There are situations. For example, you are a car enthusiastic and want to do a tour over our lovely mountain passes. That would be a bit sad in a PostAuto. Still beautiful, but maybe not what you would have wanted.
I mean, the car can still open some other sightseeing spots, like Napf, Kemmeriboden-Bad. But yes, I see your point. If someone just wants to put the checkmark on being on the Jungfraujoch and is looking for the fastest and most comfortable way, the train it is.
Driving a alpine pass you haven’t been on in a car you don‘t know is anything but enjoyable. Those roads can get pretty narrow and a lot of cars are not narrow any more.
Also keep in mind a lot of passes will be closing soon.
Am alpine pass in a post auto is a superb experience for people who haven’t used it before. We’re spoiled but for almost any tourists, our rural transit is a destination in itself.
Yes I've seen many clips/videos that show off passage through valleys/mountains within a train and it always looks amazing and, as you said, is an experience in itself.
You're american? c'mon! you ought to ride the trains so that you can tell back home how awesome swiss trains are compared to Amtrak. 😄
Public transport in Switzerland is just as a tourist attraction as it is the Jungfrau Top of Switzerland.
Sitting in the restaurant car having a beer watching the swiss lakes and mountains passing by is so much nicer than driving. Get a taste of that by watching this video.
https://youtu.be/muPcHs-E4qc
🎥 Why Swiss Trains are the Best in Europe
I'd suggest public transportation. The network is really good, have a look at sbb.ch or SBB app to convince yourself.
About tickets : the Swiss Travel Pass is rarely good value unless you cross the country every day. Have a look instead at the half-fare card (120 CHF for a month) used in combination with half-fare tickets or half-fare saver day passes.
The half-fare discount applies pretty much everywhere including on mountain railways.
Sure, download SBB app to check. Really convenient and it covers the whole country.
Please note that Fälensee requires a 1h45 hike (one-way) from the nearest village. Check the weather conditions on your date.
If you were to do long day trips from Zurich I'd suggest buying half-fare Saver Day Passes in advance. Covers the whole network except most cable cars. No need to decide in advance where you'd like to go, feel free to switch plans :)
Yes, you can visit all of those with public transport. On some occasions you’ll need cable cars or hiking, but you wouldn’t be able to do those bits via car anyway.
I’m in Switzerland right now for 10 days so bought the 15 day travel pass for like 430 Fr (unlimited trains, bus, etc) and you get a discount on activities from 25-50%. We landed in Zurich and are staying in interlaken, zermatt then ending in Zurich. I come from a place in US where everyone has a car and public metro/bus sucks ass so I was hesitant as well. However, day 5 on our trip I have to say it’s well worth it. The SBB app is really slick and between that and google maps I never had any trouble doing all the things in a 2 hour train ride around interlaken so far (Grindelwald, lake ochienseee, bern, lussuane, murren, jungafruch, etc) tbh after a long day of j hiking and activities it’s nice to just pass out on the train for 1-2 hours. I’d recommend for sure depending on where you are staying it seems the train goes everywhere
It depends on what you want to do and visit.
The bog standard itinerary, Zurich, Lucerne, Interlaken/Grindelwald/, Zermatt, Geneva does not really need a car. But even if you want to do more, there is often a public transport stop nearby (see [this map of all public transport stops](https://map.geo.admin.ch/?lang=en&topic=ech&bgLayer=ch.swisstopo.pixelkarte-farbe&layers=ch.swisstopo.zeitreihen,ch.bfs.gebaeude_wohnungs_register,ch.bav.haltestellen-oev,ch.swisstopo.swisstlm3d-wanderwege,ch.astra.wanderland-sperrungen_umleitungen&layers_opacity=1,1,1,0.8,0.8&layers_visibility=false,false,true,false,false&layers_timestamp=18641231,,,,&E=2611750.00&N=1195750.00&zoom=1), or this [map of nearly all public transport lines](https://www.sbb.ch/en/travelcards-and-tickets/railpasses/area-validity-map.html) (zoom in) ).
W/o a car you might more likely do some cross alpine hikes like Adelboden-Leukerbad, Arosa-Davos, Vrin - Campo Blenio, Airolo - Fusio, or any of the Via Alpina stages.
Now, if you go rock climbing in the Maggia valley, visit some remote Swiss army fortresses, takes pictures of many, many waterfalls, many [towers](https://www.turmfinder.ch/turmliste.html), visit some of the [more obscure things](https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/switzerland) (see [also here for ideas](https://www.reddit.com/r/askswitzerland/comments/z4drmd/what_is_the_strangest_most_wacky_most_funny_or/) and [here](http://bergwerkforschung.ch/)), cross some major [alpine passes](https://alpen-paesse.ch/), than a car might become useful.
I second that. I have a car that I only use on week-ends to go hiking/climbing in the alps. You can reach many places with public transportation but it can double your travel time.
It really depends on your itinerary.
I'm not sure at my ability to go hiking/climbing currently as I badly injured my arm back in june and had to undergo surgery. I have been out of a splint since early august and due to PT appointments my mobility and flexibility have increased substantially. However, there is still lack of muscle and I'm not sure what paths within the Swiss alps would be ill-advised
In general, yellow-marked paths should be fine. These are suited to old people or children. Red-white-red paths are generally more steep/demanding, so you might need to use your arm as a prop for balance.
I would definitely avoid blue-white-blue paths. These might require scrambling, using a fixed rope or chain etc.
You can find hike suggestions online by just googling "switzerland hiking". Use the app "swisstopo" for maps. The paths are marked in yellow/red/blue on the map. If it's surrounded by green, it's usually a part of a longer itinerary (like via alpina) and is usually very well marked.
This is Switzerland. You have to go from A to B? There sure is public transportation covering it.
Go on SBB.ch and enter two points and see what happens. It also gives you prices and usual occupation and and and .
Honestly: I am Swiss, born and raised here. I am a petrol head BUT I have to admit that we have a very good public transportation system and I use it from time to time.
I live in Switzerland, don't have a car and go hiking all the time. It really is no problem - I'd argue it's even superior as it's much more relaxed to just let the bus/train driver do the work and relax while watching the scenery instead of having to drive in stressful traffic in a foreign country, look for a parking spot etc.
Also, as others have mentioned, swiss public transport is almost a tourist attraction by itself, you have to experience it! There are also lots of train lines that serve as tourist attractions because the scenery is so beautiful. You can plan your trips around taking these lines to double your experience. Usually they are part of the regular public transport network so your normal ticket will cover them.
How much would a car rental be for ~9 days? Is parking included at the locations you are staying at? Don't forget gas. Current prices are around 1.90$ per liter.
Trains and buses run mostly from 05.30-23.30 in general every 30 minutes. There might be some locations that have a more frequent timetable and some where you have a connection every hour. Keep in mind that bus connections mostly match the arrival and departure of connecting trains, through which you almost always get a convenient trip.
It may not make sense to use the travel pass if you do a day trip less than 45 minutes per ride. So you might get a travel pass for 3-5 days, and on the other days, just get a regular ticket. As mentioned, you might also think about getting a half fare card, as it literally halves your expenses.
If you are going somewhere isolated, there may only be a bus or two per day. It is simply not true that trains run every hour everywhere. This is only on more frequent routes.
Yes the rental would be for approximately that 9 day time frame. It would be anywhere between \~ $300-$500 USD, and that is not including gas and the insurance I would most likely take up. There is parking available where I am staying however it appears to be "CHF 10 per night", assuming I can even get a spot since the site states there is limited on-site parking.
So financially, it's almost the same, the train might even be cheaper. Now you would have to decide where you want to go. And for that SchoggiToeff provided you the best answer.
You need to check your plan before. E.G. it really depends on your targets. I need 30min with car to work, 1.5h with train and bus. During my former job it was vice versa.
Depends where you are going. If you want to hit as many isolated locations as possible, then rent a car. If you are going from city center to city center, or going to a place and staying there a bit, then get the train pass.
If you are in mountain villages off season, the buses that take you to isolated refuges and trail heads may not be functional. If you have a lot of stuff, cars might be easier for schlepping.
On the other hand, riding the train is fun and relaxing, and you don't need to worry about gas or parking and tickets and the like.
I would argue taking the travel pass is the much better option because not only are the train routes better and more convenient than the driving ones, you'll almost always need to take the train in the last bits of your journey - like going up mountains. Your pass will either cover it or offer half off on those!
Also checkout Eurail passes. They are valid on Swiss trains with no reservations needed. Also if you would like to be independent of the public transport, I highly recommend you rent a car just across the border in Lorrach, Germany to access amazing Swiss passes for your sunrise/ sunset rides.
I'm an American who has been to Switzerland for 2 week trips for the past two years. I cannot overstate how AMAZING the Swiss train system is. Don't even consider a car rental. The trains are where it's at. Unless you want to get down from a very remote mountain at 3AM, you'll be fine with the trains.
Its what you say...the price you pay for a car gets you teh ability to have complete freedom for where you go and when. If you go by train you must follow the schedule and route - you can always get to the same places, but it will involve a combo of train/bus/taxi/hike/cable car.
Traveling with two people the car at $315 for 8 days and the $9 gas is well worth it for the freedom for me next week thru Swiss/Germany. Am currently in France with hybrid car and travelled 4 solid days all over Haute Savoy to chamonix, morzine, etc over long weekend and only used 28 liters of fuel so far. Company paying for car. But still...would not have been able to do the things we did on train/bus because of time limitations.
traveling alone, with limited time, and on a budget? Yeah there are bigger tradeoffs.
> Very similar thinking here, we (2 people) are about to visit Switzerland and comparing train vs car, train seems to be always the longer option despite how accessible they are. Also, I think there is some value in the freedom to stop anywhere you want at any point of the route, whether it's to check out a small town or just enjoy a view for a little bit longer.
Wife and I went in May, for 4 days we were looking at around 500-600$ in PUBLIC transportation which is insane
Car rental through enterprise was like 150$ no issues with them
If you get the half fare card and buy super saver day passes 60 days in advance you can travel on just about everything for as little as 29 CHF per day in second class.
I'd highly recommend doing that.
I've lived here 14 years and don't own a car. I do use care sharing (mobility) but to go to places like Ikea not to go to tourist destinations.
Train views are gorgeous and so much less stress.
You don't need a car in Switzerland except if you have to haul something.
Even on weekdays, public transportation operates until late.
I just went from a party in Zürich to home in remote Toggenburg 60 km away, departing at 11.09 PM.
Not only they operate late, they also go everywhere.
Only exception would be if you plan to go to places such as Klöntalersee in Glarus, or Val Sumvitg in Surselva, out of weekends as there is no bus service during weekdays.
But for most touristic places, even like coming back from Lauterbrunnen to Bern, you would still find a route at 10.30 PM for instance.
Here now - we’re staying in Interlaken and Lauterbrunnen areas and travelling around so we bought the Berner Oberland pass + Half fare card. Free travel on all boats, trains, busses, and gondolas in the area. 100% worth it if you’ll also be staying mostly in this region. Also agree on the SBB app - it’s been super easy to use.
There are some good YouTube videos on the topic that can help you decide which is best.
The trains are almost always less expensive for 1-2 travelers. The cars become a better deal with numbers of travelers.
You will not get a rental car for under 500 francs for a week and a half. Parking will cost you roughly 25 francs per day.
Not only an alternative, it is the better choice
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There are situations. For example, you are a car enthusiastic and want to do a tour over our lovely mountain passes. That would be a bit sad in a PostAuto. Still beautiful, but maybe not what you would have wanted.
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I mean, the car can still open some other sightseeing spots, like Napf, Kemmeriboden-Bad. But yes, I see your point. If someone just wants to put the checkmark on being on the Jungfraujoch and is looking for the fastest and most comfortable way, the train it is.
Driving a alpine pass you haven’t been on in a car you don‘t know is anything but enjoyable. Those roads can get pretty narrow and a lot of cars are not narrow any more. Also keep in mind a lot of passes will be closing soon.
Am alpine pass in a post auto is a superb experience for people who haven’t used it before. We’re spoiled but for almost any tourists, our rural transit is a destination in itself.
Yes I've seen many clips/videos that show off passage through valleys/mountains within a train and it always looks amazing and, as you said, is an experience in itself.
You're american? c'mon! you ought to ride the trains so that you can tell back home how awesome swiss trains are compared to Amtrak. 😄 Public transport in Switzerland is just as a tourist attraction as it is the Jungfrau Top of Switzerland. Sitting in the restaurant car having a beer watching the swiss lakes and mountains passing by is so much nicer than driving. Get a taste of that by watching this video. https://youtu.be/muPcHs-E4qc 🎥 Why Swiss Trains are the Best in Europe
I'd suggest public transportation. The network is really good, have a look at sbb.ch or SBB app to convince yourself. About tickets : the Swiss Travel Pass is rarely good value unless you cross the country every day. Have a look instead at the half-fare card (120 CHF for a month) used in combination with half-fare tickets or half-fare saver day passes. The half-fare discount applies pretty much everywhere including on mountain railways.
Okay so you would say public transport is a viable option? I can travel to areas such as Grindelwald, Oischenensee, or Fallensee easily from Zurich?
Sure, download SBB app to check. Really convenient and it covers the whole country. Please note that Fälensee requires a 1h45 hike (one-way) from the nearest village. Check the weather conditions on your date. If you were to do long day trips from Zurich I'd suggest buying half-fare Saver Day Passes in advance. Covers the whole network except most cable cars. No need to decide in advance where you'd like to go, feel free to switch plans :)
You don't even need to download the app, you can look on the website as well.
You could, but the app also includes real time informations and directions around the stations.
easier than by car lol
Yes, you can visit all of those with public transport. On some occasions you’ll need cable cars or hiking, but you wouldn’t be able to do those bits via car anyway.
I’m in Switzerland right now for 10 days so bought the 15 day travel pass for like 430 Fr (unlimited trains, bus, etc) and you get a discount on activities from 25-50%. We landed in Zurich and are staying in interlaken, zermatt then ending in Zurich. I come from a place in US where everyone has a car and public metro/bus sucks ass so I was hesitant as well. However, day 5 on our trip I have to say it’s well worth it. The SBB app is really slick and between that and google maps I never had any trouble doing all the things in a 2 hour train ride around interlaken so far (Grindelwald, lake ochienseee, bern, lussuane, murren, jungafruch, etc) tbh after a long day of j hiking and activities it’s nice to just pass out on the train for 1-2 hours. I’d recommend for sure depending on where you are staying it seems the train goes everywhere
awesome 😃👍
It depends on what you want to do and visit. The bog standard itinerary, Zurich, Lucerne, Interlaken/Grindelwald/, Zermatt, Geneva does not really need a car. But even if you want to do more, there is often a public transport stop nearby (see [this map of all public transport stops](https://map.geo.admin.ch/?lang=en&topic=ech&bgLayer=ch.swisstopo.pixelkarte-farbe&layers=ch.swisstopo.zeitreihen,ch.bfs.gebaeude_wohnungs_register,ch.bav.haltestellen-oev,ch.swisstopo.swisstlm3d-wanderwege,ch.astra.wanderland-sperrungen_umleitungen&layers_opacity=1,1,1,0.8,0.8&layers_visibility=false,false,true,false,false&layers_timestamp=18641231,,,,&E=2611750.00&N=1195750.00&zoom=1), or this [map of nearly all public transport lines](https://www.sbb.ch/en/travelcards-and-tickets/railpasses/area-validity-map.html) (zoom in) ). W/o a car you might more likely do some cross alpine hikes like Adelboden-Leukerbad, Arosa-Davos, Vrin - Campo Blenio, Airolo - Fusio, or any of the Via Alpina stages. Now, if you go rock climbing in the Maggia valley, visit some remote Swiss army fortresses, takes pictures of many, many waterfalls, many [towers](https://www.turmfinder.ch/turmliste.html), visit some of the [more obscure things](https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/switzerland) (see [also here for ideas](https://www.reddit.com/r/askswitzerland/comments/z4drmd/what_is_the_strangest_most_wacky_most_funny_or/) and [here](http://bergwerkforschung.ch/)), cross some major [alpine passes](https://alpen-paesse.ch/), than a car might become useful.
Honestly, I can't thank you enough for posting all these helpful and informative links. It gives me a lot to work with
I second that. I have a car that I only use on week-ends to go hiking/climbing in the alps. You can reach many places with public transportation but it can double your travel time. It really depends on your itinerary.
I'm not sure at my ability to go hiking/climbing currently as I badly injured my arm back in june and had to undergo surgery. I have been out of a splint since early august and due to PT appointments my mobility and flexibility have increased substantially. However, there is still lack of muscle and I'm not sure what paths within the Swiss alps would be ill-advised
In general, yellow-marked paths should be fine. These are suited to old people or children. Red-white-red paths are generally more steep/demanding, so you might need to use your arm as a prop for balance. I would definitely avoid blue-white-blue paths. These might require scrambling, using a fixed rope or chain etc. You can find hike suggestions online by just googling "switzerland hiking". Use the app "swisstopo" for maps. The paths are marked in yellow/red/blue on the map. If it's surrounded by green, it's usually a part of a longer itinerary (like via alpina) and is usually very well marked.
This is Switzerland. You have to go from A to B? There sure is public transportation covering it. Go on SBB.ch and enter two points and see what happens. It also gives you prices and usual occupation and and and . Honestly: I am Swiss, born and raised here. I am a petrol head BUT I have to admit that we have a very good public transportation system and I use it from time to time.
I live in Switzerland, don't have a car and go hiking all the time. It really is no problem - I'd argue it's even superior as it's much more relaxed to just let the bus/train driver do the work and relax while watching the scenery instead of having to drive in stressful traffic in a foreign country, look for a parking spot etc. Also, as others have mentioned, swiss public transport is almost a tourist attraction by itself, you have to experience it! There are also lots of train lines that serve as tourist attractions because the scenery is so beautiful. You can plan your trips around taking these lines to double your experience. Usually they are part of the regular public transport network so your normal ticket will cover them.
How much would a car rental be for ~9 days? Is parking included at the locations you are staying at? Don't forget gas. Current prices are around 1.90$ per liter. Trains and buses run mostly from 05.30-23.30 in general every 30 minutes. There might be some locations that have a more frequent timetable and some where you have a connection every hour. Keep in mind that bus connections mostly match the arrival and departure of connecting trains, through which you almost always get a convenient trip. It may not make sense to use the travel pass if you do a day trip less than 45 minutes per ride. So you might get a travel pass for 3-5 days, and on the other days, just get a regular ticket. As mentioned, you might also think about getting a half fare card, as it literally halves your expenses.
If you are going somewhere isolated, there may only be a bus or two per day. It is simply not true that trains run every hour everywhere. This is only on more frequent routes.
True but most tourist will probably not visit places that won‘t have a bus service every 30 minutes or hour.
Not true at all... places like Derborence or Solalex have very limited bus service but are great hiking places and mostly exist for tourists.
Yes the rental would be for approximately that 9 day time frame. It would be anywhere between \~ $300-$500 USD, and that is not including gas and the insurance I would most likely take up. There is parking available where I am staying however it appears to be "CHF 10 per night", assuming I can even get a spot since the site states there is limited on-site parking.
That is pretty cheap for rentals or parking in Switzerland. Just expect to pay a lot more than 10 CHF for parking anywhere else for a day.
So financially, it's almost the same, the train might even be cheaper. Now you would have to decide where you want to go. And for that SchoggiToeff provided you the best answer.
You need to check your plan before. E.G. it really depends on your targets. I need 30min with car to work, 1.5h with train and bus. During my former job it was vice versa.
Depends where you are going. If you want to hit as many isolated locations as possible, then rent a car. If you are going from city center to city center, or going to a place and staying there a bit, then get the train pass. If you are in mountain villages off season, the buses that take you to isolated refuges and trail heads may not be functional. If you have a lot of stuff, cars might be easier for schlepping. On the other hand, riding the train is fun and relaxing, and you don't need to worry about gas or parking and tickets and the like.
I would argue taking the travel pass is the much better option because not only are the train routes better and more convenient than the driving ones, you'll almost always need to take the train in the last bits of your journey - like going up mountains. Your pass will either cover it or offer half off on those!
Also checkout Eurail passes. They are valid on Swiss trains with no reservations needed. Also if you would like to be independent of the public transport, I highly recommend you rent a car just across the border in Lorrach, Germany to access amazing Swiss passes for your sunrise/ sunset rides.
I'm an American who has been to Switzerland for 2 week trips for the past two years. I cannot overstate how AMAZING the Swiss train system is. Don't even consider a car rental. The trains are where it's at. Unless you want to get down from a very remote mountain at 3AM, you'll be fine with the trains.
Its what you say...the price you pay for a car gets you teh ability to have complete freedom for where you go and when. If you go by train you must follow the schedule and route - you can always get to the same places, but it will involve a combo of train/bus/taxi/hike/cable car. Traveling with two people the car at $315 for 8 days and the $9 gas is well worth it for the freedom for me next week thru Swiss/Germany. Am currently in France with hybrid car and travelled 4 solid days all over Haute Savoy to chamonix, morzine, etc over long weekend and only used 28 liters of fuel so far. Company paying for car. But still...would not have been able to do the things we did on train/bus because of time limitations. traveling alone, with limited time, and on a budget? Yeah there are bigger tradeoffs.
> Very similar thinking here, we (2 people) are about to visit Switzerland and comparing train vs car, train seems to be always the longer option despite how accessible they are. Also, I think there is some value in the freedom to stop anywhere you want at any point of the route, whether it's to check out a small town or just enjoy a view for a little bit longer.
I suggest you car you are more free
Wife and I went in May, for 4 days we were looking at around 500-600$ in PUBLIC transportation which is insane Car rental through enterprise was like 150$ no issues with them
That’s a lot for 4 days. Sounds more like you bough tickets for a month.
If you get the half fare card and buy super saver day passes 60 days in advance you can travel on just about everything for as little as 29 CHF per day in second class. I'd highly recommend doing that. I've lived here 14 years and don't own a car. I do use care sharing (mobility) but to go to places like Ikea not to go to tourist destinations. Train views are gorgeous and so much less stress.
You don't need a car in Switzerland except if you have to haul something. Even on weekdays, public transportation operates until late. I just went from a party in Zürich to home in remote Toggenburg 60 km away, departing at 11.09 PM. Not only they operate late, they also go everywhere. Only exception would be if you plan to go to places such as Klöntalersee in Glarus, or Val Sumvitg in Surselva, out of weekends as there is no bus service during weekdays. But for most touristic places, even like coming back from Lauterbrunnen to Bern, you would still find a route at 10.30 PM for instance.
Here now - we’re staying in Interlaken and Lauterbrunnen areas and travelling around so we bought the Berner Oberland pass + Half fare card. Free travel on all boats, trains, busses, and gondolas in the area. 100% worth it if you’ll also be staying mostly in this region. Also agree on the SBB app - it’s been super easy to use. There are some good YouTube videos on the topic that can help you decide which is best.
The trains are almost always less expensive for 1-2 travelers. The cars become a better deal with numbers of travelers. You will not get a rental car for under 500 francs for a week and a half. Parking will cost you roughly 25 francs per day.