SamDaMan

My brother and I are planning 4 days with a rented Porsche to/fro Zurich this September. This is my tentative route https://goo.gl/maps/8nGnbP3CWwT2

Looking for any suggestions on detours, where we should stay for the night (ie, which town), and all other recommendations.

Should be epic!

Sam

ronvanr

Looks fun, enjoy, hope the weather cooperates.

Meursault88

You're going to have a blast. Many places along your route have great scenery. Just take a good camera and take the time to enjoy.

Something I've noticed in the last 10-15 years is that summers in Switzerland and Austria aren't like they used to be. There is often haze and the heat has melted the snow caps and glaciers by mid July. For those reasons, the photography is better in April and May.

The crowds should be down in September and these are the best times for jumping in to a lake for a swim. Silvaplana, Lake Como and Lugano should all be perfect. Some of the high mountain lakes will definitely put hair on your chest.

This may not be your thing but we always take a backpacking tent, air mattresses, down bags, sheets and pillows with us. As an example - in Montreux (not on your route) a good hotel is $400 a night, with a lake view $700+. We stayed on the lake for 14e at a campground on the west side of town and slept like babies. There's a gourmet chef that comes in the evenings and cooks a very good meal for about 20e a person. No one else was in the campground.

Same with Silvaplana - they just put in a new $14M campground facility there - in the off season it was us and one other guy in the entire place. They order croissants for you the night before and they were among the best I've ever had anywhere.

Weather is almost always perfect that time of the year. Very reliable. Warm days and cool nights and dry. Just perfect.

Our campsite in Montreux - unbeatable view.




The view from Silvaplana

Balr14

Save some time for the trains. I found them a lot more enjoyable than driving.

Meursault88

So I got curious and while I have seen some upper end rentals in the 400e a day area I didn't know a Pcar could run this much - what kind of deal did you find ?

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187337-i301-k4419356-Porsche_Rental-Frankfurt_Hesse.html


" Prepare for $$$, even for a day. I rented a Porsche once, for two days, there was a mileage limit of 200 km a day (takes about 1 hour to reach), each additional km was 1 EUR, the rental was around 600 EUR for two days,"

" Porsche Panamera for $1036 per day and the 911 turbo for $1626 per day ( $1919 automatic)
This is all inclusive and includes 50 km free then like $1.00 per KM !!!
They have Lamborghini and Ferrari too starting at $2500 ot $2800 per day.....
2 days will be $3250.00 usd + if you drive 200 Km thats another $150.00
So $3400. or $ 70.83 per hour or $1.18 per min."

"10 days....$17,000.00................. Porsche
10 days ...$1270 for a BMW 328I Cabriolet"

Dennis C

Wayne Smith

If you get to Interlocken we enjoy the Grand Hotel Giessbach.

I prefer the rooms facing the waterfalls. Breakfast on the patio is excellent.

ADias

I suggest you include Stelvio Pass.

Dennis C

Meursault88

My safety tip for mountain passes like the Stelvio, Tourmalet and other high treeless mountain passes - do not wear a seatbelt.

If you go off the wrong side, your best hope is to be thrown from the car as soon as possible. Staying buckled in almost assures death.

I have no statistics to back this up. Just a hunch and the way I was raised.

Meursault88

Paging Sam - seriously what kind of rental deal did you get ?

Balr14

Very reassuring!

SamDaMan

Avis CH offers a 911 for 4 days for about $1500 all in from Zurich airport. https://www.avis.ch/en/drive-avis/fl...ge/switzerland

GoldenGorilla

I drove some of the roads on your route when I was in the area last September. Some things to consider.
The rental company may not let you take the car out of the country where rented due to theft and insurance issues. Research this before you've locked in your plans. Italy and Austria shouldn't be an issue, but it is nice to know. Also, make sure you understand your insurance and what countries are covered.
Ensure you have a vignette for Austria for the A12 - the fine is ~300 euros and the vignette is only 9 euros. You can buy them at a gas station in Austria. CH has the same vignette requirement at 40 Francs, but since you're renting there, I assume it will be taken care of. Completely remove the vignette from the backing and stick to the windshield. The Austrians like their rules. Italy has tolls, no Vignette and Germany doesn't have tolls or Vignettes. Also in Austria, they may charge additional toll to go through a tunnel. Have some Euros on-hand for both countries.
Everything is much cheaper in the EU than CH. If you need to stay somewhere, eat or buy something, try to do so in the EU. It can cost 1/2 to 1/3 as much.

On Route:
September weather is very unpredictable. While the average is very nice and usually dry, we saw a fair amount of snow there last year all the way down to 1000m or so. We also had extremely dense fog on the Stelvio. For that matter Swiss weather is permanently unpredictable. On a previous trip in Interlocken in mid-August our mountain adventure plans were squashed by 20" snow at 2500m and snow line just above Interlocken. In August.
Your route goes through the Arlberg tunnel. Take the pass instead. The road is in good condition and the the scenery is interesting. It will probably cost you 30-40 minutes. There is a confusing intersection on the pass where our GPS couldn't figure it out. Stay to the right.
September is the season for Apples in Meran. Stop at a farm stand along the road from Meran to Stelvio. Get apples, Speck (regional Italian dry cured, lightly smoked ham) and some dry sausages for a few Euro. You'll not be disappointed. You will wish you could bring that Speck back to the US (you can't).
There will be tractors hauling apples on your chosen route very slowly, plus motor homes and other stuff.
Set your expectations for time on all Italian B roads appropriately. The speed limits are often much higher than I or anyone else seemed to feel comfortable driving on the Italian mountain roads and our GPS was always WAY off reality driving times in Italy unless we were on an Autostrade and none of your route is from what I can tell. As I recall alot of the Stelvio road was 90 km/h.
Set your expectations for the Stelvio appropriately. It is really narrow on the Italian side, and you will encounter transit buses going up and down the pass, tourists, motos, etc. It is nothing like the fast driving you've seen on any show or movie except the road itself. It takes forever.
If you wish to/need to stay near the Stelvio on your route, Solden/Soldano is a really nice place to stay inexpensively. Really nice for prices that will seem insanely cheap coming from CH. I can provide the specific place where we stayed if you want, but there are lots of options and this little ski town is quiet in summer.
The part of Italy you are traveling through, Both Italian and German are spoken, so you'll see both names for a town on signs.

Beyond your route:
You're very close on your route to Germany and honestly, the roads are probably better and might be slightly faster if you head north of Lake Constance (Bodensee). The A96 is just north of your route. Just in case you've ever wanted to drive a 911 on an unlimited speed highway. You'll have to go a bit north from the border as I recall, but not far. Enter back through Bregenz on the A14 and continue to Arlberg. Map of Autobahn speeds - Blue is unlimited unless there is construction.

If you have the time and have never been, the Dolomites are beautiful. They are a few hours drive to the east of your route, but a very unique mountain range. The road to the Auronzo hut is very well maintained and the hiking up there is easy and the scenery spectacular. We stayed in San Candido (Innichen) on the recommendation of one of my friends, and I would also recommend that town.

Reschen Pass was a really cool experience from the north as you come over the pass and the views open with a big reservoir below and the mountains of Stevlio national park beyond. I haven't driven the Timmelsjoch, but it does look like a more dynamic route. If you need time or the weather is causing issues, the Reschen is faster and more likely to be open.

Much further beyond your route:
Passo Monte Croce Carnico on SS52 - We were rerouted to this road due to snow blocking our primary route from Innichen/San Candido to Trieste (in mid-September). This road had the most amazing switchbacks I've ever driven in my life and sections of road cut into the mountainside in seemingly impossible ways. Much farther east, but WOW! I was a bit concerned to navigate in the E class we rented, but never had to 3-point turn a switchback. A 911 would be very enjoyable on that road. Makes the Stelvio seem like a super-highway width-wise and hairpin-wise. We encountered no traffic, only a couple other vehicles total and the surface was in good condition for an Italian road. It is way off your route though.

Meursault88

That's priced right imho. I checked Frankfurt and Basel and Germany is much higher but not as bad as it used to be. Given that I can drive one any time I want and the amount of luggage we typically have, I'll probably stick with the VWs that we typically get. We usually go 2x a year for 2-3 weeks and really put in some km. 4-6k typically.

Golden Gorilla (above) has very good advice. We never skip the vignettes and since you're getting the car in CH you're already good to go. Switzerland for the most part is not a good place to speed.