Munich, Venice, Zurich Trip Recommendations

[Kool Kat]

Planning a trip (sometime between Apr and Jul) to hit those 3 cities via rental car once we fly into Europe from Texas. What I'm trying to figure out is which city is best to fly in and out of in terms of ease, cost, convenience, congestion, time of year, driving, etc. We'll stay in each for 3 days or so. We could either use one city as home base and fly in/out or fly into one, get rental car, then drop off/fly out of a different city/country, which might be complicated. Anyone with experience that can share thoughts?

[2000cs]

Amsterdam plus train is how I’d do the trip. Fly/drive (as you plan), I don’t really know which is best. Might look at the rental rules in each county to see which is easiest on you if there is damage or whatever.

[M_Six]

No recommendations, but I'm green with envy. Hope you have a great trip.

[chassis]

Originally Posted by Kool Kat

Planning a trip (sometime between Apr and Jul) to hit those 3 cities via rental car once we fly into Europe from Texas. What I'm trying to figure out is which city is best to fly in and out of in terms of ease, cost, convenience, congestion, time of year, driving, etc. We'll stay in each for 3 days or so. We could either use one city as home base and fly in/out or fly into one, get rental car, then drop off/fly out of a different city/country, which might be complicated. Anyone with experience that can share thoughts?

I have been to all of those cities. Munich many times.

Twice we have flown into Munich and driven to Venice, then other destinations (Austria, Slovenia, Croatia).

Venice is not viable as an international nonstop flight destination from most U.S. cities. I would fly into MUC or ZRH, whichever gives you the best nonstop from your home hub airport. The three cities are roughly equidistant. ZRH and MUC have good international service.

Firm believer in vacationing in Europe after the European kids (an American kids!) are back in school. This usually means the third week of September, or later. Speaking for myself, I would not vacation in Europe in July. Too hot, too crowded. April is chilly. May might be OK. June is questionable in my view because of crowds and the weather can be too warm for my liking. Traffic in the Alps in September can be heavy, in July I can imagine it might be unpleasant with heavy tourist populations in every village and point of interest.

Weather is great in your target region from mid-Sept to mid-Oct. Not too hot, still in the 70s. Munich and Zurich will be chilly at night, Venice will be beautiful. It rains often in Venice but in our experience the showers are not continuous or heavy.

I would drive a loop starting and ending at either Munich or Zurich. Flying twice inside Europe with your limited time is a waste imo. Airport drama is to be avoided in any country. Traffic, rental car return, security, flight delays, blah blah. It's simply a waste of time. Driving through the Alps is fantastic.

[dscabra]

I've flown in/out of Munich many times and it is a great starting/ending point. The drive from Munich to Austria is beautiful once you get to the Alps. Remember, these countries are about the size of a typical state here in the U.S., so driving through three countries isn't as far as it sounds. That said, be prepared to pay top $$ for gas. I think you can expect to pay about 1.5 Euro/Liter or about $6.00 per gallon. In my opinion, the best way to see Europe is by train. No traffic, and you can actually see the scenery as you travel. For about $300/person, you can get Eurrail passes that give you unlimited train travel in the countries you choose. You'll want Germany Switzerland, Austria, and Italy minimum.

https://www.eurail.com/en/eurail-passes

[Jbrown7403]

Driving in Europe is wonderful! Suggestion from me would be rent a BMW diesel. I’ve rented a 320d (saloon and touring) from Sixt a few times and they’ve been great. Fuel is around $8 -$10 a gallon and I was getting over 50 mpg in September. Very peppy cars and fun in the mountains.

Have fun wherever you go!

[HFW003]

Of the cities you list Munich, as others have said, would be the easiest to get to and from.

I didn’t like Zurich at all but you don’t know unless you go.

If you wanted to go to both Munich and Venice I would drive from Munich to Innsbruck then down through the Dolomites, highly recommended Bolzano in northern Italy, then on to Venice.

I can highly recommend the train system in Europe. Very reasonably priced, 1st class obviously, and they are very clean and extremely reliable. You can just sit back on watch the countryside go by. Some of the scenery in that part of the world is spectacular.

Have fun!

[ShopVac]

Obviously a car will not work in Venice. If taking there, they have drop offs in the town of Mestre - and easy ways to get from there to your destination in Venice. Venice does have an international airport that's not too bad (smaller size, less people). Note that in Zurich international, you can spend multiple hours in customs...similar in Amsterdam.

I've rented cars, flown, and done rail through out Europe. Rail system is pretty nice and convenient. Note that any rental you have, you will need to park...even hotels require some sort of payment for this in major cities. With the ease of Uber, I'd choose rail.

In any scenario chosen - try to pack as light as you can. Nothing more difficult that trying to cram large suitcases in the back of a tiny rental...or navigate with them on the trains.