Planning a trip through Austria, Switzerland and Germany in a rented Model S

[jwilf]

So I'm not an owner but after suffering/enjoying Tesla obsession for a couple of years I've decided to rent a Model S for a road trip. Tesla rental is super expensive in the UK where I live but I found a place in Vienna, Austria that is more reasonable. So my plan is to hire an S85 for 4 days and do a loop through Austria, Switzerland and Germany. This has the advantage of also providing more interesting scenery! I've drawn a rough idea of the route on Google Maps:

Tesla Trip

The legs of the trip are something like this...

Day 1 – Vienna to somewhere in the Innsbruck region with a visit to Berchtesgaden. I chose St Anton am Arlberg as the destination as there is a supercharger there. Distance 580km, via superchargers in St. Valentin and Salzburg.

Day 2 – St Anton into Switzerland. I want to take in some classic Swiss alpine passes so my route takes us up the Furka Pass via Andermatt and Obergoms then over the Grimsel Pass and finally the Susten Pass and down to Lake Lucerne via Wassen, finishing up in Interlaken. Distance about 463km, via superchargers at Maienfeld and Beckenried.

Day 3 – Interlaken to Mannheim. I have a friend in Mannheim whom I'm planning to visit and it's also a good excuse to get some Autobahn driving in. This leg is only 408km via superchargers at Pratteln and Achern. Accoring to evtripplanner my charging time should only be 11 minutes which doesn't sound right to me. Especially as I plan to drive fast on this leg!

Day 4 – Back to Vienna via Nuremburg. This is 748km via superchargers at Satteldorf, Regensburg-Ost and St. Valentin.

I'm excited about this trip but I have a few concerns. My main worry is that maybe my trip is too long. Obviously I want to drive the car as much as possible but am I taking on too much? The car will have AP which should make the highway sections less tiring, or so I've heard. I'll be doing all the driving as my partner does not have a license.

I'd also love to get some general tips for this trip, especially from any owners in Austria, Switzerland or Germany who can advise on driving through the Alps and Autobahn driving for an inexperienced Tesla driver. This will be the first time I've driven a Model S any distance, so far I've only had a short test drive on busy London streets.

Thanks!

 

[WATTS-UP]

Haven taken a number to trip in the 500+ KM range I calculate at least 1 Hour for Supercharging mid trip and doing a full charge at night. If that does not work then you have to hit the supercharger first thing in the morning. Good luck on you trip and enjoy the drive.

 

[AndreSF]

That's a lot of driving in 4 days! I've done a few of such trips in that region in ICE cars, but IMO you will basically spend all your time either on the road or charging. For me personally, these trips made considerably more impact in terms of memories when I slowed down and allowed for some "off the main road" time.
If you do go for it, make sure you double-pad your estimated miles for autobahn driving. High speed will eat up those kwh quite quickly, so will uphill driving!
Oh, yeah, I'm sure you know this already, but Swiss are pretty strict about speed limits

Good luck!

 

[Jtrader]

Don't forget your vignette's in Austria and Switzerland.

 

[Justin50]

I took my daughter from UK to Austria doing a similar trip last year in my wife's old CLK MB......I have a Tesla too now, but will probably still take the CLK for the same trip this year....It's the top down motoring and I haven't worked out the range implications up those mountains.....avoided dual carriage ways and autoroute at all costs for best scenery and paying the road taxes. good luck, but have a plan B on the range!

 

[jwilf]

Thanks guys. Andre - I think you're right, it is a lot of driving in 4 days. So I've altered the plan slightly - the company I'm hiring from also has a location in Salzburg so we will start from there. That cuts out about 3 hours of driving on the first day meaning we can get further into Switzerland sooner. It also makes the journey back from Mannheim on the last day quite a bit more manageable, which will allow more time for stop-offs en route. You are right - we don't want to just be on highways all the time!

Justin - for me the trip is all about driving a Tesla so I wouldn't dream of taking an ICE! To be honest I think its a shame that you wouldn't take your Tesla on such a trip. The density of superchargers in the region is very high so I'm not worried about range...

 

[AndreSF]

Sounds like a fun trip! Enjoy and good luck! I've stayed at this B&B place near Salzburg a few years ago with my family, highly recommend. Hotel Salzburg : 4 stars hotel garni in Salzburg

There is a really cool ice cave in the area to visit if you do have time.

Dunno if they have a plug though

 

[Geoff57]

We just came back from an excellent 4 star Hotel south of Salzburg which had a hotel/spa package including a P85D for a day trip. We drove further south to the Villach SC and back. Hotel Edelweiss in Grossarl was very nice, had excellent food and a very friendly staff. The person who explained the Model S functions was named Peter and was very competent. It was a great trip and we got really lucky with the weather. I highly recommend the Edelweiss for people wanting to do a trip in the Region. You can also charge your own EV there.

 

[meteoritehunter]

So I'm not an owner but after suffering/enjoying Tesla obsession for a couple of years I've decided to rent a Model S for a road trip. Tesla rental is super expensive in the UK where I live but I found a place in Vienna, Austria that is more reasonable. So my plan is to hire an S85 for 4 days and do a loop through Austria, Switzerland and Germany. This has the advantage of also providing more interesting scenery! I've drawn a rough idea of the route on Google Maps:

Tesla Trip

View attachment 168198

The legs of the trip are something like this...

Day 1 – Vienna to somewhere in the Innsbruck region with a visit to Berchtesgaden. I chose St Anton am Arlberg as the destination as there is a supercharger there. Distance 580km, via superchargers in St. Valentin and Salzburg.

Day 2 – St Anton into Switzerland. I want to take in some classic Swiss alpine passes so my route takes us up the Furka Pass via Andermatt and Obergoms then over the Grimsel Pass and finally the Susten Pass and down to Lake Lucerne via Wassen, finishing up in Interlaken. Distance about 463km, via superchargers at Maienfeld and Beckenried.

Day 3 – Interlaken to Mannheim. I have a friend in Mannheim whom I'm planning to visit and it's also a good excuse to get some Autobahn driving in. This leg is only 408km via superchargers at Pratteln and Achern. Accoring to evtripplanner my charging time should only be 11 minutes which doesn't sound right to me. Especially as I plan to drive fast on this leg!

Day 4 – Back to Vienna via Nuremburg. This is 748km via superchargers at Satteldorf, Regensburg-Ost and St. Valentin.

I'm excited about this trip but I have a few concerns. My main worry is that maybe my trip is too long. Obviously I want to drive the car as much as possible but am I taking on too much? The car will have AP which should make the highway sections less tiring, or so I've heard. I'll be doing all the driving as my partner does not have a license.

I'd also love to get some general tips for this trip, especially from any owners in Austria, Switzerland or Germany who can advise on driving through the Alps and Autobahn driving for an inexperienced Tesla driver. This will be the first time I've driven a Model S any distance, so far I've only had a short test drive on busy London streets.

Thanks!

Really funny, I just did that exact same trip a few days ago. From Germany to Salzburg to Innsbruck to Leichtenstein and up to Frankfurt.

 

[jwilf]

Really funny, I just did that exact same trip a few days ago. From Germany to Salzburg to Innsbruck to Leichtenstein and up to Frankfurt.

Nice - how did it go? Over how many days did you do that trip?

 

[meteoritehunter]

Nice - how did it go? Over how many days did you do that trip?

I wast in a Tesla sadly. It's really not that far. Lots of stops at cafes and to see the mountains and castles. Salzburg is an amazing city. Your trip could be done easily in 3 days, 4 would allow more time for tourism. Salzburg needs at least one entire day to get a taste. Innsbruck is beautiful. I stayed at the Penz hotel at the airport. Parking was a terrible issue in Innsbruck.
Cameras, speed cameras everywhere! Do not think you can speed anywhere except in Germany.

 

[jwilf]

OK so I've updated my plan to start at Salzburg and also reversed the direction of the trip - now we'll be going anticlockwise, so Nuremberg will be the first stop off point.

I'm also blogging about the trip - I've just done my first post about our plans - Electric Road Trip – 4 days in a Tesla Model S – jwilf.uk

PS. meteoritehunter - thanks for the advice on speed cameras!