We’ve been to Switzerland three times over the years. We rented a car the first time, for the “if it’s Tuesday, it must be Belgium” grand tour of western Europe. The second time, we stayed in a car-less town and bought train tickets as needed. This time we invested in Swiss Travel Passes. These get us on trains, buses, gondolas, funiculars, and boats all over the country. For some privately-run attractions, we get discounts. We have two reasons for riding the rails.
The Swiss mass transit system is superb. It puts Amtrak and local transit systems in the US to shame. Trains, gondolas, or funiculars serve even small towns in the mountains. The trains leave on schedule. If you have to transfer from one train to another, you often don’t have to wait long for your connection. Train stations and the infrastructure are well maintained. It’s easy to plan our trip itineraries on the Swiss Rail website. Not only does it give times, it gives you maps to get to your transfer.
Renting a car doesn’t always make sense in Switzerland. Many of the picturesque towns in the Bernese Oberland don’t allow cars except for official vehicles. In addition, you’ll pay extra for a rental car that has automatic transmission. The thought of driving a manual transmission car on steep mountain roads could give anyone pause. I never learned to drive manual transmission, which meant that Julian was stuck driving on most of our trips. You may have a hard time finding a rental car that will accommodate your luggage AND can negotiate the narrow mountain roads. (See two earlier posts, Ciao d’Italia and The Purple People Eater.)
So far we’ve had an easy time getting from point to point. With luck, this will continue.
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