My husband and I will be in Canale in Piedmont in 2nd half of Sept and plan to travel to Lucerne on our way to Fussen/Munich. We will only have 2 nights in Lucerne. The best train option seems to be from Turin to Lucerne but it's 6+ hours so we're considering renting a car. The drive is about 4 hrs. A car would give us more flexibility on travel times and be less hassle from not changing trains, but would like perspectives on whether it's a good option or not. We plan to have a car while in Germany as will be going up the romantic road so will keep the car through travels to Trier.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16893 posts
Compare price quotes for the car rental options. Picking up and dropping off in different countries can add a fee of hundreds of dollars, while picking and dropping at different German cities would not.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Thank you. If the drop fee is not an issue, isit reasonable to drive the route or still better to train?
Posted by
Green Bay
20068 posts
Some one just answered a similar question, but I'll be darned if I can find it. High points were:
The border crossing at Chiasso can be a bit of waiting.
The entry to the Gotthard tunnel can also cause a delay.
You will need to stop and purchase a Swiss vignette at the border crossing. 40 chf or there about.
There are high international drop fees for rental cars. In essence, you will need to pay the transport cost back to Italy because they can't rent a car with Italian license plates in Switzerland.
Posted by
Firenze
500 posts
Take the train. You can drive to Luzern in four hours only under the best possible conditions. If there is a little queue at St. Gotthard, it may easily add an hour or more to an already optimistic travel time estimate.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Thanks so much to all answers! Great input provided. We will take the train.