My husband and I will be traveling with our 4 children - ages 21 to 14. We are trying to determine whether we would be better off traveling by train or car. We would require a full size van to carry all of us with luggage so its more difficult to find bargains. I would prefer to travel by train (less stress) but I'm having difficulty determining costs. I know that in some cases, travel in groups is quite inexpensive (example - Bayern Pass for 5 people) However, I have been having trouble determining where these passes can be used, etc. Does anyone have any suggestions on a good way to determine the rail costs for groups. We fly into London and were then thinking of possibly traveling to Brugge, then on to Germany - Rothenburg, Munich, Fussen, then continuing through Switzerland and finishing in Paris - somewhat like the amazing race. If we rent a car, I would expect we would rent for about 8 days. Please - no lectures on trying to do too much in a short time, with the assumption that we will be returning. This trip is a one time deal for our family and we won't be returning with our kids anytime soon. We're trying to get in some variety and hit the highlights. Keep in mind we have 4 college educations to pay for.
Posted by
Frankfurt am Main, Germany
2779 posts
Janice, in order to avoid one-way rental charge you should then pick up and drop off the car in France. It usually doesn't make a difference if you pick it up and one French location and drop it off at another. But it does so if this is cross-country. Do make sure it's a Diesel engine ($7.45 per gallon instead of $8.32 for regular PLUS much, much better milage)! Then from Bruge to Braubach (Mosel river) it's a 3:47hrs drive. Your kids will love to see Marksburg castle, built in the 13th century, medival and never been destroyed. From there drive a long the rhine river gorge with maybe a snack stop at Bacharach to Bingen where you get back to the freeway to Frankfurt, Würzburg and Romantic Road. You can end that day at Rothenburg and do the night watchman's tour (tough day though, very early start etc). But since you want to cover all the must-sees... What exactly do you want to see in Switzerland? Nothing wrong wit the country but if it's just the Alpine scenery that's also...
Posted by
Frankfurt am Main, Germany
2779 posts
... available in the Füssen area. But one good routing example with fun for the kids would be from Füssen to Meersburg (Lake of Constance), 1:58 hrs drive. Visit Meersburg, walled old town, castle overlooking the Lake, great experience. Then ferry boat to Konstanz (20mins passage) again great views. From Konstanz to Lucerne e.g. it's then 1:42hrs. It's only a view minutes longer if done via Zug but IMO the lakefront in Zug is one of the nicest in all Switzerland as the views of Mt. Rigi are breathtaking from there. The downturn of driving via Zug is that you have to drive all the way thru downtown Zürich, which during rush hour is a horror. If Zürich is a destination of yours then fine. Personally I don't think it's worthwhile. Zug, Lucerne are so much less stressfull, less noisy and much more charming.
Posted by
Nederland, CO
1443 posts
Janice, I can identify as my husband and I will be traveling this summer with our 23, 22 and 13 year old. I went through the same dilemma. We started out planning to rent a car until I discovered the outrageous drop fee for renting in one country and dropping off in another. The suggestion to rent beginning in France and drop in France at the end of your trip is a good one. I believe you can pick up and drop anywhere in france without a drop fee.
One benefit to the train is that you have a little room to spread out. In a car you are all stuck in close quarters weather everyone is having a good day or not.....just a little food for thought.
One more thing - I would drop Munich - it's not worth it with the limited time you have. Also, If you do train Rothenburg takes some extra time as it is a little out of the way (but well worth it).
Posted by
Florida, USA
12172 posts
A car will be cheaper for 6 people unless you take advantage of some of the deals. Bear in mind the deals are for the local trains, which are great for getting from one small town to another but take a lot longer for travel between major cities.
A small van will be best. Cars are small to start with. I leased a seven passenger car for five, two adults and three children (16,12 &8). It worked fine for us. If we had an extra adult it would have been cramped. We also had only one carry on each. The car wouldn't have accomodated extra luggage without compromising visibility. Diesel is better. A GPS is good to have in Northern Europe, a must in Southern Europe.
Even with a leased vehicle, I wanted my family to get some train travel. We got a beautiful weekend pass for 35 euros in Germany. It's good for five for one weekend on local trains.
Finally, limit your daily travel times. You will be saner and enjoy your trip much more.
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
I might suggest chunneling to Paris, train from Paris to Basel on fast TGV train and pick up/return your rental car there. Basel Airport sits right at the interesection of France, Germany and Switzerland. Do your travel through Germany with the car, then travel through Switzerland on the trains.
The reason I suggest train travel in Switzerland is that children less then 16 travel everywhere on public transport in Switzerland for free as long as they are with a parent. Also if you purchase any kind of Swiss Pass then you get significant discounts on high mountain railways like the Schilthorn and Jungfrau.
Just a thought.