Switzerland.... or somewhere else?

Scuzi

Scuzi

Scuzi

Man of Honour
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Yesterday on a bit of a whim and encouraged by a few beers I booked flights to Zurich in July for my family and I. The plan was to rent a car and drive to Lucerne for a few nights then further south to Locarno for another few nights before returning.

I've just been looking into hotels, car rental expected food and entertainment costs and that sort of thing and it has been an eye opener! However, having been to Locarno before I'm still pretty excited.

The reason for this thread is to get some ideas of where exactly to go. Lucerne caught my eye but I can't really see anything overly exciting there. Mt. Pilatus looks like a good day out, maybe even with a stay in the hotel on top. Is Lucerne worth spending a few days in or is it the sort of place you can see in a day?

If not Lucerne, where else in the general direction of Locarno would be worth spending a night or two? I'm sure we will be able to find plenty to do but I don't want to spend 6 days walking around quaint Swiss villages. 3 days is plenty for that sort of thing! :p

Another thing to consider is that we will have a baby with us so hiking to the summit of mountains is not likely possible, as much as I'd love to have a go at it.

The final questions is, if not Switzerland in July, where would you choose within a couple of hours flight from London? I have fully flexible tickets with BA so I can change quite easily.

This also seems like an appropriate post to mention that I miss cumulus1978.
 
zegna said:
Its so expensive.. didn't enjoy it that much for that reason alone!
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That is one thing that concerns me. I don't want to be handing out money only to realise at the end that we could have had a fortnight in the Bahamas for less.
 
Scuzi said:
That is one thing that concerns me. I don't want to be handing out money only to realise at the end that we could have had a fortnight in the Bahamas for less.
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I found exactly the same thing. Everything is massively, massively expensive.

A few tips on reducing the cost:

a) Fly into Munich and rent a car there. Not only does this mean you get to see Munich as well, but car hire is cheaper and you can then drive to Switzerland via Innsbruck. This is all kinds of awesome - Western Austria is basically like Switzerland only cheaper. If you don't want to see Austria or Munich then Stuttgart is pretty close, too.

b) Consider staying somewhere like Dornbirn, on the Austrian/Swiss border, and day-tripping into Switzerland. Depending on where you want to go this may or may not work.

c) Just do Austria instead perhaps? It's cheaper (Though still not cheap) but just as breath-taking. You could easily cross into and out of Switzerland.

d) You drive a BMW 330d. Just drive it there! Taking my 530i cost less than it would have to fly and rent.

Don't forget the Stelvio Pass!
 
As suggested above I would recommend Austria cause its AMAZING!!

Once you have decided where to pick up from and if you want some prices for car hire, drop me and email in trust and I will have a look for you - I work for a car hire broker (the 2nd biggest in Europe in fact ;) )

Fox's recommendation re: hire in Germany and drive over the boarder is a great tip :) Either Germany or Italy, rental prices are cheaper in both over hiring direct in Austria and/or Switzerland
 
Scuzi said:
Yesterday on a bit of a whim and encouraged by a few beers I booked flights to Zurich in July for my family and I. The plan was to rent a car and drive to Lucerne for a few nights then further south to Locarno for another few nights before returning.

I've just been looking into hotels, car rental expected food and entertainment costs and that sort of thing and it has been an eye opener! However, having been to Locarno before I'm still pretty excited.

The reason for this thread is to get some ideas of where exactly to go. Lucerne caught my eye but I can't really see anything overly exciting there. Mt. Pilatus looks like a good day out, maybe even with a stay in the hotel on top. Is Lucerne worth spending a few days in or is it the sort of place you can see in a day?

If not Lucerne, where else in the general direction of Locarno would be worth spending a night or two? I'm sure we will be able to find plenty to do but I don't want to spend 6 days walking around quaint Swiss villages. 3 days is plenty for that sort of thing! :p

Another thing to consider is that we will have a baby with us so hiking to the summit of mountains is not likely possible, as much as I'd love to have a go at it.

The final questions is, if not Switzerland in July, where would you choose within a couple of hours flight from London? I have fully flexible tickets with BA so I can change quite easily.

This also seems like an appropriate post to mention that I miss cumulus1978.
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Do not come to Switzerland if you are going to be fretting about the cost, go to Europe instead. If you do still decide on Swissland, Lucerne is good for a day maximum as it's pretty small, then you can head to Zurich for another day or two (the only Swiss city really worth living in imo). From Zurich you can then head to locarno to get some Rustic Swiss Italian vibe. However, it WILL cost a lot of money for food and accomodation vs any Europe-based trip. It is the most expensive country in the world, so there is no escaping this. Public transport is amazing though, truly world-class, and probably cheaper than the UK... you can get unlimited travel passes too for the duration of your stay.

Prague is awesome for a week,and i don't mean from a pure partying perspective... there's plenty to do culturally and it is still very cheap. You will eat like a King without worrying about the purse strings.

Italy is cheap too and tons to see, same with Spain. As has been said above, Austria is also amazing, Vienna being a highlight.

lots of choices, it just depends on your budget. I would say Switzerland is definitely not good "value" for a short trip... the exchange rate is against you.
 
Wow, some great replies in here. Thank you.

As I finished reading the thread, the lady at BA Exec club picked up the phone and I cancelled the flight :p

Fox, you suggested I drive. I've been wanting to do this for as long as I have been driving but with the family I think we'd need more than a week to make the trek worthwhile. The wife doesn't understand why we would drive around twisty mountain roads when there were perfectly serviceable aeroplanes waiting to take us there in a flash! I also have over half a million Avios to burn off so I can fly for the price of tax. Maybe some other time.

Now I'm trying to decide between Corsica via Nice or just biting the bullet and going further afield.
 
I think I'd have just put up with the high cost as it's such a beautiful place. Definitely a place I want to visit at some point.
 
Mark A said:
I think I'd have just put up with the high cost as it's such a beautiful place. Definitely a place I want to visit at some point.
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Not beautiful enough if you are really watching the budget... much better to go on a holiday where you can fully relax and enjoy it without worrying about how much you are spending.
 
Richdog said:
Not beautiful enough if you are really watching the budget... much better to go on a holiday where you can fully relax and enjoy it without worrying about how much you are spending.
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True. I don't mind splashing out now and again for something spectacular but a week in Switzerland was looking like it was going to end up costing 'private beach hut in the Maldives' money.

Back to Google Maps for inspiration.....
 
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