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The original was posted on /r/travel by /u/superpony123 on 2023-08-20 17:36:38+00:00.

Husband and I will be spending 2 weeks in switzerland, making our way across the country this fall. We are flying into Geneva and leaving from Zurich, so generally meandering west to east. We’re staying in Geneva for 4 days, in Thun for 5 days, and Zurich for 4.

I’m torn between train-hopping our way through the whole trip, versus getting a rental car for the middle of the trip (so when we leave geneva grab the car, return it in zurich as soon as we get to zurich) so we can have a little more freedom to explore on our own timeline - it’s not too pricey (well, the rental fee that is) for me to rent a small wagon, under $300 usd. I know gas is very expensive. We ARE packing light for this trip (bringing 5 days worth of clothes with re-wearable stuff like pants and sweaters, and then just planning to do laundry at our airbnbs) but I also still really would prefer to put the majority of our stuff in a medium suitcase. I hate carrying stuff around all day and definitely don’t want to be lugging a suitcase behind me or even a large backpack (i’m a nurse so already on my feet all day everyday in general… I am not going to enjoy myself if my backpack is heavy because my feet will be crying. Yes I have great shoes and insoles)

My biggest concern is that most wagons (this seems to be the most affordable option) will not have a covered/hidden trunk. I know switzerland is generally a pretty low crime country, and of course NOWHERE can say they have 0% theft…but how comfortable would you feel leaving a small suitcase in a car? it does not help that our luggage is neon orange… It will just be clothing/toiletries and some hiking gear, I will have an airtag inside, but it would still suck to have them stolen and have the rental car get broken into. Of course the suitcase would only be in our car unattended for two of those days, for a few hours at a time, not the whole time. Probably in Lausanne, Bern, and then Lucerne. Are there good secure parking areas we can utilize that would be better? OR, if I were go the train hopping route, do these cities major train stations have a luggage locker of some sort??