Driving day trip from Lucerne in May/June
A traveler is planning a one-day car trip from Lucerne in late May/early June. They want a scenic drive that avoids big cities and includes history, culture, and food, as they explore the area before heading to the Bernese Oberland.
- Consider a route from Lucerne to Rapperswil around Lake Zurich for beautiful views.
- Check the opening status of mountain passes like the Susten Pass close to your travel dates.
- Renting a car for a few days allows more flexibility in exploring spontaneous scenic spots.
- The Swiss Travel Pass is a great option for your train travel after the car rental.
AI-generated summary-
During our trip to Switzerland in late May/early June we have one day I’d like to set aside for a day trip by car from Lucerne. I don’t wish to drive into any big cities. We will drive from Zurich to Lucerne on our first day in Switzerland. After Lucerne we will head to The Bernese Oberland, so that wouldn’t be a trip we’d choose. Is there a route anyone has taken that is scenic and interesting to the East/Northeast or Southeast of Lucerne we can spend a day exploring? We love to be spontaneous. We like history, culture and food 😉
-
Hi Timbertrail,
You could try this route: Lucerne – Gersau – Sisikon – Brunnen – Schwyz – Sattel – Einsiedeln – Rapperswil. In total about 100 km and will take you around one section of Lake Lucerne and to the southern tip of Lake Zurich (Rapperswil). I’m not sure it’s the most scenic route though. Maybe other members of the forum could suggest a better route.
For more inspiration, have a look at this: http://www.myswissalps.com/activities/scenictrips/car
Be sure to read this: http://www.myswissalps.com/co2compensation
Regards,
Anna
You’ve read http://www.myswissalps.com/carversustrain, yes?
Thanks Rockoyster! Yes, I’ve read it. We will have a car only for 3 days, just to satisfy my need to do just this, exploring and stopping when we want to, etc, etc. I’m a photographer. I’ve really struggled with renting a car or using strictly train travel, and landed on this plan. We will pick it up at the airport on arrival and return in Lucerne before Continuing on by train. We are in Switzerland for 11 days, so it will allow us to get around and then use an 8 day STP instead of having to buy a 15 day pass for just 11 days. Found a good deal on a rental for a few days. Everyone I know (and there are several) who has visited Switzerland says driving is easy and they didn’t have many issues with parking. We live in a mountainous region in the US, so it will be nothing new to drive in the mountains. I still might change my mind, but for now that’s our plan
We just booked our flights and I’m very, very excited about finally making this trip to the place I’ve dreamed about for years!!
Thank you for all the time everyone spends answering So many similar questions on this forum!
Thank you Anna. I’ll look at that one.
Fair enough. You could drive from Luzern to Lichtenstein in an hour and a half. The drive from Vaduz to Malbun is fun. Then you can take a chair-lift higher up to where you will find a great gasthaus for lunch.
Also the Appenzell Region is worth a look.
I was thinking about driving to Lichtenstein. That might be a great option.
Is this the Gasthaus. Ferienhaus Murmelegg?
No, I think that one is in the village of Malbun. The one I had in mind is at the top of a chair-lift above Malbun. Great views. Don’t recall the name but some pictures at photos.app.goo.gl/jRoC3Ai2PvVR1pyEA.
Here it is – http://www.sareis-malbun.li/. It’s actually a bar/restaurant rather than a gasthaus.
<<“I’m a photographer.”>>
Do you have any special types of photography that you are good at?
I’ve attached a few from the general class of “travel souvenirs.”
The Emmental is within easy reach on your driving stretch. It responds well to having a car.
See attached, and:
http://www.myswissalps.com/forum/topic/langnau-in-may.
At that time of year, it is still late Winter in the Bernese Oberland at high altitude. That will limit your access to trails with good photographic opportunities.
This trail will be closed:
http://www.myswissalps.com/hiking/maennlichen-kleinescheidegg
For more about the attractive village of Trub, check this thread, on October 17th, well down the thread:
https://www.myswissalps.com/forum/topic/visit-to-switzerland-in-sept-report
Slowpoke
Attachments:
Slowpoke, sorry for not responding sooner. I’m a landscape photog for the most part, but also love to photograph architecture. Thanks so much for the suggestions. I’ll look at them all.
Yes, my top route would be :
Luzern – A2 motorway – Altdorf
Altdorf – via old Gotthard road – Wassen
Wassen – Susten Pass – Meiringen
My favourite landscape photo view from a main road in Switzerland is the SteinGletscher (Glacier) from a layby on the Susten Pass road
Meiringen – Brünig Pass – Luzern
Thanks so much. I’ll map it out!
So, how nerve wracking is the Sustenpass Road?? It looks very technical-“ish”. Haha. Do Swiss Roads have guardrails on the sides of very high sheer drop offs by chance? 😉 We Drive in the mountains, but I do have some apprehensions about really narrow and steep roads with sheer drops. On a scale of 1-10, how scary is that drive?? LOL.
Just looked at lots of photos on Google maps. It looks absolutely spectacular! A landscape photographers paradise!
Will it be open when you are there?
See http://www.myswissalps.com/forum/topic/sustenpass-when-accessible-how-long-a-drive.
Also youtu.be/J2b41ACtX7E.
Hello Timbertrail,
The below webpage will allow you to check which mountain passes are open when you plan your drive.
– http://www.alpen-paesse.ch/en/Also make sure to read the following link:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/car/drivinginthemountainsBest,
Steph
The Susten pass is a modern road – not too bad a drive at all. The road was only opened after World War II and was not paved until 1964
HI timbertrail.
I note that 1960man did not answer your question fully.
It has been about 10 years since I drove the high Alpine passes, such as the Oberalp, and the Susten.
Very often, they did not have guardrails for sheer drops. When I asked my Swiss friends about that they said….in so many words –
“If you have a driver’s license, you are supposed to have learned how to drive and stay on the road. Why do you need guardrails?” Individual accountability underlies much of the Swiss attitude about how things should work.
I’m wondering if that is still true. I suspect it is. There is no reason to change, from the perspective that was explained to me. One thing for sure, the Alpine pass roads definitely require your full attention, are narrow, don’t have many pullouts. If you are behind the wheel, you’re not going to be looking or taking pictures while driving.
Certainly, the roads that I have driven in the Rockies in the USA often have considerable stretches with that character…..although they do have guardrails, for inadequately trained drivers. 😉
It is a good bet that the Susten will not be open when you are there.
Second week of June is typical. Will vary with the severity of the
Winter and the snow pack.
<“Just looked at lots of photos on Google maps. It looks absolutely spectacular! A landscape photographers paradise!”>
That gives me some clues about your interests. Although I am an amateur landscape photographer, and have quite a few pictures of Switzerland on my walls, I have tended only to photograph…and display… images of mountains that have some history or back story…such as the notoriously evil Eiger. After a while…which means a whole lot of trips…pictures of mountains are nice, but most don’t make me work them up. First trip..you’ll love them.
So, and of course, your perspective is obviously different from mine, I tend to take photos such as the attached. Some have people in them. The North Face of the Eiger in German is the North Wall “Nord Wand.” It is common to refer to it as the”Mordwand” — the “Death Wall.”
You’ll have a lot of mountain pictures when you return home., if you can get to the good vantage points so early in the year.
l also enjoy the architecture, such as in St. Gall. It would not be out of reach for you:
http://www.myswissalps.com/forum/topic/st-gall-aka-sankt-gallen-and-good-bratwurst
and, for a whole bunch of pictures good for ambience:
http://www.myswissalps.com/forum/topic/st-gallen-appenzell-zurich-in-autumn
Architecture (baroque) with history:
http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/abbey-library-of-saint-gall-2
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbey_library_of_Saint_Gall
You could return to Luzern on back roads through the Voralpen, if you are not jet lagged.
Also, the unique Emmental architecture that I posted in my earlier comments.
This trip report has some good landscapes:
http://www.myswissalps.com/forum/topic/stein-am-rhein-easy-day-trip-from-zurich
Not too far from Zürich or St. Gall.
Too many options. 😉
Slowpoke
So, touché about the guardrails! I live in the Adirondacks of New York State. we have so many visitors (tourists) who are lousy mountain drivers and we wonder the same things. I never worry about driving on our roads because I’m familiar with them and could almost drive them with my eyes closed and so we make light of the folks who ask silly questions kind of like mine. I guess my query about guardrails really has to do with the mental feeling of security if they are there instead of the physical ability for them to keep me on the highway! We do not have the sheer drop offs and heights the Alps do. After I posed the question I realized how silly it was and would have deleted it if I could have. 😉. I’m seriously disappointed it likely won’t be open when we are there because that was exactly the type of drive I was looking for. But, so be it. We will find something to satisfy my wanderlust. I want to push the limits of my fear of heights and the Mt. Pilates cog railway will surely do that I suppose. ;).
As to my photography, I shoot many, many exposures of the same scene, waiting for light to change, waiting for the most dramatic shot I can achieve. That’s my passion. Not quantity, but quality. If I go home with two or three exceptional images of the Alps, I’ll be satisfied. The rest will be for my trip memories. Switzerland has been a dream of mine for decades and we are finally going to be there.
I sincerely appreciate the time you all spend answering all of our questions!
- The thread ‘Driving day trip from Lucerne in May/June’ is closed to new replies.
