gazza88

My wife & I are planning a 10 or 12 day trip to Switzerland with our 2 young kids of 6 & 4.

My wife would like to fly into Zurich, then hire a car for the duration while making our base in Lauterbrunnen or Lucerne so we can travel around.

I, on the other hand would prefer to drive down from the UK in our own vehicle (Ford Galaxy). I'm aware that Switzerland is so expensive, so I would prefer to use the money we would save on car rental & flights and put towards fuel on my own car. We could possibly add another day to compensate for the long drive.

Anyone had a similar dilemma?

thursdaysd

Why do you think you want a car in Switzerland? Some places you can't take a car, and most places you don't need a car.

For info on train travel in Switzerland see: https://www.seat61.com/train-travel-in-switzerland.htm

hetismij2

I suppose the main advantages of your own car are that you can take more stuff to keep the kids happy, and have the right booster seats already for them. You will need a vignet for Swiss motorways if you are planning on using them, and pay tolls in France if you use toll motorways. You will also need a crit'air sticker for you car for France - they can, and do, put a ban on all vehicles without them driving in certain areas if the air quality is poor.
You don't say where you are driving from in the UK but you will certainly need an extra night there and back if you are driving down. Fuel is expensive now as well don't forget.
Have you driven a RHD car in Europe before? or a LHD drive car ever?
You could take trains for a large part as thursdaysd suggests, but it depends somewhat on what you are planning to see and do. Nothing to stop you combining train trips with car trips of course. Taking the train all the way from the UK would be too complicated I suspect, especially with a couple of young kids.
Only you know whether you feel up to wrangling kids through airports and rental cars.

Oh and don't forget you now need a UK sticker on the car, not a GB one.

bilboburgler

When I go it depends on numbers, when I want to go on my own then flying is the obvious solution if I'm going somewhere easy for the airport but tough for a train

but with family I'd tend towards driving, 6 & 4 are going to get a bit bored either way plus their gear depends on how they get on when cranky etc. I'd tend towards a car with maybe a stop along the way to let off steam.

You could consider the train but if you do that I recommend first class as you win a bit more space for them seat61.com is helpful in this area

Sassafrass

Have the kids been on long car trips before or traveled by plane before? Who takes care of them most of the time? I would want whichever choice gives the most actual vacation time and whichever is easiest and most relaxing for the person most responsible for minding the children.

spiral

All of Heti and Bilbo's points are important but also - what time of the year is this trip? Winter driving in the Alps is very different to that in the southern UK. You would need winter tyres or at least chains for your car.
As Thursday says - what do you think you would use the car for when you are there? This is what I would work on first. Many places have so many lifts and trains that a car will not be used. Sticking to the roads could limit you. When we stopped in Grindelwald for a few nights a couple of summers ago we parked the car and didn't use it during our stay.
If you decide on the car then plan on overnight stops both ways even if you live in Southern England. When our children were young we drove down to south west France via Caen several times, which is similar to Calais - Lucerne in distance. We only tried it once without an overnight stop which was a disaster. Tired cranky children plus a tired driver is not a good mix; especially when driving on the side of the road to which you are unaccustomed.
The French toll roads are expensive but have great "aires" for stops for the children to work off some energy.
Also remember that delays through traffic jams can add a couple of hours to any estimates you have made and delays at the ports/Eurostar are very possible too. We love driving on the continent but have learnt over the years to never plan on a day's drive which takes more than 5 hours according to ViaMichelin. This is also a good site for looking at the overall cost of your journey with tolls and petrol estimates.