Swiss travel by car and train pass in December?

Planning a trip to europe in Dec. Want to hire a car to travel from Munich to Lucerne, Zermatt, Interlaken and then to Innsbruck and Salzburg. My concern is driving in mountainous areas so was thinking to leave car parked in Lucerne for four days and then do 4 day train pass to Zermatt and Interlaken and then pick up the car again in Lucerne. Does this make sense? The reason for the car is my mom's mobility is not great and we want to visit small towns between cities as well so i thought car for the rest may be ideal.

Hi Teeoxo, welcome to MySwissAlps!

Indeed a car is not essential in Switzerland, and often it can even be a hindrance if you try to use it in larger cities like Lucerne. Zermatt is car free, and the Jungfrau region south of Interlaken is largely car free too so you would not need a car there either. This page might be helpful: myswissalps.com/ carversustrain.

Another option could be to drop off your car at the German border and pick up another one in Austria, so you won't pay the rental fee (and possibly parking costs) for a car you don't use.

More on train travel and passes to save money can be found here: myswissalps.com/ train. There is a 4-day Swiss Travel Pass that may fit your needs. Feel free to get back here with further questions.

Thank for the great suggestion.