[Vegas]

28 February 2025 at 19:30:54 #2405926

Please don’t yell at me for not taking train 🙂

Any recommendations on driving route from Laughterbrunnen to Lugano on about June 25? We are actually going Lauterbrunnen to Menaggio (lake Como), but the road route from Lugano to Menaggio seems straightforward.

Appreciate any guidance!

Vegas

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[Anna]

Reply 1 of 6 • 28 February 2025 at 19:51:25 #2405929

Hi Vegas,

Welcome to MySwissAlps.

The fastest route from Lauterbrunnen to Lugano would be to follow the motorway via Interlaken and through the Gotthard Tunnel. Should not take you more than 3 hours unless you make stops along the way. If you have time and prefer a scenic route, take the Gotthard Pass. You can find useful tips on how to drive in the mountains here: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel/car/driving-mountains/
From Lugano, it’s only about 30 – 40 minutes drive to get to Menaggio.

Regards,
Anna

[Vegas]

Reply 2 of 6 • 28 February 2025 at 22:07:49 #2405933

Thanks Anna, Love the MySwissAlps website, it has been very helpful!!!

Jono

[Arno]

Reply 3 of 6 • 2 March 2025 at 8:50:50 #2408451

If traffic jams are expected, and if you don’t mind driving in the mountains, you could take the shorter but slower and more scenic route via the Grimsel and Furka passes to reach the beginning of the Gotthard Pass. The traffic jams are not in the tunnel but on the motorway leading up to it, so it could slow you down even if you are not planning on crossing the tunnel. Worst case, it can double your travel time. I have been there 🙂 This isn’t too likely on a weekday in June, but I’d check anyway!

[Roger Sexton]

Reply 4 of 6 • 2 March 2025 at 10:02:36 #2408453

A further possibility, a variation on Arno’s suggestion, would be to drive over the SUSTEN pass, and then over the Gotthard Pass.

Kind regards

Roger

[Vegas]

Reply 5 of 6 • 3 March 2025 at 17:37:40 #2412583

Ok, I now understand the basic route options. Duration times are all relative; (1) Highway: 3hr 26min basically A8 to A2, (2) Susten Pass: 3hr 44min basically A8 to 6 to 11 to A2, with Susten route could still take Gotthard Tunnel (3) Furka Pass: 4hr basically A8 to 6 to 19 to A2. or (4) Novena Pass: 4hr 37min. Note travel day is June 25

I think we will basically choose the route the day before. What’s a good web site to check the roads across the Susten and Furka pass the day before travel or even the morning of travel?

If weather and road conditions are good at that time, I think the Furka Pass option looks the most interesting for us, followed by the Susten pass route (given we could still catch the Gotthard Tunnel if we think that will recover some travel time from taking the Susten pass, again not sure if we will care or not).

We will have the Vignette. Are there also toll lanes or required stops like in the US we should be aware of? Is there additional payment at the Gotthard Tunnel to be aware of?

Which app (android) would you recommend? Web sites I have been researching Search.CH and ViaMichelin but hoping for an app that could help with traffic / road conditions for the morning we will finalize route choice.

Thank you again for all the great suggestions,

Jono

[Anna]

Reply 6 of 6 • 4 March 2025 at 9:48:37 #2415384

Hi Vegas,

All the mountain passes mentioned in this thread are accessible in June. You can find information and useful links for traffic updates and conditions here: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel/car/traffic-info/

The motorway vignette (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel/car/motorway-vignette/) is all you need to drive on the motorway. There are no toll booths in Switzerland and not additional payment to use the Gotthard Tunnel. You might have to pay additional fee if you decide to use the car train (Furka Pass). https://www.myswissalps.com/travel/car/car-train/

Regards,
Anna