5 day self drive from munich-zurich

Hi,

We (2 couples mid 30s) are planning a self drive holiday departing from munich later this month.

We have hired a car from munich airport and plan on heading south to ludwigs castle and maybe one night in the bravarian alps. from then on our iternery is open but we plan on heading over into Switzerland. We are all keen on some hiking or mountain biking, some scenic driving, local culture and food, nice little villages and some good beers.

any info would be great

Hi Henza, welcome to our website,

There are many, many options. If you don't want to drive too far from Germany, the Lake Lucerne region is a wonderful option. Also it depends on how long you want to stay, and whether you prefer one base or a round trip. You can best look into this planning guide, and browse the several region and town pages on our website. Also this section on driving may be helpful. All of this info will give you a better idea of the options. Once you have a plan and have questions left, feel free to post back here.

Hi again guys,

Our basic plan is: we have hired a car in munich and we drop it off 5 days later in zurich.

During these 5 days we would like to visit ludwigs castle in Neuschwanstein, Germany then we plan on heading for the Italian/swiss alps. Ideally we are looking for good scenery, nice little villages to stop in, good food and culture and some affordable accomodation. Maybe 2-3 days for this leg of the journey.

Also interested in some hiking in the interlaken or lucerne region in for the last 2 days of our trip.

Is it in our benefit to get any of the swiss passes? As this will be mostly a self drive holiday

Any tips on a itinerary would be great?

thanks again

Hi Henza!

Tips for day trips, hikes and accommodation in the Interlaken and Lucerne regions can be found here:

• http://www.myswissalps.com/berneseoberland
• http://www.myswissalps.com/interlaken
• http://www.myswissalps.com/centralswitzerland
• http://www.myswissalps.com/lucerne

Whether you need a pass, depends on your exact plans. If you expect to use public transportation for only a few short rides, you're most probably better off buying regular train tickets. On the other hand, trains and mountain transportation are quite expensive and just a couple of costly trips can justify the purchase of a Swiss Half Fare Card. Here's how to calculate which option turns out best.

The Brünig pass via Lungern and Brienz is a scenic route when getting from Lucerne to Interlaken. I'm not sure about your other plans, but if you intend to travel onto Italy there are several options. You can get on the car train between Spiez and Visp and drive the Simplon Pass towards Italy. A long but very scenic detour would be to take the Grimsel, Furka and Gotthard pass and continue towards Bellinzona/Lugano. Of course even longer routes, e.g. towards St. Moritz and the Bernina Pass, are available too, but such routes will inevitably result in several days of intensive driving in the mountains. You should carefully consider if you don't mind long driving days or if you prefer shorter trips with stops along the way or spare time in the afternoons and evenings. You can best check the information and links in the driving section Arno provided for more detailed planning.