions and reviews carefully.

The comment about it's not an "all or nothing" situation is exactly correct. Don't waste your time in Switzerland with a car when cars can't go to some of the most beautiful places and your 10 year old is 100% free everywhere there.

My 27 Cents worth:

We have used the French short-term lease program for our last 4 trips to various parts of Europe, planning another for next Spring. The insurance is golden, and I can vouch for their honoring the zero deductible when there is a problem. I use IdeaMerge, and they provide exactly the car you request with very little hassle in getting the show on the road. Our trip starting in Portugal last Fall even started with a 1/4 tank of diesel (new policy), which saved the search for the nearest filling station with the new car.

I do a lot of research for the routes we most likely will take between stops, including downloading ViaMichelin driving directions and printing them out for the co-pilot to monitor. They list speed cameras, just in case we get caught up in the fast traffic and run the risk of getting nailed. Works great so far, as noticing the speed limit changes in odd places can be tricky, almost like some unusual reductions are done for the benefit of the speed camera placed there for revenue.

Some hotels seem to use auto parking as a major source of profit, so factor that in when you are planning your booking selections. We have had very good luck with fellow motorists giving us assistance on fueling, but do your homework on tolls and how they are collected. Switzerland requires a "vignette" payment sticker on the windshield, which is good for a full year, even if you are only there for a couple of days. Of course, you could avoid the 40 CHF price if you just drive secondary roads.

Size the car you request to cover the amount of luggage that you will be carrying, as that's where the problem with a car that is too small will show up first. One airline sized under-seat bag for each traveler and a smaller backpack is a good way to get a happy medium of keeping the luggage safely under the storage cover, and not having a car that is too big to drive / park in the cities. But the car definitely gives you freedom of route / schedule / stops.

In the case of what you want to see and do, and the normal routes between the points I think a car would fit better for your family supplemented by local transport in and around cities.

A car is a boat anchor in Munich and you will have to sell a child to afford parking at a hotel in the centre.

I have had very good success when driving to Munich staying at the Hotel Bauer in Feldkirchen just east of Munich. A very short walk to an S-Bahn station and about 15 minutes in to the centre, free parking, a small inside pool, fabulous breakfasts, and reasonable rates. Great folks. Easy access to the A99 and other autobahns. Very close to a good mall with plenty of food-court type restaurants including a Dean and David and that is adjacent to a U-Bahn line if that is better one day than the S-Bahn. If you book directly with them they give you a little jar of their home-made jam. https://www.bauerhotel.de/en/hotel/about-us/

With your experience, I would not consider this driving particularly stressful, except that you can't go a moderate speed in the fast lane of the Autobahn when a Mercedes driver is tailgating you and flashing his lights. Locals also report a lot of traffic delays on the way into Munich. When I had a French leased car, I did drive to all these places.

You can easily stay outside of Amsterdam in Haarlem or another small town and use public transport when you want to go into the big city on one or two of your four days in the region. The same idea could work near Munich, to choose a home base further out, or if you really want to sleep in the city, perhaps you do so for fewer days. Although you indicated 5 days in Munich, I have a feeling that the more drivable areas are more important to you overall.

Base this decision on travel style and convenience, not only cost. I think the car may win on all fronts, but for four people, costs will add up either way. Even if all your destinations are served by train, some connections are more circuitous by train, such as from Caen to Ypres/Ieper with minimum 3 connections.